Be wary, single person cab ride back to ship, STT

[Glama]

Just a warning, when we were in St. Thomas, a bunch of us went to Magens Bay for the day. All of us except one headed back to the ship with about an hour to spare. Our good friend decided that she wanted to spend a little more time there. We tried to convince her to come with us, but she was having too much fun there and figured that she had enough time to get back. To make a long story short, she went to grab a cab to head back to the ship, alone, and the cab drivers REFUSED to bring her back to the ship, saying that a lone fare wasn't worth their time and $$. A cab driver told her if she "made it worth his while" he'd take her back. I am NOT making this up. She was STRANDED at Magens, broke down in tears, and an employee at the snack counter amazingly offered to drive her back to the ship. She made it, barely.

 

I remember reading that someone else had this problem in STT, and I just watched a video of a single man running back to the ship in STT, as the ship was pulling out of port. This reminded me of this problem that our friend had, and I wondered if he had a hard time finding a cab to bring him back.

 

Just be wary, when in STT, don't wait until the last minute to head back to the ship, especially if you are in port alone. You can't count on a cab being ready, willing and able to bring you back when you are ready.

[DqALEX]

She is very lucky the guy who drove her back is a nice guy. My kids have been on 5 cruises so far with me and my wife and I always give them the talk before we go, I would kill one of my daughters if they ever stayed back by themselves when they get older. It may look like paradise, but they have nuts there too.

[LHP]

Thanks for the heads up....

 

Since we have to do our family stuff in the morning....we are generally back on the ship by lunch (or shortly there after)....so we have not run into this problem.

[lvtotrvl1]

I think this is good advice for any island....or for that matter, doesn't necessarily hae to be on an island.

[travel girl23]

I really think this is good advice for any port. Travelgirl

[Kurbanfan]

I did not like how we were treated waiting for a cab in St. Thomas. They will make you wait until they have enough people. Even if it's a half hour. Even getting on the ferry to St. Johns the people were very rude. Never got a smile out of any of them. :mad: Never had that experience on any other island. On the other hand the people in St. John were great. :)

[Timmys_mom]

While I suspect the "make it worth [his] while" comment was an indication he would drive her back to the pier if she paid for the empty seats, this is not an uncommon occurance on many islands. If you watch the taxi dispatchers at the piers (St. Maarten and Tortola come to mind), they don't care if you are sitting in the van, baking, they will hold the cab until it fills with people going to the same destination.

 

It is unusual to find a taxi willing to take just one or two people all the way across an island for the same pp fare that would have been charged had the cab been full.

[duck512]

That is true, when we were in Grenada last year we shared a cab with another couple who were going just down the beach from where we were going. I believe it was $5 pp but the cab driver told us that when we called for a cab to return to the ship and there were only 2 of us that it would probably be $10 pp. It was and we paid the $20 bucks.

[KenMo]

In the Bahamas, coming back from the beach with cabs lined up along the road....they made DH and I wait for at least 20 mins. They were waiting for more people to show up.

 

Lesson learned. Last time we stopped in the Bahamas, we stayed on the ship.

[Glama]

We've waited for cabs to fill before (not fun, but understandable), but my friend in STT didn't have this option. She was one of the last to leave the beach. Basically, they were not taking her back. The "make it worth my while" was interpreted by her as "favors", not cash. If he meant cash, he should have given her a dollar amount that would suffice. They cabs were just sitting there doing nothing much of anything, she assumed (as I probably would have, too) that she'd have no problem getting one to take her back. :( Stick together, everyone, or at least bring lots of cash to make it worth their while.

[cruisecruisecruise1234567]

The "make it worth my while" was interpreted by her as "favors", not cash..

 

Let me see...a driver who has one of a limited number of cab permits on an island with tourism as a major source of income is going to jeapardize his job over a "Favor"?:rolleyes:

 

I think she is making it up.If she was a male,would it be the same story for these so called favors?Was she ignorant?I would by that,but not "favors".

 

As far as giving her a price,again he is not going to risk his job.Fares are set in St.Thomas by the goverment and there is NO leeway.Every thing including wait times,luggage fees,private tours,ect are spelled out. The driver was refering to the word "tip". I will give you a $20 tip if you take me back now would have gotten her back.There are also may gypsy cabs that set their own everything but licenced have rules to follow.

 

Was the drivers on-duty sign on? If so he was obligated to take her back.Most would have it off and then try an grab a group that late in the day or a stragler. TIP is the word! Why else would a bunch of cabs be sitting there for "one of the last on the beach":rolleyes:

[Glama]

Let me see...a driver who has one of a limited number of cab permits on an island with tourism as a major source of income is going to jeapardize his job over a "Favor"?:rolleyes:

 

I think she is making it up.If she was a male,would it be the same story for these so called favors?Was she ignorant?I would by that,but not "favors".

 

:rolleyes:

 

You can think she made it up all you want, she didn't. And no, she's not ignorant. Could she interpreted his comment "make it worth my while" wrong? Possibly, but INSTINCTUALLY, and the females on this board will know what I'm talking about, every red light in her body told her what he really meant. Believe her or not, it really doesn't matter.

 

Either way, they wouldn't bring her back. The FEMALE employee who drove her back to the ship said she's seen it happen before, that's why she felt SORRY for her as she was in tears, and drove her back herself.

Don't you think that the employee would have told her "they require a higher fare to take you back", no, instead, she left work and drove her back herself.

 

This post is intended to help others, so they don't find themselves in a similar situation. What happened to her is done and over, and whether you believe her or think she's an idiot isn't of any consequence. If you knew her, you'd know she is neither a liar, nor an idiot. :mad:

[GoinCruisin]

I would have thought he meant she had to pay the other fares as well... money speaks volumes to these people and when they are going to make $10 on a single fare, when they are used to making $100 or more on one trip, well... I wouldn't do it either. We had 19 people with us, the cab driver made over $200 on a one way trip... no way would he have made that trip for $10.

[ladyjbd3155]

I also thought the "make it worthwhile" was referring to extra money.

[Glama]

no way would he have made that trip for $10.

 

Yep, exactly. But people show know this might happen, so it doesn't happen to them.

[ladyjbd3155]

Yep, exactly. But people show know this might happen, so it doesn't happen to them.

 

Yeah, definitely a good point. The thought had never crossed my mind before. I mean, it makes sense, just not something I had thought about.

[stellatj]

I also while reading this took it as extra money. i think she took it the wrong way. the cab driver was telling her for 5 bucks no ride but give me twenty and i will take you.glad she got back in time

[cruisecruisecruise1234567]

Don't you think that the employee would have told her "they require a higher fare to take you back", no, instead, she left work and drove her back herself.

 

The employee had no work left as there was no one left on the beach.The employee wanted a tip.Did she get a tip or payment?

 

. If you knew her, you'd know she is neither a liar, nor an idiot. :mad:

 

What do you call a person who lets the group leave and stays around to be the last person on a beach on an island they are visiting for the day and almost misses the ship?

 

The word ignorant was not intended to mean an idiot,but lacking knowledge or awareness of the way things worked there.

I should have said "she was unaware"sorry.:o

[kiraryker]

She should count her blessings that she is still alive!!! My god - she was the only one left on the beach???? IS SHE CRAZY??? Anything could've happened to her in that situation.

[Kurbanfan]

Thanks Glama for trying to get your message across. I'm sure some appreciate it:)

[rockwood84]

DH and I learned this lesson a few years ago in Freeport. There were actually four of us, and we were at the cab line in Lucaya, so we weren't off the beaten path. We had about an hour to get back to the ship, and we went to the front of the cab line. The driver had a van, and didn't want to leave until the van was full. Some of the drivers who were in line behind her were willing to take us, but she refused to move from the front of the line and let them. So we were stuck there for half an hour, searching desperately for people headed to the ship. I do NOT like cutting the time close, and was really getting into a panic. We finally found a couple of women who wanted to be taken to a casino, so the driver begrudgingly agreed to take us to the port after she dropped the others off. She didn't get much of a tip from us, and had the nerve to complain about that. However, one of the guys in our group (not my DH) was a 6'3" 240-pound Navy guy, who let her know in no uncertain terms that she could have made out much better financially if she had taken us back when we were ready.

 

We had a similar situation in Megan's Bay in St. Thomas, but there was a dispatcher there who made the cab driver leave. Again, the driver wanted to completely fill up his cab (it would have held about 15), but only had 8 passengers. He argued with the dispatcher to let him wait, but she told him that he had to follow the rules, and he was only allowed to wait 10 minutes from the time the first passenger was ready to go. He lost the argument, but was so mad that he FLEW over the mountain to the port! :eek:

 

Bottom line - always go in a big enough group to fill up a cab. We have also had very good results with arranging a pick-up time with the cab driver who takes us from the ship, regardless of the size of our party. I guess a guaranteed cab fare beats the pick-up line, hoping for a full cab. We've made some good friends "buddying up" for a ride back. :)

[truecruiser]

...the cab drivers REFUSED to bring her back to the ship, saying that a lone fare wasn't worth their time and $$. A cab driver told her if she "made it worth his while" he'd take her back....

 

I remember reading that someone else had this problem in STT, and I just watched a video of a single man running back to the ship in STT, as the ship was pulling out of port. This reminded me of this problem that our friend had, and I wondered if he had a hard time finding a cab to bring him back.

 

Just be wary, when in STT, don't wait until the last minute to head back to the ship, especially if you are in port alone. You can't count on a cab being ready, willing and able to bring you back when you are ready.

 

thanks for pointing this out. i have never been faced w/ this b/c i'm always with people, but it's a good thing for people to be aware of.

 

as far as making it worth his while goes, i agree w/ the majority of posters on this thread. money, is the first thing that came to mind, and i think it did b/c it makes complete sense. she probably misread his intentions. if she had said how much will you charge? she probably wld have gotten an answer and a ride.

[BARBARA J.W.]

I am a SOLO cruiser,I would never take a

cab alone..........

[dnice1979]

I am a SOLO cruiser,I would never take a

cab alone..........

 

 

I am brand new solo cruiser so this informaton is good to know.

[HeidiHo]

Regardless of what the cab driver meant by his "make it worth my while" comment, this thread has some very good advice in it. Glad she made it back to the ship on time and safely. I'll bet that's the last time she'll ever go off by herself like that.