St. Thomas Or St. Johns

[tstank]

If only one day in port and never been to either, which would you do? I have read so many good things about both. If you ferry it to St. John's will that take up the whole day?

[Northender]

No brainer - St. John. Leave the ship around 8:15, grab a taxi and head to Red Hook. Ferry will leave at 9:00am. You will be in STJ before 9:30am. Go to end of dock in Cruz Bay and jump in an open air taxi and go to Trunk Bay which is run by the National Park Service. Pay $5 admission and sit, swim and snokle on a beautiful beach. They sell burgers, beers, etc. When you have had enough, head back to town (taxis available mostly all day at Trunk), walk around CB, have a munchie and libation - we love Woody's but there are some beach bars as well. Head back to ship allowing at least an hour to an hour 1/2 to boarding time. Princess has excursions to STJ but you are much better off on your own. Between taxi and ferry fares, it is not that much cheaper, but you are on your own (with a lot of other passengers).

Maybe people on your roll call will want to join you. I know, we have quite a few going.:)

 

By the way, I am not being rude, but it is St. John not St. John's. St. John's is in Antiqua:)

[cw0904]

Sorry to jump in here but how much do the open air taxis cost in St John? I am going back and forth on what to do on these 2 islands and not 100% sure if going to St John is worth it if we just go to Trunks Bay.

[Sheffie]

Here is a link to taxi rates on one of the pages of the St. John page section from http://www.*****:

 

http://www.*****/stjohn/getting_around_stj/taxi.php

[BuyReallyLow]

If only one day in port and never been to either, which would you do? I have read so many good things about both. If you ferry it to St. John's will that take up the whole day?

 

Both are great - My 0.02 worth is consider what your reason for going to the Caribbean is. St. John is what you see when you close your eyes and think Caribbean. Beautiful beaches, blue water, great snorkeling.... St. Thomas has a degree of that across the island (and it is nice)... but I go to St. Thomas for the shopping. I am led by my DW to her shop of choice - and spend money.:)

 

But both are fantastic - one of my favorite stops. JMHO

[californiagirl]

When we took a Celebrity cruise we did the ship's learn to dive in the morning at Coki Beach on St. Thomas. Then took a cab to Red Hook, ferry to St. John and another taxi to Cinnamon Bay on St. John. We had a wonderful afternoon. We were the only people on the beach. Amazingly, I don't remember feeling rushed either.;) We took the ferry back to Charlotte Amalie (not Red Hook on the return.) When we got back to the ship were told that we were staying in port until 11:00 pm! :eek: So, we ate dinner and then went shopping :D. We had the best of both worlds.

 

I agree that those two islands are what come to mind when I think of the Caribbean. Have a wonderful time whatever you choose to do.

 

Lisa :)

[tstank]

Thanks for everyone's reply. We're going to go do St. John in the AM and if we have time go back to St. Thomas and walk around and shop.

[love2vacation]

HELP-

Taxi- Can anyone tell me how long is the taxi ride from the Charlotte Amelie cruise dock to Red Hook?

 

We have a vow renewal scheduled for 2:00 in St. John (Hawksnest Beach) and I am trying to figure out which ferry to take to St. John and then back.

 

Has anyone done the 45 min ferry from Charlotte Amelie? Wondering about the scenery along the way (is the 45 min. ferry ride worth it) and also has anyone taken the 3:45 ferry back from Cruz Bay to Charlotte Amelie- wondering if you can make it back in time. :confused:

 

Thanks in advance for the information.:)

[Northender]

Congrats on your vow renewals.:) Last cruise we were off the ship by 8:00am, grabbed taxi at dock (there is a dispatcher there) to Red Hook and were in RH in plenty of time to catch the 9:am ferry to Cruz Bay. Short walk to end of the pier at Cruz Bay for another taxi to our destination of Trunk Bay. Hawksnest Beach is before Trunk Bay and is lovely.

 

I have done the CA ferry ( it does not run as often) and found it a little rough and is about a 40 minute run. It comes out the same as Red Hook, but smooth sailing from RH to CB.

 

We took the 3pm ferry back to RH, grabbed a cab to the ship and had plenty of time. Th 3:45 ferry to CA would get you there about 4:30 assuming all is on time.

 

I am assuming you are working with someone on the Island regarding your vow renewals. They may have a better idea regarding the logistics.

 

The only thing I am not sure of is the distance between CA and Havensight where the ships dock.....Good luck:)

[candf]

We are doing the same itinerary as you on February 25th. Attached is a link showing a map of St. Thomas/St. John, along with the ferry schedule

http://stjohnlinks.com/map.htm Enjoy! Colleen