Dinghy rental St. John

[markstudy]

We just got back

We did the rental with CruzBay at the Westin Resort. Thanks to the staff of both
CruzBay and the Westin very helpful and great to deal with.

We had lots of fun. But the seas must be very calm. We had a nice day, and it was
still a very wild ride. I like wild, but the waves get big very fast. (photo is in a protective cove)

I loved the boat, because I had one when I was a kid. But it would have been better
to drive to beaches in jeep or hire a taxi for the day...if you want to enjoy snorkeling
and the beach.

[Lucy2Cruiser]

Originally Posted by markstudy

We just got back

We did the rental with CruzBay at the Westin Resort. Thanks to the staff of both
CruzBay and the Westin very helpful and great to deal with.

We had lots of fun. But the seas must be very calm. We had a nice day, and it was
still a very wild ride. I like wild, but the waves get big very fast. (photo is in a protective cove)

I loved the boat, because I had one when I was a kid. But it would have been better
to drive to beaches in jeep or hire a taxi for the day...if you want to enjoy snorkeling
and the beach.

Glad you had a great trip. We are planning to make it over to St. John from Crown Bay on our own. How did that go for you? How long did it take. Any suggestions? Thank you.

[markstudy]

I had 5 pages of notes.... it turned out to be very easy

We got off the ship in Crown Bay as early as we could, and got a taxi.

Then you sit for 10 long minutes as the taxi driver tries to fill up his van before he will leave.

But I didn't see any real problem with rush hour traffic... it was 8:30 and I was expecting more traffic.

We drove all the way over to RedBank? RedHook? (already forgot the name?) and thought we'd see more of the island by road, and take the shorter ferry ride to St John as compared to the other Ferry option that was closer to the cruise ship dock but a longer boat ride.

Catching the ferry was very easy, very professional set-up and easy to use at both ends. (coming and going). We got there a few minutes before 9:00 and walk right on the 9:00 and it left 5 minutes after we sat down.

The cab ride scared my wife (she's afraid of heights and drives like a little old lady)... our driver was not afraid of heights and drove like a pro race car driver. LOL I thougt the taxi ride was a great tour and got to see a lot of the island.

Once on St John... we rushed to get in a taxi over to the Westin resort to pick up our boat rental.... Only to be stuck sitting for that long 10 minutes again, while our taxi driver looked for other people to fill up his van for the trip

We had lunch at the Westin Resort and it was amazing! Very beautiful place! We had the bests Lobster rolls (and my wife is from Cape Cod so we know the good stuff).

That's my basic trip report. Many days of planning, trip turned out to be easy and no big deal

[2Feathers]

Mark... Thanks for the update and review! I know you said the water was rough, but can you tell us which beaches you went to? We've only rented from Noah's in Cruz Bay and headed North and East toward the North Shore beaches.

Leaving from the Westin, which is a couple of bays west in Great Cruz Bay, which direction did you go, and what beaches did you see? Did you find any good snorkeling? Where was your photo taken?

Thanks!!

[markstudy]

Originally Posted by 2Feathers

Mark... Thanks for the update and review! I know you said the water was rough, but can you tell us which beaches you went to? We've only rented from Noah's in Cruz Bay and headed North and East toward the North Shore beaches.

Leaving from the Westin, which is a couple of bays west in Great Cruz Bay, which direction did you go, and what beaches did you see? Did you find any good snorkeling? Where was your photo taken?

Thanks!!

Renting at the Westin was beautiful

We drove out from the bay at the Westin and took a right trun
The waves weren't bad, but it was still a very choppy ride.
We stuck our heads in the water in a few different bays and decided that
visibility wasn't good for snorkeling. So we took a 60 minute boat ride out and
then turned around as the waves got a little bigger and took a 90 minute ride
back to the Westin.

We had fun! But after great snorkeling at Princess Cay, and with Bonaire
coming up next on our trip... we weren't worried to turn our day into just a boat
trip. We didn't do any beaches because of danger of swamping the boat in the
surf trying to get in or out.

We had lunch at the Westin and a swim on their beach right where we rented
the boat, very pretty resort

[Lucy2Cruiser]

Thanks Mark - looks like you had a great time. Will be in St. Thomas two weeks from Monday so we'll use your advice soon.

[texancruzer]

Mark, glad to see everything worked out well for you. Thanks for the pics. The zodiacs look much smaller than 12 feet ?? And it sounds like it must be perfectly flat for a smooth ride - but I like it wild too ! The pics of the Westin are great also - perhaps a stay there is in order ! Anyway, thanks for the report - TEX

[indycruisin]

So I gather that the rough seas are not so much about the local weather, but what may be blowing in from the Atlantic? Anybody know of a reliable way of knowing what the seas look like on the north shore of St. John? An online, real-time site would be perfect for me as I'll be able to use my iPhone upon arrival at St. Thomas. I'll be much less inclined to make the journey to St. John if I know the seas on the north shore are too rough for the dinghy. Thanks!

[markstudy]

Originally Posted by texancruzer

Mark, glad to see everything worked out well for you. Thanks for the pics. The zodiacs look much smaller than 12 feet ?? And it sounds like it must be perfectly flat for a smooth ride - but I like it wild too ! The pics of the Westin are great also - perhaps a stay there is in order ! Anyway, thanks for the report - TEX

It was your idea ... Half of the fun was just making it happen

Boat did look small in my photos. It was plenty fast for just me and the wife
And the boat was big enough for the 2 of us, and the water conditions.
But many of the best dive site mooring buoys were in use by big sailboats
and the waves breaking on the beach made it imposable for us to beach safely
in many places.

I would rent the bigger one if I had 4 people, center section seating, bigger engine.
But we didn't feel the size of ours was any problem.

The normal seas on St John are big enough... that you need a day that is below average waves. So as much as I loved it, I would advise people who want to snorkel
not to take the small boats....but rent a jeep.

Taxi to red hook - easy
Ferry to St John - easy
Taxi to Westin - easy
Water conditions - Hard Part
Lunch at Westin - easy
Taxi back to Ferry- easy
Ferry St Thomas - easy
Taxi back to ship - easy

[knoxvillecruiser]

Thank you for the review. We leave in 5 days and plan to rent a dinghy also. My husband would like to get the larger boat....but we do plan to play it by ear and check out the weather and sea conditions before we rent. I would really like to snorkel and don't want to spend the money to rent the boat if I can't get some good snorkeling in. Glad to hear that the taxi/ferry wasn't a problem. I'll keep my fingers crossed for very calm seas. Looks like a great day anyway! Thanks!

[2Feathers]

Indy & Knoxville... You can check out wunderground.com for weather conditions. After accessing the website, type in "saint john virgin islands" and besides regular weather, there is a "marine forecast" option that has sea conditions from "rest of today" through the next 5 days.

[lbaerg]

How much was the cost for the small dingie?? And does anyone one the cost for the ferry ride to St John??


Thank you all for the wonderful information...

[markstudy]

Originally Posted by lbaerg

How much was the cost for the small dingie?? And does anyone one the cost for the ferry ride to St John??
Thank you all for the wonderful information...

I paid $180 for the day. (I think you can get half-day rate also?)

Ferry Ride is cheap... something like $10 per person one-way ($8-$12? don't remember exactly)

[lbaerg]

Thank you