Ultimate Island Experience

[SheilaL56]

Has anyone taken this tour?

 

there is another thread but no one answered the question about the tour itself. any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

[rincewind3]

We just did this tour last week. We enjoyed it very much. we rode in one of those open safari taxis that holds about 20 people or so. There were enough people from our ship to fill about 3 of these. Our driver, Connor, was a walking encyclopedia about the history of the islands and gave a lot of interesting facts at each stop. We noticed the other group's drivers weren't doing this, so we felt very lucky. The tour stopped at some scenic stops with breathtaking views of the island and harbors. The tour stopped at Magen's Bay beach, which is awesome. The beach has a bar, restaurant, showers and changing area. After 2 hours everyone met back at the taxi and then it went to Blackbeard's Castle at which point the tour ended. At Blackbeard's you can tour the tower, museums, swim in the pool, get some free rum punch and then make your way down the steps and you are right downtown. Then we spent a couple of hours shopping and took a taxi ($4 per person) back to the ship.

 

I would have liked to spend more time at the beach. It was the fastest 2 hours I can remember. So if you are looking for more beach time, this is not the tour for you, but to get to see a lot of the island, it was great.

[over the edge]

We just did this tour last week. We enjoyed it very much. we rode in one of those open safari taxis that holds about 20 people or so. There were enough people from our ship to fill about 3 of these. Our driver, Connor, was a walking encyclopedia about the history of the islands and gave a lot of interesting facts at each stop. We noticed the other group's drivers weren't doing this, so we felt very lucky. The tour stopped at some scenic stops with breathtaking views of the island and harbors. The tour stopped at Magen's Bay beach, which is awesome. The beach has a bar, restaurant, showers and changing area. After 2 hours everyone met back at the taxi and then it went to Blackbeard's Castle at which point the tour ended. At Blackbeard's you can tour the tower, museums, swim in the pool, get some free rum punch and then make your way down the steps and you are right downtown. Then we spent a couple of hours shopping and took a taxi ($4 per person) back to the ship.

 

I would have liked to spend more time at the beach. It was the fastest 2 hours I can remember. So if you are looking for more beach time, this is not the tour for you, but to get to see a lot of the island, it was great.

 

Thanks for the great info. We are wondering if there are any water activities for the teens, such as jetskiis, banana boats, etc. Also, did you happen to purchase any drinks (alcoholic) or food and if so, what were the prices like?

 

Tks so much. :)

[mommybunny21]

What part does the Hotel 1829 play-is it their pool you're swimming in??

[The Islander]

Hello Mommybunny21,

 

Hotel 1829 is affliated with Blackbeards... its Blackbeards pool you can swim in if you are touring the property as I understand it. More information on their website http://blackbeardscastle.com/.

 

--Islander

[rincewind3]

Thanks for the great info. We are wondering if there are any water activities for the teens, such as jetskiis, banana boats, etc. Also, did you happen to purchase any drinks (alcoholic) or food and if so, what were the prices like?

 

Tks so much. :)

 

The beach at Magen's is pretty serene. I didn't notice any jetskis or other motorized toys. I believe you can rent snorkel equipment and floats. The drinks were good and the prices weren't any better or worse than anywhere else, I believe I paid $5 for a rum punch and $7 for a margarita. Cokes were $2 from a vending machine.

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Magens Bay doesn't have jetskis... they do have kayaks, paddle boats, small sailboats, snorkel gear, floats.

 

--Islander

[CruiseAddict!]

Would you happen to recall what time this tour begins?

 

I want to squeeze alot in while I am in St Thomas and that tour accomplishes most of it except that I want to hit Paradise Point before returning to the ship. Do you think I would have time? The ship is in port from 10am to 8pm.

[NancyC]

Some in our group are thinking about doing St. Thomas Historical Sites and Highlights because you get to tour Old Quarters and Haagensen House but you don't visit the beach on this tour. Could you have toured these buildings on your own at the end of the tour or are they far away?

[Ellanora]

Reviving this thread to ask about the timing of the Ultimate Island Experience. Carnival's site says 6 hours. Does this include the time to shop and get a taxi at the end, or is it 6 hours before you are let off to shop and make your way back? I am traveling with my son and parents in Sept, and will be in St Thomas 8 AM to 6 PM. Not sure what time the tour starts, and we are still inexperienced enough at cruising to be scared of missing the boat. My parents in particular want reassurance that there will be plenty of time to get back to the cruise ship if we do this tour. Any info anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated.

[KAWS]

Reviving this thread to ask about the timing of the Ultimate Island Experience. Carnival's site says 6 hours. Does this include the time to shop and get a taxi at the end, or is it 6 hours before you are let off to shop and make your way back? I am traveling with my son and parents in Sept, and will be in St Thomas 8 AM to 6 PM. Not sure what time the tour starts, and we are still inexperienced enough at cruising to be scared of missing the boat. My parents in particular want reassurance that there will be plenty of time to get back to the cruise ship if we do this tour. Any info anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

If this is a Carnival tour then you don't need to worry. They WILL wait for you even if the excursion runs long. They will schedule it so that you're back in time.

 

Kim

[bubbles1209]

Here's a piece taken out of my review that may help you a little, it's taken from our very 1st cruise on Elation last June, and there are pics in my signature under Elation to help you out.

St. Thomas/St. John-Happy Birthday to Me!! We had booked the Ultimate Island Experience through Carnival and had to meet on the pier early that morning. Our port time here was from 7-3:30. We were up by 7, because everyone had to meet at 8 am to go through immigration. We went to the Cole Porter Lounge, where they had lines set up by which deck you were on. They moved fairly quick, we showed immigration all of our documentation, and received a sticker we had to wear to show we had been through immigration. Fairly quick and painless. From everything I've read before, I was extremely surprised. We took the documentation back to the room after getting our stickers, went to Tiffany's for breakfast, and got ready for our day. We got out to the pier, and were told 2 different places from people of where our group was supposed to meet. That could have been organized a little better, we were just afraid of missing the excursion. We didn't, we finally found where we were supposed to be. We got on the tour bus, which was an open tour bus, no windows, and started the excursion. We headed to Magen's Bay but not before we stopped for a photo opp along the way. Gorgeous view, and a shop there for souvenirs, as well as a little refreshment stand. Magen's Bay Beach.....simply beautiful. We were there 2 hours, and then taken to Blackbeard's Castle. That's where the tour ended. We went through some historical homes and down the famous 99 steps, although my daughter thought she had found a quicker way out, when we got to the bottom the gate was locked, and we had to climb all the way back up the steps, and go out a different way. Sore muscles for almost the rest of the week, but we had a great time. After we got back into town, I believe the name of the shopping mall there is Havensight, we did a little shopping, and headed to ride the tram at Paradise Point. That is what I was most excited about. I had wanted to do that when we booked the trip, and was truly my favorite part. It had rained before the tram ride, even rained while we were walking from Havensight to the tram station, but not enough to stop us. By the time we got up to the top, it had stopped raining. We stayed there, had a drink, got some beautiful pictures, then headed back for the ship.

It didn't take the 6 hours like it says, how long it takes is really up to you once you get dropped off at Blackbeard's. If you kill all of your time roaming through there, and touring the old homes, yes, it can take a while, if you go from there right on back down to the pier, it only takes a couple of hours. You spend 2 at the beach then about an hour or so to and from.