What is a MUST see?

[SJChaput]

I have been so busy at work since I booked my cruise that I haven't had the time to look into the excursions and things to see in the ports of call for my second cruise and my 1st year wedding anniversary cruise.

 

In the opinion of the community here, if you were only going to come to St. Thomas ONCE and you could only do ONE excursion what would it be.

 

I am looking for both active things and relaxing things as ideas... REALLY EXCITED and its only two weeks away.

 

Also if anyone has any ideas of any shops or sights that I should see while there I would appreciate it.

 

THANKS!

[bmccarthy]

I see a lot of people recommend private sails around St. Thomas/St. John or taking the ferry over to St. John and hitting up a local beach. A lot of people recommend the local beaches and shopping. We have friends that went to Magen's Bay. I have heard that Sapphire Beach is great for snorkeling.

 

When we went to St. Thomas the first time, we didn't have any excursions planned and figured we would find something to do once off the ship. We had to get up early for a custom's check and then after breakfast, my husband napped and I read on our balcony. By the time I finished my book and my husband woke, it was lunchtime. We got off the ship and walked around the shops for awhile and found a local diving shop. We figured we would try to get certified before we came back next time. We ended up going back to the ship as we didn't have enough time to go hang out at any of the beaches.

 

Luckily for us, we have the opportunity to go back to St. Thomas next month. We are doing a private excursion with Fury Charters to snorkel with the sea turtles. http://www.usvisailing.com/

 

Good luck and have a fun cruise!

Beth

[in2sunsets]

We booked a snorkeling trip with Dancing dolphins and had a nice time. They have power snorkeling and regular snorkeling. My husband loved power snorkeling just hang on to the propeller thing and no effort. They were very cautious no to allow us to frighten the sea turtles. We have also just taken the ferry over to St John grabbed a taxi and wnet to trunk bay. Also, nice. If there is time we have also gone to Coki beach by coral world and just hung out at the beach. Kinda crowded but oh well.

[GinDon]

If I were only going to have the chance to go "once", I would take one of the "island tours". These open-air safari bus tours will give you a couple of hours in downtown Charlotte Amalie to shop (an interesting experience), then a couple of hour tour around the island, stopping for photo ops, etc., then a couple of hours at a beach to swim, relax, perhaps snorkel from shore. You get a range of different experiences, and a bit of the feel of St. Thomas. The price is reasonable, $30/pp, if you book with an independent tour operator. There are several very well known operators that you can count on having a good time with...........such as Sunny Liston.......Godfrey..........Air Force 1 (Pappa Bear)...........EEE, Henry Christopher. A google search will find them easily for you. There are LOTS of threads on these boards talking about these operators.

 

If you are sailing away at dusk, I would recommend that you be out on deck to enjoy the view. St. Thomas harbor is breathtaking when the sun goes down, with all the lights in the harbor.

 

Hope you have a wonderful time!

[SJChaput]

I ended up booking a 6+ hour day sail with Treazzure. I have read a lot of good things about them. The boat looks beautiful, good food, good sights and what else needs to be said besides OPEN BAR!

 

For my last cruise we spent most of the time doing a lot of ACTIVE stuff and it really wiped us out... So it will be nice to relax and enjoy the sights and get some snorkeling in. $130 a person for the length of the excursion seems pretty reasonable.

 

edit: Deleted a link, didn't know they blocked those. Sailing Virgin Islands is the company name I guess I don't know. But it looks amazing.

[dolfandude]

You did good! We booked a charter boat last summer and it was awesome. Our fourth time to St. Thomas and best time yet.

[lyssa13]

 

Luckily for us, we have the opportunity to go back to St. Thomas next month. We are doing a private excursion with Fury Charters to snorkel with the sea turtles. http://www.usvisailing.com/

 

Good luck and have a fun cruise!

Beth

 

Beth - looks like you are sailing RIGHT now. The Fury Charters trip looks absolutely amazing!! Can you tell me how it was when you return? Thank you so much!!

[bccruiser2007]

If you are going to St Thomas for the first time, I would recommend an island tour. Sonny Liston or Godfrey Tours come to mind. They take you to the mountain top overlooking the island and also spend time at a beach. You also get time to shop downtown in the morning before the tour starts.