NCL Sun St Thomas - only 8 excursions available (9 ships in port)?

[European_CruiseGirl]

Ok, I'm most likely just too early but still it makes me worried :o : when I log into myNCL I can only locate 8 shore excursions for our November NCL Sun St Thomas stop. We are unfortunate to have 9 (! :eek: ) ships in port at St Thomas when we are there so I'm looking mainly for catamaran excursions "to get away from it all" and my favourite (Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel) is not showing.

 

Is it likely that not all excursions are available for booking via myNCL at this point and they will add more excursions later?

 

Also if anyone has been on this excursion can you tell me when the excursion started. Crowded as it may be in Charlotte Amalie with 9 ships in town we'd still like to do some shopping after the excursion if it's timewise possible. We will be in port from 8-17 (most likely tendering I suppose).

 

Thanks everyone! I know I know: I'm a serious planner. :D

[DorothyB]

When are you going to be there?

[European_CruiseGirl]

When are you going to be there?

 

It's the Nov 30th sailing so I think we will be there on Dec 3rd.

 

No wait a minute! The cruise is leaving on Dec 1st (not Nov 30th) so we will be there Dec 4th. :) We fly in Nov 30th! :D

[sweetride]

you're better off looking for excursions that are not through the ships. they tend to be smaller and know how to avoid the busy places the ship excursions go

[European_CruiseGirl]

you're better off looking for excursions that are not through the ships. they tend to be smaller and know how to avoid the busy places the ship excursions go

 

Thanks sweetride! I thought about that too! The only thing not making me comfortable is the fact that we are most likely tendering meaning that all people on NCL excursions will be tendered first. I'm worried (again :D) that we might loose a serious amount of time if we're waiting to go onshore independently.

 

However this is definitely something to still consider. :)

[coscab]

It's the Nov 30th sailing so I think we will be there on Dec 3rd.

 

No wait a minute! The cruise is leaving on Dec 1st (not Nov 30th) so we will be there Dec 4th. :) We fly in Nov 30th! :D

 

DH and I have booked this cruise, last time I checked I only saw 6 ships in port, where did you get the latest info? Have you joined the roll call, some people on it have been to St Thomas before, they might be able to help with excursion questions. Roll call is a little slow right now but those of us that are on already are a bit over anxious!

Also, we have booked a boat trip along the coast of St Lucia to the beach that is between the Pitons, with a few stops on the way back, if you haven't made plans for that port you might be interested in joining us, I think the boat holds 10 or 12, tour guide comes highly recommended on CC and trip advisor.:)

[sweetride]

even if you're tendering, you should be able to find an excursion that starts an hour or more after they dock. i wouldn't worry about it. they're great at tendering and it goes by quick. if you're worried about it though, you can always go down and ask them for priority also. they will give them out if you request it. you can also get them if you're platinum and maybe gold? either way, with that many ships in port, i would not book a ship excursion. they will be jam packed and going to the same places all the others will

[European_CruiseGirl]

DH and I have booked this cruise, last time I checked I only saw 6 ships in port, where did you get the latest info? Have you joined the roll call, some people on it have been to St Thomas before, they might be able to help with excursion questions. Roll call is a little slow right now but those of us that are on already are a bit over anxious!

Also, we have booked a boat trip along the coast of St Lucia to the beach that is between the Pitons, with a few stops on the way back, if you haven't made plans for that port you might be interested in joining us, I think the boat holds 10 or 12, tour guide comes highly recommended on CC and trip advisor.:)

 

OMG: you so made my day! One of my travel companions told me 9 and I took it for granted. And I don't take anything for granted! :D

 

Tell me more about the St Lucia excursion. ;) How many are you already?

 

As I'm quite a shy person IRL I'm not yet on the roll call. Perhaps I'll join some day. :o

[European_CruiseGirl]

either way, with that many ships in port, i would not book a ship excursion. they will be jam packed and going to the same places all the others will

 

Thank you again for your insight! I'll start also looking for independent tours. I suppose I should book one of those also early (if we choose one) as I'm sure thousands of others are looking to book them too.

[coscab]

OMG: you so made my day! One of my travel companions told me 9 and I took it for granted. And I don't take anything for granted! :D

 

Tell me more about the St Lucia excursion. ;) How many are you already?

 

As I'm quite a shy person IRL I'm not yet on the roll call. Perhaps I'll join some day. :o

I hope the 9 is wrong and the 6 is right.

 

Look at spencerambrose website, we are taking the boat rather than the land tour as we wanted to see the coastline and the Pitons, and snorkel off the beach there. the website shows all the different tours, you don't pay until the day of your tour but if you book he appreciates it if you let him know if your plans change so that he can book someone else, he seems very nice from what I can tell through emails. We are the only 2 on our roll call taking that particular tour that I know of, not many on roll call yet.

 

We like to do our own thing, not really shy but don't mingle all that much, joining the roll call just keeps you up to date on anything that might be going on with your cruise, we enjoy the meet and greet if there is one but no need to attend just because you join the roll call, it's each individuals choice. You can read the roll call without posting anything, then post if you want to.

 

Do you live in Italy, my father was born there, he only went back to visit once and I have never been.

[frediver]

Where are you getting your info on the number of ships in port on any given day, do you have a link?

[Sauer-kraut]

OP!!

 

Even if you are shy JOIN THE ROLL CALL!! It doesn't matter if you don't chat up there, just get on it to see who needs extra people to share excursions! Some might already be set up and you can jump on the bandwagon.

 

Then of course if there is a M&G scheduled you can get to meet some senior staff....and such.

 

Good luck on your excursion search, check out the boards for St Thomas so you can see what else is out there that might not be part of the cruise ship offerings.

 

Have a great time!

[toberman]

Looking at your dates the schedule shows 6 ships in port, not 9. Any more than 6, then the others have to tender. We were there last Nov with 7 ships and pulled the short straw!! Had to tender.

 

Being said, STT was a ZOO!! We had friends on another ship that tried to make arrangements with local providers for tours and were told that they (the tour operators) could not guarantee to get the people back to the ship 'on time'.

My suggestion (which isn't agreed to by many)... is, with that many people in port on one day.... take a ship excursion!! 20,000 + people in STT on one day is not fun. Good luck.

[rbrugler]

There will be more excursions listed by August or so. Not to worry. Also, does the itinerary say that you are docking? If so, you are at a pier and are not tendering. The sites that list ships in port are oftentimes wrong. I say, not to worry.

[eml30fan]

You should check out Jester Sailing Adventures. Captain Jim is the best! I have done this every time I go to St. Thomas, sometimes a couple times in one week. The boat holds 6 passengers and the food and drinks are terrific!!

[skittl1321]

I can't help you with shore excursions, but I'll tell you I was in St. Thomas when a ton of ships were in (at least 7 that I can think of), and we went to Secret Harbor Beach Resort and there was pretty much no one there. I'd say St. Thomas is one of the ports that is designed to handle the crowds.

[mickanddoe]

Hi type in Cruise Ship Schedules for the United States Virgin Island.. this will tell you what ships will be in port..

[gelo7]

Do an independent excursion.

[jdvmd]

The record for St. Thomas is 20 ships at one time in port. That was about 10-15 years ago.