RCL/Celebrity St. John On Your Own Excursion

Has anyone done this lately? We will be on the Summit in Nov and plan to go STJ for the first time. This will be our third trip to STT and haven't made it to STJ yet and are going this time. Was planning to do the Taxi/Ferry/Taxi to get out to one of the beach's on STJ but have heard there is a St. John On Your Own Excursion on Celebrity for something like $30 or so bucks.

Is this true? If so has anyone done it and can provide the info please. Not that we are not adventurous but why take the worry out of getting there and back when for a few more $$$ we can get there with no worries.

Cheers!

Did it 2x with celebrity. Leaves 10am. 35 -45 minute ferry ride. Ferry right next to ship. Taxis at st John that will take you to trunk or cinnamon. Fee at trunk to get in. None at cinnamon. Food at both. Easy to get cabs back. Only thing I didn't like was the cab drivers will only go to those 2 beaches. They are beautiful. Great snorkelling. Invest in snorkeling gear. I'm back again in April and have arranged a private cab to pick me up to take me around island to watermelon cay. I just want to try something different. You'll love the beaches.

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Does this ferry return a different times or is there just one time for it to go back? Is there shopping on/around STJ? Wife doesn't like to sit on a beach for 5plus hours and lie to shop for stuff.

Has anyone done this lately? We will be on the Summit in Nov and plan to go STJ for the first time. This will be our third trip to STT and haven't made it to STJ yet and are going this time. Was planning to do the Taxi/Ferry/Taxi to get out to one of the beach's on STJ but have heard there is a St. John On Your Own Excursion on Celebrity for something like $30 or so bucks.

 

Is this true? If so has anyone done it and can provide the info please. Not that we are not adventurous but why take the worry out of getting there and back when for a few more $$$ we can get there with no worries.

 

Cheers!

When we were on the Summit back in 2015 we decided to go to St John on our own. At that time the price was not much less than doing it on own. We had about 8 other people join us since we had done it before and they hadn't. We got off the ship soon after being cleared. We went to Red Hook and caught the next ferry. It was great to be on the beach on St John before 10am. The cruise excursion was just getting ready to start over there.

And going on your own you can catch whatever ferry you want to go back. Just leave yourself enough time. At the time we were doing it the cruise excursion had 1 set time to return. I am not sure if that is the way it is now but I assume so. Round trip would take an hour and half and would use more fuel and they most likely wouldn't do it. It not like having a fleet of buses to move people around.

Does this ferry return a different times or is there just one time for it to go back? Is there shopping on/around STJ? Wife doesn't like to sit on a beach for 5plus hours and lie to shop for stuff.

Leaves st Thomas at 10am. Leaves st John at 330. You can look at shops at port before you go (I'm assuming you are arriving at 8ish.). You arrive at 1045 in st John roughly. Taxi to trunk bay or cinnamon (15 minutes). So you will be on beach by 11am. You'll want to leave by 310 at the latest to get back to ferry. A lot of taxis at cinnamon and trunk. I don't shop, I'm a snorkeling guru so I can't help with that. [emoji6] it's such a beautiful island with beautiful beaches. If wife doesn't like that maybe arrange a private tour around island and have them stop at shops?

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Only thing I didn't like was the cab drivers will only go to those 2 beaches...I'm back again in April and have arranged a private cab to pick me up to take me around island to watermelon cay.

Even for a little extra $$ they won't take you to any other beaches?

Which private cab service did you use?

Awesome info!! But if you take the cruise excursion to St johns do they drop you right at Trunk Bay or do you have to pay for another taxi ride?

How much is the taxi to Trunk Bay?

Also is there an entrance fee for Trunk Bay or is included in the excursion fee?

I am going to use aqua car rentals (they have taxi excursions). No, we offered money and were turned down. I think they can only do fares in certain areas or they have a block that they can accept fares from. That's what someone who lives there told me. You do need to take cab to trunk. Have fun. St John is one of my favorite places to snorkel and the beaches are beautiful.

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Did it 2x with celebrity. Leaves 10am. 35 -45 minute ferry ride. Ferry right next to ship. Taxis at st John thajt will take you to trunk or cinnamon. Fee at trunk to get in. None at cinnamon. Food at both. Easy to get cabs back. Only thing I didn't like was the cab drivers will only go to those 2 beaches. They are beautiful. Great snorkelling. Invest in snorkeling gear. I'm back again in April and have arranged a private cab to pick me up to take me around island to watermelon cay. I just want to try something different. You'll love the beaches.

 

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So the taxi to the beach is not included in the cost of the excursion? How much is it per person to get a ride to Trunk bay? What is the admission fee?

No it isn't. I don't remember cost of cab to trunk bay or admission. It's been posted a number of times and you can probably Google all costs.

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When we were on the Summit back in 2015 we decided to go to St John on our own. At that time the price was not much less than doing it on own. We had about 8 other people join us since we had done it before and they hadn't. We got off the ship soon after being cleared. We went to Red Hook and caught the next ferry. It was great to be on the beach on St John before 10am. The cruise excursion was just getting ready to start over there.

And going on your own you can catch whatever ferry you want to go back. Just leave yourself enough time. At the time we were doing it the cruise excursion had 1 set time to return. I am not sure if that is the way it is now but I assume so. Round trip would take an hour and half and would use more fuel and they most likely wouldn't do it. It not like having a fleet of buses to move people around.

We did it once on our own. Do to road construction we almost missed the ship. For the few dollars in savings. It is not worth the risk IMHO.

They will drop you off at Hawk Nest Beach.

I am going to use aqua car rentals (they have taxi excursions). No, we offered money and were turned down.

I just emailed Aqua Blu Car Rental; I will report back after I hear from them.

I'm really wanting to hit some beaches other than Trunk and Cinnamon.

EDIT: They emailed me back within 12 minutes; I like them already!

They will drop you off at Hawk Nest Beach.

Who drops you at Hawksnest?

I thought the taxis only went to Trunk and Cinnamon...

I was just quoted $40 for 2 roundtrip to Hawksnest; what did you pay?