Shore Excursion Ideas

[pinkbirds02]

Looking for suggestions for shore excursions in St. Thomas and Grand Turks and Caicos. Did you book thru the cruise line or when you were in port? Not really interesed in a beach day. Thanks for the help.

 

Crown Princess Nov. 16 2008:D

[Web]

My research shows there is a Margaritaville on Grand Turck & a spa that offers massages there on the pier. Those two cover my day on Grand Turk :D.

 

I also read about a restaurant that specializes in fresh lobster, so that is on DH's agenda.

 

I wanted to go over to St. John when we're in Charlotte Amalie, but DH is starting to balk. Usually we shop!

[chasetf]

If you like to snorkel I would recommend St. John's Trunk Bay. Here is a picture to whet your appetite.

[Colo Cruiser]

Been to Grand Turk 3 times.......

When we were on the Crown Princess we booked the mini boats/snorkel in Grand Turk through Princess.

The bus broke down just leaving the terminal area. Waited 30 minutes for another.

Mini boat seat came loose so everytime we got up to speed to keep up with the pack the seat would slide off making us have to stop again.

 

Snorkeling was terrible, water was cloudy and rough.

Princess ended up refunding half the excursion.

(I know sounds like one of those crazy ship reviews)

 

As we walked to the bus I noticed that any motor vehicle there mostly bus/vans to transport passengers were in dire need of repair.

Not that this does not happen on other Islands but here was more prevelent to me.

 

The beach near the ship was OK but I would put Grand Turk in the same category as Jamaica. Remember this is my opinion!!

 

 

In St Thomas I would go over to St John. Much nicer area and beaches. ;)

[ajk3797]

I would recomend Doubloon Turtle Cove snorkling. It was a blast. You go out on a pirate ship and the crew is so much fun. On the way back they have drinks (rum punch) I think I had 2 pitchers. I would highly recommend it. The turtles you see are awesome.

[cindep]

We did the dune buggy excursion through Princess in Grand Turk. If you can book this, it is worth the money and a LOT of fun. Just go prepared to get dirty as you are totally exposed in the buggies!

[jag27]

I would recomend Doubloon Turtle Cove snorkling. It was a blast. You go out on a pirate ship and the crew is so much fun. On the way back they have drinks (rum punch) I think I had 2 pitchers. I would highly recommend it. The turtles you see are awesome.

 

I also snorkled in St. Thomas on the Dancing Dolphin, same people that own the Doubloon. The Dancing Dolphin is a 52' catamaran and the Doubloon is a pirate ship! I didn't see any turtles :( , but DH did and got some pics for me. Both ships serve the rum punch and we were 3 sheets to the wind before noon! We almost went to St. John's for the day, but heard the ferry only goes between the islands just a few times a day and it is a 45 min ride. We didn't think we had enough time in port to go to St. Johns.

 

When we were in Grand Turk, we both did the diving the excursions since that is one of the best diving sites in Caribbean with the 7000 ft drop right off shore, which makes the coral and sea life amazing. I am not certified (DH is), so I did the discovery scuba tour through Princess and I highly recommend it.

[hubofhockey]

Looking for suggestions for shore excursions in St. Thomas and Grand Turks and Caicos. Did you book thru the cruise line or when you were in port? Not really interesed in a beach day. Thanks for the help.

 

Crown Princess Nov. 16 2008:D

 

I have never been to Grand Turk. But there are several reputable tour companies in St Thomas that will meet you right at the port that it might make sense to book directly with them. I do all of my bookings for private excursions ahead of time. You should go to the Ports of Call boards for recommendations. There is a user named "Islander" who lives on St Thomas who answers several questions a week. He's one of the best reasons to visit CC if you have an upcoming cruise that stops in St Thomas.

 

As for Grand Turk, it really looks like Carnival/Princess pretty much has close to a monopoly on tours at this port since they own the cruise center at port where all excursions are based. That means we'll be paying a premium for excursions unless it's a beach day. I have to figure that one out.

[jpg1747]

There are lots of different tours to take in St. Thomas. It's been a long time since I did one, so I don't know what they offer these day. Best thing is to read through the ones that are offered and see which one appeals to you the most.

 

I did the Hop-on/Hop-off bus tour in Grand Turk. There's really not much to see on that island, but I did learn about its history and I felt it was a worthwhile tour.

[mandabear]

The Chukka Beach Horseback Ride in Grand Turk was phenomenal! You take a 15 minute van ride to the stables, then ride for about 35 minutes along the trail which goes down onto the beach and along the water. It's very scenic, but not as pretty as some of the other beaches on Grand Turk. Then, you go back to the stables and they re-saddle the horses. You go on what is basically a bareback pad and ride out into the water up to about the horse's chest/back. AND THEN YOU RUN! The horses run through the water splashing and racing. It was so much fun. That portion was only about 10 minutes long, but for me, it made the whole trip!

 

In St. Thomas we did the Water Island Bike & Beach tour. We loved it, but we are both in pretty good shape and enjoy the more active tours. This was more than just an average bike ride...You take a water taxi over to Water Island and then a very bumpy (but short) ride to the top of a hill where you get on your bike. (Mountain bike, helmet required, they fit the bike to you.) There were some very scenic spots. There were some kind of intense stretches on the ride (downhill and rocky...uphill & rocky...flat & rocky...) but you can go at your own pace and you stop at a bunch of locations. I got to feed an iguana. You end up at Honeymoon Beach (the name alone made me happy - we got married on the cruise the day before!). It's a beautiful beach and you have to bring some cash because you end at lunch time and there is a woman who cooks cheeseburgers out on the beach - she won best burgers in the Caribbean. she deserved to win - it was delicious! There is a dock floating out in the water and if you sit out there with your feet in the water these little fish that look like bumble bees nibble on your toes!