St. John Island Tour

[sharons]

Has anyone taken this tour from St. Thomas? The description of the tour is quite confusing. Does the tour leave from the ship and include transfer to the ferry and ferry or do you need to get to St. John on your own? The description mentions meeting tour guide on arrival but makes no mention of ferry or getting to ferry. I wish I could figure out just what it covers. I thought I could read but this one confuses me. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Sharon

[OCruisers]

sharons .... You'll be just find with "The St.John Island Tour"! It has been offered by Princess for ages! My aunt & uncle have taken it twice and enjoyed it both times!

 

Really, you don't have to worry about ANYTHING! Along with your tickets for this tour, you will be given a location to meet which will either be in a lounge on the ship or (more likely) on the pier (just as you walk off of your ship). Someone in a familiar Princess outfit will be holding a sign: "St.John Island Tour".

 

Don't worry! You will be picked up from the ship, taken to have fun, and returned to the ship ... NO PROBLEM ... you don't have to plan or be concerned about anything! Your TOTAL transporation to and fro is arranged for you! ;)

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[CruiseFever]

We did this same thing but on our own off our Golden Princess cruise in March. While everythig went just fine it really did not save us much to do it on our own and if we do it again I think I'd go with the ship's version of it.

 

Either way St John is a lovely island and well worth the trip.

[GloriaF]

Chris, thanks for sharing that little tidbit about cost of doing it on your own vs ship tour. And your preferences.

 

I wonder, how long do you get to visit the island when on the ship tour? That is one thing I've read in favor of doing it on your own. Something to think about.

[Coral]

We did the St. John's beach/snorkel trip and our friends (or TA) did the St. John's island tour.

 

The ferry is at the end of the dock - you walk about 10 minutes (depending on where the ship docks) to the end of the dock - we had to walk about 3 cruise ship lengths. The ferry returned us near our ship as we were pretty late getting back so we didn't have the walk on the way back. My friends were on the same ferry on the way down and on the way back as we were.

 

Once we got to St. John - both groups were escorted to open taxi's. We were taken to Trunk Bay and our friends had the tour.

 

We were not impressed with the beach/snorkel trip. Once we got to Trunk Bay - we had about 30 minutes to use the beach and/or snorkel. Our friends were not impressed with their tour either. We both thought the island was very beautiful but said if we were going to do it again - we would go on our own. Not enough time when doing the ship's tour.

[isujim]

We are probably going to book this as soon as our excursions open up.......was this a morning tour?? Time for shopping back in St. Thomas after going to St. John's?? Anyone remember exactly what the ship version of the tour included??

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Jim

[CruiseAholic]

Have done this one a couple times, it is really nice and St. John is lovely.

[CRUISAYEAR]

Sharons... your part of our group "Motley Cruisers" The above posters are correct, you will enjoy this. See me at the C.C. meeting onboard. You should try to get on Wesley's truck, this guy is a riot and really made our day when we did this.

[Northender]

We did the St. John's beach/snorkel trip and our friends (or TA) did the St. John's island tour.

 

The ferry is at the end of the dock - you walk about 10 minutes (depending on where the ship docks) to the end of the dock - we had to walk about 3 cruise ship lengths. The ferry returned us near our ship as we were pretty late getting back so we didn't have the walk on the way back. My friends were on the same ferry on the way down and on the way back as we were.

 

Once we got to St. John - both groups were escorted to open taxi's. We were taken to Trunk Bay and our friends had the tour.

 

We were not impressed with the beach/snorkel trip. Once we got to Trunk Bay - we had about 30 minutes to use the beach and/or snorkel. Our friends were not impressed with their tour either. We both thought the island was very beautiful but said if we were going to do it again - we would go on our own. Not enough time when doing the ship's tour.

 

Coral, how much time is given for this particular excursion. I would agree that 30 minutes at Trunk Bay would not be worth it and would think of doing it on my own. There are many other wonderful beaches on STJ to visit and lots of friendly little places to have a cool one. :)

[LindaKE]

Is there anything to see other than the beaches?

[Northender]

There are some nice shops in Cruz Bay - that is where you get off the ferry from STT. Also, good eating places and an easy place to walk around. You could rent a car and go cross Island to the Coral Bay side and see some beautiful sights along the way. The Island is over 50% National Forest, so in order to get from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay there is only one way and it takes some nice twists and turns :eek: (remember you will be driving on the left). :rolleyes:There is a place in Coral Bay called Skinny Legs - great cheeseburgers and fun atmosphere. :)

Personally, unless you really do not like beaches, I would visit one or two on my time in STJ. Some of the best one's in the Carib IMHO. You can also go to the resort Caneel Bay and walk around, see the set-up, have a cool one. Very nice resort to hang out in. Personally I would rather be in Cruz Bay with all of the touristas and locals. Fun place.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[CruiseFever]

We did the St. John's beach/snorkel trip and our friends (or TA) did the St. John's island tour.

 

The ferry is at the end of the dock - you walk about 10 minutes (depending on where the ship docks) to the end of the dock - we had to walk about 3 cruise ship lengths. The ferry returned us near our ship as we were pretty late getting back so we didn't have the walk on the way back. My friends were on the same ferry on the way down and on the way back as we were.

 

Once we got to St. John - both groups were escorted to open taxi's. We were taken to Trunk Bay and our friends had the tour.

 

We were not impressed with the beach/snorkel trip. Once we got to Trunk Bay - we had about 30 minutes to use the beach and/or snorkel. Our friends were not impressed with their tour either. We both thought the island was very beautiful but said if we were going to do it again - we would go on our own. Not enough time when doing the ship's tour.

 

That's good to know because we DID do it on our own but the impression I got from the board after we got back was that we might as well have taken the excurision. Thanks for adding that information

[Coral]

St. John/Trunk Bay snorkeling/beach

 

I don't remember the length of our tour but it took up all of the afternoon (1:30 - 5?). This was on the Golden over Thanksgiving.

 

We appeared to start off on time but we waited to fill the ferry with people from 3 different ships (I believe we left delayed). Once we got off of the ferry, we separated into our groups and they put us in this sort of open aired taxis - we were cramped in these (one more person per row then should be). When they dropped us off at Trunk Bay - they told us the taxi would be back in 40 minutes. I figure it took us 5 minutes to walk down and find a place and then we probably walked up 5 minutes before we were supposed to be at the parking lot - so we got 30 minutes at the beach.

 

We got a "tour" of St. John on the way back to the ferry - this consisted of the driver pulling over at 2 scenic stops and taking pictures from the taxi (he would not let us get out - not enough time). Since I was in the middle of the taxi - my pictures didn't turn out that great. We then got back on the ferry.

 

When we got back to the ship - it was past the time in which we were supposed to be on the ship (but before sail time). The ferry took us right up to our ship and we got on and sailed 5 minutes later.

 

I went to the Purser's Desk to say how displeased I was with the tour and they indicated that we should have had an hour at Trunk Bay but we had delays and they had to cut our time short. My TA was on the same ferry (both directions) and did the Island Tour - she wasn't pleased with it and I can't remember why. We both agreed that St. Johns is beautiful and we both want to go back - we would just do it on our own next time.

[sharons]

Thanks to all who responded. This is what makes these boards so addictive and so great.

Thanks--- OCruisers, CruiseAholic, and Chris for all the info. I really was confused. You gave me just what I needed.

Cruiseayear -- Can't wait to meet you. Definitely plan to book this and will look for Wesley's truck. Thanks for the tip.

Isujim----The time stated for this tour is 1:15-5:00. Plan to shop in the morning. It's much less crowded and not as hot. You can either go downtown or stay and shop in the Havensight Mall right at the dock.

Coral--I realize that time will be short but I was just looking for a quick, painless overview of St. John. Have been to STT a number of times but never to St. John. Thought we'd take a look and see more next trip.

Thank you all.

Sharon

[isujim]

Sharons:

 

Just got back into town and saw your post to this thread.......thank you so much for responding about the time.........that will help in the planning.

 

Thanks

 

Jim