Hi Jennifer,
Someone will post on best place to snorkel and snuba, but I just wanted to let you know that shopping is in abundance near the ships. So to be on time back on the ship, you might want to snorkel, swim, and have some beach time first. Have lunch and then go shopping. To have the most time, you could go to one of the beaches on St. Thomas - Megan's Bay, Coki. But in my opinion, St. John has the better beaches and catching a ferry is not at all hard - just cuts into your time a little more. Have fun!
Teresa

Theresa,
Thank you so much for responding to my question! I love talking about the Caribbean!
Haven't been to a huge number of places, but love each of them so far!

I always thought that St. John's did NOT have nice beaches, that they were very rocky, so I'm glad to hear from someone who's been there. I am a little confused about the Trunk Bay location. I would really like to do the underwater trail that I have heard so much about. With such a limited amount of time, I'm trying to plan some in advance to make the most of it. I have found that the cruise ship tour desks are not very helpful, even with their recommended shore excursions, as far as specific details.

I have just recently found this board and one on Fodor's travel talk that seem to be extremely helpful. It's always good to hear a variety of opinions from paying vacationers & not just paid tour people..lol

Thanks again for the info!

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,
Enjoy your cruise, we were on the Destiny this time last summer and had a blast. I have had the opportunity to stay in St. Thomas and have visited by ship on several occasions. I would suggest going with your idea of being picked up at the port and going to Coki. Trunk is a nice beach, but you should be able to see just as much sea life at Coki and you can get there much quicker, leaving you time to shop in the afternoon. I have found the shops downtown to offer better deals than the shops at the dock, but it could just be where I am shopping!! Feel free to email me if you have any questions regarding the cruise!
Tosha

Jennifer,

You must have St. John confused with somewhere else. St. John has the best beaches and Trunk Bay has some of the best snorkeliing. If you start out early, you could catch a ferry to St. John and snorkel Trunk Bay. You may be better off at Coki Beach if time is an issue. Megan's Bay doesn't have much to see snorkeling. You just have to watch your time, if you want to shop. There is some good shopping in St. John too. Good Luck
Matt

Thanks Matt!

You have been to Coki beach then,,,,is it really nice? Very big? Clean water & white sand? Not overly crowded?

I like the fact that the Dive shop is there. Do you think we could leave there & still have time to Trunk Bay or would that be pushing it? I really want to make the right choice...I'm not sure how far it would be to Red Hook by taxi from Coki??

Thanks again,

Jennifer

Coki is a beautiful beach. It also has Coral World. You could put on a helmet and do the underwater trek, do a dive or snorkel. Because of your limited time you may just want to do something like that. Red Hook is close enough to Coki, it just depends how much time you want to spend shopping I guess. Coki is great for snorkeling but it can be a little crowded, but so can Trunk Bay. There is information about Coki and Coral World on this site. You should check it out. You may have to save St. John for a time when you fly down and get a hotel. That's probably what I would do. But that's just me. Just try to have fun. Don't stress, you can't see it all in a few hours, especially if you want to shop.

Matt

Jennifer

My husband and I just got back from the Caribbean princess cruise to st. thomas. Holy Cow was it amazing. I booked us a private daysail onboard the Alaunt with Captain Ron and his wife Carol. It was the most incredible day would could have asked for. They took us to two private islands in St. John and we snorkled and saw the most amazing fish including sea turtles and a stingray. WE were served an amazing lunch and cocktails and had the best time we could have ever asked for. I would highly recommend this sail. If you would like more information please feel free to email me at [email protected]. I took this trip as a leap of blind faith and I was presently surprised. A memory to last forever

Matt~~Thank you so much! You have been soo helpful! I think we will just do Coki & see how it goes...i will try to not stress....lol
Sincerely,

Jennifer

As this is your first time and shopping is in your plans, I would follow Matt's lead on Coki and Coral World. Unless you are willing/able to dedicate time to STJ or day sail like Debs, it will be less stressful to stay 'local'.
We stayed on STJ for 8 days last week and still did not see everything there is to see. Beaches are beautiful, trails are refresshing and pace of life is unbeatable. However, it was always apparent when the cruise crowd came across. They had a mission and were not to be denied. That's fine for some, but if you really want to enjoy what the place has to offer you need to forget the 'mission' and except the lifestyle, which takes time and that is something you have in limited supply due to the ship schedule.
Enjoy Megans Bay and make plans to return if you want to see more.

Have a great trip

Debs,
So glad you enjoyed yourself! Great people and a fun trip.
Pamela.

Jennifer,
We have taken two cruises with stops in St. Thomas and headed over to St. John both times. There was plenty of time to enjoy the beach, snorkeling and have a picnic. I would choose either STT or STJ because there isn't enough time to visit beaches on both. We visited Cinnamon Bay on our first trip, and it was great because the beach is not as crowded as Trunk. The second time, we took a cab to Salt Pond Bay. It was on the other side of the island and we prearranged for the taxi to pick us up at a certain time. We made it back to the ship just fine, but I wouldn't advise going that far. Hawksnest Bay is close to Cruz Bay and has great snorkeling. If you go to Hawksnest, Trunk or Cinnamon, there are plenty of taxis running all of the time.

I look at cruises as vacation samplers, and pack as much as possible in the 8 hour shore visit. That way, I learn where to return to on future longer visits. I fell in love with St. John will return for a week in October. Because of my "short" shore visits, I can better plan my longer trips. You won't be able to hike every trail or visit every beach on STJ in a few hours, but you will be able to experience the charm of the island and find out why so many people can't wait to return.

Have fun on your cruise.

I would base your decision partly on the other ports of call on your cruise. St. Thomas definitely has nice shopping, but so do other islands like St. Martin. St. John is beautiful, unique, and unspolied. If I were you I would dedicate a day to it and squeeze in the shopping elsewhere. Another possibility is to figure out exactly what you're looking to buy and go straight for that store (I'm not the type who likes to browse casually for hours, so that approach might not work for everyone). My point is just that what St. John has to offer in terms of natural beauty is more unique that what St. Thomas has to offer as a shopping destination.

If you do go to St. John, I would make sure to hit multiple beaches. In addition to Trunk Bay (which will be the most crowded), Hawksnest, Cinnamon, and Caneel Bays are all worth visiting and are relatively close to one another. On the other hand, if you go to Coki, I highly recommend the introductory dive offered by Coki Beach Dive Club. You do not need any experience to do it and you will see so much more than if you just snorkel. They will give you all the instruction and safety tips you need, and then go on a 30-45 minute dive down to about 35 feet. Also at Coki, I highly recommend the barbecue stand located down at the west side of the beach (opposite direction from Coral World). They have great barbecue and jerk chicken, steak, lobster, etc. Also there is good snorkeling at both ends of Coki Beach along the rocks. I think a lot of people only see the east end by Coral World.

No one has really mentioned it yet, but Coki Beach and Magen's Bay are quite different. Coki's strength is all the underwater life that you can see snorkeling, diving, and in Coral World. There are also more food options along the beach. It's downside is that it is smaller, more crowded, and less scenic on shore. Magen's Bay is a much longer beach, and less crowded and developed. Magen's Bay Concessions includes a restaurant and bar, swimshop, and rentals of kayaks, paddleboats, floats, etc., but that is the only real business. It is a great beach for swimming and for kids, and if you go down to the far end you can have a lot of space to yourself. The only downside to Magen's is that there's not much to see underwater, but above water I would say it's a lot nicer than Coki.