Getting to St. John

[sonvoltken6]

We are going to be on the Freedom December 1, and will be in St. Thomas. The ship arrives at 11 am and departs at 7. We are looking to maximize our time in St. John, and the only shore excursion leaves about 3 hours on the island. Has anyone done the ferry on your own and is this service reliable as far as getting back to the port on time?

[138east]

Unfortunately I can't tell you about the ferry. However I was on a November sailing of the Freedom last year and took the St John's excursion. Our sailing never changed from EST to ATL time. We arrived in STT at noon local time. The excursion left around 12:30 ATL arriving in Cruz Bay about 1:15 and it was almost 1:45 by the time we arrived at Trunk Bay. Chair rentals had to be returned at 3 pm, so I did not waste the money on a chair.

 

I don't remember the exact details of the return, but I think it was 4:30. I do know it was already dark when we got back to the pier, which I think was about 5:30.

 

The disembarkation was a zoo. Folks were lined up on the stairs for several floors waiting for the all clear and it took a while for the massive number of people to get off the ship.

 

Even if the ferry schedule works in your favor, you might not be able to get much more than 3 hours of daylight on St. John. If your Freedom sailing does not change to ATL, I would not go to STJ.

[blue_water]

There are a ton of threads on this topic that you can reference. Bottom line, to make the best time taxi to Red Hook and ferry to Cruz from there. The downtown ferry is unreliable and doesn't offer the frequent departure times.

[Host Anne]

sonvoltken ~ we go to St. John from our cruise ship all the time. The good news is that Freedom (both Freedom of the Seas and Carnival Freedom) docks at Havensight. It's easier to get to St. John when you are docked here.

 

When you disembark the ship, there will be plenty of open air taxis filling with passengers heading to St. John. You'll take the taxi from here to Red Hook where you'll catch the ferry to Cruz Bay. Ferry rates just went up and should be $7 each way. The ferry runs every hour on the hour from Red Hook to Cruz Bay and then back from Cruz Bay to Red Hook. The taxi cost to and from the ferry runs around $10 per person.

 

There will be plenty of taxis waiting for you when you get to Cruz Bay. They'll take you to one of the many beaches -- Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho have restroom facilities while Trunk and Cinnamon have snack bars, chair rentals and snorkel gear rentals. The taxi cost from Cruz Bay to the beaches listed run between $6 - $9 per person (at least they did last year).

 

There will also be plenty of taxis at Trunk and Cinnamon to take you back to Cruz Bay. If you head to one of the other beaches be sure to arrange a pick up time with the taxi driver who drops you off. They always come back if you per-arrange a pick up time.

 

You can also take an island tour for about $25 per person and end up at a beach after about two hours. We've done this frequently when we have guests with us who haven't been to St. John before.

 

Cruz Bay is filled with lots of great beach bars, restaurants and shops. It's a great little town.

 

You should be able to catch the noon ferry to St. John and I'd recommend the 5:00 PM ferry back to St. Thomas.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions! ENJOY!!! We'll be there a few days after you!

Edited October 13, 2013 by Host Anne

[bigeagle12]

sonvoltken ~ we go to St. John from our cruise ship all the time. The good news is that Freedom (both Freedom of the Seas and Carnival Freedom) docks at Havensight. It's easier to get to St. John when you are docked here.

 

When you disembark the ship, there will be plenty of open air taxis filling with passengers heading to St. John. You'll take the taxi from here to Red Hook where you'll catch the ferry to Cruz Bay. Ferry rates just went up and should be $7 each way. The ferry runs every hour on the hour from Red Hook to Cruz Bay and then back from Cruz Bay to Red Hook. The taxi cost to and from the ferry runs around $10 per person.

 

There will be plenty of taxis waiting for you when you get to Cruz Bay. They'll take you to one of the many beaches -- Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho have restroom facilities while Trunk and Cinnamon have snack bars, chair rentals and snorkel gear rentals. The taxi cost from Cruz Bay to the beaches listed run between $6 - $9 per person (at least they did last year).

 

There will also be plenty of taxis at Trunk and Cinnamon to take you back to Cruz Bay. If you head to one of the other beaches be sure to arrange a pick up time with the taxi driver who drops you off. They always come back if you per-arrange a pick up time.

 

You can also take an island tour for about $25 per person and end up at a beach after about two hours. We've done this frequently when we have guests with us who haven't been to St. John before.

 

Cruz Bay is filled with lots of great beach bars, restaurants and shops. It's a great little town.

 

You should be able to catch the noon ferry to St. John and I'd recommend the 5:00 PM ferry back to St. Thomas.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions! ENJOY!!! We'll be there a few days after you!

 

How long a taxi ride from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay?

Edited October 15, 2013 by bigeagle12

[Host Anne]

15 minutes, max! That includes a stop at the Trunk Bay famous overlook so you can take a photo of one of the most photographed beaches from above. That's the photo in my avatar.

Edited October 15, 2013 by Host Anne

[Miamia65]

How long is the ferry ride from St Thomas to St John?

[O2B@Cagain]

How long is the ferry ride from St Thomas to St John?

From Red Hook to Cruz Bay, it's about 20 minutes.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Is there a place I could find the Red Hook Ferry schedule?

 

I have heard the tour with RCI is easier and costs about the same, but from what I read on this thread may not necessarily be the case. We will be in St. Thomas on the Jewel from 8 AM - 5 PM, so not sure how much time we would have to enjoy Trunk Bay, if that is where we would decide to go. We have been to St. Thomas many times, but usually head straight to Sapphire Beach. We are thinking of changing it up a bit this time. We have done a day sail to St. John's once, but have never taken the ferry.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

When you disembark the ship, there will be plenty of open air taxis filling with passengers heading to St. John. You'll take the taxi from here to Red Hook where you'll catch the ferry to Cruz Bay. Ferry rates just went up and should be $7 each way. The ferry runs every hour on the hour from Red Hook to Cruz Bay and then back from Cruz Bay to Red Hook. The taxi cost to and from the ferry runs around $10 per person.

I see you answered my question about the ferry schedule here. Sorry, I should have read it closer.:o However, one clarification, please. Is the $10 pp taxi cost to and from the ferry each way, or is that for a round trip? Thanks!:)

[Host Anne]

Ginny ~ $10 is the approximate ferry cost per person each way. We've paid $9 before and $10. Have a great time!

[blue_water]

Not sure where my earlier reply went, disappeared somehow...but do get your ferry pass and get in the departure line early to get a seat on top if a nice day!

 

Ginny, the taxi from Red Hook is $18 - 20pp roundtrip, and the ferry is $14pp roundtrip from Red Hook to Cruz...

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the replies. I am assuming the taxi ride from Red Hook back to Havensight is about 30 minutes?

[blue_water]

yes give or take

[OCruisers]

If you want to do it the Easy Way, just book an excursion thru the ship.

 

When on a land trip in St. Thomas, we do the ferry to St. John.

 

When on a port stop in St. Thomas, we book an excursion offered thru the ship that takes us to St. John so we don't have to worry about taxis and ferry schedules. Some of the catamaran ones are especially good. :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Lorenita2005]

Sunny AZ Girl, Did you end up going to St. John? We are going to be in St. Thomas on RCL Jewel next week from 8:00am to 5:00pm and I want to go on the RH 9:00am ferry returning on the 2:00pm ferry. What do you think about that? I'm really worried about the taxi ride back to the cruise ship from Red Hook. I'm just tired of the usual excursions in St. Thomas and wanted to try something new. Thanks for your help.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Lorenita2005
added her name

[LadybugTraveler]

Sunny AZ Girl, Did you end up going to St. John? We are going to be in St. Thomas on RCL Jewel next week from 8:00am to 5:00pm and I want to go on the RH 9:00am ferry returning on the 2:00pm ferry. What do you think about that? I'm really worried about the taxi ride back to the cruise ship from Red Hook. I'm just tired of the usual excursions in St. Thomas and wanted to try something new. Thanks for your help.

 

Lorenita2005, Did you end up doing that schedule? We'll be at St. Thomas in a couple of weeks and I'm thinking about doing the same thing you suggested above. Did it work out ok?

 

Thanks!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Sunny AZ Girl, Did you end up going to St. John? We are going to be in St. Thomas on RCL Jewel next week from 8:00am to 5:00pm and I want to go on the RH 9:00am ferry returning on the 2:00pm ferry. What do you think about that? I'm really worried about the taxi ride back to the cruise ship from Red Hook. I'm just tired of the usual excursions in St. Thomas and wanted to try something new. Thanks for your help.

 

Yes, we dd take the ferry through RCI. It was a good day and I would recommend it. There is a full pctorial review in my signature. St Thomas was our first port in week 2. Enjoy your cruise!:D

[Lorenita2005]

we haven't left yet, 2 more days stuck here in the DC area! It was 15 degrees yesterday. Today is a warm 23 degrees!

 

Thanks AZ girl, we are thinking about doing it on our own, not through RCL. Ever done that?

[fuzzywuzzy]

Lorenita2005, Did you end up doing that schedule? We'll be at St. Thomas in a couple of weeks and I'm thinking about doing the same thing you suggested above. Did it work out ok?

 

Thanks!

 

 

My husband and I went to St. John on our own when we docked at St. Thomas a few years ago. We were able to catch the local bus over to Red Hook and took the ferry over to St. John. It worked out perfectly. We have done this twice and both times had a great experience with time to go to a beach and do some shopping in Cruz Bay. It is an affordable way also to see the island. Just be mindful of the time.

 

We are planning to do this again when we dock there in our upcoming cruise in December.

[ONCRUISEMODE]

My husband and I went to St. John on our own when we docked at St. Thomas a few years ago. We were able to catch the local bus over to Red Hook and took the ferry over to St. John. It worked out perfectly. We have done this twice and both times had a great experience with time to go to a beach and do some shopping in Cruz Bay. It is an affordable way also to see the island. Just be mindful of the time.

 

We are planning to do this again when we dock there in our upcoming cruise in December.

 

We will be going to ST. Thomas in December as well. Are you on the Dec. 7th Allure by any chance?

[fuzzywuzzy]

We will be going to ST. Thomas in December as well. Are you on the Dec. 7th Allure by any chance?

 

No, the Dec. 7 Eurodam.

[ONCRUISEMODE]

No, the Dec. 7 Eurodam.

 

Thanks....