Is s St. John worth getting up early?

[CShelly]

Thanks CShell!

 

I'd much rather ride in my own taxi than the cattle bus Allure most likely has going but then again don't want to pay twice as much on my own.

 

 

Or worse yet, be left standing at the pier!

 

Not sure what Allure is charging for the excursion but from what I've read it usually isn't any more to take a taxi around than taking the excursion. I'm definitely going to do it.

[CShelly]

Yes, I think we have to get out of the bad habits that we got into a few years ago! It's nice to be lazy in the mornings, but getting up, and getting off the ship to see somewhere beautiful could only add to our memories of the cruise. We used to snorkle all the time, but got out of it. There were yrs. that we would go to the caribbean, and it was right after bad weather/hurricanes, so we really didn't see any clear water and beautiful fish. Maybe St. John would be the place to get into it again.

 

What exactly is the timeline with being transported there from the ships tours?

 

I think the Victory's excursion takes the 9 or possibly the 10am ferry. So they probably leave the ship around 8:15 or so? It says four hours so probably arrive on St. John at 10 or 11. About an hour to get to St. John, a couple of hours at the beach and an hour to get back to the ship. That would be four hours. With the taxi option I'd love to get on the 8am ferry to have more time on St. John, but not sure how early I can get off the ship in the morning. We dock at 7:00.

[Snorkel Dawg]

Hey CShell,

 

Allures St Johns Snorkel Tour is listed at 4 hours in total duration. The cost is $67.00 per adult & $29.00 per child. Says it includes all entrance fees & you spend 90 minutes on St. Johns at Trunk Bay to snorkel. Photo stops on the way on their ferry at Cruz Bay, Hawksnest Bay, & Caneel Bay.

I'm think we'll still gonna do it on our own. Will research & share any info I find...

 

 

Wow! have a frost warning here tonight! Ugggggggh!

[karinad]

Thanks! I think the Allure and Victory tours are about the same as the EOS. It's about the same price, and they allow about 1 1/2 hrs at Trunk Bay snorkeling. An hour ferry ride isn't that bad. I guess we'd just have to watch how much coffee we drink at breakfast!

[CShelly]

Thanks! I think the Allure and Victory tours are about the same as the EOS. It's about the same price, and they allow about 1 1/2 hrs at Trunk Bay snorkeling. An hour ferry ride isn't that bad. I guess we'd just have to watch how much coffee we drink at breakfast!

 

If you're taking the ferry out of Red Hook the ferry is only about 25 minutes...so you can have your coffee! The other half hour was for the taxi ride from the ship's port at Havensight to the Red Hook ferry dock. So all in all about an hour total for transportation to St. John.

[Snorkel Dawg]

Additional St. Johns transit info gathered from other CC threads...

 

The ferry to St. Johns runs every hour on the hour & is $6.00 PP each way. It was reccommended you buy your return ferry tix at the same time as buying ticket over. A taxi from ferry stop in St. Johns to Trunk Bay (where we're heading) is also $6.00 PP each way. It was recommended to stop at amazing senic overlooks along the way for photo opps. Trunk Bay has a $4.00 PP admission fee. It was recommended to give yourself 3 hours heading back prior to ships departure. If docked at Havensight pier taxi ride from ferry to ship 15-20 minutes, if docked at Crown Bay taxi ride back to ship 30-35 minutes. Time estimates depending on traffic

[broberts]

• Allure docks at Crown Bay which is about 10-15 minutes farther away from Red Hook than Havensight thus a slightly higher taxi fare.
  
• Taxi fares in the USVI are regulated. There is a site VI Now dot com which posts some common rates. I can't post an actual link because for some reason CC doesn't allow it.
  
• I did self guided to St John and loved it, but didn't save any money. There are some restaurants a minute or two walk from the Red Hook ferry terminal.
  
• The ferry ride alone was worth the trip to me.
  
• There are a couple of boat excursions to Trunk Bay. Given the ferry ride experience I suspect one of these would be very nice.
  
• If you want to see / set foot on some of the best beaches in the world get up early, grab some coffee and have fun.
  

[karinad]

Thanks for the great info! I think we'll do one of the ships tours, as it looks now, especially for the first time there. I can't wait to see the island, but I don't want to wish time away!

[UNV-IT!!!]

So what are we looking at for a total price for 2 people if doing it on our own from allures port. What's the taxi fare?

[CShelly]

So what are we looking at for a total price for 2 people if doing it on our own from allures port. What's the taxi fare?

 

Someone posted this on another thread. It's the total cost from Havensight. I think the only difference from Allure's port would be the taxi ride is 12.00 per person rather than 10.00 each way. This cost is per person so you can compare it to a ship excursion.

 

Cab from Havensight to red hook -$10

Ferrry to Cruz Bay (St John) r/t 12

Taxi -Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay -r/t 12

Trunk Bay entry fee 4

Cab from red hook back to ship 10

--

$48

[broberts]

Someone posted this on another thread. It's the total cost from Havensight. I think the only difference from Allure's port would be the taxi ride is 12.00 per person rather than 10.00 each way. This cost is per person so you can compare it to a ship excursion.

 

Cab from Havensight to red hook -$10

Ferrry to Cruz Bay (St John) r/t 12

Taxi -Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay -r/t 12

Trunk Bay entry fee 4

Cab from red hook back to ship 10

--

$48

 

If one is going to compare to a ship excursion one should probably add snorkel gear rental. If memory serves it's around $15. Add that and the extra taxi fare from Crown Bay and the total is $67.

 

Also, there are lockers for rent at Trunk Bay and a snack stand.

[karinad]

Is Trunk Bay one of the better places to snorkel, coral, different fish, clear water? What about crowds?

[Coralc]

Someone posted this on another thread. It's the total cost from Havensight. I think the only difference from Allure's port would be the taxi ride is 12.00 per person rather than 10.00 each way. This cost is per person so you can compare it to a ship excursion.

 

Cab from Havensight to red hook -$10

Ferrry to Cruz Bay (St John) r/t 12

Taxi -Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay -r/t 12

Trunk Bay entry fee 4

Cab from red hook back to ship 10

--

$48

 

That's good, the prices haven't increased too much since I listed the prices on a thread in 2006 : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=287968

 

We did get snookered by a cab driver in Trunk Bay...there were 10 of us...and he charged us $8 p/p for the return to Cruz Bay. One vocal person in our group didn't wish to wait for our own driver to return. :rolleyes:

[Coralc]

Is Trunk Bay one of the better places to snorkel, coral, different fish, clear water? What about crowds?

 

Here's a photo of Trunk Bay. http://www.herbytoys.com/Vaca_Images/Cruise05/000_0021.jpg

 

It is beautiful. And although we did not take it...there is an underwater nature trail for snorkelers. :D

 

Cinnamon Bay is further along, but also gets rave reviews. :)

[karinad]

Here's a photo of Trunk Bay. http://www.herbytoys.com/Vaca_Images/Cruise05/000_0021.jpg

 

It is beautiful. And although we did not take it...there is an underwater nature trail for snorkelers. :D

 

Cinnamon Bay is further along, but also gets rave reviews. :)

WOW!!! Thanks, it is beautiul!!!! I would love to be there right now! It's getting very cold tonight!

[Ginnyfyr]

My husband and I just got home from a week on the Oasis of the Seas yesterday. We did the ship's excursion to St. John - I believe it was $67 each (or thereabouts). We absolutely loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat! The ferry came right to Crown Bay to get us at 10 a.m. It was approx 45 min ride to St. John but it was great. Our tour guide gave us lots of great information about both St. Thomas and St. John on the way over, and the views were gorgeous. The downside was that we only had about 90 minutes on the beach (Trunk Bay), but that was fine with us; hubby is a skin cancer survivor so we don't need to spend much time in the sun. Our excursion included the rental of snorkel gear, which we didn't use but many of our fellow cruisers did. The water was literally crystal clear and I was amazed at how many fish I could see just by looking down without using a snorkel mask (heck, without even putting my face in the water!) The highlight of our trip was when a stingray floated past us! It was a shock to see it there, but so amazing to see it in its natural habitat. Washrooms, showers, chair rentals and a snack bar were also on site...we'll definitely return the next time St. Thomas is on our cruise itinerary!

[karinad]

My husband and I just got home from a week on the Oasis of the Seas yesterday. We did the ship's excursion to St. John - I believe it was $67 each (or thereabouts). We absolutely loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat! The ferry came right to Crown Bay to get us at 10 a.m. It was approx 45 min ride to St. John but it was great. Our tour guide gave us lots of great information about both St. Thomas and St. John on the way over, and the views were gorgeous. The downside was that we only had about 90 minutes on the beach (Trunk Bay), but that was fine with us; hubby is a skin cancer survivor so we don't need to spend much time in the sun. Our excursion included the rental of snorkel gear, which we didn't use but many of our fellow cruisers did. The water was literally crystal clear and I was amazed at how many fish I could see just by looking down without using a snorkel mask (heck, without even putting my face in the water!) The highlight of our trip was when a stingray floated past us! It was a shock to see it there, but so amazing to see it in its natural habitat. Washrooms, showers, chair rentals and a snack bar were also on site...we'll definitely return the next time St. Thomas is on our cruise itinerary!

Thanks for the report. I think that's the one we're going to do. It sounds beautiful! I'm glad you and your husband had a good time. I hope he continues to do well with his health.

[Scrapperjill]

If one is going to compare to a ship excursion one should probably add snorkel gear rental. If memory serves it's around $15. Add that and the extra taxi fare from Crown Bay and the total is $67.

 

Also, there are lockers for rent at Trunk Bay and a snack stand.

 

One might also want to add lunch and/or drinks as I believe some of the ship escursions include.... When comparing costs.

 

In doing that the biggest +/- I see are (1) on your own you can allow yourself more time on St John... And (2)... With the ship excursion... And all the traveling to get to/from the island you don't need to worry about tye ship leaving you.

[karinad]

One might also want to add lunch and/or drinks as I believe some of the ship escursions include.... When comparing costs.

 

In doing that the biggest +/- I see are (1) on your own you can allow yourself more time on St John... And (2)... With the ship excursion... And all the traveling to get to/from the island you don't need to worry about tye ship leaving you.

Yes, the ships excursion sounds like the safe way to go. I'm happy with the amount of time they allow. If we were doing it on our own, I would be leaving St. John early because we wouldn't want to chance getting back late. Sometimes it's best to be on a "leash"!

[Yvie]

My husband and I just got home from a week on the Oasis of the Seas yesterday. We did the ship's excursion to St. John - I believe it was $67 each (or thereabouts). We absolutely loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat! The ferry came right to Crown Bay to get us at 10 a.m. It was approx 45 min ride to St. John but it was great. Our tour guide gave us lots of great information about both St. Thomas and St. John on the way over, and the views were gorgeous. The downside was that we only had about 90 minutes on the beach (Trunk Bay), but that was fine with us; hubby is a skin cancer survivor so we don't need to spend much time in the sun. Our excursion included the rental of snorkel gear, which we didn't use but many of our fellow cruisers did. The water was literally crystal clear and I was amazed at how many fish I could see just by looking down without using a snorkel mask (heck, without even putting my face in the water!) The highlight of our trip was when a stingray floated past us! It was a shock to see it there, but so amazing to see it in its natural habitat. Washrooms, showers, chair rentals and a snack bar were also on site...we'll definitely return the next time St. Thomas is on our cruise itinerary!

 

Was this the St. John Beach and Snorkel Tour STE8 ? We are on the Freedom of the Seas and it says it is a four hour tour but the one for our sailing has a 1:30 p.m. begin time; it sounds like the same one.

[Yvie]

Can anyone also give more details about this excursion? Mainly the transportation part - the description says a tour boat takes you to St. John. Does it take you right to trunk bay like a catamaran sail would? Or does it take you to Cruz Bay and then you take a shuttle to Trunk Bay.

 

Thanks for any info; we were at Trunk Bay years ago and it was absolutely gorgeous. My son was very small then so it would be great to go back so he could snorkel.

[hockeyboy]

I've been to Sapphire 3 times (it's been a while). Sapphire is beautiful.

 

I spent a week on St. John 3 years ago. I haven't been on a cruise since.

 

I am going back to St. John for the third vacation in a row.

 

St John has a 'vibe' that really can't be explained. I spend way to much time thinking about St. John and my next trip there.

[Peace2U]

Yes! Get out there! St John is gorgeous!!!

[trentmister]

Does anyone know the busiest time at Trunk Bay? We're going to do the ship's excursion, St John and shopping tour, $40 pp. Would we be best off to head straight to trunk bay, then shop in the afternoon? Or vice versa? Also, anyone know for sure the rental cost for snorkel equipment? We have our own, just not sure we want to carry it all with us given limitations on luggage, etc. This is likely the only place we'll snorkel. Or we may decide to take our own masks and snorkels and just rent the fins. Thoughts?

[blue_water]

Trunk Bay and other beaches on St John are nice, and that would be a great day sail. We did the trip to Trunk and the St John tour our first cruise and it was good but I wouldn''t recommend it for a cruise stop. When we stay on STT we will ferry over with a rental car and enjoy St John, but I think you just need enough time to really enjoy yourself.

 

I would head for Sapphire Beach and relax there enjoying the view of St John and Tortola and a very nice beach, then taxi to Paradise Point for the end to a great day. Amazing view of the harbor and a fun spot with a great staff.