St Thomas to St. John - Details Wanted Please

[blue_water]

We are most likely going to do the ship tour. There are 6 of us ranging in age from 15-81. Half the group will take the ship's snorkel to Trunk Bay, the other half will take a sightseeing tour of St. John, both are ship excursions. Both tours leave the ship at the same time and meet up again in Cruz Bay for shopping, before boarding the ferry back to the ship. Easy peazy, much less stressful than racing to Red Hook to get the next ferry and doing the same on return, worrying if you are going to miss a connection and set you back an hour or so.

 

As an added bonus, we get back to the ship around 2pm (if someone took this tour please let me know exactly) and will give us time to shop in Havensport and even take the tram up to Paradise Point..

 

Exceptional day, and for a perfect ending I would do Paradise Point, great spot to share stories on the day's explorations...

[vossjemi]

Exceptional day, and for a perfect ending I would do Paradise Point, great spot to share stories on the day's explorations...

 

I'd love to do that. St. John for the day. Then, paradise point when we get back. Is there a place to go for the paradise point tram? On our own? Thanks.

[blue_water]

Yes the tram is across the street from Havensight, you can also but the tram tivkets at your excursions desk amd they can give you more details. The tickets are a $ cheaper through the ship and are also refundable.

[skydog802]

I agree with everything Carol and Chris said, but wanted to add that the sooner you can get off the ship and get the taxi to Red Hook and over to St. John, the better off you'll be. In the morning from about 8 - 11 am it's relatively uncrowded (being the first one on Trunk Bay in the morning is PURE HEAVEN!!). After about 11 am, many of the ship's tours start arriving and the beach fills up rather quickly. You'll probably see a good many fish while snorkling and lots of various coral right there near shore. Once the beach starts getting crowded think about returning to St. Thomas by taking a taxi from Trunk Bay to Cruz Bay (where the ferries depart on St. John). From Cruz Bay get a ferry to Charlotte Amalie, the downtown area of St. Thomas. There are lots of great restaurants and bars to choose from and afterwards it's a great place to wander around shopping, trying new liquors at some of the shops, or just people watching. As Carol said it's a $2 - 3 cab ride back to the ship.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

Steve

 

Lord, I was born a ramblin man . . .

 

This is really good info. This is what my family and I have been looking for. We do our first cruise on April 20th and my wife really wants to go to St. John per recommendation by friends. Thanks.

[skydog802]

Sure. We did this just a few weeks ago so I should be able to remember it and not lead you to Cuba.

 

We took a cab from the dock in St Thomas to Red Hook. I just said "Red Hook" to the cab driver as though I knew what I was talking about. They waited a few minutes to get a couple other people to fill the cab going there and we were off.

 

After about a 15 minute drive we were dropped off at a place where we bought tickets for a ferry ride to St John for either $3 or $5 per person, one way, to St John. It's not like the water taxi in St Maarten where you can buy a round trip wrist band for $5.

 

We could also have taken a different ferry to Tortola. We are planning on doing that on our next visit to St Thomas in June. Mmmm, source of rum cakes.

 

We had read on CC to be there between 9:30 and 10:00am because the first ferry fills up and you might not get on it if you are late. We got there at 9:45, the ferry ticket booth opened at 10:00 and we were on our way by 10:15 at the latest for the 15 minute ride to St John.

 

Once there we rented another taxi to take us to Trunk Bay which is part of a US National Park. In fact, you pay and admission to the park at an office and to people that are dressed very much like the rangers at Yellowstone.

 

There are three popular beach areas on St John but I can't put my finger on the map I had to be able to tell you the others. I DID hear that the others are not as crowded as Trunk Bay but I gotta tell you: No complaints.

 

We arrived early and had the place to ourselves for long enough to get some of the best photos I have ever taken. The scenery is so beautiful that even a photo-dolt like me can take shots worthy of LIFE magazine.

 

The snorkle freaks were in heaven and there were a bunch of them.

 

Here's a photo I took on the way there from the open-air cab we took:

Trunk bay

 

Here's some video too:

A walk on the Beach in St John

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/04

Star Princess 10/04

Carnival Spirit 12/04

 

This is really helpful. Thanks for the info.

[blue_water]

Trunk will be very busy early because many people go on their own to "beat the rest of the crowds". You may want to consider another beach nearby that's less-traveled like Cinnamon. When we ferry to Cruz Bay on the 10 or 11AM ferry the ferries are packed full and many folks are waiting at the Red Hool ferry terminal for the next ferry. So just sayin if you can get to the ferry earlier do so.

[blueridgemama]

Do you have a recommendation for a lunch spot in Charlotte Amalie-preferably on the waterfront? Thanks:)

[blue_water]

The Petite Pump Room has an indoor dining room and an open-air deck over the ferry terminal. Great spot to watch the seaplanes land and take off. Some folks complain of fuel smell from the ferries but it was never that bad for us, always enjoyable, just hard to get a table on the deck. Great way to enjoy the harbor!

Off the water margaritas and burgers are good at the greenhouse, Gladys' is also good. Best burger is Coconuts but Petite Pump Room is the perfect spot.

[skydog802]

Trunk will be very busy early because many people go on their own to "beat the rest of the crowds". You may want to consider another beach nearby that's less-traveled like Cinnamon. When we ferry to Cruz Bay on the 10 or 11AM ferry the ferries are packed full and many folks are waiting at the Red Hool ferry terminal for the next ferry. So just sayin if you can get to the ferry earlier do so.

What are the other beaches on St. John you recommend other than Trunk? Is Cinnamon a nice beach? Also, is there anything else to see or do in St. John other than the beaches?

Thanks.

[skydog802]

Do they rent snorkeling gear at Trunk Bay or other beaches in St. John? If so, what are the costs? Thanks.

[Ms411]

The Petite Pump Room is enjoyable, but it's a bit off the beaten tourist path, because it's not in the Main Street shopping district, so you'll have to walk a ways to get there if you're already in town.

 

If you're docked at Havensight, Fat Turtle is a fun spot on the water. It's a short walk from Havensight at Yacht Haven Grande.

 

There's also the new Senor Frogs at Havensight. It's not directly on the water, but if there isn't a ship in front of it, you'll have water views. There's also a pool for your enjoyment if you're a customer.

[blue_water]

What are the other beaches on St. John you recommend other than Trunk? Is Cinnamon a nice beach? Also, is there anything else to see or do in St. John other than the beaches?

Thanks.

 

Yes Cinnamon is very nice, Coral Bay is a great spot but further away.

Cruz Bay is a great place to shop and have a cocktail at the Beach Bar. Excellent place to buy a quality Hook bracelet is St John Bracelet right off the ferry.

[skydog802]

Yes Cinnamon is very nice, Coral Bay is a great spot but further away.

Cruz Bay is a great place to shop and have a cocktail at the Beach Bar. Excellent place to buy a quality Hook bracelet is St John Bracelet right off the ferry.

 

Excellent! Thank you!

Do they rent snorkels at Cinnamon? What's a Hook bracelet?

[broberts]

There isn't a significant difference between the costs of DIY and a ship excursion. The advantage of DIY is flexibility the disadvantage is having to worry about getting back to the ship on time.

 

There are several restaurants just up the street from the Red Hook ferry that are decent, on the same side of the road as the ferry pier. We stopped for a late lunch on our way back.

[ibcnusoon]

Antoher advantage of taking the ship's excursion is that it leaves from the port (Havensport). If you do it on your own, you have to take a taxi to Red Hook and take a ferry from there. Also, on the return, you need to leave yourself plenty of time once you get back to Red Hook for the traffic back to Havensport.

 

We are going with the ship's excursion. The price, including snorkel gear, is the best option and it gives you a chance to visit Trunk Bay for snorkeling as well as shopping in Cruz Bay (lovely!) and shopping/Paradise Point on St. Thomas.

 

I'm not a big supporter of ship tours, especially on St. Thomas, but in this case it seems that the tour is very well laid out, as opposed to the various steps needed to do St. John on your own. When you have to time everying: driving, traffic, waiting for others, ferries, etc., one glitch (if you are trying to maximize your time in St. John) and you'll miss the ship. Just leave yourself PLENTY of time on the return, you don't know what kind of traffic you will expect coming back from Red Hook at the end of the day.