RCCI excursion to St. John Trunk Bay and Snorkel

[hoopslover]

Does anyone know if this excursion is still being offered by RCCI? The only one that is listed is St. Johns on your own. We went on this one years ago and they supplied the transportation on the island so we didn't have to get a taxi. We are sailing out of San Juan if that makes a difference. Thanks

[roosterhead]

Do it on your own. Cheaper.

 

Take cab to redhook to st st john.

 

you get more time and less people.

 

just google, redhook ferry, plan it that way.

 

taxi's will be waiting for you.

[dani negreanu]

Does anyone know if this excursion is still being offered by RCCI? The only one that is listed is St. Johns on your own. We went on this one years ago and they supplied the transportation on the island so we didn't have to get a taxi. We are sailing out of San Juan if that makes a difference. Thanks

 

When planning our stop in St. Thomas with the aim of going to St. John, I've found this info very helpful, even if the prices may not be updated. We were not interested in beaches, ended up with RCCL's excursion named "Coastal cruise to St. John", which was a bust.

From the Caribbean Ports of Call forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2017377

[138east]

Do it on your own. Cheaper.

 

Take cab to redhook to st st john.

 

you get more time and less people.

 

just google, redhook ferry, plan it that way.

 

taxi's will be waiting for you.

I've done this "excursion" 4 times from Havensight.

 

I found the price of the St John's on your own excursion to be very competitive with the DIY price and a lot less stressful because it is an RCL "excursion". You can rent snorkel gear at Trunk Bay. They tell you exactly when you have to be on the Safari taxi to go back to the boat, which docks by the National Park Headquarters and not by the public ferry. Safari cabs are waiting for the excursion guests. On the boat ride back they offer rum punch. The boat also docks by the ship, which eliminates the traffic gridlock that can occur by the port.

[hoopslover]

I've done this "excursion" 4 times from Havensight.

 

I found the price of the St John's on your own excursion to be very competitive with the DIY price and a lot less stressful because it is an RCL "excursion". You can rent snorkel gear at Trunk Bay. They tell you exactly when you have to be on the Safari taxi to go back to the boat, which docks by the National Park Headquarters and not by the public ferry. Safari cabs are waiting for the excursion guests. On the boat ride back they offer rum punch. The boat also docks by the ship, which eliminates the traffic gridlock that can occur by the port.

That is what we want to do with the rum punch, and everything included. It is not listed in the cruise planner, just the ferry ride and getting a taxi on your own. Is there a possibility another more comprehensive tour will be added later since we don't sail til next spring?

Edited May 13, 2017 by hoopslover
hit wrong button

[Coralc]

There is definitely a possibility that additional excursions to St. John will be offered on the Cruise Planner before next Spring.

 

I concur with the OP that it is more convenient and cost efficient to do the St. John excursion with RC when it becomes available. You will have the same experience without the cab/ferry/cab/cab/ferry/cab that we had when going to Trunk Bay and snorkeling on our own. :)

 

(And by cab, I mean the open air, whatever they are called)

[138east]

That is what we want to do with the rum punch, and everything included. It is not listed in the cruise planner, just the ferry ride and getting a taxi on your own. Is there a possibility another more comprehensive tour will be added later since we don't sail til next spring?

 

That's really all you need if you want to go to Trunk Bay and snorkel. When this excursion was first offered, there were 3 "tours" at the same price - ferry plus coastal "cruise", ferry plus "shopping tour", and ferry plus "walking tour of Cruz Bay". The price was within $2-4 of the cost of taking a safari to Red Hook and the public ferry. I took one look at it and realized that I could sign up for any one of the tours, ditch the tour part at Cruz Bay, and hop a safari cab to Trunk Bay. I was not alone in this thinking - many others did the same thing. Everyone was on the same ferry. The ferry folks offered rum lunch on the way back and they had a tip jar.

 

I think RCL finally got smart and realized that folks just wanted a reliable way to get to St. John, so they got rid of the fake tour stuff. Folks I spoke to who did the "shopping" tour were very disappointed at hanging out in Cruz Bay the entire time. Overall the "tour" got poor ratings, but I thought it was terrific.

 

I don't know where this tour stands now. Some RCL ships are docking at Crowne Bay. The "tour" may have been reconfigured. The bottom line is that if you want to just go to the beach at Trunk Bay, this is an easy reliable way to do it.

[seabeew]

Everything 138East said is true, especially since all Royal Caribbean ships dock at Crown Bay, adding time to your trip to Red Hook.

 

 

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[OCruisers]

Does RCCL still offer the catamaran sail to snorkel with a beach stop on St. John?

If so, it's very enjoyable. :D

[Pratique]

Everything 138East said is true, especially since all Royal Caribbean ships dock at Crown Bay, adding time to your trip to Red Hook.

 

 

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Not only that but if the taxi takes passengers for the other pier (or the airport) those people will be dropped off first, making the trip back to Crown Bay even longer. And traffic on St. Thomas can be bad.