St John - Trunk Bay

[boleynkid]

Once off the ship, how long does it take to get there please. Do they have restroom facilities on the beach ?

[blue_water]

20 - 25 min taxi to the Red Hook ferry, 15 - 20 minute ferry ride to Cruz Bay, St John, and a 15 minute taxi to Trunk (about $42pp roundtrip). So a little over an hour each way unless you have to wait for the hourly ferry.

Restrooms are near the beach if I recall.

[cemor66]

20 - 25 min taxi to the Red Hook ferry, 15 - 20 minute ferry ride to Cruz Bay, St John, and a 15 minute taxi to Trunk (about $42pp roundtrip). So a little over an hour each way unless you have to wait for the hourly ferry.

Restrooms are near the beach if I recall.

 

Blue....I've read many of your posts on this subject, and they are very informative. I still keep waffling on your above plan of attack or the ships "excursion."

 

(Note: Been to St Thomas twice, Sapphire beach both times. Prefer going off on our own, not with an organized tour.)

 

Our ship in is port from 8am-5pm. In order to max your time on St John you would have to catch the 9am Red Hook ferry. Return from Cruz Bay on the 2pm ferry to make it back without any worries. Total time on St John would be 4:40 max.

 

But.....this particular ship tour isn't as constricting a tour as most are.

 

My research: Destination St John...6.5 hours. I believe 10am-4:30pm. You board the ferry at the cruise pier with a few other groups also heading to St John. Once at Cruz Bay you have a choice a) get off the ferry with the other land groups, b) remain on the ferry for a narrated tour of the northwest shore of St John. So in route you can make your decision. Choice a)...you get off and now have close to 5 hours on St. John. Choice b)...you decide you want to see more from the water. You take the tour which from what I read will pass 3 different beaches, a sugar plantation, etc. Then after your guided tour aboard the ferry it will drop you back at Cruz Bay where you will now have 3-3.5 hours island time.

 

It's an interesting choice. And after just writing the above, I think I'd do the Red Hook ferry. Put after hitting "submit" I'll probably change my mind.

 

Blue...do you see this as a toss up, or do you still say the Red Hook way is a slam dunk?????

[blue_water]

You'll have an extra hour to spend on STJ with the Red Hook ferry option but it's just a matter of how you want to spend your day. We've done that tour and it's a nice way to see the beaches and shoreline if you're not really interested in beaching and prefer to spend time in Cruz.

[OCruisers]

Once off the ship, how long does it take to get there please. Do they have restroom facilities on the beach ?

 

There are very nice clean rest rooms at Trunk Bay with showers and changing rooms as well. They are located in the main area as you enter.

 

We love and have always had a wonderful time at Trunk Bay! :)

 

LuLu

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[boleynkid]

There are very nice clean rest rooms at Trunk Bay with showers and changing rooms as well. They are located in the main area as you enter.

 

We love and have always had a wonderful time at Trunk Bay! :)

 

LuLu

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Thanks very much everyone for your helpful and informative replies. First timers so much appreciated.

 

Starting to count down the days now.

[True North 23]

We did the Destination St. John through Celebrity last week. The ferry took 40 minutes, and included free drinks on the way back. Definately the easiest way to get to St. John. Taxis are waiting when you get off the ferry to take you to Trunk Bay. So simple!

[cemor66]

True....Did your tour offer you the option to stay on the ferry for the water tour? And if so, did you stay on for the tour or get off and spend all your time on St John? Did you consider the Red Hook ferry at all?

 

This St John trip seems to be a hot topic lately and I'm trying to gather info for my trip in 3 weeks.

 

We did the Destination St. John through Celebrity last week. The ferry took 40 minutes, and included free drinks on the way back. Definately the easiest way to get to St. John. Taxis are waiting when you get off the ferry to take you to Trunk Bay. So simple!

[True North 23]

We did not stay on the boat for the water tour portion. Friends did stay on, and it was only about 40 minutes long. You could just play it by ear. If it is a nice day the extra time in Trunk Bay would be nice. The whole day was so simple and pleasant. I would do it again exactly the same way!