Help me with Trunk Bay Excursions on Carnival

[snorkelman]

Trunk Bay Excursions in St. Thomas on Carnival

 

My wife and I will be on the Carnival Victory in June. We want to go to trunk bay for the beach and a little snorkeling. A few hours at the beach is good enough for us (we don’t need to spend the whole day). My wife also wants to do some shopping in downtown (not just next to the ship). We are comfortable grabbing a taxi from the ship to downtown and shopping on our own. We don’t need an excursion for that part of it (we have been jewelry shopping in St. Thomas several times).

 

So, regarding the Trunk Bay part, I looked on Carnival’s website and I see the following excursions offered:

 

1) St. John Trunk Bay Beach & Snorkel, 4 hours, $49/person

 

2) Five Star St. John & Trunk Bay, 4 hours, $59/person

 

It appears that the 5 star excursion offers travel aboard a 115 ft boat, anchors at trunk bay for ONLY 90 minutes, they provide you with snorkel gear and free rum punch.

 

It also appears that the cheaper St. John Trunk Bay Beach and Snorkel excursion gets us there by a ferry and bus. No comments listed about snorkel gear or how long we are actually on trunk bay.

 

I am leaning towards the cheaper excursion, but I need to know whether I should plan on renting snorkel gear there (if yes, how much per person) or if I should bring my own (which I have) or whether it’s free.

 

Also, how long are we actually at Trunk Bay and how long is the travel part of this 4 hour excursion?

 

We are in port from 8am-6pm, so I see no problem with doing both the trunk bay and shopping downtown. In fact, it looks like we can do one, then come back to the ship for lunch and do the second.

 

Do either of these excursions have time of departure limitations (such as only departing at 8am or only at noon or something like that)? Thanks in advance.

[snorkelman]

Someone gave me information about doing this on my own, and i am considering that too.

 

It appears that if I do this on my own, I have to:

 

1) take a taxi from the ship to Red hook – how much is that per person each way?

2) Take the ferry from red hook (St. Thomas) to Cruz Bay (St. John) which costs $3 per person each way

3) Then the entrance fee into Trunk Bay is $4 per person

 

Do we just walk from Cruz Bay (where the ferry drops us off) to Trunk Bay, or do we need another taxi?

 

So, it appears that my total cost will be $8 (entrance into beach for 2 people) plus $12 (ferry for 2 people for both directions). So that is $20, plus whatever the taxi cost is.

 

Does anyone know what the total taxi cost is for 2 people?

 

I apologize if this info is already posted somewhere, and if so, just provide a link. Please don’t bash me because I couldn’t find it.

 

I am trying to figure out any troubles in doing this myself. If it really is easy, then I will. I heard about problems with rush hour and to not stay at trunk bay too long in the afternoon.

 

 

Also, I still have the same question about snorkel gear. And, do they make me pay extra to sit on the beach?

 

All of the hidden charges add up, so I need to know them all to decide if it is worth it to do it myself.

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Doing it on your own.

 

Ship - Red Hook - $8 per person one way

Ferry - $3 each way, per person

Cruz Bay - Trunk Bay - $4 a person one way

Trunk Bay entrance fee - $4 per person

 

Total - $68 roundtrip for 2

 

--Islander

[pretty1111]

We are trying to figure the same stuff out...I am a little paranoid about getting back to the ship on time with a private excursion!!!!!