excursions in st thomas ---PLZ HELP

[Musclengrace]

we are leaving from snowy NH on the getaway 2/21.

 

myself, hubby & 14 yo son.

 

i am looking fwd to 1 thing---snorkeling in St John.

 

i hate sailboats/catamarans (motion)..so I'm looking for a fairly faster boat to get us to the best snorkeling section ard. I am also bigger than average so navigating those steep metal rungs (steps) are difficult.

 

can anyone PLEASE PLEASE suggest any excursions i would be able to enjoy!

id be extremely grateful

 

thanks so very much, eternally grateful

[janetz]

In Oct, we went on this non ship excursion with Fury Tours.

 

http://www.usvisailing.com/daysails.html

 

It was great. if you have never snorkeled, they teach you. The captain timed our trip so that we arrived at Buck island when one tour was leaving and we left as 3 excursion boats from the ship's were coming in.

 

We saw many turtles, and stingrays. The best part, even with 5 ships in port, there were a total of 10 of us. When we were leaving there had to be over 200 people from the ship's excursions coming in.

 

I highly recommend this trip. Even if you don't snorkel, you can enjoy the water.

[russianmom]

You might have better luck on the ports of call board

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=133

[Musclengrace]

hi, thank you for the info on FURY excursions.

 

big problem though, i specifically do not want to be on a sailboat, i'd be the woman that would be the cause that those ppl to miss the 2nd snorkel stop. did you mention there was a trip that there was no boat around?

 

i do snorkel, & love it

 

thams

ellen

[Medtech2]

we are leaving from snowy NH on the getaway 2/21.

 

myself, hubby & 14 yo son.

 

i am looking fwd to 1 thing---snorkeling in St John.

 

i hate sailboats/catamarans (motion)..so I'm looking for a fairly faster boat to get us to the best snorkeling section ard. I am also bigger than average so navigating those steep metal rungs (steps) are difficult.

 

can anyone PLEASE PLEASE suggest any excursions i would be able to enjoy!

id be extremely grateful

 

thanks so very much, eternally grateful

We also did Buck Island but used a different company, booked through NCL. Here is a link to my review...

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147404-d1218364-r234806148-Captain_Nautica_Screamin_Eagle_Mini_Boat_Adventures_Private_Tours-St_Thomas_U_S_.html

 

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[Annmeat]

There is an awesome Getaway review by Mitsugirly with amazing photos from snorkeling she did on St Thomas right off of the beach. I do not remember which beach, but search for her review . She has more information than a lot of travel websites!

 

If you hate the motion and the ladders, this may be a solution for you.

 

AM

 

 

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[punkincc]

I don't know if you are aware of the Red Hook ferry to St John which is about 20 min by taxi from the cruise dock. You'll need to look up the ferry schedule, and get there early, but many cruise ship passengers use this quick 20 minute crossing to do St John on their own. There is a ship tour, St John On Your Own which is just basically the cost of the ferry, but this tour uses another ferry near the dock and is a 40 minute crossing. Once in St John, you can get a safari taxi to any beach you'd like. We did Trunk Bay.

 

The only problem with getting there on your own is that you eat up a chunk of time with taxis and ferries, and you have an early departure from St Thomas, so it does limit the actual snorkel time. I assume you had a bad experience on a cat and therefore prefer a boat? Anyone can get sick on anything, but IMO, a cat is very stable on the water and I find them to be very smooth sailing in comparison to a boat, which tends to bob up and down in the water. Sorry if I have gone over things you are already aware of.

[HarpHarp]

As a former resident of St. Thomas, here is my advice:

 

Take the ferry to St John, probably from Red Hook, taxi to Trunk Bay (admission since it's a National Park) & snorkel there, The St. John Beach & snorkel offered by NCL is also an option. Beach snorkeling is the way to go IMHO, with a short time span. You do get to see more of the islands, & the beaches on St. John are among the best. Maho, Salt Pond & some of the cays, have wonderful snorkeling

 

There is good snorkeling at Secret Harbor, Sapphire Beach and Coki on St Thomas. Coki is right near Coral World, which is a great place to "snorkel" while staying dry. There is an enclosed area built down to view the reef.

[Mr and Mrs C]

You can snorkel right from coki beach. Also next door is coral world.

We used Air Force one tours, and papa bear was awesome!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[spidybabe]

Coki beach is great

Check Godfrey tours

[IWORK2CRUISE]

we are leaving from snowy NH on the getaway 2/21.

 

myself, hubby & 14 yo son.

 

i am looking fwd to 1 thing---snorkeling in St John.

 

i hate sailboats/catamarans (motion)..so I'm looking for a fairly faster boat to get us to the best snorkeling section ard. I am also bigger than average so navigating those steep metal rungs (steps) are difficult.

 

can anyone PLEASE PLEASE suggest any excursions i would be able to enjoy!

id be extremely grateful

 

thanks so very much, eternally grateful

.

You can do this on your own!

Take the ferry to St. John and taxi/van to Trunk Bay.

We get off of ships early and take a taxi/van to Red Hook to catch the earliest ferry we can.

Check out the ports of call boards for current information on St. Thomas/St. John.

[Musclengrace]

We also did Buck Island but used a different company, booked through NCL. Here is a link to my review...

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147404-d1218364-r234806148-Captain_Nautica_Screamin_Eagle_Mini_Boat_Adventures_Private_Tours-St_Thomas_U_S_.html

 

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thank you for taking the time to help me

[Musclengrace]

.

You can do this on your own!

Take the ferry to St. John and taxi/van to Trunk Bay.

We get off of ships early and take a taxi/van to Red Hook to catch the earliest ferry we can.

Check out the ports of call boards for current information on St. Thomas/St. John.

i guess what I'm trying to ask is "the ferry" the on;y way to get to st john or are there power boats that'll take you there. id be happy renting a charter on my own. don't know where to look....everywhere sz i need to take "the ferry" to red hook

[Musclengrace]

There is an awesome Getaway review by Mitsugirly with amazing photos from snorkeling she did on St Thomas right off of the beach. I do not remember which beach, but search for her review . She has more information than a lot of travel websites!

 

If you hate the motion and the ladders, this may be a solution for you.

 

AM

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

thank you, i saw that review it was great, think i might give up on st johns & do Coki

[Musclengrace]

I don't know if you are aware of the Red Hook ferry to St John which is about 20 min by taxi from the cruise dock. You'll need to look up the ferry schedule, and get there early, but many cruise ship passengers use this quick 20 minute crossing to do St John on their own. There is a ship tour, St John On Your Own which is just basically the cost of the ferry, but this tour uses another ferry near the dock and is a 40 minute crossing. Once in St John, you can get a safari taxi to any beach you'd like. We did Trunk Bay.

 

The only problem with getting there on your own is that you eat up a chunk of time with taxis and ferries, and you have an early departure from St Thomas, so it does limit the actual snorkel time. I assume you had a bad experience on a cat and therefore prefer a boat? Anyone can get sick on anything, but IMO, a cat is very stable on the water and I find them to be very smooth sailing in comparison to a boat, which tends to bob up and down in the water. Sorry if I have gone over things you are already aware of.

no, thank you so much. you are right 3 bad experiences on sailboats & cats to go snuba'ing in grand caymans & aruba. nvr again.. ruined my trip.

 

i think we'll end up at Coki to snorkel, would rather do that than spend time traveling

thank you for your help

ellen

[LrgPizza]

There is a St. Thomas snorkel excursion on a fast boat, but unfortunately you want to do St. John, and this one just does 2 different locations at St. Thomas. If the boat is a bigger deal than St. John vs. St. Thomas, you can do the Captain Nautica excursion.