beautifulbill

Sapphire has an entrance into the bar/grill area that is wheel chair friendly and at the edge of the beach there are some covered cabana type accommodations that can fit a wheel chair  but they can fill up quickly so get there early. There is beach, bar. grill, pizza, water toys, chair rentals, shop, sun and shade. Also good snorkeling on a beautiful beach if that's of interest.  

My thoughts on this are a bit different. First of you do not want to try to go to St. Johns as it is on the island of Antigua. I don't think it is worth trying to go to St. John if your on a cruise unless you have a full day. The big deal about St. John is that something like 80% of it is national park and is undeveloped. That is somewhat true. So what do we do in the name of progress(?)...... we develop it. I think it is a shame what we have done there. Cruze Bay used to be a quaint little village but now we have built monster condo developments all around it and on the hills. We have striped all to much of the natural foliage to build monster villas. There are nice beaches there but on a cruise your going to have many exposures to beautiful beaches.

I would choose a nice beach on St. Thomas and enjoy a day when you don't have to constantly look at your watch.  

I have not gone out with them, but they are a nice couple that work hard to make sure their guests have a good time. They people I've talked with that had gone out with them had a great time.

Coki is a beautiful beach with good snorkeling but the beach and nearby area can be a bit sketchy. There is a lot of drug traffic there and you have a heavy ganga odor. Keep an eye on your possessions .

Right now the entry requirements to the BVI as well as for the return basically make a BVI visit impossible. Hopefully that will change in the near future.

Unless you are a very experienced boat operator it is not recommended that you travel from Sapphire to St. John. You can run into very rough seas in that stretch of water.

Limetree is a time share resort hence the Saturday to Saturday rentals. You would need to sit through a timeshare sales pitch before they will give you a key to your place.

I'd be careful renting at a timeshare  resort.

Your best bet is to go to vrbo and screen for the places that have what you want. For example, if you want great views Point Pleasant is a good choice but there is no beach if a beach is a priority.

The walk from Sapphire Village is a short 5 minute walk down a hill. The walk back uphill can be a bit challenging in the heat.

Sargassum is a summer occurrence and there is no way to know how it will be from day to day.

There are chaises to rent but they are different than the chaises provided for guests. Inquire at the restaurant where to get the rental chairs .($9/day)

There are several different snorkeling spots at Sapphire. Facing the water most people head to the reef on the right. There is also a shallow snorkel to the left at Pelican beach. If you walk up to the D and E building and pick your way through some rocks the is a nice reef up there with large schools of fish.

There is a dark area straight out at Sapphire that is sea grass and that's where you see rays, turtles and squid if they are around.

I went to dinner at Limetree this week. The place looks much improved . There are two restaurants there, Donovan's (a steak house) where we ate and Lani. They are side by side so are quite noisy. Donovan's was very expensive and really a disappointment. All of us agreed we wouldn't go back. Also Limetree is a timeshare and as I understand it they will not give you the key to your room until you sit through the sales pitch. When I arrive someplace that's the last thing I want to go through. 

Buffetfan

I think you are confusing Magens and Trunk.

There is no snorkel trail at Magens and very little snorkeling there.

Trunk has a snorkel trail off to the right.

Magens is a beautiful beach but no coral or seegrass so few fish.

There are taxi vans waiting there but they are not private. They cost $12 or so per person. You can request a private taxi but that will cost $90.  These fares are one way fares. 

If the ship is allowed to dock then you can go to St. John on your own. Most of the ships are not offering any excursions so your own your own and need to watch your time.

Point Pleasant has great views but it is on a very big hill and you have to be half billygoat to get up and down. There also is no beach.

It has been upgraded and looks great. You can walk to town but it is a hot walk and fairly long.

there is no casino in St. John.

If your boat is allowed to dock then you can go by ferry to  St. John. You will have to watch the time as you deal with a ferry and a taxi to get back to your ship.

Magens, Coki and Sapphire are all beautiful beaches. Magens is probably the most famous beach, has an admittance fee, a nice bar and food option, but no real snorkeling or motorized water sports.

Coki has the best snorkeling, gets crowded, and is not a great family beach do to drug usage. 

Sapphire has good snorkeling and has all sorts of water toys for rent. It is the beach I prefer.

The beach at Margarettaville is polluted and not safe to swim in.

Bolongo is an older property and has a rocky beach so I would not choose either property. 

I am not familiar with Limetree but have read good things.

The only places I recommend are Sapphire Beach Resort and Marina and Secret Harbor. You can pick the unit you will stay in on VRBO at Sapphire but at Secret Harbor they assign you a place.

The bar is fully open at Sapphire and if the ships are coming in most everything will be open.

The BVI has not been been closed due to covid   It is cautiously reopening but I believe is requiring a 2 day stay so best to check before you try to plan anything. 

It’s the dollar bus. It’s actually a flat bed truck with benches. 
it’s far from ideal for a tourist but some people use it. There is no schedule and if they are full they won’t stop for you. They only go one way and run only in the daylight. There may be a map somewhere but they just go on the major roads and not near many of the beaches or tourist destinations without some long walks on narrow dangerous roads   The charge $1 or $2 depending on how far you go. You have to stand on the left side of the road in the heat and rain showers. 
For example from Sapphire to nearby Red Hook you would need to walk up a very steep hill and stand on the side of the road. To come back you would have to circle the island back to Sapphire. 
  My recommendation for your group of 8 would be to rent 2 cars. 

They do not pick up or drop off at the airport. The taxi rates are on the VI Now web site. They do charge $2/ suitcase too. I’d figure around $30 or $35 for two. Taxi’s charge per person so more if you have additional passengers. I am hoping you rented directly from an owner so you know what unit you will be staying in. 

There is a car rental agency right at Sapphire that allows their cars to go to St. John. It is All Around Cars and is to the right of the guard shack. 

O2b

i was at Sapphire for 3 months this winter and there were 4 or 5 power outages. A few came while I was at the beach and the only way I knew was that I had to reset the clocks. Others did come at inconvenient times but were of short duration. If I had been in the middle of a project on my computer then it would be a major problem but it wasn’t  to much of a problem for me. 
Maybe it’s gotten much worse but if it is still the same it’s nothing that hasn’t gone on for the 30+ years I’ve owned. 

If you live on the island the black outs are a royal pia   Imagine you are cooking breakfast or dinner or watching a favorite tv show. It’s not the same for a visitor. An occasional loss of power is usually an inconvenience but not a constant irritation and it happens irregularly. 
I wouldn’t worry to much about it.