Trunk Bay: Ship Excursion or Wing it?

I will be visiting St Thomas at the end of April via the Carnival Breeze. The ship is scheduled to arrive at 0800 and depart at 1800. Carnival offers an excursion to Trunk Bay at a cost of 70 bucks per person (will be me and my wife). I'm not so much concerned about the cost as I am for the short amount of time allowed at Trunk Bay on this excursion (1.5 hrs there). I almost always avoid ship sponsored excursions and go out on my own or use a local company. So a couple of questions for those that have maybe recently done it either way:

1. If you've used the Carnival excursion, did you feel like you got enough time at Trunk Bay?

2. If you've been on a Carnival ship but went to Trunk Bay on your own, how much time did you get there and how much did you spend on travel?

3. What is the latest I could leave Trunk Bay and have a reasonable expectation to make it back to the ship by 1700?

Thanks very much!

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While we prefer to do it through the ship because it's so much easier, it's not hard to do it on your own.

Just take into consideration that you'll still have ferry schedules and have to deal with taxis ...so actually not less expensive ... but you would have more time in St. John.

LuLu

I've done it both ways and I actually preferred the ship excursion. When we took the ship excursion we got off the ship and boarded a boat right there at the dock that took us to St. John. Then we got on open air buses for the trip to Trunk Bay. It was really efficient and the boat ride was really pleasant. When we did it on our own we took a taxi to Red Hook, then the ferry, then another taxi to Trunk bay. It just seemed to take forever to get there. However, we could stay as long as we wanted to. On the ship excursion we only had about two hours on the beach.

My wife and I did it our selves and had a blast. It was a great adventure doing it on our own. Very easy to do if you do your research on how and where to get the taxi's and the boat. We spend about 4.5 hours at the beach, found a great place in St John's near the dock (the name escapes me) to have lunch and a few drinks. I would do it again our selves in a minute. Snorkeling with the cruise ship tour required that everyone wear a life vest when snorkeling.

I really appreciate you all sharing your individual experiences. I think in order to maximize our time at the beach we will try it on our own. Thanks again!

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I really appreciate you all sharing your individual experiences. I think in order to maximize our time at the beach we will try it on our own. Thanks again!

That's the right idea. If you can get off the ship at 8:00, catch a taxi and you should make the 9:00 ferry ($7/person each way). A 20 minute ride and you are at Cruz Bay. We went to Cinnamon Bay (free), the next beach from Trunk ($4), by taxi for $7/person each way. Cinnamon was incredible and we had the entire beach to ourselves for about 1.5 hours! You can be on either beach by 10:00am. I would plan to catch the 3:00 ferry back to Red Hook. Surely, do not miss the 4:00 ferry. So your beach time could be 10:00-2:30.

That's the right idea. If you can get off the ship at 8:00, catch a taxi and you should make the 9:00 ferry ($7/person each way). A 20 minute ride and you are at Cruz Bay. We went to Cinnamon Bay (free), the next beach from Trunk ($4), by taxi for $7/person each way. Cinnamon was incredible and we had the entire beach to ourselves for about 1.5 hours! You can be on either beach by 10:00am. I would plan to catch the 3:00 ferry back to Red Hook. Surely, do not miss the 4:00 ferry. So your beach time could be 10:00-2:30.

That sure beats the hour and half at the beach on the Carnival excursion!

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That's the right idea. If you can get off the ship at 8:00, catch a taxi and you should make the 9:00 ferry ($7/person each way). A 20 minute ride and you are at Cruz Bay. We went to Cinnamon Bay (free), the next beach from Trunk ($4), by taxi for $7/person each way. Cinnamon was incredible and we had the entire beach to ourselves for about 1.5 hours! You can be on either beach by 10:00am. I would plan to catch the 3:00 ferry back to Red Hook. Surely, do not miss the 4:00 ferry. So your beach time could be 10:00-2:30.

So the ferry runs at the top of each hour?

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Yes, top of the hour Red Hook and Cruz Bay.

We have a group of 10-12 of us that would like to go to Trunk Bay. We would like to try it on our own to have more time at the beach. What would the cost be to get there and back and is there any fees to get into beach?

We have a group of 10-12 of us that would like to go to Trunk Bay. We would like to try it on our own to have more time at the beach. What would the cost be to get there and back and is there any fees to get into beach?

You are going to need at least 2 taxis to Red Hook. Ferry is $7/person/each way. Taxi to Trunk Bay (probably about $6/each). The fee for Trunk Bay is $4/person. Cinnamon Bay is free, taxi to is $7/each. Depending on ships in port, TB could be crowded. Why not consider Cinnamon?

You are going to need at least 2 taxis to Red Hook. Ferry is $7/person/each way. Taxi to Trunk Bay (probably about $6/each). The fee for Trunk Bay is $4/person. Cinnamon Bay is free, taxi to is $7/each. Depending on ships in port, TB could be crowded. Why not consider Cinnamon?

Thanks, how much is the taxi to Red Hook? Trying to let everyone in our group know total price for taxes, ferry's and beach admission so we can decide if we are going to do this. It sounds beautiful! :)