St Thomas Island Tour- Suggestions/Input

[jus10cruise]

I'll be visiting St Thomas for the first time in December the ship is in Port from 10a-10p so there is a nice amount of time to get a feel for the island.

 

After reading this forum and trying to do some research I feel a bit more confused...

 

Should book an Island Tour in advance or will I have a pretty similar experience just walking around after we dock in the port? The cruise line options don't really seem appealing to me.

 

I keep seeing the several tour operators mentioned, although most of the information is a bit old, it seems like Godfrey and Henry both have good reviews. Does anyone have a clear preference or any insight? Is there someone else or a better plan to see St Thomas that I should be considering?

 

Appreciate your time and opinions 🙂

Thx

Justin

 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by jus10cruise

[LowDime]

I just want to follow along as i will be here in January 

[Loonbeam]

I liked David's fun tours.  You can get a taxi tour at the dock as well but I am a fan of pre-arrangement for less hassle   It also depends on if your interest is St. Thomas or St Johns.

 

I never take cruise ship excursions unless no other options.

 

 

[OCruisers]

Taking an excursion offered by is ship is certainly "The Easy Way" ... and not a bad option especially on your first time there.  

[Ms411]

What is it about the ship tours that you don't like? How many in your group?

 

[whengingersnaps]

When we were there last month, we went with Sunny Liston Tours. We were on the Carnival Fascination, and the only ship in port until later that afternoon. We had Sunny himself - his real name is Liston Bradshaw. He is a real character and SO much fun! It was the experience of a lifetime, for us. He took us to downtown Charlotte Amalie where we had a couple of hours to walk around and shop. We went to Gladys Cafe for a wonderful breakfast and Bloody Mary's. I absolutely loved Miss Gladys and all of her servers - they are so warm and friendly. She makes her own hot sauce and sells it, so pick up a bottle or two if you go there and please tell her that Ginger said Hi! Then Sunny picked us up in his brightly colored open air van (with free Wi Fi!) and  took us on an amazing ride up to Mountain Top. There we had some time to enjoy the fabulous view, drink some famous Banana Daiquiris and shop for souvenirs.  I've read other's reviews who said this was a big tourist trap, but I thought it was delightful and could have easily spent more time there shopping. Then we all got back on the bus and after another stop at Drake's Seat for photos, we had a choice of being dropped off at Magen's Bay, Cokie Beach or Sapphire Beach. We went to Magen's. PURE HEAVEN! After two hours of floating around in the most beautiful clear water and having bikini clad girls bring us drinks from the bar, Sunny was there to take us back to the ship. Now the thing about Sunny: he is loud, he sings, he screams and he has  a good time. He will have the whole bus laughing and singing along by the end of the day. Just so you know, if singing and laughing and enjoying life is not your thing, then Sunny's tour might not be for you! WE had a BLAST!! 

[jus10cruise]

1 hour ago, Ms411 said:

What is it about the ship tours that you don't like? How many in your group?

 

There are 2 people in my group.

 

With a ship tour you never know which tour guide you are going to end up having. If you get a good guide, it's great, but a couple times I've had some ship tours where the guide didn't seem to want to be there. It was my impression they were just there for the paycheck from the tourists and they couldn't wait to get rid of us.

 

Don't get me wrong I've had some ship tours that were fine. I've just had a much better and more consistent experience choosing local tour guides who come recommended from these forums or other travel sites.

 

 

 

[jus10cruise]

Thanks Loonbeam & Whengingersnaps! I appreciate you sharing your experience 🙂 

 

Sunny seems like quite a character!

 

[Lovincruisin1321]

On 11/7/2018 at 5:51 AM, whengingersnaps said:

When we were there last month, we went with Sunny Liston Tours. We were on the Carnival Fascination, and the only ship in port until later that afternoon. We had Sunny himself - his real name is Liston Bradshaw. He is a real character and SO much fun! It was the experience of a lifetime, for us. He took us to downtown Charlotte Amalie where we had a couple of hours to walk around and shop. We went to Gladys Cafe for a wonderful breakfast and Bloody Mary's. I absolutely loved Miss Gladys and all of her servers - they are so warm and friendly. She makes her own hot sauce and sells it, so pick up a bottle or two if you go there and please tell her that Ginger said Hi! Then Sunny picked us up in his brightly colored open air van (with free Wi Fi!) and  took us on an amazing ride up to Mountain Top. There we had some time to enjoy the fabulous view, drink some famous Banana Daiquiris and shop for souvenirs.  I've read other's reviews who said this was a big tourist trap, but I thought it was delightful and could have easily spent more time there shopping. Then we all got back on the bus and after another stop at Drake's Seat for photos, we had a choice of being dropped off at Magen's Bay, Cokie Beach or Sapphire Beach. We went to Magen's. PURE HEAVEN! After two hours of floating around in the most beautiful clear water and having bikini clad girls bring us drinks from the bar, Sunny was there to take us back to the ship. Now the thing about Sunny: he is loud, he sings, he screams and he has  a good time. He will have the whole bus laughing and singing along by the end of the day. Just so you know, if singing and laughing and enjoying life is not your thing, then Sunny's tour might not be for you! WE had a BLAST!! 

I am cruising to St. Thomas in December 28.

 

Would like to find out more about this tour.   Thanks.

 

[bobdittes]

I've used Godfrey tours in the past and had an exceptional experience.

 

We will be using Godfrey tours again for our upcoming visit in March.

 

[JT1962]

On 12/1/2018 at 6:57 PM, bobdittes said:

I've used Godfrey tours in the past and had an exceptional experience.

 

We will be using Godfrey tours again for our upcoming visit in March.

 

We were in St Thomas on Friday and pre-booked with Godfrey Tours and had a great experience. We booked the 6 hour tour that included 2 hours of shopping in downtown, a 2 hour Island Tour and 2 hours at the Beach of our choice (we chose Sapphire because the guide said there was more natural shade and a breeze). We were the only two people on the tour, and were still provided the same service as if the open air taxi had been full of 25 or more as we saw with most other tours. I would definitely recommend them, especially for a great overview of St Thomas on your first visit.