Getaway: Feasibility of Relaxing on St. John (Trunk) and Returning In Time

[chesapeake2atlantic]

My workload has me quite unprepared for our Getaway cruise this Saturday.

 

IIRC, the ship departs St. Thomas a bit early. Question: Is the allotted time so tight that the trip from SXT to SXJ could involve no small measure of drama, including the drama of meeting an overcrowded ferry or traffic jam on St. John at the end of the day?

 

We expect to leave Getaway just after she docks and want to have a 90-minute cushion before the ship sails. On St. John, we hope to stroll Trunk Bay Beach, grab something to eat, and that's about it.

[SuiteTraveler]

This the ferry schedule:

http://www.stjohnusvi.com/ferry.html

 

What you might want to do is hire a private water taxi to take you over to St. John and/or bring you back (phone numbers listed on the link above.) That way there is no doubt that you will have a ride and there will be space onboard for you and it will be at the time you want it to be.

Edited October 22, 2014 by SuiteTraveler

[Debbie1029]

I love St John and can understand why you would want to visit there while in in St Thomas. However let me relate our experience last week with the ferry from St John to Charlotte Amalie. When we showed up for the ferry, all ferries to CA had been cancelled for the whole day. The ticket agent didn't seem to have an explanation other than " this happens". A local said that it happens all the time. We were able to get a ferry to Red Hook but the long cab ride back into town to reach the airport had us a bit concerned for time. With that said if you have enough time in port to use the Red Hook ferry and then taxi to the ship I am sure you will enjoy your trip. Just be sure to allow PLENTY of time to do so.

 

 

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[Ron_L]

What time are you in port?

 

When we were last on St. John our ship departed at 5:00pm so we caught the 3:00pm ferry to Red Hook and we were back tot he ship with about 20 minutes to spare. Traffic on St. Thomas can be unpredictable, and the taxis are typically shared, so you may have to make a stop or two before getting back to the ship.

[justhere]

My workload has me quite unprepared for our Getaway cruise this Saturday.

 

IIRC, the ship departs St. Thomas a bit early. Question: Is the allotted time so tight that the trip from SXT to SXJ could involve no small measure of drama, including the drama of meeting an overcrowded ferry or traffic jam on St. John at the end of the day?

 

We expect to leave Getaway just after she docks and want to have a 90-minute cushion before the ship sails. On St. John, we hope to stroll Trunk Bay Beach, grab something to eat, and that's about it.

We did this just a few weeks ago. Got off the ship about 8:15-8:20, taxi to Red Hook, caught the 9:00 ferry, and then taxi to Trunk Bay. Spent about 2 hours at Trunk Bay, then taxi to Cruz Bay, 1:00 P.M. ferry to Red Hook, and taxi back to Havensight. Back on the ship by about 2 so plenty of time to spare.

 

Never felt rushed or panicked about the time (well except for getting everyone ready to get off the ship at about 8:00). We were a party of 11 so we didn't have to wait on the taxis to fill up but even then we would still have been good on time.

[rajjohnson]

We'll be on the Getaway in January and are thinking of going to St John also. When we did this off a Princess ship a few years ago on our own, it was quite blood pressure raising trying to get back on time - traffic jam. This time I think we will book an actual NCL excursion - they'll hold the ship if something slows us down. I know many will tell me that we are crazy, but I look at the added expense as "ship insurance" - if we go on our own, we ARE on our own. I'd rather be able to relax and enjoy rather than be worrying about the return.

[mangosong]

We are on your sailing and plan to do the exact same thing. There are four of us and we plan to get off the ship as soon as possible to catch the 9am ferry.

 

Not sure how many are in your group but maybe we could meet up and that way we would possibly fill up a taxi right away and not have to wait around?

[chesapeake2atlantic]

We are on your sailing and plan to do the exact same thing. There are four of us and we plan to get off the ship as soon as possible to catch the 9am ferry.

 

Not sure how many are in your group but maybe we could meet up and that way we would possibly fill up a taxi right away and not have to wait around?

 

Just saw this. There are two of us. To be honest, we are unsure if we are doing this. How would we meet up beforehand? I will be back this evening to read your response. Thanks!

[OCruisers]

The EASY way is to book through your cruise line. :D

LuLu

[JJS329]

I would book the excursion through NCL so you don't have to worry! We did Trunk Bay excursion through ncl and it was a relaxing, informative boat ride right that left right next to the ship followed by a quick tram-type vehicle to trunk bay.

 

 

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