Thinking about St. John and how to go

[LunaSeaRetreat]

After reading about how to get to St. John, I decided to take the ship's tour on the Mercury. I'm not sure if others offer the same tour or not but ours was great. We were not docking in St. Thomas until 9:00 so catching the early ferry was not possible.

The boat, the Independent Sea, met us at the ship at 10:00. We had a nice narrated tour to St. John. There were 3 different tours on the boat. We were on the walking tour. The captain made it clear that if we wanted to we could head directly to the beach. One couple chose this option and he directed them to the correct taxi. After the walking tour which we enjoyed he arranged of a taxi to pick us up at the end of the tour. We chose to go to Trunk Bay. The taxi driver suggested that we head back to the dock at 3:00 which we did and had some time to shop in Cruz Bay. We didn't leave until 4:15. On the way back we were given rum punches and enjoyed a quiet ride back. The Mercury left at 6:00.

 

I think the trick to getting a similar excursion is to make sure it is listed as a 6 or 6.5 hour tour with free time.

Cynthia

[travelpeon]

After reading about how to get to St. John, I decided to take the ship's tour on the Mercury. I'm not sure if others offer the same tour or not but ours was great. We were not docking in St. Thomas until 9:00 so catching the early ferry was not possible.

The boat, the Independent Sea, met us at the ship at 10:00. We had a nice narrated tour to St. John. There were 3 different tours on the boat. We were on the walking tour. The captain made it clear that if we wanted to we could head directly to the beach. One couple chose this option and he directed them to the correct taxi. After the walking tour which we enjoyed he arranged of a taxi to pick us up at the end of the tour. We chose to go to Trunk Bay. The taxi driver suggested that we head back to the dock at 3:00 which we did and had some time to shop in Cruz Bay. We didn't leave until 4:15. On the way back we were given rum punches and enjoyed a quiet ride back. The Mercury left at 6:00.

 

I think the trick to getting a similar excursion is to make sure it is listed as a 6 or 6.5 hour tour with free time.

Cynthia

 

THANKS!!! This is exactly what I was wondering, since Celebrity seems to offer the same tour as Royal. So you had several hours at Trunk Bay?

[MindTheGap1918]

I was on the Carnival Victory a couple weeks ago and our first stop was St. Thomas/St. John. After a little encouragement from Host Anne and reading through the rest of this thread, I decided to venture to St. John on my own while my boyfriend stayed on St. Thomas for scuba diving. Going to St. John on your own is so EASY especially as a lone female! I did not once feel unsafe. I decided to spend my time at Trunk Bay. I'm a talker so I made friends along the way on the ferry and taxi and spent the morning with another solo female who was in St. Thomas for business andflew in a day early and she had never snorkeled before! Don’t waste your money on a cruise excursion. Carnival’s Trunk Bay excursion was there and gone while I was still soaking up rays and snorkeling. As long as you plan accordingly and leave yourself enough time to get back to the ship, you won’t have a problem. It’s $12 round trip on the ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay and then $6 each way to Trunk Bay. There is a $4 charge to enter Trunk Bay (worth it, goes towards the National Park) There are chair rentals, snorkel equipment, and lockers available there. I'm already trying to convince my boyfriend that our next trip should be back to St. Thomas/St. John :D

[Smileeface]

Hi MindTheGap, thanks for your post. Can you tell me a few more things please.

1. Which port was your ship docked at--the furthest port from Red Hook?

2. What time was your ship there from-dock/sail times?

3. If you snorkeled and rented equipment, how much to rent it?

4. How long did you actually stay at Trunk Bay, the beach itself?

5. When you took the ferry back out of St. John, how many hours did you allow at that point from the time the ferry picked you up on the way back to sail time?

(I'm not asking actual times because there is so much talk here about converting ship time to island time, that it confuses me :o)

[MindTheGap1918]

Hi MindTheGap, thanks for your post. Can you tell me a few more things please.

1. Which port was your ship docked at--the furthest port from Red Hook?

2. What time was your ship there from-dock/sail times?

3. If you snorkeled and rented equipment, how much to rent it?

4. How long did you actually stay at Trunk Bay, the beach itself?

5. When you took the ferry back out of St. John, how many hours did you allow at that point from the time the ferry picked you up on the way back to sail time?

(I'm not asking actual times because there is so much talk here about converting ship time to island time, that it confuses me :o)

 

1. We docked at Havensight. I would say it took about 20 minutes to get from the dock to Red Hook. Once I reached the dock, I walked right in and purchased a round trip ticket to St. John.

 

2. The Victory was in port from 7AM-5PM, you are told to be back on the ship at 4:30PM. I believe I left the dock at 8:10AM and made it to Red Hook with time to spare. We were the only ship at our dock that day so they have been why there wasn't a hold up.

 

3. I took my own snorkel equipment with me. I want to say it was $7 to rent snorkel equipment, but don't quote me on it!

 

4 and 5. I was on Trunk Bay by 9:45AM and I stayed until Noon and made my way back to Cruz Bay for the 1PM ferry. I would have stayed longer, but my boyfriend was due to finish scuba diving at 2PM. Had I not wanted to get back to meet him, I would have stayed at Trunk until 1PM and taken the 2PM ferry back. It's only a 20 minute ferry ride. As I believe others have stated, I would take the ferry 3 hours before your sail time to leave yourself room for any unforeseen issues with traffic, etc.

 

Hope this helps! :)

[nabby]

Thank you for your post. I have done the same thing before but I was having a hard time explaining how easy it is to go to St. John on your own. You did a great job of explaining it. How crowded was Trunk Bay? I was planning to go to Cinnamon instead but most of my friends have never been to St. John so they may want to visit Trunk.

 

I plan to take the 2:00 ferry back since I enjoy shopping in St. John (more artsy and less touristy than St. Thomas). Our ship is in port the same time as the Carnival Victory (7:00 - 5:00)

[MindTheGap1918]

Thank you for your post. I have done the same thing before but I was having a hard time explaining how easy it is to go to St. John on your own. You did a great job of explaining it. How crowded was Trunk Bay? I was planning to go to Cinnamon instead but most of my friends have never been to St. John so they may want to visit Trunk.

 

I plan to take the 2:00 ferry back since I enjoy shopping in St. John (more artsy and less touristy than St. Thomas). Our ship is in port the same time as the Carnival Victory (7:00 - 5:00)

 

Trunk Bay was not crowded in the morning, but continued to gather a crowd closer to the afternoon. When I was leaving Trunk Bay, there was a long line at the entrance of people paying the fee to get in as well as others trying to find parking in the lot. I plan on visiting Cinnamon on my next trip as I have read many good posts about that beach.

[Smileeface]

Thanks to you all! I think I'm going to play it safe and take a ship's excursion. We'll be on the Allure at the furthest port, Charlotte Amalie(think that's the name), and we are there from 9am to 5pm. I'm just too afraid to chance it on our own--our time is tighter than what you've posted--and in the end have no more than 2 hours on the beach anyway.

 

BUT, I have found an improvement to my whole situation! For those of you on Allure or Royal Caribbean, check out the differences between these three St. John tours: STG3, STG4, STE8. The first two

STG3-Destination St. John: Historic Walking Tour & Personal Leisure Time and STG4 Destination St. John: Guided Shopping and Leisure Time ferry over straight from charlotte amalie port (a 45min ride, and yes, maybe a little rougher ride), but they are both 6hr&30min excursions. Once you are in St. John, one of the two gives you a guided shopping tour, the other gives you a walking tour, both share the same boat ride back and forth, and both say you have over 3 &1/2 hours to do as you please (after their guided tours on St. John). HOWEVER, I've read on these boards that there are people taking these excursions and ditching the guided tours, just getting there and getting a taxi straight over to Trunk Bay, allowing much more time on the beach. The cost for STG3 & STG4 is $40 per adult / $30 per child.

The STE8-St John Beach and Snorkel Tour is a tour to Trunk Bay alone, 45 min boat ride over, only 1&1/2 hours on the beach, includes park entrance & snorkel equipment--this tour is $67 per adult / $39 per child but it's only 4 hours total excursion time.

 

If I choose one of the top two excursions STG3 or STG4 that last

6 &1/2 hours at $40, and I add $12pp taxi ride roundtrip from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay, $4 for Trunk Bay entrance, about $12 for snorkel and vest rental....I'm at $68, but I'm getting much more beach/snorkel time at Trunk Bay, which is all I want. And I'm still getting a rum drink on the way back which is not included in STE8, lol :D

 

I know you could do it on your own for about $25-$30 cheaper, but for those of you in my same situation, same furthest port, same time constraint, this isn't a bad option to consider...

[TravelerThom]

Thanks to you all! I think I'm going to play it safe and take a ship's excursion. We'll be on the Allure at the furthest port, Charlotte Amalie(think that's the name), and we are there from 9am to 5pm. I'm just too afraid to chance it on our own--our time is tighter than what you've posted--and in the end have no more than 2 hours on the beach anyway.

 

BUT, I have found an improvement to my whole situation! For those of you on Allure or Royal Caribbean, check out the differences between these three St. John tours: STG3, STG4, STE8. The first two

STG3-Destination St. John: Historic Walking Tour & Personal Leisure Time and STG4 Destination St. John: Guided Shopping and Leisure Time ferry over straight from charlotte amalie port (a 45min ride, and yes, maybe a little rougher ride), but they are both 6hr&30min excursions. Once you are in St. John, one of the two gives you a guided shopping tour, the other gives you a walking tour, both share the same boat ride back and forth, and both say you have over 3 &1/2 hours to do as you please (after their guided tours on St. John). HOWEVER, I've read on these boards that there are people taking these excursions and ditching the guided tours, just getting there and getting a taxi straight over to Trunk Bay, allowing much more time on the beach. The cost for STG3 & STG4 is $40 per adult / $30 per child.

The STE8-St John Beach and Snorkel Tour is a tour to Trunk Bay alone, 45 min boat ride over, only 1&1/2 hours on the beach, includes park entrance & snorkel equipment--this tour is $67 per adult / $39 per child but it's only 4 hours total excursion time.

 

If I choose one of the top two excursions STG3 or STG4 that last

6 &1/2 hours at $40, and I add $12pp taxi ride roundtrip from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay, $4 for Trunk Bay entrance, about $12 for snorkel and vest rental....I'm at $68, but I'm getting much more beach/snorkel time at Trunk Bay, which is all I want. And I'm still getting a rum drink on the way back which is not included in STE8, lol :D

 

I know you could do it on your own for about $25-$30 cheaper, but for those of you in my same situation, same furthest port, same time constraint, this isn't a bad option to consider...

Just FYI Charlotte Amalie is the primary town on St Thomas, and the capital of USVI. There are two docks where cruise ships stop at St Thomas: Havensight [on the East side of Charlotte Amalie harbor and closer to Red Hook] and Crown Point [on the West side of Charlotte Amalie harbor; you have to go from Crown Point through Charlotte Amalie to get to Red Hook (unless you go all the way around the island)]. On really busy days there will also be ships anchored in the harbor and tendering directly to Charlotte Amalie. Most RCI ships have, at least in the past, docked at Havensight, but Allure and Oasis have to dock at Crown Point due to their size.

 

At work we used to have an expression "Fast, Cheap, Good - your choice of any TWO." I have been to St Thomas many times and do my own thing, but ship tours are Fast and Good [just not cheap] and have a "get you back on the ship" guarantee. They can be the best choice for many people.

 

ENJOY St John

Thom

[meredy338]

Thanks to you all! I think I'm going to play it safe and take a ship's excursion. We'll be on the Allure at the furthest port, Charlotte Amalie(think that's the name), and we are there from 9am to 5pm. I'm just too afraid to chance it on our own--our time is tighter than what you've posted--and in the end have no more than 2 hours on the beach anyway.

 

BUT, I have found an improvement to my whole situation! For those of you on Allure or Royal Caribbean, check out the differences between these three St. John tours: STG3, STG4, STE8. The first two

STG3-Destination St. John: Historic Walking Tour & Personal Leisure Time and STG4 Destination St. John: Guided Shopping and Leisure Time ferry over straight from charlotte amalie port (a 45min ride, and yes, maybe a little rougher ride), but they are both 6hr&30min excursions. Once you are in St. John, one of the two gives you a guided shopping tour, the other gives you a walking tour, both share the same boat ride back and forth, and both say you have over 3 &1/2 hours to do as you please (after their guided tours on St. John). HOWEVER, I've read on these boards that there are people taking these excursions and ditching the guided tours, just getting there and getting a taxi straight over to Trunk Bay, allowing much more time on the beach. The cost for STG3 & STG4 is $40 per adult / $30 per child.

The STE8-St John Beach and Snorkel Tour is a tour to Trunk Bay alone, 45 min boat ride over, only 1&1/2 hours on the beach, includes park entrance & snorkel equipment--this tour is $67 per adult / $39 per child but it's only 4 hours total excursion time.

 

If I choose one of the top two excursions STG3 or STG4 that last

6 &1/2 hours at $40, and I add $12pp taxi ride roundtrip from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay, $4 for Trunk Bay entrance, about $12 for snorkel and vest rental....I'm at $68, but I'm getting much more beach/snorkel time at Trunk Bay, which is all I want. And I'm still getting a rum drink on the way back which is not included in STE8, lol :D

 

I know you could do it on your own for about $25-$30 cheaper, but for those of you in my same situation, same furthest port, same time constraint, this isn't a bad option to consider...

 

Smileeface,

When is your cruise? Was hoping someone could ask the STG3 or STG4 excursion people why there is an age 8 minimum for that trip but no minimum for the ST John "on your own" tour. We want to take our 3 year old. We cruise on march 19th

[bajathree]

After reading about how to get to St. John, I decided to take the ship's tour on the Mercury. I'm not sure if others offer the same tour or not but ours was great. We were not docking in St. Thomas until 9:00 so catching the early ferry was not possible.

The boat, the Independent Sea, met us at the ship at 10:00. We had a nice narrated tour to St. John. There were 3 different tours on the boat. We were on the walking tour. The captain made it clear that if we wanted to we could head directly to the beach. One couple chose this option and he directed them to the correct taxi. After the walking tour which we enjoyed he arranged of a taxi to pick us up at the end of the tour. We chose to go to Trunk Bay. The taxi driver suggested that we head back to the dock at 3:00 which we did and had some time to shop in Cruz Bay. We didn't leave until 4:15. On the way back we were given rum punches and enjoyed a quiet ride back. The Mercury left at 6:00.

 

I think the trick to getting a similar excursion is to make sure it is listed as a 6 or 6.5 hour tour with free time.

Cynthia

 

Thanks you Cynthia for posting....I am glad to hear that we can just use this as transportation over to St John's and that there was no issue bypassing the walking tour part and heading straight to the beach.....I think it's well worth the $40/pp to go this route.

[parrotplay]

Thanks you Cynthia for posting....I am glad to hear that we can just use this as transportation over to St John's and that there was no issue bypassing the walking tour part and heading straight to the beach.....I think it's well worth the $40/pp to go this route.

 

I am also taking the ship shopping tour to St John that is 6 1/2 hours and go on our own. I plan on taking a taxi tour for a hour to get a feel for the island and then me and my husband will spend a few hours at Cinnamon Bay and then do a bit of shopping before we return on the ferry. This tour is only $6.00 more, but if you plan on tipping your taxi driver to Red Hook, it is about the same price, plus the ship's ferry back serves a rum punch;)

[Smileeface]

Meredy338, I looked on RCI's website and the only thing I see as far as restrictions goes is for STG3 they gave it a "strenuous" symbol, maybe for steep walking during the tour-? The STG4 shopping tour has a "mild" symbol; both say 280lb limit, but it doesn't specify age. Maybe because of the boat ride over being possibly rough??? I cruise after you in June, sorry. You may want to contact them.

 

TravelerThom, yes, thanks for the Crown Point port name--I couldn't remember! I just knew it was the furthest one from Red Hook Ferry.

 

I will tell you all something I found strange. I actually went ahead and booked the STG3 tour last night. I kept trying repeatedly...got through all the steps, and it asks, "Do you weigh less than or equal to 280lbs?" I clicked YES, thinking, "yes, we do weigh less than or equal to 280lbs..." and it kept saying we had a height or weight issue and could not reserve. After going back to it over several hours and frustrated I thought, what the heck, I'll click "NO" not really thinking it would make a difference, and bamm! The reservation went through! It's worded rather strange, tricky. I wonder if others will be having a problem too...

[Wake2port]

My Husband and I will be arriving at St Thomas on the Carnival Victory in April. This will be our second time there. The first time we took Papa bear tour up to Paradise point and then stopped at a beach on the way back, we decided against Magens bay and went to a free beach instead. It was nice.

So for this trip its a toss up to either go to Magens bay or Trunk Bay. How do the two beaches compare?

 

Also, we do not own our own snorkel gear and would like to purchase it in St Thomas, does anyone know of a good place and how much they cost roughly? We live in Toronto Canada and at this time of year i dont think we will have much luck finding a set here.. it will be a nice souvenir that we can use for the rest of our trip. St Thomas is our first stop.

 

So, the fact that we need to shop around for this gear will take time away from our trip to Trunk Bay. We can just wing it and see how we feel on the day of once we're there.

 

Victory arrives at 7am, are the shops even open that early to get snorkels? Perhaps we should just go directly to Cruz Bay and buy snorkels there. So much to consider and so many options, its difficult to decide how to spend the day.

One more question - I read earlier that the cost of Taxi is approx $10pp, if we find another couple to share a taxi with will that save us money perhaps cost only $5pp?

 

Thanks in advance for anyone who can offer some tips and advice.

[Host Anne]

Wake ~ I'm bias. Magens Bay is lovely. Trunk (or any of the north shore beaches) is fantastic. It's hard to put it into words. Megan is a long, horseshoe type bay. The St. John beaches are more expansive with beautiful vistas. I prefer St. John.

 

As for snorkel equipment, Cruz Bay Watersports would probably carry what you need but I think you will likely pay a premium to purchase snorkel gear in the islands. It's right in downtown Cruz Bay, a short walk from the ferry. I think you might be better off purchasing some on line before you go. There are lots of great sites (google snorkel equipment). Do a little research (I just bought a new mask after spending a couple of hours researching on line) and you'll probably find just what you need at a reasonable price.

 

But it's relatively inexpensive to rent snorkel gear at Trunk or Cinnamon. I think it's less than $10 for the day. You might consider that as well.

 

No, sharing taxis with other people does not change the pricing. The fares are per person regardless how many people are in your taxi. The last time we went to St. John, it was $17 round trip to Red Hook for the taxi and then $12 round trip for the taxi to the beach on St. John.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[meredy338]

Meredy338, I looked on RCI's website and the only thing I see as far as restrictions goes is for STG3 they gave it a "strenuous" symbol, maybe for steep walking during the tour-? The STG4 shopping tour has a "mild" symbol; both say 280lb limit, but it doesn't specify age. Maybe because of the boat ride over being possibly rough??? I cruise after you in June, sorry. You may want to contact them.

 

 

I don't believe it! I just checked the website again (for like the 6th time) and the age restricition is gone!!! I had contacted RCCL about the issue weeks ago and never heard back from them so I just assumed we'd wait until we boarded the ship to ask the Excursion desk. Maybe they actually looked into it and fixed it! Yay! I am so excited. We will book this one soon!

[Smileeface]

Oh, good Meredy!

 

Wake2port, if you see yourself snorkeling more in the future, purchasing is a great idea. But if it's only going to happen 'once in a blue moon' renting may be the better option, and you won't have to pack it and carry it around.

I did find the websites two shopping areas on Cruz Bay near the ferry dock: Wharfside Village (wharfsidevillage.com); and Mongoose Junction (mongoosejunctionstjohn.com/index.php) -- they have Hurricane Alley Active Wear and Snorkel Rental--seems they sell equipment also.

And as Host Anne has posted here, several of the beaches rent onsite as well and you can most likely get a better price shopping it online.

We don't snorkel often enough; my husband used to dive and snorkel quite a bit when he was younger. He doesn't even want to pack his gear now--he doesn't go for the dives anymore, just snorkeling with me and our girls. So we just rent, but I pack a few disinfectant wipes in a baggie and use them with the rentals. Who knows if it even makes a difference (disinfectant needs at least 10 or 20 mins contact time to actually disinfect), but it just makes me feel better, lol :D

[cruisegirl1]

Hi all – we have decided to try to go to St. John for or upcoming RCCL Freedom cruise in May. We are in port in St. Thomas from 11AM-7PM. Is this type of trip ( on our own) doable. Figured we would get a 1:00 ferry (not sure if can catch the 12:00) and get the return ferry at 4:00.

Ship tour will take us there ( directly from the ship port – I think, at 1:15) for $$34pp. Is it worth it to do a ship tour because of the short time there or can we do it on our own?

 

Thanks – don’t know what I would do without CC advice!

 

 

Marci

[Smileeface]

Cruisegirl1, go to the first page of this same thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1196166

and look out for posts by HostAnne and augie. HostAnne gives a great wealth of information on going to Trunk Bay on your own. If you are docked at Havensight you will have time galore; a little less time if you are docked at Crown Bay, but still enough time. Just read on. Their posts really, really helped me in my own decision making.

[travelpeon]

Wake2Port - If you're hoping to save money, it might be best to order online or go to your local dive shop. Google of "Toronto Dive Shop" shows several establishments. I assume that the Canada flight offers free check in luggage. Swim mask and snorkel would not be my ideal souvenirs... I'd go with spending money on something I can see/use everyday instead. Something that when I use it, it reminds me of a specific vacation, rather than having to go somewhere I can snorkel.

 

If you wear glasses it is great to do some research online so you can get mask/goggles that have the correct lenses. They are made similar to reading glasses so you don't need to go with a custom prescription pair unless you want to. I know some rental dive shops carry them but it might be easier to make sure you have the right prescription beforehand.

[cruisegirl1]

Thanks, we read Hosts info and a few very good other others (did not get through the entire thread) and would like to take the trip on our own. We have taken many excursions o our out and generally find the cost and timing to be much better than on the shop.

 

It seems the main difference with the ship excursion is that we will get picked up at the pier and don’t need to go to the ferry deck. Tying to decide if the few dollars cost and more structured time schedule is worth it.

 

Thanks, M

[montREALady]

I'll begin by saying I LOVE St. John. We have been heading there for years (and taking fellow passengers with us) each time our ship docks in St. Thomas. I even love the adventure and anticipation of getting there (grabbing a taxi, arriving at the Red Hook ferry, watching St. John grow closer as we cross the channel). It does take a little bit to get there but for us, it's worth it.

 

There are several reasons I'd recommend going on your own (or with a small group from your ship): You can go and return on your own schedule; you can go early and beat the crowds (we always get off the ship as early as possible and catch the first available ferry); you'll save money. While a sailboat excursion will give you a sense of the beauty of St. John, I think the experience is better if you take the ferry to the island, explore and enjoy the wonderful views and beaches from on land.

 

To get there, regardless of where you dock, hop in a taxi and head to the Red Hook Ferry dock. The ferry to Cruz Bay St. John leaves every hour on the hour. If you make the 9:00 AM ferry, you'll beat the crowds and have more time on the island. It's only about a 20 minute ferry ride. When you get off the ferry there are bunches of taxis waiting to take you to the beach or on an island tour or both. It's about $6 per person from the dock to Trunk Bay with a couple of wonderful scenic overlooks on the way (my avatar is taken from the Trunk Bay overlook). It is a spectacular island.

 

If you want to rent a car, they run about $70 - $75 for the day and are typically small jeep-type vehicles. The drive on the other side of the road here so be prepared for that. If you just want to relax and enjoy, I'd suggest taking the taxi to the beach.

 

Trunk Bay is by far the most popular beach. It has the marked underwawter snorkeling trail and it is a beautiful beach (you can see it in my avatar). There is a $4 admission fee for Trunk Bay. If snorkeling isn't key, I'd suggest going to Cinnamon Bay, the next major beach down from Trunk. It, too, is very pretty, snorkeling not as good but no admission fee.

 

Trunk Bay and Cinnamon both have a decent beach snack bar (burgers, chix fingers, etc) and a place you can rent beach chairs (not the best shape) and snorkel gear (OK stuff).

 

There are many other gorgeous beaches along the north shore of the island. Hawksnest (has restroom facilities but not food/chair renta) and Maho (no facilities) are two of my favorites. Taxis will take you to any of them. Taxis are readily available at Trunk and Cinnamon all day long.

 

If you prefer a nicer lunch, there are also lots of nice restaurants back in Cruz Bay within walking distance of the ferry dock. www.stjohnguidebook.com gives you plenty of suggestions and they are all pretty good.

 

Heading back, I'd recommend you take a ferry that leaves Cruz Bay no later than 3 hours prior to your ships departuer. If your ship leaves at 6:00, I'd take the 3:00 PM ferry back to Red Hook at the latest. That will get you back on St. Thomas by 3:20 with plenty of time for a cab ride back to your ship. There are always plenty of cabs at Red Hook waiting to take passengers back to ships, too.

 

I should add that we, too, have vacationed on the island. We've been there three times for a week vacation in the past ten years. It continues to be my favorite island. Here's a link to photos from our trip to St. John last summer: http://stjohntrip2009.shutterfly.com/26?size=All&startIndex=0

 

Enjoy whatever you do.

 

Holy smokes Anne, your pics are BEAUTIFUL!!!

[Got2Cruise]

I think this thread should be a sticky.:D

[MMOMOM]

Thanx so much for the info! I had posted ? on regular board regarding going from Crown Bay to St. John and it wasn't very encouraging .... but your info cinched it! We're in! :) Sounds wonderful .... our memories of being there before are great ... but this time think we'll opt for Cinnamon Bay only because we've been to Trunk and we're not doing the snorkeling thing .... we like relaxing, the beach, seeing sights and poking in shops! Thinking we'll have plenty of time and it will be awesome! Great stuff! Thanx again!:D

[cruisebound55]

Hi wake2port,

We too live in the Toronto area and we just purchased snorkel equipment for our cruise at Costco - 49.99 comes with mask, fins snorkel and bag. It didn't take up too much room in the suitcase and great to have your own equipment