Megans Bay Beach Getaway - is it a decent excursion

We will be stopping in St Thomas on a HA cruise and wondering if the excursion they offer is worth it. It's only $29.95 and sound like it's just a bus ride with a 2 hour layover at a beach. Should we consider this or is it a waste of time? Thanks in advance.

I haven’t done it yet myself but I’ve done a lot of research to see if the excursion is worth it and EVERYONE says it’s so easy to get the taxi and beach rentals to do it yourself. Only benefit is if you’re worried about not making the ship as excursions through the cruise line guarantee you don’t miss the boat.

We are going in Nov with our 3 year old on our first cruise and have decided to self-serve. We are going to go early in they day as we know we will only last a few hours with him so we won’t miss the boat. This will allow us to leave when we want as well in case something just doesn’t work out. Also the excursion didn’t start till 12:30 when we docked at 8. We rather go earlier in the day so we can enjoy the benefits of being on the ship on a port day.

Hope this helps!

I also wanted to add that people say Magens Beach is absolutely beautiful and must see.

I highly recommend going to Megan’s but would do it on your own. The $30.00 charge is not bad but the 2hour time limit is a deal breaker. Even though we are not major beach people, we still spent longer than that at Megan’s. You hop off the ship at your convenience. There will be cabs heading in a variety of different directions. Think open air pickups with 12-15 seats. Tell them Megan’s and they will put you on the correct one. I think it is now $8 pp. Few minutes and $5pp to enter Megan’s. When you are ready to leave there will be a bunch of these same cabs ready to go. Hop on the next one and you can head back to the ship or jump off in town if you prefer. This way you have a lot more control of your schedule and actually save a few bucks.

If it’s $29.95 for 2 people then you’re getting a good discount. But if it’s for 1 you’re over paying. You can take a taxi (van/bus thing) for $10/person each way (so $20 per person, $40 for 2). It costs $5 per person to get in. So $50 for 2 people. If your price is for 1, Then you’re overpaying by $10, if it’s for 2, you’re getting a $20 discount and in that case, yes, a good deal.

I wouldn’t recommend bothering with Magen’s Bay. I didn’t like the beach at all. The water was cloudy, cold, had awful snorkeling, and was too rough to relax in with our floatie. If you just want to sit in the sun, not get in the water, and have a beach bar nearby to buy drinks from, you can go to any other beach and not pay the fee to get in. Personally, if I visit St Thomas again, I wouldn’t bother to go back there.

Either way, paying the ship for a ride to the beach is a rip off, regardless of which beach you go to.

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Ah, Random...Now I see..you say it was too rough, which means the wind and waves were out of the north or west. This is not a typical weather pattern and Magens is usually a flat millpond.

Ah, Random...Now I see..you say it was too rough, which means the wind and waves were out of the north or west. This is not a typical weather pattern and Magens is usually a flat millpond.

Someone said there was some sort of hurricane weather going on in the Gulf last week when we were there. Maybe that affected the seas. Bummer ☹️

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Agree that Magen's is an easy cab ride over the hill. It's not at all far from the port so I wouldn't worry about missing the boat. Plus if you go on your own you can probably arrange for a stop at another venue like Drake's Seat.

The taxi drivers make announcements reminding visitors that it's time to go back to ship. I think most people who miss are either in a bar or jewelry store where the taxi drivers don't go.