Question on taking ferry from St Thomas to St John through Celebrity.

[jenniebnyc]

Does the ferry pick you up right at the ship? If no, is there a taxi invloved in getting to ferry?

 

At what time do you depart and what time do you return?

 

Price?

 

Thanks

[20pluscruises]

Does the ferry pick you up right at the ship? If no, is there a taxi invloved in getting to ferry?

 

At what time do you depart and what time do you return?

 

Price?

 

Thanks

 

I believe the ferry picks you up at the dock....right in front of the ship. Van/bus ride to Trunk Bay

Edited December 12, 2013 by 20pluscruises

[cruisegirl1]

Does the ferry pick you up right at the ship? If no, is there a taxi invloved in getting to ferry?

 

At what time do you depart and what time do you return?

 

Price?

 

Thanks

 

We've done this transportation to St John ( from Celebrity and other lines) several times and there was NO taxi involved. We walked to the private ferry right from the ship. The ferry captain told us what time to be back to the ferry in the afternoon and drop us back to nearly the same spot by the ship. We plan to take the same type of transportation to St John for an upcoming cruise, but we are tendering on rather than docking. I am guessing the drill is the same.

 

The ride is actually several excursions together, and you can take the individual exclusion you booked (sightseeing, shopping, etc.) or ditch it ( as we did) and explore on your own or take local transportation to your destination. The times are listed in the excursion section for your particular stop on St Thomas. Price is also listed but if I remember correctly is in the $35-40 range.

 

It probably works out to a bit more than the public ferry over, but there is no taxi/traffic/etc. Plus on the ride back, there are complimentary refreshments ( soda/water/rum ( or non) rum punch.)

 

We generally take private excursions, but this is only of the ( very) few ship excursions we take.

enjoy

 

 

 

M

Edited December 12, 2013 by cruisegirl1

[CaroleSS]

We rarely do ship's excursions, but we did do this one....it was actually cheaper than a DIY and much easier!

 

The ferry picks you up close to the ship (no taxi required) and returns you back to the same location. There are several choices for return time, but we choose the latest one so we could spend as much time on St John as possible.

 

Two points I will bring up

1 - the ferry stops midway at (I think) the Marriott, over and back

2 - the ride over is rather choppy, so it you can get an inside seat, it might be best.

 

The captain does a little history talk on the way over - we did not hear it, but others did. On the way back they serve fruit punch with or without rum.

 

Easy peasy!

[upwarduk]

We've done this transportation to St John ( from Celebrity and other lines) several times and there was NO taxi involved. We walked to the private ferry right from the ship.

 

The ride is actually several excursions together, and you can take the individual exclusion you booked (sightseeing, shopping, etc.) or ditch it ( as we did) and explore on your own or take local transportation to your destination. The times are listed in the excursion section for your particular stop on St Thomas. Price is also listed but if I remember correctly is in the $35-40 range.

 

We generally take private excursions, but this is only of the ( very) few ship excursions we take.

 

We booked the Celebrity excursion, as there were several large ships in St Thomas on the day we were there. However we were docked, but I have heard that some of the ships are tendering (Eclipse) We choose the Historic excursion ($35 approx) which was supposed to be strenuous, but apart from some standing around, I found no problems. The guided tour took about 2 hrs and then we had free time for shopping, but I am glad that we didn't take the shopping option, as I cannot remember seeing any shops! We then spent the remainder of the time at a shore side restaurant .

Friends took the trolley tour, as he really is not steady on his feet.

[BSinPNS]

We did the ferry just before Thanksgiving. Since it was a tender port, we met in the theatre, were excorted to the forward tender port tender dock and tendered to the main dock downtown, walked about 200 feet and boarded the ferry to St. John. Regarding the stop at the Marriott, it was very short and we boarded/disembarked about 20 people. The captain narrated on the way over and then told people where to go for the various tours. We stayed onboard for the National Park coastline tour. The ferry docks next to the National Park headquarters building and it is a nice place to spend about 30 minutes. There are several shopping areas in the vicinity. We found teh nicest one to be a few hundred yards to the left and up the street after you left the ferry area. As reported on several threads, it may cost about $10 more per person, but not having to worry about cabs and traffic jams with 6-7 ships in port was worth it.

[gdpups]

Did this excursion on the Summit last month. We left the dock and walked to the ferry at 10 am and returned around 4 pm, I believe it was a 6 hour excursion for us. Once on St. John we took a shuttle/taxi to Truck Bay and had a great time.

[vickykay]

We have gone to St. John's on our our ( taxi to Red Hook, Ferry, etc) and thru the ship. For

Just a little more, I would recommend the ship's excursion. More relaxing, good narration as we sailed, etc. Enjoy.

[Karen@Steve]

We took the DYI route and wished we had used the ship's excursion. The price would have been about the same but saved us lots of time with the traffic to Red Hook, back and forth. Not to mention the first cab (Ship to Red Hook) was kind of scary.

[brockmom]

we just did this last week....STL2 I think It was. The last time we did this with Princess it only gave us 1 1/2 hours at the and I knew I wanted longer...so this time with Celebrity we did the coastal tour which we really enjoyed. We all met outside and had a 2-3 minute to the ferry. Nice ride over and the captain was full of info. We stood right at the front and loved every minute of it. Any waves were fun- we had no issues at all and enjoyed the birds eye view. This tour dropped people off who were doing the shopping/ walking portion and we continued on for a cruise for about half an hour- then we were dropped off at the pier. we could then have 3-31/2 of free time. Taxis/ open air buses were waiting

right there and took us to and from Trunk bay for 6 each/ each way. We had a blast and enjoyed every minute. There is a souvenier shop/ snack shack and beer etc / clean washrooms/ showers . Taxis and open air buses were waiting to take us back. We were back to the boat before 4 p.m and still had time to power shop before we sailed away. enjoy you will have a great day.

[jenniebnyc]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the info! We are STJ lifers having vacationed here every year since 1988. We definitely do not need a tour but the ferry from the ship and back sounds like a great deal so we will do it. If anyone ever needs info on where to eat or beach on STJ, please let me know. Cheers.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the info! We are STJ lifers having vacationed here every year since 1988. We definitely do not need a tour but the ferry from the ship and back sounds like a great deal so we will do it. If anyone ever needs info on where to eat or beach on STJ, please let me know. Cheers.

 

Certainly would appreciate your suggestions on where to eat and beach.

[cruisegirl1]

Certainly would appreciate your suggestions on where to eat and beach.

 

I may be confusing beaches, bit I think Trunk Bay has some sort of snack shack.

 

M

[jenniebnyc]

Hi Linda

 

 

For food (assuming lunch) our all time favorite is joes BBQ right in town. Great ribs, chicken and sides. While waiting we run across the street to Hercules for a pate and/or a Johnny cake. Pate is like an empanada and a Johnny cake is fried dough. I like with a slice of American cheese. Other places for lunch that are good--- the grotto deli for a sandwich to bring to the beach---the beach bar if you want to sit and watch the water and have a casual burger or bar food they also make a delicious ahi tuna over salad-----another favorite is the banana deck! Excellent salads, conch fritters, sandwiches, curry and steak. The staff is very nice here too. Don't forget to order a painkiller or a buschwaker to wash your lunch down.

 

I will write about beaches in a bit. Have to get to work!

 

Cheers.

[jenniebnyc]

I am hesitant to write about beaches bc I don't want them to get crowded, but they are public knowledge on a map, so here goes.

 

All time favorite is Francis Bay. It is a distance to get to by car or taxi, so leave enough time for travel if you decide on Francis. It could take up to 40 minutes to get to from town. The beach is a cove with lots of sea turtle and clear blue waters, picnic tables and a bathroom.

 

Maho Bay - this beach is just before Francis. It is very easy access as it is just off the road with lots of new parking lots for those who are renting a car. It is a flat beach that is very calm. Lots of sea turtles here too.

 

Gibney beach- Just after Hawksnest beach is Gibney Beach. It has been debuted in many commercials over the years. The tides are ticky here so there may not be much sandy/beach, but when there is, it is a perfect beach with usually only a few people at most. No facilities. You must walk down a long hilly driveway to get here.

 

Hawksnest - One of my favorites. Close by to town. Just after the Caneel Resort. Large beach, nice waters, could be rough (aka small waves) at times. Nice island views from this beach. Picnic tables, bathrooms and showers.

 

Trunk - MEH. You can all go to Trunk with the rest of the cruisers. I will stick to any of the other beaches. Haven't been here in about 10 years. Too crowded for me!

 

Cinnamon - Nice campground beach. Has facilities and watersport rentals. If you want a beack like trunk but not as many crowds, I would suggest here.

 

Honeymoon - On the Caneel Resort property. Long walk once at the resort, but worth it when you get there. Many boat trips will anchor off of Honeymoon.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.