Ferry to St. John or Ships excursion?

[Cruisin' Patty]

Would you taxi to Red Hook then ferry to Cruz Bay, then taxi to your beach of preference, stay as long as you like OR do the ships excursion to Truck Bay, $49. each, about 5 hr toral, 1 and 1/2 hr at Trunk Bay.

How much is the taxi from the pier to Red Hook? I saw the ferry is $5. pp each way.

[wwinfl91]

The big advantage to the ship's excursion is that you know the ship isn't going to leave without you. If you decide to do it on your own make sure you leave yourself plenty of extra time in case of problems.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[kchesneylover]

DF and I did the Taxi/Ferry/Taxi thing on our own and we were fine. If you are even thinking about going to St. Thomas, ferrying over to St. John's is a must -

 

It is like heaven on earth.

[Ms411]

You need to know how much the taxi is to Trunk Bay. I took it late 2005, but can't remember ($5? $6?) One advantage I see to doing it yourself is you meet other people than ones you'll see on the ship. You can also take the time to walk around Cruz Bay and check out the lovely shops (don't know if ship's tour includes that time - probably not - they want you to shop onboard!)

[jmk22]

We just returned from cruising on Carnival Valor. We went to St. Johns on our own, but it is not cheap. Rates are as follows.

Taxi from Havensight wharf to Red Hook - $10.00pp

Ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay - $5.00 pp

Taxi from Cruz bay to Trunk Bay - $6.00 pp

Admission to Trunk Bay $4.00 pp

Rental of SnorkelEquipment - $5.00 pp

Return Taxi from Trunk Bay to Cruz Bay - $6.00 pp

Ferry from Cruz Bay to Downtown Charlotte Amalie - $11.50 pp

Taxi from Town back to ship- $4.00 pp

The cost for two people was $103.00 and you need cash for all of it. It takes time to take all these rides and if you miss a ferry, you wait longer.

Carnival had two different tours to Trunk Bay. They go there directly from the ship and bypass all the rides, so you actually may get more snorkel time. One was $57.00 each and the other was $62.00. You would have to add the $4.00 taxi ride if you wanted to be dropped off in town on the return. I am not big on ship's tours. Usually always do my own. This is one time I thought that going with the ship might be better for only about $25.00 more plus You can just charge it to your ship account.

[tmtip]

We were thinking about doing St. John on our own next month but I was looking at catching the ferry from downtown instead of Red Hook, is Red Hooker better, easier? The only reason we want to do it on our own verses the cruiese ship excursions is shopping time in St. John. Any suggestions would be greatly appreicated. Thanks

 

Tracy

[Ms411]

Red Hook is better because the ferry leaves much more often (every hour), and the schedule seldom changes. Downtown schedule doesn't start until 9 a.m., and then the next one leaves at 11.

[racepoint]

Just returned from the Golden and opted for the ship's excursion to Trunk Bay. Ferry was waiting right at our dock and transportation was waiting at the other end. Trunk Bay was truly the highlight of my cruise. The snorkeling was THE best and scenery is awesome. We talked with another family on board who had done the taxi-Red Hook-taxi-admission stuff all by themselves and it sounded expensive and exhausting - and they stayed at Trunk Bay for about the same amount of time that we were there. My opinion is this is one excurision that is best booked through the cruise line. I think we paid $49/pp and it was most enjoyable and relaxing.

[Aquarian]

A few years ago, we did the Trunk Bay day on our own. We took a safari bus with other couples and it was a bit cheaper than the taxi price quoted above. Did you ask around for prices? If you go to Red Hook, take the ferry to Cruz Bay and then another safari bus to Trunk Bay and then take the same route back instead of going downtown Charlotte Amalie, you can save a few dollars. Going on your own gives you the opportunity to go earlier in the day before the crowd arrives.