Annette - When we were on the Zuiderdam last Thanksgiving, we took advantage of the long port day in St Thomas. We caught the 9:00 ferry to St John (one leaves at 9:00 from Red Hook and also from Charlotte Amalie - downtown). After arriving to St John, we rented a dinghy for the day from Noah's dinghies (short walk from ferry dock on St John). That allowed us to visit several beaches that day at our leisure and also do some snorkeling. Had lunch at Trunk Bay, but also visited Waterlemon Cay, Cinnamon Bay, Hawksnest, and Honeymoon Beach. I think we turned the dinghy in at 5:00 then headed back to St Thomas. However, this would cause you to miss out on shopping, as we found shops closed at 5:00 (we were in port until 9:00). You could always take the many available "taxis" to the beaches on your own. Definitely do not need to do a ship excursion for this - very easy to do on your own. Or you could always renew your wedding vows on a beautiful beach. Pics: www.cmgoddard.com and click on Cruises on top left. You can click on the pics to enlarge them, and I think I put captions on some from that cruise. 🙂 Have fun and happy anniversary!!

Hello,

Congrats on your anniversary.

Both your options are great. Sapphire is a nice beach and you could do an island and beach time. The ferry trip to St. John is easy to do and worth doing and again you could take a taxi and do an island tour and then beach time.

3 ships isn't bad... some days we have 7, 8 and even 9 ships. 😉

What are you looking for at the beach - perhaps that can help us to help you choose one? (watersports, bar, snorkeling, quiet, chairs for rent, snorkeling...)

--Islander

thanks for the input.
we're looking for snorkeling, relaxing, and the beauty of the islands.
is trunk bay overly crowded with all us tourists :o)?

thanks, mandy, for your great insights and the wonderful pix on your website!
can hardly wait for our first cruise!! the dinghy sounds like a great idea. do you remember about how much it costs for the day?
thanks for sharing!!!
annette