Thinking about St. John and how to go

[dixieva]

We have done the cab/ferry to St. John on our own but this time we're looking at just doing the RCI excursion that will take us over there. We would get on the boat to St. John right at the same dock where the ship will be so my question is regarding how long it will take to get to St. John and if the crossing will be rough? We took the Red Hook ferry before and it was great and didn't take very long.

 

So has anyone ever done it this way and if so how was it? I don't much like rough water:eek:!

 

Well, in glancing back through this thread I think I have found my answer. Sounds like the boat ride will be longer and rougher than if we take a cab to Red Hook. The ship tour was only a few bucks more and sounded so easy to do but we need to re-think this.

Edited January 10, 2011 by dixieva

[Host Anne]

catkoe ~ you live in a pretty nice place yourself. :) I think you'll like St. John!

 

I agree that Cinnamon is typically less crowded. If you REALLY want the best beach, go one more along the north shore to Maho....it's my favorite...but sadly there are no facilities (restrooms) there. But an awesome place.

 

Reba ~ no change in the ferry schedule for Sunday's. It's about 8 - 10 minutes further from Charlotte Amalie to Red Hook than it is from the ships in Havensight (if that is where you are docked). I'll check the cruise ship schedule. You can google St. Thomas Cruise ship schedule, too and find the info. But I'm happy to look for you.

 

Sunbum...I'll check for you, too!

 

Dixi ~ if you are catching a boat from Havensight, it will be a bit rougher than from Red Hook but it's a shorter trip than the ferry from Charlotte Amalie. Just depends if you are oK with a bit rougher trip. It's not awful, just a bit more bumpy.

 

I'll be back after I get to check the schedules!

[Host Anne]

St. Thomas Ship Schedule for requested dates below

 

Sunday February 13, 2011

Emerald Princess (CB)

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Celebrity Summit (Wico)

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

 

Enchantment Of The Seas (Wico)

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Friday March 11, 2011

Emerald Princess (CB)

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

 

Seabourn Legend

7:00 AM - 5:00 PM

 

 

 

 

[6friends]

Augie and Host Anne,

You two are the best!! I have read all 18 pages of this thread and you two have so patiently given out such good information and repeated answers numerous times to those who were new to the thread. You are officially "St. John's Best Treasure" !!!:) Although I think St. John's sounds like quite a treasure in itself! THANK YOU!

[Host Anne]

6friends ~ thanks for your kind note. I think it's because Augie and I enjoy St. John so much that we are happy to answer questions, even if they've been asked before. I never get tired of talking about St. John. I have some lovely photos that hang on our walls of different places on St. John. All it takes is a quick look at them to take me back there and appreciate the day!

 

Wishing everyone a great visit to one of America's best treasures. ENJOY!

[dixieva]

Host Anne- Does it take longer to get to St. John from Havensight than from the Red Hook ferry? I might be able to handle a little bit rougher ride if it's not too long.

[jimmy2x]

Not Host Anne:D - but previous experience tells me that from Red Hook about 20 minutes, from CA about 45 minutes.

[dixieva]

Sorry but is Havensight the same as Charlotte Amalie? We would be getting the boat right from where the ship is docked at Havensight so I was wondering if the boat from there is longer than from the ferry at Red Hook.

 

Thanks.

Edited January 12, 2011 by dixieva

[jimmy2x]

From Havensight to the ferry at CA is much closer than to Red Hook - it will still be a considerably longer ride.

[dixieva]

I meant that we will be boarding a boat right at Havensight to go to St. John-it's a ship excursion so they will have a boat right there to take us over. I was wondering how long that boat ride will be-from Havensight pier to St. John.

 

Sorry I didn't explain it better. Thanks for the help.

[Host Anne]

dixieva ~ The ride from Havensight would be a bit longer than the ride from Red Hook....maybe by ten mintues, so your rough ride wouldn't be as long as it would from Charlotte Amalie. I'd guess the ride from Havensight is about 30 - 35 minutes. I'll have to take a look at a map and see if I can give a better educated guess.

[Host Anne]

Dixieva ~ I take it back. Your ride from Havensight is going to be very close to the same as the ride from Charlotte Amalie would be. So I'm guessing the majority of the ride could be rough depending on the weather and wind the day you are there.

 

Here's a link to a map that shows you that Havensight is in the same harbor as Charlottle Amalie. You can see how much of the island you have to navigate along the south side in the open seas.

 

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/st/st-thomas-map.shtml

[dixieva]

Thanks very much Anne and Jimmy!

 

I think we'll go back to Plan A and just get a taxi to Red Hook over to St. John. That was a very pleasant ferry ride.

[Starrgazer50]

I have a question regarding the Red Hook Ferry. Is there more than one Ferry at Red Hook? I read that the ferry runs every hour on the hour. Is that from the St. Johns side to St. Thomas?

Then does it run every hour on the half hour from St. Thomas to St. Johns? I just want to time myself properly. My ship docks at 9:00am and leaves at 6:00pm.

Edited January 15, 2011 by Karaokelady

[Host Anne]

Karaokelady ~ both the Red Hook and Cruz Bay ferries (those are the two ports .... Red Hook on St. Thomas & Cruz Bay on St. John) depart every hour on the hour. So essentially, the two ferries pass each other approximately mid-way across the sound.

 

If your ship docks at 9:00 AM, you should be able to make the 10:00 AM ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay. I'd recommend taking the 4:00 PM ferry from Cruz Bay back to Red Hook (at the latest). If you want a little more comfort level, catch the 3:00 PM ferry back to Red Hook.

 

Hope that makes sense.

[MindTheGap1918]

Is Cinnamon the only beach that offers kayak rentals? Not sure if I missed it in the thread. I'm trying to convince my boyfriend to go over on our own and am hoping to find a beach that offers both snorkeling and kayaking. Thanks! :D

[Host Anne]

MindTheGap (I know right where that is) ~ a quick search shows that Cinnamon is the only beach tha actually lists sea kayak rentals. If this is something you really want to do, Cinnamon is a great spot! On the way there, you'll get to see lots of pretty overlooks and scenic views. I'd do it if it was important to those I was going with.

 

You can google US Virigin Islands National Park to bring up the info on what is available at what beach.

[MindTheGap1918]

So it appears after talking to my boyfriend last night, he really wants to go scuba diving on St. Thomas, but was afraid to tell me because he knows how badly I want to visit St. John. (since our cruise is for his birthday, I'll let it slide ;))

 

Any thoughts on a solo female making the trip to St. John? From reading the thread, I understand the logistics of how to get there. I'm most likely going to settle on Trunk Bay. Is there anything else other than the common risks of traveling solo that I should be concerned about?

[Host Anne]

Mind ~ A solo trip to St. John is probably one of the most comfortable solo excursion I'd be willing to take. You will be on a taxi from the ship to the ferry dock with others from your ship; on the ferry with others from your ship; and likely in a taxi from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay with others on your ship; and on the beach with others from your ship. In fact, have you been to the roll call for your cruise? Chances are that there are already others from your cruise going to St. John that you could meet and travel over to the St. John with. If you haven't found your roll call, let me know what ship and date you are sailing and I'll find it for you and post a link here.

 

As for cautions, it's like anywhere else you travel today. Be aware of your surroundings, leave valuable things like jewelry or electronics in your safe on the ship, take a small camera (like a Cybershot) instead of a bigger camera, take just what you need - beach towel, sun block, sun glasses, cash for the day, a credit card. I recommend a waterproof neck wallet or fanny pack that you can take into the water if you want to snorkel and take a swim. You can get the neck wallet on the ship or find other small waterproof items before you leave home.

 

If by some wild chance you are in St. Thomas on Tuesday, Feb. 15, you can go with us!

[decibel123]

is this per person or per trip

[MindTheGap1918]

Mind ~ A solo trip to St. John is probably one of the most comfortable solo excursion I'd be willing to take. You will be on a taxi from the ship to the ferry dock with others from your ship; on the ferry with others from your ship; and likely in a taxi from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay with others on your ship; and on the beach with others from your ship. In fact, have you been to the roll call for your cruise? Chances are that there are already others from your cruise going to St. John that you could meet and travel over to the St. John with. If you haven't found your roll call, let me know what ship and date you are sailing and I'll find it for you and post a link here.

 

As for cautions, it's like anywhere else you travel today. Be aware of your surroundings, leave valuable things like jewelry or electronics in your safe on the ship, take a small camera (like a Cybershot) instead of a bigger camera, take just what you need - beach towel, sun block, sun glasses, cash for the day, a credit card. I recommend a waterproof neck wallet or fanny pack that you can take into the water if you want to snorkel and take a swim. You can get the neck wallet on the ship or find other small waterproof items before you leave home.

 

If by some wild chance you are in St. Thomas on Tuesday, Feb. 15, you can go with us!

 

Thank you for the invite! If I had my way, I'd go on my cruise and then come back in Feb! :D I will be there January 24. I did search the roll call for my ship and it looks like another group is going on their own. I may post asking if I can join, however I really wouldn't mind going on my own. I think it would be a nice relaxing day for me. It's my understanding too that there are lockers at Trunk Bay so I will lock up my cash and anything else valuable there if I decide to venture out to snorkel. Another thing that will appear to make things a little easier is my boyfriend may use Red Hook Diving Center so then we can at least share a taxi to and from Red Hook.

 

Thank you for all your input!

[meredy338]

Was thinking about booking RCCL's St John guided shopping tour and leisure time tour to maximize the amount of time we would have in St John. (The other tours are 4 hours as opposed to 6.5 with the shopping tour)

 

We will be traveling with my 3 year old and noticed there is an age limit of 8 listed on RCCL's excursion page? Why would there be an age limit on a ferry ride and a shopping tour?

 

Any ideas who to contact to see if we can book this tour?

[retiredldo]

Here are some cost for two folks

$20.00 cab from havensight to red hook

$24.00 ferry to cruz bay st john

$20.00 round trip for taxi to hawksnest beach

add 4 dollars if you go to trunk back for the RT taxi and then another 4 per person to get into trunk bay

 

Just did this last Monday and went to Hawksnest beach per our Host it was great Good call Anne

 

Pete

[FCSTeacher]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

We have visited St. Thomas once before and were wondering what to do on the stop this time. This thread has decided us--do St. John on our own. The information is wonderful. We feel that we will have no problem on our own getting to the ferry and then finding a tour of the island. We are not really beach people, but will check on our roll call to see if there are others who want to make up a group so we can have a taxi of our own for the day. The cruise on RC doesn't leave until March 27 so we have time to get the rest of our act together.

 

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information. It is sad that everyone doesn't know about this site! You are truly wonderful to take the time to share all your knowledge!

 

Les and Nan

[Host Anne]

decibel ~ it's approximately $36 per person if you go on your own (taxis, ferry, Trunk Bay admission)

 

MindtheGap ~ have a fantastic day. It is definitely one place I feel very comfortable on my own for the day.

 

Meredy ~ I have no idea why they'd have an age limit of 8 on this tour. Are they using a catamaran instead of a ferry to get you to St. John? Perhaps that could be the reason? If you are a member of the Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society, I'd start with them: (800) 526-9723. If not, call the general number: (800) 398-9819. One or the other should be able to help you.

 

Pete ~ thanks for the update on your day. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for posting your costs. By the way, I'm guessing you meant it was $4 to get from Hawksnest to Trunk, right?

 

Les and Nan ~ so glad we've helped you decide to visit St. John. You will not regret it. I love taking people around to show them the island, not just the beaches. You likely won't find a taxi to take just the two of you as they are all safari-type taxis that hold anywhere from 8 - 20 people. But you will find lots willing to take you on an island tour. You may have to drop a couple of people off at the beaches first, but that's not a big deal.

 

My suggestion for an island tour would be to let your driver know you want to see the north shore overlooks (they ALL stop here), the Annaberg Sugar Plantation ruins (walk up the hill to see the beautiful views from here); head up to Bordeaux Mountain and the Chateau Bordeaux overview (one of my favorite views in the world) and then down to Shipwreck's Landing for lunch. You could then head back to Cruz Bay and spend an hour or so exploring town, visiting Mongoose Junction (lots of funs shops, bars, etc) before heading back to Cruz Bay. Most taxi's will charge you $25 - $35 for a tour similar to this. If you can get others to join you, the cost is usually the lesser of the two. At least that was the cost when we did it last January. Have a wonderful time. Happy to help!