Trunk Bay excursion through Carnival Triumph?

[swhli]

We are going with Carnival Triumph this summer. Did anyone go to the Trunk Bay excursion with the ship?

Thanks

[Donna]

Hi Sw,
I've been to Trunk Bay on my own and through a ship excursion. A lot will depend on how much time you have there, its not really a bad idea to do a ship excursion, there is a good amount of time taken just to get there and back. I do recommend going there, its a beautiful island and beach, good snorkeling, etc.

[swhli]

Hi Donna,

For a 4-hr ship excursion, do you think we will have at least 1.5 hrs in the water? I think the price from the cruise ship is not too bad $59pp.

Thanks

[Sheffie]

For a 4 hour ship's excursion, you should have at least 1 1/2 hours at the beach. If you want to try this excursion on your own, it is easy to do. You catch a taxi to Red Hook (about 20 min.) where you will catch the ferry (15-20 min.) and then a taxi to Trunk Bay (15 min. max.) The cost ends up being about the same, BUT you can have a lot more beach time if you do it yourself. We caught the 9 a.m. ferry over, and then the 3 p.m. ferry back. (5:30 departure.) We went to Cinnamon Beach, which is the next beach down from Trunk, and were on the beach by 10 a.m. and left a little after 2. Those 4 hours were pure heaven!

On the way home we were able to take the island bus (which looks just like the other $10 pp taxis) for $2 from Red Hook to near the pier. If you follow the locals off the ferry, you can follow them right out past the taxis to the bus by the road.

You will have a wonderful time on St. John, no matter which way you decide to go.

Have a great cruise!

[swhli]

Hi Michelle,

I have read some postings about using the public transits. They are rather negative. Did you find it reliable at all?

[Sheffie]

I, too, was concerned about this, so we only took the bus on the way back. I plan on taking it both ways next time! We did a lot of quick stops on the way back into town, but we had given ourselves plenty of time. We were dropped off a couple of blocks up the street from the aerial tram. The time on the local bus was maybe 10 minutes longer, if that. The bus looked no different than those other jitneys. We gave the driver $5 for the 2 of us and she kept trying to give us change. Needless to say, we made her keep it! $5 instead of $20 was quite a savings for us!

Doing something the first time can be scary, that is why we did it on the way back, and we had plenty of extra time. I suggest doing that your first time, if you want to.

[swhli]

Hi Michelle,

That sounds like an excellent idea of taking the bus back to the pier. Do you know if Triumph needs to tender in St. Thomas? How soon can we get off the ship?

Thanks

[LisaK]

we also took the bus back from Red Hook to the pier. Just ask the driver before you board if he stops at the cruise ship pier and Havensight Mall. The bus will drop you off a couple of streets before the gate to the pier. They are not allowed into the gated pier area.
9 times out of 10 you will dock in St. Thomas at Havensight. There is however the outside chance that you could have to dock at the Naval shipyard pier - which is fairly close to downtown Charlotte-Amalie or that you might have to anchor in the harbor and tender in.
As for your time frame - a 4 hour excursion includes transportation to Trunk Bay - figure on an hour each way for transportation. That would give you 1-1/2 to 2 hours at the beach. Not much time IMO

[jvattes]

and it was a GREAT trip. I would do it again in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself. Trunk Bay is gorgeous.

Have fun!