Please help with St. Thomas excursion

[Sun Lover]

If anyone has been on any of these ship excursions, I would like to hear your feedback and if you think it was worth the money, whether it was too crowded, etc.:

 

5 Star Island Tour

 

Discover St. Thomas & Magen's Bay

 

Turtle Bay Sail & Snorkel Adventure

 

Caribbean Fastcat 2-Island Snorkeling, Safari & Beach Getaway.

 

Thanks for your help & if you've done any other similar type excursions either through the ship or on your own, I'd love to hear about them.

[cubalinda]

I'm also interested in finding out information about "Discover St. Thomas & Magen's Bay" and have been inquiring for some time now and hope to finally get some feedback about it.

 

I also may consider a local tour operator Marian's Taxi Service for a Sightseeing Tour and Beach time excursion.

 

There are many things to consider for my choice: which sights they go to (hoping to avoid the touristy sales push), quick drive-by or stop and explain the sights, and a guarantee to go to Magens Bay Beach or not (I know it may be busy, but I really want to go to Magens).

 

I asked about the Discover St. Thomas excursion on another site and a resident replied that a plus about it was that you get to the beach earlier in the day based on its placement in the itinerary, as opposed to many other tours who place it at the end of the tour and it would be busier then.

 

What I don't like as much about Discover St. Thomas is that most of it is self-guided and that you have a bunch of time in downtown Charlotte Amalie at the end of the excursion and that mostly means looking at stores and although there may be some interesting buildings there I'm not interested in shopping; I would prefer more time either at interesting sites or the beach. You may have different priorities/interests with your excursion choice.

 

You probably are aware that at the end of the Discover St. Thomas tour you have to make your own way back to your ship by taxi.On a positive note for this tour for me is that it starts at 10:45 am as our ship arrives at 10am. (Marian's starts at 12:30) Don't know if this is pertinent or not.

 

Bottom line after all of this is: I'm still undecided but hope that I may have helped a bit.

[Ms411]

Cubalinda, you can take some gorgeous photos if you walk around in town.

 

If your ship is docked at Havensight you can take great photos of the ship at the dock.

 

You can take fun photos of the seaplane landing and departing.

 

If you climb the 99 steps you get great shots of the harbor and of the 3 Queens statue.

 

Emancipation Garden has interesting historical pieces with plaques. There are 2 plaques on the Liberty Bell, one on the statue of a boy blowing a conch shell, and another on the gazebo bandstand. There's another statue but you have to google for more information as to who he is.

 

Many people like to take photos of the fire station which is in the fort. You can also take photos of the fort's exterior.

 

You can also try some local food or beverage. E's Teagarden and Gladys' are popular, because of the atmosphere. Gladys' is lively whereas E's very relaxing. The Beer Garden is a great place to relax with a beer. You can also try local vegan food.

 

Yoi can watch them make chocolates outside the window of the Belgian Chocolate Factory and stop in to buy a few pieces. Or try the ice cream inside A.H. Riise.

 

That should keep you busy!

[beachclubgirl]

Sounds like a fun day! Thank you for the list of places to see!

[Ms411]

You're welcome, beachclubgirl. I have seen too many people wandering aimlessly on their vacation and to me, you don't get as much value as you do with a plan. I have always been a destination researcher and even on some escorted tours I have known things the group leader didn't because of my research.

 

Enjoy!