St. John on our own vs ship excursion??

My wife and I want to go to Trunk Bay when we cruise to St. Thomas next month and I am trying to figure out if it would be better for us to go on our own or book the excursion through the ship for $69.99. I wonder how much it would cost us round trip for taxis, ferry, and entry to Trunk Bay. Any advice is appreciated.

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Some folks like the security of being on the ship excursion, while many people will choose the self-excursion option because it allows more flexibility and you may even get there earlier. Just a bit more freedom and you choose what ferry you return on. Just give yourself time to get back to the ship. If your back on board time is 4:30 you'd want to take the 2PM ferry back from Cruz Bay to be safe due to more traffic on the return. The 3PM return would get you back to Red Hook by 4 but you could take longer than 1/2 hr on the drive back to port.

The cost on your own is about $48pp roundtrip ($10pp taxi to the Red Hook ferry, $7pp ferry to Cruz Bay, and $7pp taxi to Trunk).

Have a great day whatever option you choose!

Some folks like the security of being on the ship excursion, while many people will choose the self-excursion option because it allows more flexibility and you may even get there earlier. Just a bit more freedom and you choose what ferry you return on. Just give yourself time to get back to the ship. If your back on board time is 4:30 you'd want to take the 2PM ferry back from Cruz Bay to be safe due to more traffic on the return. The 3PM return would get you back to Red Hook by 4 but you could take longer than 1/2 hr on the drive back to port.

 

The cost on your own is about $48pp roundtrip ($10pp taxi to the Red Hook ferry, $7pp ferry to Cruz Bay, and $7pp taxi to Trunk).

 

Have a great day whatever option you choose!

Thanks so much for that information! Very helpful.

Sorry, typo in my earlier reply. The ferry between Red Hook and Cruz bay is 15 - 20 min so the 3PM return would get you back before 3:30 if on schedule. But safer to give yourself a buffer and leave STJ earlier. If the 2PM ferry had a problem and there wasn't a replacement you could rely on the 3PM.

But the ferries out of Red Hook are very regular and reliable, and that's why so many people will go on their own.

There wouldn't be much of a savings by going on our own. So we will likely book thru the ship just for the convenience and the assurance we won't be left by the ship. Thanks for the information.

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Yes, going on your own is more for the flexibility and not having to deal with the queue at the ship than for a savings. Either way is a great day - enjoy!

You've picked a great place to go whichever way you do it! :)

LuLu

Would love to hear what you choose! When is your trip? We will be there in January, and while some of us already have a charter, I am looking for something good to do for the rest of our group and St John's is simply beautiful!

Would love to hear what you choose! When is your trip? We will be there in January, and while some of us already have a charter, I am looking for something good to do for the rest of our group and St John's is simply beautiful!

Our cruise sails out of Port Canaveral Aug 30th! We are quite excited. I'll post a review of the cruise and I'll be sure to pop back in this thread and let everyone know how this went.

Wow! You are on the countdown! Have a great cruise and we will look forward to hearing about it, safe travels!

My wife and I want to go to Trunk Bay when we cruise to St. Thomas next month and I am trying to figure out if it would be better for us to go on our own or book the excursion through the ship for $69.99. I wonder how much it would cost us round trip for taxis, ferry, and entry to Trunk Bay. Any advice is appreciated.

Where will your ship be docking, Havensight or Crown Bay, makes a difference in cab fare and travel time.

Wow! You are on the countdown! Have a great cruise and we will look forward to hearing about it, safe travels!

Thanks!

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Where will your ship be docking, Havensight or Crown Bay, makes a difference in cab fare and travel time.

I have no idea. We will be on the Carnival Liberty.

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I have no idea. We will be on the Carnival Liberty.

 

 

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You'll dock at Havensight.

We like to book the excursion to St. John through the cruise line, it's just more convenient for us.