Help with costa atlantica excursions in St Thomas

[sareid]

I am hoping someone can help me with choice of Costa shore excursions in St Thomas for myself , husband and 2 kids at New Years.I am considering the "Sail the Virgins to Buck Island" excursion- I like this because they only take 6 people but it says you learn to sail the boat! I don't want to sail; I just want to relax- is this possible or is this really a learn to sail excursion?! I am also considering the Champagne Catamaran to St John- if anyone has done this, how large was the boat and how crowded was it. Was it worth doing and where on St John do you go? There is also a sail/snorkel catamaran trip that is on the "Spirit of St Christopher" AND GOES TO cHRISTMAS cOVE- does anyone have experience with this and would you recommend it. Where is Christmas Cove and is it as beautiful as St John? The alternative is to book a daysail with a private company although this ends up being more expensive but is for the whole day- I just worry about missing the ship! Any recommendations / experiences greatly appreciated. We are all good swimmers and experienced snorkelllers

Thanks

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

We did the Champagne Catamaran and it wasn't crowded at all. I don't remember going to St. John, just to a private island area that was BEAUTIFUL! It is a large catamaran I think there were about 18-22, DH says about 30 people on that cruise, but not at all crowded. If you are going on the Jolly Roger (the catamaran that we were on) Captain Mike was great. If you do decide to go to Buck's Island book as soon as humanly possible, it was sold out before we got to the counter and we were only like the 12th couple in line.

[CruisinMatt]

We also did the champagne catamaran and I recommend it highly. Plenty of room, nice nice nice people, they even had a golden retreiver on board! A very classy, low key excursion! :) We were supposed to go to St Johns, but the seas were too rough for snorkeling there, so instead after a vote, the captain took us to a private area.

[sareid]

Thank you for the info. Do you remember how long this excursion lasted (ie full day or 1/2 day). We are also looking at a private charter that goes for the whole day but just takes a little more planning- I like the ease of a ship's excursion and the guarantee of making it back on time but I also want to make sure we have a great day!

[Guest KateKathy]

I am hoping someone can help me with choice of Costa shore excursions in St Thomas for myself , husband and 2 kids at New Years.I am considering the "Sail the Virgins to Buck Island" excursion- I like this because they only take 6 people but it says you learn to sail the boat! I don't want to sail; I just want to relax- is this possible or is this really a learn to sail excursion?! I am also considering the Champagne Catamaran to St John- if anyone has done this, how large was the boat and how crowded was it. Was it worth doing and where on St John do you go? There is also a sail/snorkel catamaran trip that is on the "Spirit of St Christopher" AND GOES TO cHRISTMAS cOVE- does anyone have experience with this and would you recommend it. Where is Christmas Cove and is it as beautiful as St John? The alternative is to book a daysail with a private company although this ends up being more expensive but is for the whole day- I just worry about missing the ship! Any recommendations / experiences greatly appreciated. We are all good swimmers and experienced snorkelllers

Thanks

We have already booked the Buck Island excursion for our Christmas cruise on the Atlantica with our 13 year old. I figure if we can do the America's Cup race in St. Maarten this should be great! I love the small size.

I guess you'll be leaving before we get back on the 26th so I won't be able to tell you more about it!

[CruisinMatt]

I'm thinking it was about 4-5 hours - Jenn do you remember exactly? I thought the length was perfect for me.

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

The excursion was about 5 hours, traffic coming back to the port was really slow. We had time to go downtown and buy a few things, and get back to the port for the excursion. Matt, I don't know where on the island you caught the catamaran, but I thought the ride was wonderful and we got a great view of the countryside as well as the water.

[CruisinMatt]

It seemed like maybe a half hour drive, very hilly and scenic. :)