Excursion question

[We2Cruzers]

I was justlooking at the list of excursions from St. Thomas and there is one to St. John by Ferry. I was wondering if anyone on this board has gone to St. John on their own without signing up for the excursion and if you have how easy is to get there and back, and was it complicated?

Thanks,

LK

[Sueseb]

We did it ourselves a couple of years ago. Took a cab from pier to ferry dock and bought the tickets there with no problem. Also, no problem getting a ferry back (but I wouldn't wait until the last minute) and there are cabs waiting at the dock to take you back to the ship. I forget what it cost, but it was significantly less than a HAL tour.

[hammybee]

We have done the ferry too. There is usually ample port time to make this worthwhile and not as costly as an excursion.

 

Timing is a factor that becomes a part of the adventure. Much will depend, upon where the HAL ship docks and what it is you want to do, once on St. John.

 

Any ideas?

[OceanLiner]

We were there in March on the Volendam, and we were warned by some friends who live on St Thomas to be VERY careful about taking an excursion that is to far away because of the horrible traffic jams.

 

St Thomas is under heavy construction all around the port area and the traffic can be really bad when there are several ships in port at the same time. There have been reports of it taking several hours to get back from Meagans Bay, and I can tell you first hand that it is very possible. Meanwhile your ship has sailed!

 

While were in port we had the oppurtunity to stand dockside and watch an NCL ship leave the port. While standing there we started talking to a port security office and he told us several stories of passengers being stuck in traffic and missing their ship.

 

So just make sure that you are either leaving for St John directly from the dock area, or that you come back with plenty of time to spare, or that you have hotel reservations. We came back early and went up on the cable car. It was a blast, and we walked back to the ship.

[We2Cruzers]

Thanks so much for your responses. I'm glad I asked. The idea of being stuck in traffic and possibly missing the ship is enough to put me off the notion.

LK

[hammybee]

If Trunk Cay or one of the other popular beach/snorkle spots is your ultimate destination, you also need to allow for the ferry bus from Cruz Bay on St. John to the beach.

 

In other words, there are a lot of connections and with Oceanliner's info on construction, there are risks that might be avoided with a shore excursion. Darn !

[bsa250cc]

LK,

 

We are going to St John under our own steam in December. The total cost for TWO is $26:00 return.Taxi-ferry-taxi. With regard to the number of ships in port, if you log onto http://www.cruisecal.com/dnn/default.aspx and type in your ship or the port it will tell you the number of ships due that day. For us on the 6th December there is only One other ship so the traffic will not be an issue. The following day there will be Five, so a little planning can help a lot.

 

The ferry sailing times are easily available from the web, along with the costs involved.

 

Hope this will help.

 

Bob & Dee :)

[Ziggy7]

We were there in March on the Volendam, and we were warned by some friends who live on St Thomas to be VERY careful about taking an excursion that is to far away because of the horrible traffic jams.

 

St Thomas is under heavy construction all around the port area and the traffic can be really bad when there are several ships in port at the same time.

Amen to that!!! There doesnt even have to be alot of ships in port! When its time to be back on the ship, everyone in St Thomas is also getting off work! We were only 6 blocks away and it took us over an hour to get back to Havensight where the ship was and this was at 3:30 pm !!!! Glad we didnt wait any longer to go back to the ship!!! To those that take the risk, my hats off to you! But we sure would have rather paid the extra money thru the ship instead of the nervous 1 hour we had eeeks!!!

[RustaRoo]

I had booked a HAL cruise (catamaran to ST. John for snorkeling - great by the way!) and it took over an hour and a half to get through town, at a snail's pace:( Dreadful traffic jams!

[Lsimon]

We've been to St. Thomas three times, and every time have taken a cab to Red Hook, ferry to St. John and Taxi to Trunk bay and reverse trip. Spent a couple hours on the beach then returned to ship in time to clean up and go downtown for a couple hours of shopping before returning to ship for sail-away. Always a lot of traffic, but not too bad if you don't try to cut it too short. Once we got to Trunk Bay only to find weather so rough that it was closed - even though other spots on St. Thomas had good weather. Next time we got the phone number for the Trunk Bay park (U.S National Park) from their web site and called for conditions before we left Red Hook.

 

Figure about 1 to 1 1/2 hours each way including the two taxi's and the ferry. Check the ferry schedule. I think it runs on the hour and about 20 to 30 minuites to trunk bay. We leave ship around 15 to 20 minuites past the hour which times it pretty good. Be mindful that you will not take a taxi to Red Hook on your own, they (taxi driver) will fill a very large taxi van 100% full - around 6 to 8 people or more. So this will take a little longer, and may involve a stop along the way. Same for all other taxi trips we've had in St. Thomas, except for some return trips from town to ship late afternoon.