CindyWe did book an excursion...and it was the best deal and value, we believe! We got into St. Thomas at about 7 AM or so...and our tour didn't leave until 12...so we got off the boat and walked over to the sky tram across the street from the port. We rode the tram up to the top and did the 1/4 mile walk up to the very top of the mountain. It's a pretty view..rather expensive for the tram, but something to do in the morning. At the port, there is a huge shopping center for cruisers. Pretty diverse shopping...we spent an hour picking up souvenirs. We aren't big spenders and weren't interested in liquor or jewelry...so we just bought the usual t-shirts and shell ornaments...LOL. Back to the ship to drop off our stuff and change into swim gear...then we met our tour. We chose the St. John's/Trunk Bay Snorkeling trip...it was a great experience!!!!! We boarded another small boat for the 45-minute ride to St. Johns. We had a great, entertaining guide...who told us all about the area. Then we arrived at St. John's and boarded an open-air style bus for a 15 minute ride thru the hills of St. Johns. We arrived at our beach (which is rated #2 by National Geographic of beautiful beaches in the WORLD) and was met by our snorkeling leader. We were given snorkeling gear and told where we could snorkel, etc. For the novices, there was a snorkeling lesson included. Snorkeling was ok...not great, because the water was choppy and stirred up some silt. But we all had fun...and it was a lovely beach. No complaints at all. Lovely afternoon...well worth $49/each. There are showers at the beach before we boarded the buses back to the boat for the ride back to the ship.