St. Thomas, RCI, so many excursions - CONFUSED!

[TwoWeebles]

There are 48 excursions listed on RCI's site for St. Thomas! My goodness, I am confused about what to do! Maybe some of you who have been to St. Thomas can help me.

 

It will be me (38), my hubby (39), and our son who will be 6 at the time of travel. We are traveling next July on Freedom of the Seas and will be in St. Thomas from 11am - 7pm. One of the excursions that peaked my interest was the Skyride to Paradise Point. I saw on the boards where someone said to just go to the scenic overlook on Skyline Drive instead because it is higher up and free. I am kinda scared to get into the Skyride thingy anyway, so maybe this is a better option for me.

 

I know I would also like to do Megans Bay for 2-3 hours. If we don't do the "excursion" through the ship, how much does it cost to get into Megan's Bay? How much would a taxi cost for the three of us from the ship to Megan's Bay? I would be really happy if the taxi driver would give us a general tour and maybe stop at a few places of interest along the way. How much does this cost? Do they even do this, or do we need to book a real tour?

 

I would like to do some LIGHT shopping. I am not real big on major shopping; I just want to find some cool souvenirs. Is there shopping like this at the pier? Is it in walking distance to the ship? Can I just have the taxi driver drop us off here on the way back from the beach?

 

Finally, we will be in St. Maarten the following day from 8am - 5pm. How is St. Maarten different from St. Thomas? What should we do there? I think we might be "beached out" by this point as it will be our third day in the islands. Unless there is a must see beach. Other than that, what do we do in St. Maarten?

 

Thanks for any info you can give me!!

[Browezilla]

It will be me (38), my hubby (39), and our son who will be 6 at the time of travel. We are traveling next July on Freedom of the Seas and will be in St. Thomas from 11am - 7pm. One of the excursions that peaked my interest was the Skyride to Paradise Point. I saw on the boards where someone said to just go to the scenic overlook on Skyline Drive instead because it is higher up and free. I am kinda scared to get into the Skyride thingy anyway, so maybe this is a better option for me.

[/Quote]I agree that Skyline Drive is better. Be sure to ask the driver to stop at Drake's Seat. It has terrific views of Magens.

 

I know I would also like to do Megans Bay for 2-3 hours. If we don't do the "excursion" through the ship, how much does it cost to get into Megan's Bay? How much would a taxi cost for the three of us from the ship to Megan's Bay? I would be really happy if the taxi driver would give us a general tour and maybe stop at a few places of interest along the way. How much does this cost? Do they even do this, or do we need to book a real tour?

Megan's is a nice beach, but I bet your son would enjoy Coki better. He can wade into the water and feed the fish with doggie bones you can buy. Magen's is pretty, but no snorkeling/fish. Coki is also right beside Coral World. any cab driver can take you to either. Expect to pay about $7-10/person. An island tour is about $30/hour. Most cabbies can do this as well.

 

I would like to do some LIGHT shopping. I am not real big on major shopping; I just want to find some cool souvenirs. Is there shopping like this at the pier? Is it in walking distance to the ship? Can I just have the taxi driver drop us off here on the way back from the beach?

Shopping right at the pier. There's some downtown, 1-2 miles away.

 

Finally, we will be in St. Maarten the following day from 8am - 5pm. How is St. Maarten different from St. Thomas? What should we do there? I think we might be "beached out" by this point as it will be our third day in the islands. Unless there is a must see beach. Other than that, what do we do in St. Maarten?

Your son will love Paradise Beach Bar. The planes fly in very low, and the beach is right at the end of the runway. That's my favorite place on St. Martin. Google it or YouTube it

[138east]

IMO St. Thomas is one of the islands where you can easily make your own arrangements. There are a number of reliable tour companies mentioned on this forum that offer shopping, beach, and a tour for $25. This is a great deal because the round trip taxi fares just to the beach can run about $20. Coki would be a fun beach for your 6 year old. Your ship is there on a later schedule, so getting back to the port should not be an issue.

 

For St. Martin Maho Beach with the airplanes might be a good choice. Another option would be renting a car and just driving around the island (they drive on the right side on this island). You can also just take the water taxi or walk to downtown Phillipsburg for shopping and the downtown beach. The nice thing about the downtown beach is that one adult can stay on the beach with your son while the other one does some shopping and then switch off. Also, the water taxi fare is an all day fare, so you have the option to go back and forth to the ship.

[chasekenslee]

We just returned from a cruise and had an amazing snorkeling experience in St Thomas at the Secret Harbor Resort. Besides our party of 6 there was only 5 other people on the entire beach!

We rented snorkeling gear from the onsite dive shop for $10.

Off of the beach there is a natural coral reef and we saw many beautiful fish, lobster, sting ray, baracuda, turtle.

The taxi ride was approx 30 minutes and cost $11 per person each way but was totally worth it!

I would highly recommend the Secret Harbor Resort!

[The Islander]

The Magens Bay addmission is $4 for adults, Children under 12 free.

Havensight to Magens is $8 pp, ow.

Crown Bay to Magens $10 pp, ow.

 

The taxis at the cruise ship docks usually are driving vans or safaris - both can accommodate a group of people... 9-20 people depending on the vehicle. So the drivers tend to get customers going in the same direction together to fill their vehicle. This makes the trip more worthwhile since the fare is per person. Due to this the driver may give some general commentary while driving, point things out along the way but not stop at the points because others in the group may not want to do this and also because it then becomes a tour. They may be ok with stopping at one scenic look out for a photo op along the way... Anyway best bet is to know what you had in mind and state this up front when getting a taxi, discuss with driver, check on the price before going on your way. Some of the scenic look outs on the way or close to the road going to Magens Bay are the Skyline lookout and Drakes Seat. Also close to Magens is a Dairy stand called Udder Delight - they make great milk shakes (with or without alcohol) - if interested you can ask the driver to stop there.

 

Tour prices: Sightseeing Tours: 2 hours - One passenger $50; two or more passengers $25 per person. 3 hours - One passenger $60; two or more passengers $30 per person.

 

Souvenirs - you can pick some up right at the shops by the cruise ship dock.

 

--Islander

[Ruth]

Are there any Beaches on St Thomas with chairs & umbrella for rent...little beach bars and restaurant set near the chairs & umbrella area were you can spend the whole day. We have been to St Thomas so many times....weeks at a time in Timeshares and just about every cruise we have been on. I don't want to shop or site-see.

 

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[The Islander]

Most of the popular beaches have chairs. Many do not have umbrellas but have natural shade from trees. Most have bar/restaurant. So you are pretty open on choosing one... Magens is nice has chairs/natural shade/bar/food. Secret Harbor does too, Cowpet. Bolongo Bay has those things also and has umbrellas, so does Coki and Morningstar. So what you might do is look at a beach guide for St. Thomas and see which beaches interest you; try http://www.bing.com/search?q=st.+thomas+beach+guide&form=QBLH&qs=n.

 

--Islander