St. Thomas - what to see and do

[mndisfam]

Big big vote for St John...I too was very confused about all the choices in St Thomas. I think the ferry ride was about an hour -great and interesting narration on the way over. THe islands they point out, and history, and BVI (Jost Van ****??) Then, it was a very interesting open air taxi trip thru small parts of gorgeous St John to Trunk Bay - which was one of the best beaches I have been anywhere ever...(I have only been on Disney Cruises and to Hawaii tho.

Experienced people will tell you, however, that Trunk Bay gets much more crowded than CInnamon and Sapphire (I think its Sapphire) and HawksNext. We passed two of those on the way and they were gorgeous and MUCH less crowded. I would absolutely consider those next time, but my family may disagree!

However, it was nothing like CC beach in terms of crowds...No elbow to elbow or anything. Its jsut several cruise boats do send groups over at the same time. The snorkeling was disapointing compared to what I had seen in Hawaii 20 years ago - few fish and not so great colors that day. It was overcast. BUT BUT - being a national park they have an underwater snorkeling trail and it ws so easy I got my timid darling DD7 in the water - pretty deep too! Maybe 30 feet - but they give them vests and there were life guards out there in the snorkeling area. I saw them bring back several little tired ones on their board. ALl the liitle ones seemed to be safely snokling. There was just enough waves - we little had to be dragged away from this paradise.

Never will I ever forget St Johns and Trunk Bay...After this one visit, we are trying to find ways to get back! We used St John Trunk Bay & Snorkle Tour I think it was. Sorry to go on...we are still sulking over leaving.

I left on DCL comment card that I wish they would be more descriptive about shore excursions...I think there write ups are pretty brief. We almost didn't go to St John's bcs we didn't know enoug. What we would have missed!

 

[momofem&josh]

Any way to combine shopping in St Thomas with a visit to St John???

Thanks, K.

 

[musicgirl]

Well, we did an excursion and I guess it really doesn't matter what you do, the ship docks (normally) right next to Havensight Mall. We got back from our excursion, showered, ate lunch and then went back off to shop.

 

[plutoNme]

So when we go to St. Thomas my husband is going golfing and my DS 9 and I are going to Coral World. Should I be scared in going by myself or is it pretty safe. I dont want to be a target vistor to the locals. Im afraid I will not know how to get back and miss the ship. I picture myself racing after the ship trying ot get back on.

 

[molarman]

We just got back from the Magic Eastern, and we took the excursion to Megan's Bay Beach. It was by far the best excursion we've been on. The beach was great, plenty of chairs and good food for a reasonable fee. Of course, you could take a taxi directly to the beach (about 25 min ride). I think the beach has a small ($3.00 or so) admission fee. It was included in our tour. The only thing the tour provided was a med size bottle of water when you got off the ship. That's it besides the transportation and the beach chair. You were on your own for additional water, drinks or food.

The tour company was very efficient, but the ride is very rough on the streets, and it is in an open-air bus (think of the safari ride at Animal Kingdom).

There was one stop at a peak on the island that you could look down on Megan's Bay that was breathtaking!

A lot of people take a boat to St. John, but it takes a lot of time for the traveling.

 

[NZMUM]

We did the Doubloon Sail & Snorkel as well. Had a great time. Booked through Disney for it. Would do it again We had a 7 year old who coped fine with his first time snorkeling.

 

[WDWLVR]

That sounds great! I am going to look into this for my family! How did you get to Coral World?

Coral World (and Coki Beach which is right next door) is easy to get to on your own. Just head to the taxi's (vans) when getting off the ship. They will usually wait until they have a full load (about 10-12 people). In our case we had 6 people (us and a family of 4) going to Coki/Coral World and another 4 heading to St. John via the Red Hook ferry. The driver gave us a flat rate for the ride which we agreed to before getting in. Once there he asked what time we wanted to go back. As it turned out we were ready to head back earlier so just grabbed another taxi that was there waiting. Very painless.

Coral World is a lot of fun and we had a great time there.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

That is what we plan to do there. Take a taxi from port on our own and go have some fun!
Jennifer

 

[Beck's mom]

FYI - Coral World and Coki Beach are on St. Maarten.

Actually no, it is on St. Thomas! Here is a link with a discount coupon you can print out:

http://www.coralworldvi.com/

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Actually no, it is on St. Thomas! Here is a link with a discount coupon you can print out:

http://www.coralworldvi.com/

I guess I need to change our intinerary. Thanks!

 

[Beck's mom]

No problem!

When we were on St. Thomas last year, we went to Magen's Bay. It is a beautiful stretch of beach. We took a taxi van there - I think it was around $8 pp one way and then the guy came back at the time we asked him to and drove us back. Here are some pics. It is a very calm and serene area, and only tourists are there. Nobody selling anything except for the bar waitress to bring you drinks on the beach! It isn't good snorkeling but we did anyway and the kids saw a few fish. Also there are no jet skis. The last pic is from the overlook on the way back from Magen's Bay. Our driver stopped so we could get a great view of our ship in port!

 

[Mindibellcm]

For our upcoming trip to St. Thomas, we've decided to book a daysail with Rumbaba Charters http://rumbabacharters.com/.

On all of our previous visits to St. Thomas, we have not visited St. Johns. We wanted to do that this year but it seemed that the trip there and back would consume more time than enjoying the beach there. I did research at Cruise Critic and decided to book with Capt. Bobby! I don't think I'll be disappointed either.

Our excursion will be intimate -- only 6 people max (we're four people and may be alone). We will determine our exact schedule (six hours). Our lunch will be prepared by them - Choices include fresh local ahi tuna or mahi mahi, chicken or filet mignon. All are grilled to order and you may each choose to your liking. We'll also have breakfast provided to us -- banana muffins made with bananas grown in their own backyard. They will also provide whatever drinks you want -- adult and otherwise.

I'll give a complete review once we return in early March.

We did this excursion while on a Princess Cruise in April. It was the highlight of our trip. It was excellent!!!!! The food was great and freshly prepared. We would do this again.!!!!!!!!

 

[icehawkmom]

Just came back from the Magic and while in St. Thomas did a private sailing charter with the Nightwind, a beautiful wood sail boat. Wanted to do a private excursion while on the island because we were travelling with extended family. The eleven of us ended up sailing with Captain Rick and loved our day. It was a first class experience. It included a continental breakfast, full lunch and an open bar.

Our ages ranged from 7 to 71 and there was something for everyone. We only did a half day because some of group wanted shopping time on the island. This meant that we only did one snorkeling stop at Honeymoon Beach. The snorkeling wasn't the best I've done, but it was nice and calm for the younger children in our group and the beach was right there for anyone who didn't want to snorkel.

When I was researching this I couldn't find anything on group charters that would take our size of group so I thought I would post the contact information in case anyone else was looking for a private sailing charter for a larger group size.

I would do this again without any hestitation. It was the highlight of the cruise for me!

www.sailyachtnightwind.com