Jewel in February, St. Thomas to St. John ferry question...

[jgoga]

We will be arriving in St. Thomas at the ship docks and we really want to go to St. John but we want to rent a car once we get to St. John (cruz bay).

 

What's the best ferry to get to St. John? Can i get this ferry right from the ship docks? I was looking into this one http://www.varlack-ventures.com/vvf...y-schedules.htm have any of you good people used this ferry in the past? If not can you guys suggest me one that you have used and have had a great experience?

 

As for the cars, I am looking to get a large SUV since we have a 4 yr old. Can any of you guys suggest some good car rentals in St. John @ Cruz bay? Everytime i rent cars in the caribbean we get junk so i would like to do my homework and make sure we get a decent car.

 

Thank you,

 

John

[bridget22004]

:) John,

I just love the island of St John and have rented villas on St John, what a wonderful island.

 

If I were you. I would take the ferry from downtown Char. Amalie. it is right across the street from the main shopping. it is a little longer ferry ride from Char. Amalie to Cruz Bay than going from Red Hook, but I would rather have a longer ferry and not have to take a taxi to Red Hook.

Not sure which cruise ship dock you will be at since there are several options.

 

as for the St John car rental.

I would definitely go with " St John Rental" . once you get off the ferry past the outdoor cafe/bar turn right and go up the street, easy walk , you will run right into the rental place, it is a yellow building ( as least it was) it is on a little hill with tiny circular drive.

they have nice four wheel drive vehicles, which is needed due the hills and turns on the island.

have a wonderful time and don't forget to get to Cinnamon Bay Beach and Mt Bordeaux

[jgoga]

:) John,

I just love the island of St John and have rented villas on St John, what a wonderful island.

 

If I were you. I would take the ferry from downtown Char. Amalie. it is right across the street from the main shopping. it is a little longer ferry ride from Char. Amalie to Cruz Bay than going from Red Hook, but I would rather have a longer ferry and not have to take a taxi to Red Hook.

Not sure which cruise ship dock you will be at since there are several options.

 

as for the St John car rental.

I would definitely go with " St John Rental" . once you get off the ferry past the outdoor cafe/bar turn right and go up the street, easy walk , you will run right into the rental place, it is a yellow building ( as least it was) it is on a little hill with tiny circular drive.

they have nice four wheel drive vehicles, which is needed due the hills and turns on the island.

have a wonderful time and don't forget to get to Cinnamon Bay Beach and Mt Bordeaux

Thank you so much for your help. Should i try to make reservations for the car rental or will there be plenty of cars when i get to cruz bay? What do you think? I called a lot of these care rentals in Jt. John and they say they don't take care reservations for one day. The only one that was willing to do it was Hertz.

 

St John Rental was on the list but they told me just to go to their place when i'm in town since they do not do one day reservations.

 

Thank you so much,

 

John

[bridget22004]

I think you are fine to wait til you arrive on the island, they are one of the biggest rentals. Do avoid 'Island Rental' not a good experience and $$.

[jgoga]

I think you are fine to wait til you arrive on the island, they are one of the biggest rentals. Do avoid 'Island Rental' not a good experience and $$.

Thank you so much.

 

One other question. Do you think we have enough time to go to St. John rent a car spent some time on the beach and get back to our cruise by 5:00 P.M.?

 

John

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

As you found most do not take 1 day reservations. Getting a car on arrival can be a how lucky are you type deal during the highest points of high season (Dec-Feb) and Carnival week (the wk. before 4th of July) for St. John. So you might want to have a back up plan. There are several rental car agencies in Cruz Bay so you can walk from one to the next should the first or second not have anything. Also sometimes at the Ferry Pier rental agents will be there asking if anyone wants to rent a car. You might try http://www.bookajeep.com I don't know if they have SUVs... many of the St. John Car rentals are jeeps... in any case I know some have SUV's though.

 

You will have enough to time to get to St. John, rent a car and see a bit of the island, stop at a beach and head back.... Just make sure you keep an eye on time so you get back on the ferry in time.

 

Also answering your first questions. You can't catch the 'regular public' ferries from the ship dock. (The cruise ships have arrangements for their excursions for pick up at the dock in some cases... which includes a ferry for their St. John excursion... if you are doing this on your own then you need to go to the ferry docks... Red Hook of Charlotte Amalie.) Its not a matter of which ferry is best... the couple ferry operators that exist work together to keep to the schedule. http://www.*****/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/

 

--Islander

*****

[jgoga]

Thank you so much.

 

 

John