Visit St. John AND Magens Bay?

[Taz1983]

Has anyone been successful in going over to St. John and then coming back to enjoy Magen's Bay and making it back to the ship on time?

[Fouremco]

I've never tried it, nor would I bother. You'd be spending too much of your time travelling and not enough time enjoying either destination. If you're docked at Havensight you could probably do it if you really wanted to, but it would be more of a challenge from Crown Bay.

[Taz1983]

I've never tried it, nor would I bother. You'd be spending too much of your time travelling and not enough time enjoying either destination. If you're docked at Havensight you could probably do it if you really wanted to, but it would be more of a challenge from Crown Bay.

Thanks for the advice. I want to see St. John but my husband wants to see Magens Bay so I was hoping to do both.

[Fouremco]

Thanks for the advice. I want to see St. John but my husband wants to see Magens Bay so I was hoping to do both.

Ah, a familiar conundrum. :) Time for a coin toss!

 

FWIW, I'd pick St. John. More to see and do but still lots of opportunity for beach time.

[Charles4515]

Thanks for the advice. I want to see St. John but my husband wants to see Magens Bay so I was hoping to do both.

 

Doing both is too much. In my opinion St. John's is a lot better than Magens Bay. Magens Bay is okay but over rated.

[CruisersTimesThree]

Doing both is too much. In my opinion St. John's is a lot better than Magens Bay. Magens Bay is okay but over rated.

 

Agree! I don't see what the big deal is about Magen's Bay. To me it's no different than any other Caribbean beach and it's always so crowded.

[NordicPrince]

Logistically almost impossible to visit St. John's and do something else on the same day on St. Thomas. I would definitely go to St. John to spend time at Trunk Bay, voted one of the 10 best beaches in the world. Very very beautiful and uncrowded. Plus they have a snorkel trail. We went to Magen's Bay. I found it underwhelming, very busy. I would recommend a Celebrity excursion called Secret Sands which takes you to a beach on St. Thomas which it would be a sin to give away because it is also very nice and unspoiled. The only way I would go to Magen;s Bay is if it were part of the 3 Beaches for $99 Beach Special which offered Magen;'s Bay on St. Thomas, Oriente Beach on St. Maarten and the Boathouse on Barbados which is a good deal.

FYI Celebrity does not dock at Havensight anymore only at Crown Bay.

[swigso]

IMHO

take the ship tour to St John, you get picked up right next to the ship, a wonderful ride to St John, then take a taxi to the bay after Trunk Bay, when you get there turn right on the beach.

I think it's Canel Bay, it's the best beach in the world, I wish more X ships would stop at St Thomas .

Another fab trip is with Capt. Pat

 

 

http://www.sailingvirginislands.net/

[hcat]

IMHO

take the ship tour to St John, you get picked up right next to the ship, a wonderful ride to St John, then take a taxi to the bay after Trunk Bay, when you get there turn right on the beach.

I think it's Canel Bay, it's the best beach in the world, I wish more X ships would stop at St Thomas .

Another fab trip is with Capt. Pat

 

 

http://www.sailingvirginislands.net/

I agree...no stress..lovely day...but the ride over can be a bit rough seas..be prepared

 

I,d save Magens for another cruise, have the great grilled cheese and, get in some shopping at the port or in Town...

 

Secret Sands is on our list for our next cruise that stops there..Shhhh! Keep it secret.

[Islander500]

Before last month, I would have agreed with all the other posters. But we did it last month and had a blast.

 

We left the ship as soon as we were cleared (before 8) and headed to Magen's Bay. Only one ship in port so we were there with mostly a few locals. Made arrangements with the same cab driver to pick us up at 10:30 am. Enjoyed the beach for 2 hours and then headed to the 11am ferry at Red Hook.

 

Once in St John, we had a quick lunch in Cruz Bay and then headed to Cinnamon Bay. We were there until around 1:30 & then took a short ride to also enjoy Trunk Bay. We all loved Trunk Bay.

 

Headed back to Cruz Bay and had a few Painkillers (really good ones, btw) at the Beach Bar near the ferry dock. Took the 3:45pm ferry direct to Charlotte Amalie and a cab to Crown Bay.

 

One day, two islands, three beaches. Not for everyone but we'd been to all 3 beaches before and had cuzins with us who hadn't seen any. So we went for it. Fun day!

 

If you feel you'd rather spend more time relaxing in one place, go to St John. You can also go to several beaches there and they are all stunning.

 

 

Maria

[swigso]

Before last month, I would have agreed with all the other posters. But we did it last month and had a blast.

 

We left the ship as soon as we were cleared (before 8) and headed to Magen's Bay. Only one ship in port so we were there with mostly a few locals. Made arrangements with the same cab driver to pick us up at 10:30 am. Enjoyed the beach for 2 hours and then headed to the 11am ferry at Red Hook.

 

Once in St John, we had a quick lunch in Cruz Bay and then headed to Cinnamon Bay. We were there until around 1:30 & then took a short ride to also enjoy Trunk Bay. We all loved Trunk Bay.

 

Headed back to Cruz Bay and had a few Painkillers (really good ones, btw) at the Beach Bar near the ferry dock. Took the 3:45pm ferry direct to Charlotte Amalie and a cab to Crown Bay.

 

One day, two islands, three beaches. Not for everyone but we'd been to all 3 beaches before and had cuzins with us who hadn't seen any. So we went for it. Fun day!

 

If you feel you'd rather spend more time relaxing in one place, go to St John. You can also go to several beaches there and they are all stunning.

 

 

Maria

Good for you what a day that would have been 👍🏻😎

[karena1]

IMO, I would do neither. Going to St John you spend most of your day traveling and lots of $$$ with the cabs and ferries, etc. We used to do that and then decided on a cruise it is stupid to spend basically 3 hours of your day in cabs and riding the ferries.

 

Magens is beautiful, but now it is a national park so they don't open until 9, charge and entrance fee, etc, so basically the same BS you deal with in St John.

 

We spend our time in STT going to either Coki (great snorkeling) or Sapphire (also great snorkeling). way more relaxing day than going to St John. Both are beautiful beaches. Coki has better amenities as far as bathrooms and showers but I personally love Sapphire, probably my favorite beach in STT.

[shipshape sam]

For sure both choices are very nice! Do a coin flip and the have the loser pick the NEXT cruise to go to the losing choice on this cruise. You want to enjoy both areas.

 

When doing Magen's Bay, do Mountain Top ( I think that is the name of the place) which gives you a great view of Magen's Bay. Cab driver for sure can get you to the location by telling them you want to see Magen's Bay from the top of the mountain.

[Islander500]

Btw, Trunk Bay in St John is a national park so if you have a US National Park Senior pass, you get in for free.

[Islander500]

Good for you what a day that would have been 👍🏻😎

 

Yes, it was busy but we felt good that we'd managed to show our cuzins all three beaches. We slowed down after that! :')

[musik07]

My mom and I did Magen's on a day when we were one of two ships in port (Oasis and a smaller ship). We got an early start and went right to the beach. It was a beautiful day, not to busy until about lunch time. We saw, lounged on the beach and had two very overpriced/watered down drinks from the beach bar before catching a taxi back to our ship. We then had time to eat, and taxi to downtown for some shopping. It may be a very commercialized stop but we got there just as most of the ship tours were arriving and we had great time!

[New Hampshire]

Have been to most of the islands in Caribbean and there is none more beautiful than St John. We have been lucky to take a land vacation there every year since 2008. Truly Paradise.

[Taz1983]

Btw, Trunk Bay in St John is a national park so if you have a US National Park Senior pass, you get in for free.

I'm not but I have a parks passport that I would love to get stamped. Maybe another trip.

[Taz1983]

For sure both choices are very nice! Do a coin flip and the have the loser pick the NEXT cruise to go to the losing choice on this cruise. You want to enjoy both areas.

 

When doing Magen's Bay, do Mountain Top ( I think that is the name of the place) which gives you a great view of Magen's Bay. Cab driver for sure can get you to the location by telling them you want to see Magen's Bay from the top of the mountain.

I looked it up and the views look stunning from Mountain Top. Thanks!

[Taz1983]

Before last month, I would have agreed with all the other posters. But we did it last month and had a blast.

 

We left the ship as soon as we were cleared (before 8) and headed to Magen's Bay. Only one ship in port so we were there with mostly a few locals. Made arrangements with the same cab driver to pick us up at 10:30 am. Enjoyed the beach for 2 hours and then headed to the 11am ferry at Red Hook.

 

Once in St John, we had a quick lunch in Cruz Bay and then headed to Cinnamon Bay. We were there until around 1:30 & then took a short ride to also enjoy Trunk Bay. We all loved Trunk Bay.

 

Headed back to Cruz Bay and had a few Painkillers (really good ones, btw) at the Beach Bar near the ferry dock. Took the 3:45pm ferry direct to Charlotte Amalie and a cab to Crown Bay.

 

One day, two islands, three beaches. Not for everyone but we'd been to all 3 beaches before and had cuzins with us who hadn't seen any. So we went for it. Fun day!

 

If you feel you'd rather spend more time relaxing in one place, go to St John. You can also go to several beaches there and they are all stunning.

 

 

Maria

Thank you Maria! I am so excited to find that it is indeed possible! Now to convince my husband to run around both islands :D

[neverbeenhere]

Yes, you can make it... But I would try the old "No, We can't make it, We need to go on another cruise" excuse.

[skyeman27]

Have been to most of the islands in Caribbean and there is none more beautiful than St John. We have been lucky to take a land vacation there every year since 2008. Truly Paradise.

 

Ditto. Google 'Salomon Beach St John'...

[HawaiianShirtDay]

We were actually booked on a Megan's Bay excursion and it got cancelled so we decided to go over to St. John instead. We loved loved loved Trunk Bay. In hindsight, we're so happy our excursion got cancelled. In my opinion, Trunk Bay is one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean.

 

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[Tiggertastic]

We go delayed coming back from St. John and we had to run to the ship so didn't even see the port shoos. This was a celebrity excursion too and the guide really screwed up so I'd stick with the gorgeous beaches on St. John's

 

 

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[Cruiz'nBaers]

We have been to Magen's Bay and St.John, I pick St. John. I would not try to do both. It is a bit of a ride over to St. John, and because of the ferry schedule and traffic back to the ship,I would be so nervous that I would not enjoy the day. I was underwhelmed by Magen's Bay.