Excursions or no?

[greenhorncanuck]

This is our first cruise ever. We are on the Glory on the 28th stopping in St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. We would like to do maybe one snorkling excursion and then just freely explore/shop or spend time on the beach. Which would be the favourite island for snorkling and is it reasonable to assume we can just go it on our own in the other locations?

Thanks

[firefly333]

We did a excursion on St. Thomas in the morning, then lunch in town, then took a taxi to Koki beach so my cruise roomie could snorkel. Koki has clearer water and more fish than the tourist beach if you want to see fish. Take a taxi. We just barely got back to the ship on time.

 

You could do Koki all day if you really like to swim. They rent out snoreling equipment and gave dog bisquits to feed the fish all for $10. I sat with the local women and had a ball with them and didnt pay anything for a chair. (typically they rent chairs to tourists for $20).

 

We often do things on our own.

 

We did enjoy the tram in St. Thomas but you can walk over and do it on your own just by itself and see the views.

[kyrisong1]

When we went on this cruise I did the horseback riding in St Martin, my husband did the America's cup sailboat race, my excursion was just ok, my hubby had the time of his life. Live and learn, we'll do the beach next time, but oh my get to those shops, really good deals on chocolate, booze and smokes if you are or you know any smokers. Carton of Malboro was 16.00 us, my sister is a smoker and dog sits while we are gone, hence me looking at cig sales.

[NanCan]

Hi Greenhorn, we will be on the same cruise with you...Detroit area here... (yup, Red Wing territory) anyways... welcome to your first cruise, prepare to become addicted!

San Juan will not really offer you any snorkeling, Half Moon Cay has an excursion but I really don't think there are tons of fish to see there..Grand Turk might, I haven't researched that much, as we plan a lazy beach day, but I think Koki Beach on St Thomas will have what you are looking for...you might be able to go on your own, taxi it out there and rent/bring snorkel equiptment, or do carnivals excursion.. We are going to Megan's Bay and I know there isn't much to see there fish-wise, but keep hearing the other side of the island is great for that...good luck and 16 more days woooooohoo :)

[greenhorncanuck]

Hi Greenhorn, we will be on the same cruise with you...Detroit area here... (yup, Red Wing territory) anyways... welcome to your first cruise, prepare to become addicted!

San Juan will not really offer you any snorkeling, Half Moon Cay has an excursion but I really don't think there are tons of fish to see there..Grand Turk might, I haven't researched that much, as we plan a lazy beach day, but I think Koki Beach on St Thomas will have what you are looking for...you might be able to go on your own, taxi it out there and rent/bring snorkel equiptment, or do carnivals excursion.. We are going to Megan's Bay and I know there isn't much to see there fish-wise, but keep hearing the other side of the island is great for that...good luck and 16 more days woooooohoo :)

Thanks for the welcome!

We are so excited, have been on tons of vacations but for some reason I am really excited about this one - just hope we are not prone to motion sickness! I have heard Megans bay is really nice for relaxing - is it a taxi ride away. Will give Koki beach a think to as we have our own snorkling stuff, we could just grab a taxi.

Thanks for the tips - won't hold the "Red Wing" thing against you!

;)

[greenhorncanuck]

kyrisong1 - Thanks for the tips. I think I read that you can walk to shopping in St Thomas so if we taxi to a beach or snorkling I guess we could just come back a few hours before sailing and wander the shops?

[NanCan]

:) Thanks we do love our Wings ( no matter HOW many get injured %%%%#$#676%^$#) You can get to Megans Bay by taxi ( they are those big open-type-seat-20-people taxis) should be posted in all cabs as to how much per person, think I recall 10 dollars pp? .. I assume it's about the same for Koki...also meant to mention St Johns which is supposed to be great for snorkeling.. if you do that, I would definitely go thru carnival's excursion, as you have to take a ferry and you dont want to miss the ship :) Supposed to be just a stunning little island.. have you checked out the "Ports of Call" section? Lots of great info on all the ports... :) Happy Sailing!

[golfadj]

Shopping in St Thomas about 1 1/2 miles from ship.

 

We typically take a cab there and than take a very nicely leisureley walk back tothe ship watching the traffic and walking faster than the cars are moving.

[nbsjcruiser]

This is our first cruise ever. We are on the Glory on the 28th stopping in St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. We would like to do maybe one snorkling excursion and then just freely explore/shop or spend time on the beach. Which would be the favourite island for snorkling and is it reasonable to assume we can just go it on our own in the other locations?

Thanks

Best place to snorkel on that list is Coki Beach in St Thomas. It has a great reef and is only a short cab ride from the pier. Also there is an underwater observatory there which is quite nice. We've been there twice. The beach pictures from the link below were taken by me at Coki. Great beach

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/mbutsy/StThomasNavigatorOfTheSeasCruise2006#

[luv2gonow]

Best place to snorkel on that list is Coki Beach in St Thomas. It has a great reef and is only a short cab ride from the pier. Also there is an underwater observatory there which is quite nice. We've been there twice. The beach pictures from the link below were taken by me at Coki. Great beach

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/mbutsy/StThomasNavigatorOfTheSeasCruise2006#

nice pics...thanks:D

What is that big round building in the water???

thanks

[cv322]

Shopping in St Thomas about 1 1/2 miles from ship.

 

We typically take a cab there and than take a very nicely leisureley walk back tothe ship watching the traffic and walking faster than the cars are moving.

 

If the ship docks at Havensight (which the Glory did the 2 times we were on her) then shopping is right outside one's door! The Havensight shoppes are the same stores you will find in Charlotte Amalie, same prices et al...but not as charming.

 

Of the 3 ports, I think best snorkeling is in Grand Turk.

[NanCan]

Greenhorn... after re-reading these posts, I went and researched Coki a bit more (it's a psychosis) thinking we should go there instead of Megans Bay (where we have already been)..but...I have read some things about Coki that might not be what you are looking for in a beach... I could be wrong, of course, but some (a lot, actually) of the reviews say that it seems to be a bit run down these days and it is in a less than desirable area...After looking up more on Grand Turk, they do seem to have the reefs that are far better for a snorkeling day...I am sticking with our plans to spend our beach time at Megans Bay on St Thomas, as it is just so beautiful...I googled quite a bit about all 3 areas and found a lot of information and pictures... I'm sure there are tons of opinions and I have not been to Coki...just passing on info...

[cruisin 07]

I've done Coki Beach twice on my own for diving. Lots of fish. Just make sure you agree on the price for taxi. Should be around $11 each way. Also traffic can get conjested on the way back especially if it rains. I always do the beach first then back to the ship to change and eat and then back out to town for shopping.

[zqvol]

This is our first cruise ever. We are on the Glory on the 28th stopping in St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. We would like to do maybe one snorkling excursion and then just freely explore/shop or spend time on the beach. Which would be the favourite island for snorkling and is it reasonable to assume we can just go it on our own in the other locations?

Thanks

 

Let me see if I can help. I have been to all of your destinations at least twice and St. Thomas and San Juan over a dozen each.

 

The best place to see fish when snorkeling on your own will be at Coki beach on St. Thomas. A suggestion for that stop is to check the port of call boards, and find one of the shopping and island tours that are offered. That will get you an island tour, shopping and beach time. If you don't want the tour, take a cab to the beach first thing, snorkel and then come back and change. Go to town, and shop (there is shopping at the pier that is quiet good, but you have to go to town to experience it.) Cabs from town to the ship are plentiful. Just keep an eye on your watch. (All taxi rates are set by the government, no need to negotiate.)

 

In San Juan get off teh ship, and go out the gate. For about $20 pp you can get a tour of old San Juan. They will either leave you at one of the forts or take you back to the ship. From the fort you can wander around Old San Juan and shop. You can also explore both forts. You will have plenty of time to do all of this. If you want you can get a ships excursion to the rain forest, which is interesting, but a hot sweaty trip. (All taxi rates are set by the government, no need to negotiate.)

 

At Grand Turk, you will dock at a Carnival owned complex. You can go to the beach right there or take a snorkel excursion. The snorkeling at Grand Turk is really good, BUT it is in open ocean and if it is rough can be challenging if you are not both a good swimmer and an experienced snorkeler.

 

On HMC, jsut enjoy the beach or take a snorkel tour. The tour will getyou out to the reef where you can see plenty of fish and coral.

 

Have a great trip.

[A&Jfamily]

We did a three hour snorkeling trip in Grand Turk through CCL and that is the best Carribean snorkeling we have had - and I have been in St. Thomas, Nassau, Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman, Roatan and Anitgua; the only thing better was Hawaii.

 

But - be warned - it is open water and you need to be a good swimmer. My DH is pretty comfortable in the water and got worried about the currant, so didn't get to explore as much as I did.

[greenhorncanuck]

Thanks for all the great information. I think we might do coki beach and then some shopping in St Thomas. At hmc we were just planning on spending the day at the beach. San Juan old city tour sounds good - is there lots of shopping as well. And Grand Turk, if there is a beach right there, perhaps we will do that. I heard also that the stingray adventure in Grand Turk was really good too!:)