Question On St. John Island Tour

[SEA SOUNDS]

I don't want to worry about time or getting back late to the ship so I am thinking of booking this tour. DH doesn't like to do the beach thing. This tour is through the cruise line, and leaves at 10:45 AM. Does it provide transportation from the ship to the pier? Has anyone taken this tour through rccl before??? I would like some feedback-----is it worth it????

[mj from katy]

We took a St. John's island tour through NCL several years ago and it was great. The worst part of it was getting from St. Thomas to St. John's - high waves and small boats do not mix. Many people were getting sick. However, once we made it to St. John's we really enjoyed the tour. Our guide was great and all transportation from the ship to St. John's and back to the ship was provided. We even had time to check out the shops in St. Thomas. St. John's is a beautiful island -so beautiful that I envied the folks who'd booked the beach excursions. The beach in St. John's looked great - exactly what a Caribbean beach should look like. I'd book this tour if I were you.

[jrm9999]

We did this tour through RCI last June. The boat to St. John picked us up right next to the ship. It was choppy on the way there, but not too bad. Once there, St. John was wonderful. It is one of the most beautiful islands I have been to. The tour was nice and the beach portion was excellent. We were concerned about that because we are not big beach people. The beach itself was great. Good sand and nice clear warm water. The beach portion actually did not seem like it lasted that long either - we did not want to leave when the tour was ready to go. Not counting the time to get set up with snorkel gear and then washing up after. I bet we were only on the beach for an hour or hour and a half.

 

I would highly recommend this tour as a must do if you have never been before.

[SEA SOUNDS]

Was there time for pictures of the beaches on the island tour? We are not doing the beach tour, but wondering if you can still get some good picutres in at the different beach stops along the way with the island tour.

 

Also, how long was the island tour? Was it 4 1/2 hours long? RCCL only has one time during the day to take this tour. I wish there was a choice of morning or afternoon. Thanks for all the help!

[mj from katy]

We never actually went down to the beaches on our NCL tour, but we could take pictures from the road - the tour bus stopped. We got some great shots of the beaches and palm trees - just like you see in postcards!

 

Our tour was a half-day tour. That's how we ended up back in St. Thomas in the afternoon for shopping. I think the RCCL tour is very similar.

[Seaside2358]

I did the St. John beach tour. It was very nice and the boat we took to St. John was fairly large. Not choppy at all...We went to Trunk Bay which is beautiful...

[Pumbaamd]

We did the RCL St. John beach tour on the Brilliance two weeks ago. Enough time to snorkle and walk the beach without getting bored. Or just lay out. The trip over is fine, the boat is big enough unless it is really rough, which then they might cancel it. There are showers, snack bar and gift shop at the beach. The bus ride from the St. John pier to Trunk Bay is a guided tour, with a stop for pics on the way. Same on the way back. Our boat had a fun rum drinking contest on the way back with Caribbean music. Highly recommend it.

[jrm9999]

We did this tour through RCI last June. The boat to St. John picked us up right next to the ship. It was choppy on the way there, but not too bad. Once there, St. John was wonderful. It is one of the most beautiful islands I have been to. The tour was nice and the beach portion was excellent. We were concerned about that because we are not big beach people. The beach itself was great. Good sand and nice clear warm water. The beach portion actually did not seem like it lasted that long either - we did not want to leave when the tour was ready to go. Not counting the time to get set up with snorkel gear and then washing up after. I bet we were only on the beach for an hour or hour and a half.

 

I would highly recommend this tour as a must do if you have never been before.

 

I just realized the OP asked about the island tour, not the beach tour. We were on the beach tour. In any case, everyone took the same boat over and got on similar safari style trucks/vans for their tour. All of them would stop at predetermined senic areas and yes you could take pictures.