first time to St.Thomas

[MikkiDawn]

Hi all we are taking our cruise on December 10 and this will be our first time on St. Thomas, well first time cruising. We are trying to decide whether or not to book an excursion for St. Thomas or just to do it on our own. We are 39 and 33 !! We have an excursion booked for ST. Maarten that we got for free through cruise.com , it is the Two Flags of ST. Maarten I believe and we are adding the beach bash with it. I was looking at Godfrey's of Sonny's or the one that sounds appealing is RCCL Ultimate Island Experience !! I am just not sure if we should pay to have a guide or just get off the ship and wing it for the day ourself ? Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated !!!

[Oaktree]

For a first timer, I suggest a tour, the one that fits your preferences most.

It might save you a lot of time in the long run. Going on your own is great

when you know a bit about a place, how to get around, places you would like

to spend more time than a tour gives you. Whatever you decide, have a

wonderful day. St Thomas is beautiful and exciting!! :cool:

[CaribbeanBound]

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

St. Thomas, Trip #1

St. Thomas is a major shopping destination. A large number of passengers bought digital cameras at this stop. We privately arranged for an island tour with Godfrey's Tour, now $25 per person (plus tip). He picked us up at the ship at 10:00 am and dropped us off downtown. At noon he picked us up for a 2-hour island tour and dropped us off at Coki beach (no beach charge) from 2pm to 4pm. We would have preferred Meagan's Bay ($3 per person), but the majority of our tour mates brought their snorkel gear and were set on Coki Beach with the clearer water and more abundant fish. The downside of Coki is that it is a small, crowded, relatively unattractive stretch of sand maybe 25% as long as the considerably less crowded, more picturesque, Meagan's Bay. $20 will get you 2 beach lounge chairs (unpadded) and a very large umbrellaat Coki Beach.

 

St. Thomas, Trip #2

This trip, we opted to enjoy Sapphire Beach on our own and shop Havensight at the pier. Despite what everyone at the pier will tell you (and there will lie to you), you can get local transportation for $2 per person in an open-air taxi to Sapphire Beach. Simply walk out of the Havensight pier main gate, cross the street, turn left and walk until you get to the Bus Stop (there is a pullover area) across from K-Mart and cross the street so that you are standing on the K-Mart side of the street. It is a leisurely 10 to 15-minute level walk. When you see an open-air taxi drive up, flag him down, tell him where you wish to go and enjoy the trip. The drive takes about 20 to 30 minutes each way to Sapphire Beach depending upon traffic. Pay upon exiting the taxi. If you are going to Sapphire Beach, you will be dropped off at the entrance to the Sapphire Beach hotels which is at the top of a hill. A short 5-minute walk will get you on the beach. Sapphire Beach is a gorgeous white sand beach with lots of shade trees and awesome views of several nearby islands including St. John. The snorkeling is good. We saw several schools of fish (previously unknown to us), an eel, and a small stingray. Unpadded beach lounge chairs are $5 each if you want to rent one, or free if you just occupy one of the many chairs abandoned by their previous inhabitants. A dive shop, bar and grill, and restrooms are available. Some water sports are also available. Pick up the taxi again where it dropped you off.

Secrets Of The Caribbean

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

[MikkiDawn]

I found a tour called Air Force 1 Fun Tours, it sounds interesting. I also thought about booking the St. John beach tour, but thought since this is our first visit to St. Thomas then maybe we just want to stay there. I am stuck between , Air Force 1 Fun Tours and Godfreys, oh and Sunny Liston (sp?).

[m steve]

Since it is your first cruise and first time in STT I would suggest and all round tour as you will be back there many times in the future as most cruises go there.Do your shopping at Havensite when you dock and then go around with a cab tour or ship's tour so you see Magens bay, Mountaintop, Red Hook area, Tutu village, the university and Frenchtown and sub base. Get off downtown and take a cab back that way you can wander thru the shops and still make it back in time for departure. Next time find a beach and lime. It's a great island and I've been going there sine '61 and never get bored. Sure it's crowded with 3 or more ships a day but it has everything you would want in a Caribbean island and the speak American albeit with a lilt.

[loveturtles]

I just got back from Sunny's tour and loved it sooooo much. He is one of the best tour operator's I have ever had. You get a little of everything with his tour. He will drop you off pretty much wherever you want to go. Recommend reserving it though, his 2 buses were full when we went. They hold about 15 people each. If you go try to get on his bus, his wife operates the other one and is on the quiet side. Sunny is FUN and a bit CRAZY:D .

[MikkiDawn]

How can I be sure I get on Sonny's truck ? Push people aside ?? LOL !!! JUST KIDDING !!

 

Has anyone heard anything about Air force One Fun Tours ?

 

Also do you recommend going to Magens Bay or Sapphire Beach ?

[loveturtles]

I would go to Maegans or Coki. Saphire is just an ok beach.

[MamaParrotHead]

he spoiled us on ship's tours for LIFE, pretty much. The best tour we've had. We also went to Sapphire Beach, which suited our needs. It was quiet, not crowded, had water to swim in, chairs to sit in and clean bathrooms. :)

[kewbrook]

This stop is one of our favorites. We contact Pat at www.independence44 and reserve her to take us sailing for the day. She has a one person crew for her who is knowledgable about snorkelling and we stop and spend time snorkelling in addition to the relaxing sail around the islands. There is a wonderful lunch included plus all of the beverages you could want. Pat is very flexible with satisfying what it is you want to see and do, her equipment is top notch and we had a great time with her. Our next cruise we plan on sailing with her again!

[alphakitty]

This stop is one of our favorites. We contact Pat at www.independence44 and reserve her to take us sailing for the day. She has a one person crew for her who is knowledgable about snorkelling and we stop and spend time snorkelling in addition to the relaxing sail around the islands. There is a wonderful lunch included plus all of the beverages you could want. Pat is very flexible with satisfying what it is you want to see and do, her equipment is top notch and we had a great time with her. Our next cruise we plan on sailing with her again!

 

That link didn't work.....add .us to the end of it (www.independence44.us) and it will work. Thanks for the recommendation...this is just the thing we are looking for on our next cruise! There is no mention of cost on the web site though....do you have a ballpark?

 

kitty

[vpoopsy]

Try www.sunnylistontours.com. Just email him and he'll respond pretty quickly. I've read great things about his tours and going on our Dec. 2nd cruise with some folks we met on this board!!

[baseball16]

We were in St Thomas a couple of years ago and did the St Johns beach tour and it was great. They take you to a beautiful bay and stop along the way up the mountains for scenic pictures. They could snorkel right off the beach and rent or buy most anything you wanted. I would recommend it highly

[MikkiDawn]

Which St. John Beach tour ? Through RCCL ?

[Island Annie]

Mikki,

 

This being your first cruise, and first time to St. Thomas, I would recommend booking an island tour through your ship.

 

St. Thomas is absolutely beautiful and it's very easy to get "caught up in the moment" and loose track of time. If you book your island tour through your ship, they will NOT sail until you're back on board. (this makes it easier to relax & enjoy all you're seeing rather than looking at your watch wondering how long it's going to take to get back to your ship)

 

This type of an island tour will also give you a nice overview of the island & it's highlights so that you can decide where you'd like to spend more time the next time you come to St. Thomas, and then can just hop into a taxi and go there for the day if you'd like.

 

Sorry. as much fun as it sounds to just go off exploring on your own, I just don't think it would be a good idea until you're more familiar with the island and with cruising. Trust me. You do NOT want to be standing on the pier watching your ship sail away. Hiring a small plane to get you to your next port-of-call to catch up with your ship is VERY expensive! And I'm guessing this is not a story you'd want to tell your friends about when you get back home:-(

 

My opinion: Play it safe, spend the extra $$ to book a tour through your ship so that you can have a nice tour of the island, while relaxing and are worry-free:-)

 

Enjoy!

 

Annie