RCCL St John On Your Own Excursion

Hello

Was wondering if anyone has done this excursion, as we will be on the Oasis in April and one of the ports we will stop at is St Thomas.. We were in St Thomas in October and we are considering checking out St John.

Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Kim

If you are talking about St John on your own tour (The State Park) I did it in November. Took boat over and then got on tour bus. Since it is a state park there were no rentals that I remember. Beautiful beach. Thinking of going again in June. There is an additional charge for the tour bus to the park and then a fee to get into the park (beach). I have a state park pass that saved about $2.50 off the fee. One pass lets you bring in four people besides yourself. This is a senior pass I got when in Wa on another cruise. They can be obtained on line I think.

rW

Hello

 

Was wondering if anyone has done this excursion, as we will be on the Oasis in April and one of the ports we will stop at is St Thomas.. We were in St Thomas in October and we are considering checking out St John.

Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks

Kim

St John is part of the National Park system. The vehicles that take you there are taxis also known as safaris. The pass is a National Park pass.

The USVI is a territory of the US.

Enjoy a narrated ferry ride along St. Thomas' picturesque southern coast, then shop, sightsee or snorkel the azure waters of St. John. Armed with your island information package, you'll spend 4-1/2 hours freely exploring the beautiful isle. Swim at a local beach, see the "Arawak" archaeological site, or follow the snorkel trail at Trunk Bay. Browse boutiques or dine in Cruz Bay. STO3

$39

Here's a link for someone who has recently done this one:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2448208&page=3

We are also doing this excursion in April. We were recently in St. John on a land vacation and we want to go back during our cruise. There are taxis to the beaches (or rent a Jeep in town to explore) but most if not all of the shopping and restaurants are within walking distance of the ferry in Cruz Bay. The Jeep rental was about $90 for the day in December 2016. Remember to drive on the left.

We just did this excursion in December. We've always gone to St. John on our own in the past but chose the excursion this time because there were 6 other ships in port that day and we wanted to have a guaranteed spot on the ferry! I'm glad we did. The ferry was private, RCI and Celebrity only, and much faster than the regular ferry. Plus, going by water the whole way is prettier and more time efficient than taking the taxi to Red Hook... no concern about traffic coming back.

Trunk Bay Beach or an island tour is the way to go. For a first timer, I'd recommend an island tour... lots of beautiful things to see and you can hop off at Trunk Bay near the end of the tour. Plenty of taxis there to catch back to Cruz Bay.

From Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay is $7 per person taxi fare (mostly open air trucks with covered benches, some enclosed vans with A/C). Trunk Bay is part of the National Park so you will pay a small entrance fee ($5 pp). The chairs were $10 each to rent. No need for umbrellas, there's plenty of shade... the beach backs up to sea grapes and palm trees. It's the most beautiful place in the world!

The facilities (restrooms, showers, lockers, etc.) are clean and nice, like any national park stateside. They also rent snorkel gear and have a snorkel trail from the beach.

Have a great time!

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For those of you who have used the Cruz Bay ferry how alike or different is the experience to tendering say in CoCo Cay or Grand Cayman. My husband had a bad experience with deep sea fishing and is refusing to go on excursions with catamarans or ferrys. I need to go to St. John!!!

For those of you who have used the Cruz Bay ferry how alike or different is the experience to tendering say in CoCo Cay or Grand Cayman. My husband had a bad experience with deep sea fishing and is refusing to go on excursions with catamarans or ferrys. I need to go to St. John!!!

Define "bad experience?" There are several private ferry services and several types of ferries, and it's not clear in advance which one will operate the excursion on a particular day. Ocean Dreams Water Taxi has a brand new high speed ferry that is very nice, but I don't know if RC uses them. Some of the other ferries are older, slower or less comfortable but they are all larger than tenders.

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Define "bad experience?" There are several private ferry services and several types of ferries, and it's not clear in advance which one will operate the excursion on a particular day. Ocean Dreams Water Taxi has a brand new high speed ferry that is very nice, but I don't know if RC uses them. Some of the other ferries are older, slower or less comfortable but they are all larger than tenders.

 

 

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Perfect if it's larger than a tender. Things like how far and how choppy. Fishing boat 6 miles out to ocean and 6 ft high waves. Even those who were seasoned got sick. Only me and another wife did not

Perfect if it's larger than a tender. Things like how far and how choppy. Fishing boat 6 miles out to ocean and 6 ft high waves. Even those who were seasoned got sick. Only me and another wife did not

Be forewarned, the ferry ride from Crown Bay to Cruz Bay is 35-45 minutes and can be choppy especially because the ferries try to run at full throttle in open water. It really depends on the sea conditions. On the other hand, the ferry ride from Red Hook to Cruz Bay is only about 20 minutes and is more tolerable in terms of ride quality (crosses the somewhat protected channel between the islands) but that involves taking a taxi from the cruise port over to the east end of St. Thomas.

Be forewarned, the ferry ride from Crown Bay to Cruz Bay is 35-45 minutes and can be choppy especially because the ferries try to run at full throttle in open water. It really depends on the sea conditions. On the other hand, the ferry ride from Red Hook to Cruz Bay is only about 20 minutes and is more tolerable in terms of ride quality (crosses the somewhat protected channel between the islands) but that involves taking a taxi from the cruise port over to the east end of St. Thomas.

Thank you. I'll have to wait till he's happy about our new couch and spring it on him then!! I just have to do this.

Going on the Oasis April 39th,what is the total cost RT on your own to Trunk bay with taxi to Red Hook? The RCCL on your own is 39pp seems too cheap to include all the transportation to Trunk Bay. Also how much actual St. John beach time will we get if boat docks 11-7? That's we we want the most beach time. Thanks!

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Going on the Oasis April 39th,what is the total cost RT on your own to Trunk bay with taxi to Red Hook? The RCCL on your own is 39pp seems too cheap to include all the transportation to Trunk Bay. Also how much actual St. John beach time will we get if boat docks 11-7? That's we we want the most beach time. Thanks!

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The excursion does not include taxi fare between Cruz Bay and the beach, only the ferry to St. John and back.

We have not done this yet, but I don't think you will have more time if you do it on your own than via the excursion.

It can take 30-45 minutes each way to taxi between the cruise port and Red Hook, plus ferry time (20 minutes sailing plus boarding time), plus another taxi between Cruz Bay and Trunk Bay (another 20-30 minutes).

At least with the excursion you won't miss the ship as long as you are on the return ferry.

In Dec. 2016 I paid $15 per person each way for the taxi to Red Hook. The ferry is $14 round trip. The taxi on St. John to the beach is about $10-15 each way.

The excursion does not include taxi fare between Cruz Bay and the beach, only the ferry to St. John and back.

 

We have not done this yet, but I don't think you will have more time if you do it on your own than via the excursion.

 

It can take 30-45 minutes each way to taxi between the cruise port and Red Hook, plus ferry time (20 minutes sailing plus boarding time), plus another taxi between Cruz Bay and Trunk Bay (another 20-30 minutes).

 

At least with the excursion you won't miss the ship as long as you are on the return ferry.

 

In Dec. 2016 I paid $15 per person each way for the taxi to Red Hook. The ferry is $14 round trip. The taxi on St. John to the beach is about $10-15 each way.

Isn't the ferry with the ship the one closest to the ship? I hear it's rocky and people get sick, is that true?

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Isn't the ferry with the ship the one closest to the ship? I hear it's rocky and people get sick, is that true?

 

 

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Yes that is true. Depends on the sea conditions.

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Yes that is true. Depends on the sea conditions.

 

 

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If it's rocky will the ship excursion sub the Red Hook ferry?

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