What would be your idea of an ideal excursion for the two of you? Have you been to the USVI on a land vacation before? Do you want an active, relaxing, or historical excursion????

We have not been to the USVI before. An ideal excursion would probably be one that included local culture, history, scenery, and wildlife. I wouldn't want anything too relaxed like a bus tour that doesn't let you get off and explore on your own. Something that only took a couple hours or half a day would be ideal. That way we would still have some beach time before we had to get back on the ship. I understand that I am not being very specific. I was just looking for that "don't go home without seeing/doing/experiencing THIS" sort of advise.
Again, any input is appreciated.
Thanks!

Most of the "two hour" taxi tours offered here pick you up at the dock, take you to town for about 1 1/2 hours so you can explore on your own, load you back up, drive you to the scenic sights with history narration, drop you off at a beach (Coki and Sapphire offer more watersports for fee than some other beaches), and pick you up about 2 hours later to take you back to your ship. They usually charge $25 pp.

With only a short time and so much to see it's difficult. We discovered the USVI on a cruise and have been coming back to spend a week or two at a time ever since. There are a few can't miss stops. An excursion to St John and Trunk Bay would be nice, gorgeous beach and some historical sites for you there. ms411's suggestion of grabbing a safari tour would be good too, because like they said the tour could take you right to a beach after the tour. My only suggestion to you would be to replace sapphire/coki with lindquist beach aka smith bay park. No amenities there but virtually deserted and very tranquil. All depends on what you're looking for there is something for everyone. Have a nice trip.

Thank you to both of you for your input. $25 pp seems very reasonable for all that we would get to see and do. So looking forward to our vacation! I know that we will have a great time on this beautiful island no matter what we decide to do 🙂

Thanks,
Crystal

Crystal, it's May now! There are some very popular tour operators that are highly recommended on cruisecritic.com and other sites, and their tours can fill up quickly. Here are some links (not in preferential order!):

http://www.havefunwithus.net (Air Force One - Papa Bear)

http://www.therealdealusvi.com (Bruce Flamon AKA "Chicago")

http://www.sunnylistontours.net (Sunny Liston)

Let me know if you need to know more. Lindquist Beach is a beautiful beach, but most people want amenities of some sort, so I generally only recommend that beach to people who are visiting the island on a land vacation. That way you can bring your own eats, drinks, and water toys.

I second the suggestion to go to St. John. The shops are more fun than the characterless stores in Charlotte Amalie and it's a beautiful island. To do this you would:

When you get off the ship, grab a cab or safari car (pickup-truck shuttles) to the Red Hook Ferry terminal. Take the 20-minute ferry ride to Cruz Bay on St. John. Find a souvenir from one of the fun shops there, then a cab to Trunk Bay for hands-down some of the best snorkeling in the Virgins.

If you have time when you get back to Red Hook, walk the docks at American Yacht harbor or grab a drink and bowl of conch chowder at Molly Malone's to chat with some of the ex-pats living on boats (I used to live on a cat there).

Connie

If your ship docks in Crown Bay Marina be advised that it is at the industrial end of STT and you will need to take a taxi or safari bus to go into town or beach. DO NOT attempt to walk into town, it is not a good area for walking. In fact, even if you dock at Havensight Marina, the walk into town looks like it is easy but believe me, it is a far distance. However, there you will find the same shops as in town sans the atmosphere.

+1 for STJ - as above - cab to RedHook - ferry to STJ - easy - you will not be disappointed. NPS Reef Bay hike if you can fit it in...