Trunk Bay or Champagne Catamaran Sail to St. John???

[tispwisp]

We are trying to decide between two Princess excursions to St. John. This will be our first visit to St. John and am very much looking forward to it.

 

We are trying to decide between these two excursions:

 

St. John Trunk Bay Beach & Snorkel - $69 - 4 hours

and

Champagne Catamaran Sailaway to St. John - $89 - 4 hours

 

Which one would you do and why?

 

Thanks for any advice, input, and information! :)

[deejae]

I am also considering the Champagne Catamaran or going on my own - Any info would be appreciated

 

Janet

[Flintstone]

We are booked for the Champagne Sail to St John in 2 weeks.

Will be happy to report when we return.

 

Deb

[mychka-tsunami]

we did Trunk Bay in October, we will be returning in 2008, enjoyed it very much !!!

[Ncolea]

I have done snorkeling at Trunk Bay twice. I highly recommend it. I even have pictures of the beach and water at my desk at work I love it so much. I am visiting St. Thomas again in March and can't wait to snorkel there again. Even though there were a high number of cruise ships in port both times we visited, the beach was never crowded. Good luck deciding!

 

-Nic

[enjoyinglife]

I have done snorkeling at Trunk Bay twice. I highly recommend it. I even have pictures of the beach and water at my desk at work I love it so much. I am visiting St. Thomas again in March and can't wait to snorkel there again. Even though there were a high number of cruise ships in port both times we visited, the beach was never crowded. Good luck deciding!

 

-Nic

 

Trunk Bay is where I want to go when I am there, but I am unsure if I want to book as an excursion or go on my own. So far for this cruise, I have one excursion thru the ship and the other booked on our own, so it is not that I am in favor of one way or the other.

 

The cab fares in the virgin islands are so expensive that in my calculations, the tour prices are not much more through the ship, however, going on our own allows us to come and go with options.

 

Any advice that may break the tie in my mind?

[SeaYa52]

We're in the same boat (sorry - no pun intended) - can't decide between going on our own and the Cat. champagne sail. We've also done a day sail out of STT on the RUMBABA - and that was excellent...no champagne - but excellent drinks & food. We spent a week on STJ last year - and would love to return just to enjoy the beaches & bars......will probably rent a car if we choose this option - about the same as a taxi total, and much more freedom. rentals ar quite close to ferry dock. STJ is a beautiful little island - lots of beaches to explore - with great snorkeling & views - there is more to STJ than just Trunk Bay...... some fun little bars too.

[Ncolea]

Hi enjoyinglife,

 

I have only done Trunk Bay via an excursion through Carnival. Depending on what cruise ship and line you are on, I know that the excursions differ in what is offered. I am sailing on the NCL Dawn this March and they only offer an excursion through a ferry ride and a taxi for $54 dollars. Through Carnival when we did the excursion it was a boat ride that anchored off the coast of the bay for snorkeling or relaxation with equipment available. I think that when we go back this March we will do our own thing so that we can have our own schedule. I also need to figure out prices of the ferry and taxi if we do decide to go on our own. I recommend doing an excursion if you don't mind being on a set schedule or if snorkeling etc is involved. Whatever you decide you will have an amazing time. Trunk bay is beautiful.

 

-Nic

[mingy14]

I am booked on a Catamaran, Chamapagne and Snorkel to St. John through NCL in January. I heard a lot of compliments on this excursion.

[tispwisp]

Thanks for all the comments!

 

Deb & Mingy - I would love to hear what you think of the Champagne Catamaran excursion upon your return. I hope you have a great cruise!

 

I'm still undecided! Any additional comments to help with my decision would be greatly appreciated! I'm thankful that I still have a few months to make my decision!

[Seal]

We took a great snorkeling/lunch and adult beverages trip in February on a cat from St Thomas to St John--almost all day--I see on the Princess schedule it is cancelled for the time well will be there in April--so--we may go ahead with the Champagne Cruise

 

I think the Champagne Cruise is as close to it as there is--Think the one last year was close to 7 hours of great fun

 

I had just had a small surgery on my leg--and couldn't get it wet--one of the guys in the crew felt sorry for me and took me ashore in the dinghy and carried me to the beach--the whole crew was great and fun--late in the afternoon it started pouring rain--everyone was soaked--but the adult beverages made the rain seem not quite so bad

 

Nancy:D :D

[Coolmama_1]

We did the Champagne Catamaran tour and had a great time. I am not much for snorkeling and was planning to stay on the Catamaran while DH played, but they had a dinghy to take you to shore. I went and walked along the shore, and played in the water a bit while DH snorkeled. It was a lot of fun:)

[Flintstone]

Thanks for all the comments!

 

Deb & Mingy - I would love to hear what you think of the Champagne Catamaran excursion upon your return. I hope you have a great cruise!

 

I'm still undecided! Any additional comments to help with my decision would be greatly appreciated! I'm thankful that I still have a few months to make my decision!

 

Well....we just got back!! We did the Catamaran thru Atlantis Adventures who is the company that Carnival uses....and it was a wonderful afternoon!!! In 7 cruises, I myself have never snorked...but it was so beautiful and clear where we were that I did it!!! I was so proud of myself!! Captain Ed and his crew were just wonderful and I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who is interested in getting out of St. Thomas!

 

Any questions....let me know!

 

Deb

[bigsky]

We did the all day Champagne Catamaran trip through Princess a few months ago..Had a wonderful time!!!!!! Beach was beautiful and pretty secluded which was nice. They fed u a wonderful lunch..all the drinks u want. Dessert on the way back..(and more drinks)

Crew was awesome..can't say enough. Would do again in a heartbeat.

Consider how much time you'll actually get in each one. I'd want to spend as much time as possible there.

I would consider the all day...or go to Trunk Bay on your own. We got back about 3:15?...plenty of time to shop right there at the pier. Not sure where u dock now though. :(

St John is soooooo beautiful!!

[JPAlaska]

I spent a week on St. John and would HIGHLY recommend snorkeling at Trunk Bay. If you have snorkeling experience, check out Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay. (We saw octopii, baracuda, lots of BIG fish, and starfish out there.)

As for taking a champagne catamaran, I've heard they are fun - if you like being with lots of other people. I prefer spending a few extra bucks and taking a smaller yacht with about 4 other people. You get a more intimate visit to the islands rather than being prodded around on a cattle-maran! (That's what they call them!)

You'll have a good time limin' in the crystal waters either way...just depends on how many other people you want with you!

[brianroberts2526]

I spent a week on St. John and would HIGHLY recommend snorkeling at Trunk Bay. If you have snorkeling experience, check out Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay. (We saw octopii, baracuda, lots of BIG fish, and starfish out there.)

As for taking a champagne catamaran, I've heard they are fun - if you like being with lots of other people. I prefer spending a few extra bucks and taking a smaller yacht with about 4 other people. You get a more intimate visit to the islands rather than being prodded around on a cattle-maran! (That's what they call them!)

You'll have a good time limin' in the crystal waters either way...just depends on how many other people you want with you!

 

We will be in St Thomas next year, is trunk bay easy to get to? What all is there to do there?

[flvol77]

we have done both - do trunk bay on your own - We can't wait to back to trunk bay.

[win1]

Hi,

We had booked the Catamaran excursion but switched to the St John excursion as it was an afternoon tour. The catamaran tour was at 8:15am much to early for us. We loved Trunk Bay. It was beautiful. The snorkle gear was included in the price of the tour. We were not disappointed in our decision to go to St John.

enjoy,

Winnie

[Desert star]

we have done both - do trunk bay on your own - We can't wait to back to trunk bay.

 

Did you take a taxi or some other local tour? A group of us are going next week, and with Christmas and all we haven't had time to even look at the excursions.

[LA_FadeAway]

I've also been debating between the champagne cruise or Trunks Bay excursion. Then again, it's tempting to rent a car as others have suggested so we can spend a little longer at the beach. My only fear is missing the ferry back to St. Thomas (I've heard others say that can happen, god forbid). For those of you who have done St. John on your own, how exactly did you do it (timing, etc.)?