Thinking about St. John and how to go

[Host Anne]

Myparks ~ there is not a ferry that runs from Crown Bay. Only the ship sponsored excursions leave from Crown Bay. The second public ferry runs from Charlotte Amalie, about a ten minute taxi from Crown Bay. However, the Charlotte Amalie ferries do not run as regular as the Red Hook ferries. It's been so long since we've done that, I'll have to look up what their schedule is supposed to be. Also, there is no large ferry terminal in Charlotte Amalie like there is in Red Hook so it is a little more difficult to "spot." What appears to be the ferry terminal in Charlotte Amalie actually does inter-island transportation to the BVIs. Make sure you get on the correct ferry.

Found the Charlotte Amalie schedule:

Leaves Charlotte Amalie at 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 5:30 PM
Leave Cruz Bay for return to Charlotte Amalie at 8:45 AM, 11:15 AM, 3:45 PM

Not a lot of choices. If it works for you, great! Edited January 21, 2013 by Host Anne

[blue_water]

Definitely grab a taxi to the Red Hook ferry unless the 10AM downtown ferry works for you. The downtown ferry is excellent for Tortola as they depart very regularly. But for STJ you want the Red Hook ferry, taxis are easy to grab at both ends.

[phoenix_dream]

[quote name='Host Anne']Phoenix ~ you are correct in your assumption. The ferry ride from Red Hook to Cruz Bay is normally approximately 15 - 20 minutes (although ours was a very fast ten minutes last week because of the weather). The ferry ride from Charlotte Amalie or Crown Bay is normally 40 - 45 minutes. If you are sensitive to seasickness, I highly recommend taking a taxi to Red Hook and taking the shorter ferry ride from here.

Satex ~ the taxi cost from Havensight to Red Hook is $10 per person. The taxi cost from Cruz Bay to Trunk is $7 per person. These were the fees charged last week when we were there.[/quote]
Thanks Anne. It seems like Red Hook is definitely the better option.

[myparks]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! I meant to say Red Hook not Crown Bay! ugggh anyway you all have been great! :):):)

[janetz]

OMG...now I am re thinking the excursion. I want to get as much time on St. John as possible with the least amount of travel from Crown Bay. This excursion is 6.5 hours but does not start till 10:30! :confused: Edited January 22, 2013 by janetz

[blue_water]

Not sure when you arrive and depart STT Janet. But if we only had 7 hrs in port and definitely wanted to get to STJ we would opt for the most available taxi and head to the Red Hook ferry. Conversely, if we had 12 hrs in port we would do the same. It just makes sense in either case, [I]especially[/I] the first. But we're comfortable with these islands too, and that makes a difference. Unless of course you would prefer to be on a nice cat being pampered, and that's a horse of a different color!;)

Bottom line, go with what you feel most comfortable with. But for your ease of mind on the self-excursion option (for what it's worth), on our cruises to STT my wife and our friends would not think twice about selecting this option because it just makes the most sense. And it's actually an enjoyable way to get there and back for public transportation. The only better option in our mind would be that nice cat again. We just spent a week at the Sapphire Resort and took a daysail to the STJ and St James beaches and had a wonderful day, but for more beach time we would take the land route as you are.
Have a great day whatever option you choose!:)

[janetz]

[quote name='blue_water']Not sure when you arrive and depart STT Janet. But if we only had 7 hrs in port and definitely wanted to get to STJ we would opt for the most available taxi and head to the Red Hook ferry. Conversely, if we had 12 hrs in port we would do the same. It just makes sense in either case, [I]especially[/I] the first. But we're comfortable with these islands too, and that makes a difference. Unless of course you would prefer to be on a nice cat being pampered, and that's a horse of a different color!;)

Bottom line, go with what you feel most comfortable with. But for your ease of mind on the self-excursion option (for what it's worth), on our cruises to STT my wife and our friends would not think twice about selecting this option because it just makes the most sense. And it's actually an enjoyable way to get there and back for public transportation. The only better option in our mind would be that nice cat again. We just spent a week at the Sapphire Resort and took a daysail to the STJ and St James beaches and had a wonderful day, but for more beach time we would take the land route as you are.
Have a great day whatever option you choose!:)[/quote]

Thank you. Allure is in St. Thomas from 9-6. More then enough time to go on our own. :)

[CaribbeanBound]

I agree with Host Anne.

Yes, it's easy to get there on your own.

St. John, US Virgin Islands: We berthed at Havensight Pier in St. Thomas. Our destination was Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay on the Island of St. John for snorkeling. Despite what everyone at the pier will tell you (and they will lie to you), you can get local transportation for $2 per person in an open-air taxi to Red Hook to catch a ferry to Cruz Bay on St. John. Simply walk out of the Havensight pier main gate, cross the street, turn left and walk until you get to the Bus Stop (there is a pullover area) across from K-Mart and cross the street so that you are standing on the K-Mart side of the street. It is a leisurely 15-minute level walk. When you see an open-air taxi drive up, flag him down, tell him where you wish to go and enjoy the trip. The drive takes about 20 to 30 minutes each way depending upon traffic. The taxi will drop you off at the Red Hook ferry terminal. Pay upon exiting the taxi, go through the gates and hop on the ferry to St. John. We caught the 8:00am ferry and paid our $5.00/pp fare. Normally, you would pay at the booth prior to boarding. The very pretty ride across the bay runs about 15 minutes.

[Note: there is also a downtown ferry that runs directly from Charlotte Amalie for $10/pp. The ferry dock is a short taxi ride from the Charlotte Amalie pier. This is a very pretty 40-minute ride. As I recall, it runs less often than the Red Hook ferry.]

Upon arrival at Cruz Bay, St. John, we caught a 10-minute taxi ride ($6.00/pp) to Trunk Bay, stopping once along the way to take pictures of Trunk Bay from a picturesque spot along the road. We arrived at 8:30am which allowed us to get in free. Once the admission booth opens, it costs $4.00/pp to enter this beautiful white sand beach with clear waters, awesome views of islands and cays, nice facilities, and an underwater snorkeling trail. The snorkeling trail can be found on the right hand side of the beach. It begins on the far side of the little island and works its way around the island and ends on the closer side. The snorkeling is very good, with lots of fish and colorful coral. Including the four of us, there was a total of 7 people enjoying this beach from 8:30am to 10:15am when larger groups began arriving —– at which time we left and caught a $4/pp taxi for Cinnamon Bay. (Trunk Bay is now one of our top three Caribbean beaches).

Cinnamon Bay is part of a campground with good facilities, snorkeling equipment rentals, and kayak rentals. The beach is not as pretty as Trunk Bay but offers good snorkeling as well. Sea Turtles can be spotted here in the middle of the bay feeding on the sea grass, but we did not spot any this trip. We caught a taxi back to Cruz Bay ($7/pp) at 11:40am. We just missed the noon ferry so we ate lunch at High Tide Bar and Grill adjacent to the pier. We enjoyed the Virgin Island Pale Ale (a fruity beer made for distribution in St. John by a brewery in Maine), and especially liked the sweet mango salsa which accompanies the chips and salsa appetizer. We shopped until 1:45pm and bought tickets for the 2:00pm ferry, which was 30 minutes late arriving. A very large crowd anxiously waited in a long line in the hot sun on the pier. There was no problem getting everyone on the ferry. We arrived back in Red Hook at 2:40pm. Ignore the $7/pp taxis and wait for a $2.00 taxi again EXACTLY where it dropped you off. (Do not cross the street). We got dropped off a couple blocks closer to Havensight than the K-Mart where we picked up the taxi. St. Thomas is a major shopping destination. Havensight has a large number of shops convenient to the ship, however, the real shoppers head into Charlotte Amalie to do their shopping. It is very easy to get to St. John from the ship. We look forward to doing this excursion on our own again.

More secrets of the Caribbean: [url]http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html[/url]

[mlbcruiser]

Generally I also agree w/CaribbeanBound, only according to recent posts the cost of the ferries and cabs to the St. John beaches have increased slightly (just a $1 or so ea. way). Or maybe it even depends upon time of yr. :confused: Though our ship stopped in St. Thos. last March, I can't verify pricing since we didn't go to St. John then due to cloudiness & on and off drizzle & lt. rain (which has only happened to us 3 times out of probably 15 stops in St. Thos!) Anyway, I'd like to share a story about a crazy taxi experience at Havensight some yrs. ago.

A guy within the fenced area at Havensight who appeared to be the one assigning everyone to various taxis stopped us as we were walking by him. I told him we were going to arrange our own transportation. (I had read in a guidebook to take only cabs w/certain types of license plates.) We walked out the gate and immediately found a driver w/a the proper plates willing to take us for half the cost. The "official" must have watched us, and came running up as we were starting to get in the cab. He was kind of a lg. man, FURIOUS, and seemed like a bully, waving his arms and yelling loudly at our cabbie in a fast, local dialect which was hard for us to understand. Our driver started to argue, but he & a few others standing nearby seemed a little scared and backed away from him. Then the official tried to get us to come w/him. When we wouldn't, he lowered the price. We started walking off so he then matched the other cabbie's price! He pointed to another cab and told the driver what we were to pay, so we really didn't feel we had much choice by then. Plus this had taken enough of our time! No problems once we got in cab, though. Since that time the subject of taking rougue cabs in various ports has come up on CC. Supposedly one reason given for large price variances is due to special licensing of cabs and tours that these "official" carriers must pay in order to be allowed inside the port areas, etc. On the other hand, sometimes this might be "payola" more than true govt. licensing. Another thing is the insurance issue. Are the rouge cabs insured? Apparently certain types of license plates indicate a cab is "o.k." in a number of different ports (not only in the Caribbean). So it's all something to take into consideration when choosing a different, cheaper mode of transport. As for my dh and I, sometimes we grab the cheapest thing out there, lol! :rolleyes: Others, we take what seems most convenient, depending on circumstances, time, etc.

We have taken the Red Hook Ferry, the Charlotte Amalie ferry, and (our first time to St. John) went w/an NCL excursion on a boat along the coast of St. Thomas. Plus we have rented a car and taken cabs & vans. If a person doesn't want to walk to a bus/van stop, ride in what turns out to sometimes be a crowded van/taxi, likes the idea of not having to "think" much about it, and esp. if they are the type to worry about getting back to the ship on time or want to go w/a lg. group of friends, the ship transportation (esp. from Crown Bay) isn't really isn't much more $ than doing it the cab/ferry way. There are just many ways to do it, according to your needs. Have a great time!

[blue_water]

The $2 "bus" has been discussed at length in several threads and is an option, just be aware you can waste time saving $7. While staying on STT again last week we saw people waiting for this taxi when we drove into Red Hook for groceries and they were still waiting when we returned! We thought, what a waste of precious time for someone with just 10 hrs in port!m:rolleyes: Others will promote this but just be aware of the potential for loss of time enjoying yourself, you may get lucky. The regulated taxis are a great way to travel the island. We look for deals too but when cruising we don't to sacrifice precious time to save a few $$. MLB the taxis in the port have a preferential arrangement, when we have a private driver meet us inside the "gate" he has to get the OK from the coordinator there to enter. It's fine getting a taxi outside the gate, many experienced cruisers do that just to get away faster. if you use a licensed taxi the price should be the same. What happened in your case is bizarre.

You are correct caribbeanbound in that the CA ferry runs less frequently to Cruz, that's why everyone recommends the RH ferry. But the CA ferry may work for some folks, just depends on your timing and how rough the water is. But the CA ferry to Tortola is very regular and popular. There are 2 lines at the RH ferry terminal, one for your ticket and one for the ferry. So normally you want one person to get in line to buy the passes while the others get in the ferry line. The early ferries can fill up.

[mlbcruiser]

blue water, we had a private driver who had to come into the port in Marseille last Sept. We couldn't find her, and asked at this little info. bldg. They told us to walk to the wrong place! I happened to see a van the color she had described across a lg. lot. It was as you said - she couldn't come into the area where ship's tours picked up pax! And our episode w/the cab guy happened at least 10 yrs. ago or more at Havensight. Your tip about the 2 lines in Red Hook is a good one and will esp. help people new to the experience.

We have found that various things - procedures, prices, & how things work, evolve and change over the yrs. so it's always good to check posts made during the past yr. to stay updated. On the other hand, some would find the info. they want posted on the same thread they are asking on just a few posts prior to their question, but if they don't read the posts or don't bother to "search" (top of pg. on rt.) for the info. they are looking for, the experts and those of you w/the best info. end up having to repost the same stuff over and over!

[blue_water]

Mlbcruiser you are so right, things do change and we've been surprised from just last year to this year. Folks who research and gather current information are so much better off than their fellow cruise mates who do not. And it would be nice if more folks searched recent posts for info before posting redundant questions...
We learned so much here and on TA in our early years of travel and it is nice to ensure fellow travelers are getting accurate info so their surprises are limited.

[mlbcruiser]

For sure, blue water! Helping each other and sharing info. is what these boards are really for and we are ALL learn stuff from others' experiences! :)

[gometros]

We're visiting St. Thomas for our third time in September, sailing on the Disney Fantasy. It's an early schedule, arriving at 7:45am and departing at 3:30pm. Based on recommendations that we give ourselves two hours prior to departure to head back, is that too early a schedule to do St. John on our own or should we either stay on St. Thomas or do an excursion? In our previous visits, we've done excursions, a Sea and See which took us by ferry to the island and a the Deluxe Day Sail, which took us by Catamaran to Honeymoon Beach. The third time, we were with friends and stayed in St. Thomas. I'm not ready to try it on our own, but I assume to make use of our time in port, we'd have to get an early start. I believe Disney docks in Havensight.

[Host Anne]

Sandy ~ believe it or not, that 15 minute early docking (7:45) might really help you have an enjoyable day on St. John. You should be able to make the 9:00 AM ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay and be on St. John by 9:20. With a 3:30 departure, I'd recommend catching the 1:00 PM ferry back to St. Thomas. That would give you a little more than 4 1/2 hours on St. John. You'll have to decide if that makes it worth the trip over. It would for me but then I love St. John.

Good luck and enjoy if you go!

[blue_water]

With such a short day in port and at least 2 hrs travel time allowing only 3 hrs of beach or island time I would stay on STT and perhaps see Sapphire Beach then maybe the Magic Ice exhibition. We went through that last week while staying on STT and would recommend it. My recommendation would be to relax and enjoy STT, and do the self-excursion to STJ when you can enjoy it more.

[Nole0202]

[quote name='blue_water']With such a short day in port and at least 2 hrs travel time allowing only 3 hrs of beach or island time I would stay on STT and perhaps see Sapphire Beach then maybe the Magic Ice exhibition. We went through that last week while staying on STT and would recommend it. My recommendation would be to relax and enjoy STT, and do the self-excursion to STJ when you can enjoy it more.[/quote]


We went to Sapphire last month. It is directly across from St. John with views to kill, and cheap chairs and food.

[cruisinlawn]

after reading thru most of this thread we are considering taking the St John Coastal excursion with Celebrity. We would only use as mode of tranport to SJ. If we hop off when they drop the shoppers and walking tour folks, grab cab to Trunk or Cinnamon, would it be fair to say we would have 4-4.5hrs beach time? Where they drop us, would this be known as Cruz Bay? What other beaches are near and how nice are they?

Our original plan was on our own to Magen's as we have never been there in our many times (9 or 10) to STT. Only one other ship in port that day so traffic should be light. It'll be Equinox and Valor. Thanks for any input. :)

[Host Anne]

Cruisinlawn ~ I'm think (not positive) that the shore excursion ferry drops you at the National Park Dock in Cruz Bay. Maybe someone else can confirm that. There aren't many other places that you could be dropped on St. John on a ferry. This dock is essentially down the street from the public ferry dock where you'd arrive if you did it on your own. I'm not sure how many taxis hang in this areas. You may have to walk a block or two back to the public ferry to pick up a taxi. I've never come into this dock so I don't know if there will be any taxis there but the ones for the excursions.

Your beach options, in order from west to east are: [B][COLOR=Teal] Honeymoon [/COLOR][/B]Beach (on the Caneel Bay property), [COLOR=Teal][B]Hawksnest [/B][/COLOR](beautiful, smaller, some restroom facilities), [COLOR=Teal][B]Trunk[/B][/COLOR] (full facilities - restrooms, chair/snorkel rental, snack bar), [B][COLOR=Teal]Cinnamon[/COLOR] [/B](full facilities - restrooms, chair/snorkel rental, snack bar), [COLOR=Teal][B]Maho[/B][/COLOR] (new restroom facilities but still kind of primitive). I've never been to Honeymoon although many people like it. All three of the other beaches are wonderful. There are also a couple of additional small beaches along the way, but I wouldn't recommend them for a day visit from a ship if you aren't familiar with the island.

Since I'm not certain of the ship excursion timing, I can't say how long you'll have at the beach but factor in a 15 minute taxi ride to Honeymoon/Hawksnest/Trunk and maybe 20 to Cinnamon each way and that should give you an idea of timing.

Taxis are always readily available at Trunk and Cinnamon. If you choose one of the other beaches, I recommend agreeing on a time for your taxi driver to return and pick you up. For us, they've always been there at our per-arranged time.

Have a wonderful day on St. John. Edited January 28, 2013 by Host Anne

[hubofhockey]

I looked at STL2 (Royal and Celebrity) and comments people have posted about the cruise line tour. I think a better option might still be taking a taxi to Red Hook to maximize time at beaches and provide for more flexbility. I don't believe the cruise excursion begins until 10:30 and you may not actually be able to hit a beach until around noon since you have to do the water tour first. [B]The cost of the cruise ship tour of around $40 is pretty good though. [/B]I would think if you did this tour and got off at a beach, you would be responsible for the $6 cost of taxi back to Cruz Bay to meet up with the tour and the total cost is $46.

Hopefully, someone will correct me if I am mistaken. But taxi to and from Red Hook is $12 each way ($24) and transfers to and from beaches is $6 each way ($12). The ferry is also $6 each way ($12). [B]So the total cost is $48 per person[/B]. The fee for Trunk Bay is $4 for adults and free for those 16 and under.

[gometros]

[quote name='Host Anne']Sandy ~ believe it or not, that 15 minute early docking (7:45) might really help you have an enjoyable day on St. John. You should be able to make the 9:00 AM ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay and be on St. John by 9:20. With a 3:30 departure, I'd recommend catching the 1:00 PM ferry back to St. Thomas. That would give you a little more than 4 1/2 hours on St. John. You'll have to decide if that makes it worth the trip over. It would for me but then I love St. John.

Good luck and enjoy if you go![/QUOTE]

[quote name='blue_water']With such a short day in port and at least 2 hrs travel time allowing only 3 hrs of beach or island time I would stay on STT and perhaps see Sapphire Beach then maybe the Magic Ice exhibition. We went through that last week while staying on STT and would recommend it. My recommendation would be to relax and enjoy STT, and do the self-excursion to STJ when you can enjoy it more.[/QUOTE]

Arrrrgggghhh! Contrasting points of view that both make sense. I'm with Anne, love St. John, but I do want to make the most of my time there. The good thing is I still have plenty of time to decide.

[cherylroslyn]

[quote name='hubofhockey']I looked at STL2 (Royal and Celebrity) and comments people have posted about the cruise line tour. I think a better option might still be taking a taxi to Red Hook to maximize time at beaches and provide for more flexbility. I don't believe the cruise excursion begins until 10:30 and you may not actually be able to hit a beach until around noon since you have to do the water tour first. [B]The cost of the cruise ship tour of around $40 is pretty good though. [/B]I would think if you did this tour and got off at a beach, you would be responsible for the $6 cost of taxi back to Cruz Bay to meet up with the tour and the total cost is $46.

Hopefully, someone will correct me if I am mistaken. But taxi to and from Red Hook is $12 each way ($24) and transfers to and from beaches is $6 each way ($12). The ferry is also $6 each way ($12). [B]So the total cost is $48 per person[/B]. The fee for Trunk Bay is $4 for adults and free for those 16 and under.[/QUOTE]
Actually I have done the tour through Celebrity and Royal about three times in the past year. We sign up for Hhstoric walking tour, coastal tour or shopping tour, all tours occupy the same ferry going from the cruise ship to St. John. As we dock we are offered the option of skipping out on our own and that is what we do. We are always on the beach by 10:15. We leave the beach about 2:30 and the ferry comes and picks us up at 3:30 in town. For $40.00 it is so worth it......but you are right in pointing out that we pay for taxi both ways from trunk.

[Host Anne]

Hockey ~ Taxi from Havensight to Red Hook in January was $10 per person each way so a total of $20 round trip instead of $24. Cost for taxi to beaches depends on which beach. It runs $6 or $7 per person. All other costs are correct. ENJOY! Edited January 29, 2013 by Host Anne

[Host Anne]

Sandy ~ have fun whatever you decide! Can't go wrong!

[blue_water]

[quote name='hubofhockey']I looked at STL2 (Royal and Celebrity) and comments people have posted about the cruise line tour. I think a better option might still be taking a taxi to Red Hook to maximize time at beaches and provide for more flexbility. I don't believe the cruise excursion begins until 10:30 and you may not actually be able to hit a beach until around noon since you have to do the water tour first. [B]The cost of the cruise ship tour of around $40 is pretty good though. [/B]I would think if you did this tour and got off at a beach, you would be responsible for the $6 cost of taxi back to Cruz Bay to meet up with the tour and the total cost is $46.

Hopefully, someone will correct me if I am mistaken. But taxi to and from Red Hook is $12 each way ($24) and transfers to and from beaches is $6 each way ($12). The ferry is also $6 each way ($12). [B]So the total cost is $48 per person[/B]. The fee for Trunk Bay is $4 for adults and free for those 16 and under.[/QUOTE]

Your numbers are probably right on if coming from Crown Bay ($46 - 48pp RT). From the Havensight dock (WICO) it's about $42pp RT. And the ferry is $1 for kids aged 2 - 11.
Sapphire is 2 minutes past Red Hook and is $24pp cheaper and 1.5 hrs more beach time...we just returned from a week stay there and it was even nicer than our last stay. Edited January 29, 2013 by blue_water