St Thomas-champagne catamaran vs buck Island vs private charter

We (2 adults and 2 kids-all experienced snorkellers and swimmers) will be in
St Thomas in a few months on the Costa Atlantica and are trying to decide
what to do. We want to snorkel, and sail and see some of the beaches . We
are trying to decide between the champagne catamaran excursion which goes to
Honeymoon Beach; the Buck Island excursion which is on a 6 person sailboat
(my main concern is it says that you learn to sail the boat- I don't want to
sail it- just want to relax!!) or booking a trip with one of the local
providers (Interline). The ship's excursions are actually cheaper but I
would like to hear people's opinions as I would really like to make this day
special. Does anyone have any experience with the champagne catamaran- my
main concern is how crowded it might be and whether it gets a little crazy
with people drinking too much champagne or punch!! Any advice would be
appreciated.

Hi:

I've done the champagne catamaran in Roatan and it was great. No drunks
and an enjoyable excursion. When in St. Thomas, we usually catch the
ferry over to St. John's and snorkle at Trunk Bay. Once, in St. Thomas
we arranged for a private charter (there were six of us) and it cost
$100 pp. It included everything including mixed drinks if you wanted
them. The only drawback was we wanted to get on the boat as quickly as
possible to maximize use of our time. Rather than go to St. Thomas, we
wanted to get off at St. Johns where the ship makes a courtesy stop for
those passengers who have booked excursions and take a ferry directly to
Red Hook to catch our charter. The ship would not let us get off in St.
John's (they cited security reasons and this was before 9/11) unless we
bought a tour--the cheapest one being about $40 each. We finally ended
up doing that or talking them into letting us pay $20 each I can't
remember. Anyway, e-mail me if you want information about a charter. I
have a list of about five of them.

Tucker in Texas

Chris wrote:
We (2 adults and 2 kids-all experienced snorkellers and swimmers) will be in
St Thomas in a few months on the Costa Atlantica and are trying to decide
what to do. We want to snorkel, and sail and see some of the beaches . We
are trying to decide between the champagne catamaran excursion which goes to
Honeymoon Beach; the Buck Island excursion which is on a 6 person sailboat
(my main concern is it says that you learn to sail the boat- I don't want to
sail it- just want to relax!!) or booking a trip with one of the local
providers (Interline). The ship's excursions are actually cheaper but I
would like to hear people's opinions as I would really like to make this day
special. Does anyone have any experience with the champagne catamaran- my
main concern is how crowded it might be and whether it gets a little crazy
with people drinking too much champagne or punch!! Any advice would be
appreciated.

Hi:

I've done the champagne catamaran in Roatan and it was great. No drunks
and an enjoyable excursion. When in St. Thomas, we usually catch the
ferry over to St. John's and snorkle at Trunk Bay. Once, in St. Thomas
we arranged for a private charter (there were six of us) and it cost
$100 pp. It included everything including mixed drinks if you wanted
them. The only drawback was we wanted to get on the boat as quickly as
possible to maximize use of our time. Rather than go to St. Thomas, we
wanted to get off at St. Johns where the ship makes a courtesy stop for
those passengers who have booked excursions and take a ferry directly to
Red Hook to catch our charter. The ship would not let us get off in St.
John's (they cited security reasons and this was before 9/11) unless we
bought a tour--the cheapest one being about $40 each. We finally ended
up doing that or talking them into letting us pay $20 each I can't
remember. Anyway, e-mail me if you want information about a charter. I
have a list of about five of them.

Tucker in Texas

Chris wrote:
We (2 adults and 2 kids-all experienced snorkellers and swimmers) will be in
St Thomas in a few months on the Costa Atlantica and are trying to decide
what to do. We want to snorkel, and sail and see some of the beaches . We
are trying to decide between the champagne catamaran excursion which goes to
Honeymoon Beach; the Buck Island excursion which is on a 6 person sailboat
(my main concern is it says that you learn to sail the boat- I don't want to
sail it- just want to relax!!) or booking a trip with one of the local
providers (Interline). The ship's excursions are actually cheaper but I
would like to hear people's opinions as I would really like to make this day
special. Does anyone have any experience with the champagne catamaran- my
main concern is how crowded it might be and whether it gets a little crazy
with people drinking too much champagne or punch!! Any advice would be
appreciated.