Diane

We just got back from our cruise which was January 16-23, 2005. St. Thomas was our first stop. We took a taxi from the port to Sapphire Resort and Beach. A tip for taking a taxi from the port is to get in one that is full. We had to wait till this one was full before we could leave. It was a van with a nice air condition. Another tip when getting off the ship, take your time so you don't get in a long line.

Sapphire beach was beautiful and I thank the reviews about it. I got a review of beaches on St. Thomas and found out this was not touristy and good snorkeling. This was my first time snorkeling in the ocean so I didn’t really know what to expect. My husband suggested we go around the edges of the reef so I followed him. This beach had a really strong current so I just fell when I tried to get out. Honestly, I didn’t see many fish, but another man was talking about a school of fish around him. My husband remembered the dog biscuits we brought so we got those out. It was amazing how the fish just appeared and the way they peck at your hand to get you to drop the dog biscuit. It really was a lot of fun. When I was emptying the water out of the bag of dog biscuits these ducks came up to us so I fed them. There were children and people just amazed at this. We also saw a large lizard I guess that’s what you call it. It was huge, and a smaller one too. We got there so early that few people were out so we didn’t expect our chair that we paid $5 for would get taken, but it did. Another tip ~ keep something on your chair. We talked to a lady who owned one of the places there and she told us the best snorkeling was. One place is by the wrecked boat at one end of the beach, at the other end there’s a pool and she said that’s another good place to snorkel or where she has seen people snorkel. We didn’t have the fins and that be another good thing to rent. We had our own equipment so we didn’t rent anything. I enjoyed my wet shoes that I bought on the boat. I have a hard time walking on sand and I didn’t know what I would step on in the ocean. I liked being by the Sapphire resort with the bathrooms right there, open air bar with tables and chairs, and just before we left this lady started cooking fish, chicken, hotdogs and hamburgers on a grill. So we walked over to another open air area and got a sandwich from her. We rinsed off at the open fresh water shower then changed into our dry clothes. We were ready for our tour of St. Thomas. Tip: bring dry clothes to change into or like I did I just brought my underclothes and wore my clothes over my bathing suit when I got off the ship. We had our snorkel gear, dog biscuits, lotion, book to read, cameras (be sure to bring an underwater camera), etc. in a backpack my husband carried.

We got a taxi from the resort and he took us for our own private tour in another air conditioner van. I recommend this highly except I didn’t want to take anymore mountain tours after this one. The roads were narrow and it was wild, but we got to see all the sights and the banana drink at Mountain Top. We got our souvenirs there. We were ready to go back to the ship after that and I felt very satisfied with what we got to do and see in St. Thomas.

Check out over 30 different shore excursions in St. Thomas
St. Thomas Shore Excursions

Ask a Question About a Caribbean Port