St. John Trunk Bay Beach Getaway & Snorkel

Hi.

Need first hand experiance here.

Thinking of doing this Excursions on my sep. cruise, dep time is set to 11:00 Am and I am wondering if there is time left wen we return to go visit Charlotte Amalie

Boat is in st. thomas from 10 AM to 6 PM Excursions set for 4.5 h

Have not done this excursion, but have been to St. T. many times, and have also ventured over to St. J. on our own.

I'd have to say, this doesn't leave you enough time to make it worth venturing into Charlotte Amalie. It looks like you'll get back around 3:30pm. Call it "close-to-4pm" before you set off for town. And with sailaway at 6pm, you'll have to be back by 5:30pm at the absolute latest. To be safe, you'd be leaving town by 4:30pm to get back by 5pm. That nets out to 30 minutes in town. So, um, sorry, no. :(

Lots of traffic on the streets there, and you can count on sitting in traffic jams. :(

Enjoy your cruise.

Just saw this this is your first post, so Velkommen to Cruise Critic! :)

Hi.

Need first hand experiance here.

Thinking of doing this Excursions on my sep. cruise, dep time is set to 11:00 Am and I am wondering if there is time left wen we return to go visit Charlotte Amalie

 

Boat is in st. thomas from 10 AM to 6 PM Excursions set for 4.5 h

We have done this excursion 2 times. Trunk Bay is our favorite beach. The only drawback is the short time you get to spend on the beach. The ferry ride over and back takes up a lot of the time. Its a nice ride over, but could get a little rough especially going through Pillsbury Sound ( between St. Thomas and St. John ) This past February it was a little rough the whole trip. The beach has never been crowded when we were there. The sand is soft and the water is a color of turquoise and calm. There are a couple of stores selling gifts and food. Have snorkeled off of St. John but not at Trunk Bay. As for time I don't think you have enough to go into Charlotte Amalie. There is a shopping area right next to the ship, A few minutes from the dock is the tram, beautiful view of the bay especially just before sunset and when its dark the ships have all the lights on. Great photos and a good Bushwacker adult drink.

Basically when you are at the dock in St.Thomas you are already in Charlotte Amalie.

Basically when you are at the dock in St.Thomas you are already in Charlotte Amalie.

In my visits there, when docked at Havensight, downtown Charlotte Amalie has usually been 1.5 miles away. About a 30-minute walk, or 10-15 minute cab ride. There's a huge shopping area right at the pier, which is nice. If you're docked over at Crown Bay, there are fewer shops there. And downtown is closer to 2 miles away.

In my visits there, when docked at Havensight, downtown Charlotte Amalie has usually been 1.5 miles away. About a 30-minute walk, or 10-15 minute cab ride. There's a huge shopping area right at the pier, which is nice. If you're docked over at Crown Bay, there are fewer shops there. And downtown is closer to 2 miles away.

Indeed, Charlotte Amalie is not right there next to the dock. Some may find it difficult walking 1 1/2 miles in the heat, and depending on how many ships are in port, traffic could be at a standstill. The OP may want to consult cruisett for the passenger load on their arrival date to gauge whether to chance a town trip after their excursion. If I were a new cruiser, I would just go with the excursion - St John's Trunk Bay is a beautiful beach with just average snorkeling - or just do a tour of the town.

That way, the OP has a reason to return for a 2nd visit. Maybe have to decide between staying on the i

sland for a week, or doing another cruise. Either way it's all good.

Hi

Thanks everyone, amazing reply rate here :-)

As a Dane both islands has som historic importens so was looking to at least have a short stay in Charlotte amalie not just the dock :-).

I will se wen there, what time i have.

I'm a little confused and have a question...

When the ship docks in St. Thomas, are there beaches on St. Thomas or do you have to go to St. John to find a beach? From what I've been reading everyone has been talking about taking the ferry but is it possible to stay on St. Thomas not too far from the cruise ship dock and find a beach there without wasting time on the ferry?

Yes, there are several very good beaches in St. Thomas. Magen's Bay and Coki Beach are two of the more popular ones.

I'm a little confused and have a question...

 

When the ship docks in St. Thomas, are there beaches on St. Thomas or do you have to go to St. John to find a beach? From what I've been reading everyone has been talking about taking the ferry but is it possible to stay on St. Thomas not too far from the cruise ship dock and find a beach there without wasting time on the ferry?

Yes, there is Magen's Bay which is still a good bus ride to the beach, but not too bad. We took that excursion and it included a stop in Charlotte Amalie to visit Blackbeard's Castle, which included rum tasting there at the castle. You would get a lot done on that excursion in St. Thomas. I will say though that the beach at Trunk Bay is much nicer than Magen's Bay, but both are still nice.

In my visits there, when docked at Havensight, downtown Charlotte Amalie has usually been 1.5 miles away. About a 30-minute walk, or 10-15 minute cab ride. There's a huge shopping area right at the pier, which is nice. If you're docked over at Crown Bay, there are fewer shops there. And downtown is closer to 2 miles away.

Havensite is not a town, it's the dock which is located in Charlotte Amalie. Many of the same stores are in both locations. On a non cruise ship day it's a 2 minute ride. You can hop on a safari for $2 they run right in front of the cruise terminal. If you choose a taxi, do not get in until you have a specific price.

I see that there are two excursions to st. john one is the above and there is one where you sightseeing, anybody done the sightseeing tour

I have done the St. John beach and snorkel excursion several times and really love it. However, I do not think you have time to do both St. John and St. Thomas. St. Thomas has lots of good private tour companies and for less money than going to St. John, you can see a lot of St. Thomas, spend some time shopping and some at the beach. My beach pick would be Megan's Bay, but Sapphire Beach is also nice (and some days it may be rainy at one beach and clear at the other, your tour guide will advise you on that). Touring St. Thomas is probably the best choice unless you just really want to visit St. John.

you can do St.John on your own, the taxi to Red Hook is $15pp and the ferry to St.John is $6pp, runs every hour each way.

I think a ship's excursion is the best way to do this trip...it's more modes of transport than I like. Let the ship take care of it. Once on St. Johns, you still need transport to the beach of choice!

What time does the ship depart? and what time is your trip BACK to the mainland?

The ship's excursion is a rip off. It will show 3 hr trip, one hr to get there, 1 hr back and 1 hr on beach. I always take a cab to Red Hook, then the ferry to St John, cab it to Trunk Bay or Cinnamon. There is a pub right at the ferry, we get there early and have something to drink as we wait for the next ferry. Can sit outside, sometimes a guy is playing music.

I think a ship's excursion is the best way to do this trip...it's more modes of transport than I like. Let the ship take care of it. Once on St. Johns, you still need transport to the beach of choice!

 

What time does the ship depart? and what time is your trip BACK to the mainland?

St.Johns is in Antigua. Carnival does not have their own ferries and safaris. They are the same ones everyone else uses. Once you book the tour is out of Carnivals hands, however they do have Carnivals phone number. I never booked a Carnival shore excursion, never missed a ship and I'm still alive

We did it privately about 3 years ago and had over 3 hours to spend on beach.

Was easy to take $ 2 or $ 3 bus to Red Hook. Not sure if this is still running.

Than ferry to St John and taxi to beach.

Was easy but have to watch the time. Trunk Bay probably prettiest beach we have been too.