Off the ship in St. Thomas?

[astrogirl19]

Quick question...

 

If I book a tour on St. Thomas for 9am can we get in the group that gets through customs and off the ship earlier even though it's not a tour booked through RCCL?

 

I was considering Sunny Liston and Godfrey. Any suggestions on which one to take would be greatly appreciated (I've been reading posts about these tours on the St. Thomas board as well). Right now we're leaning more towards Sunny...

[PhoenixCruiser]

Quick question...

 

If I book a tour on St. Thomas for 9am can we get in the group that gets through customs and off the ship earlier even though it's not a tour booked through RCCL?

 

 

Usually no. I cannot tell you how many dirty looks we received when we were able to leave the ship ahead of those who didn't book excursions with the cruise line.

 

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[astrogirl19]

Awww. that's not good news. :(

 

Anyone else have any other experiences disembarking in st. thomas?

[sunlover5]

We took the 10 tour with Godfrey and by then it was no problem getting back. I am sure he is a wonderful tour guide but he forgot the day we booked him:( . It was us and another couple and we wasted over an hour waiting for him. Luckily the head cab man set us up in a tour. I had double checked with him even the day before we left. Luckily the other couple had a cell phone and called, but he never answered. When the drivers finally got a hold of him he thought it was the next day?????:confused:

Good Luck, have read great stuff about Sunny too!!!!

[andyjo0930]

We have booked with Godfrey twice and actually had a great time with him both times. The first time we were 16 and just booked him with the 16 spots and he picked up 2 other couples at the pier. Took us shopping, then on a tour of the island and then to a beach. We had a great time and he was great, stopping along the way to take pictures, answering our questions. We were able to leave stuff we bought in the cab of the truck while we were at the beach. The second time, we were 18, and we booked him privately so he took us where we wanted to go, and we left when we wanted to leave. Again, we had a great time and would defintely use him again.

 

As far as leaving the ship, we have never had a problem getting off in St. Thomas. We have been there three times and never did they ask us if we were on an early excursion, etc. We just walked right off once they said that we were clear to disembark. We usually have our excursions as early as possible so that we can have a few hours back before dinner, so we are always one of the first ones off and we have never had a problem.

[BobBeaSea]

Quick question...

 

If I book a tour on St. Thomas for 9am can we get in the group that gets through customs and off the ship earlier even though it's not a tour booked through RCCL?

 

I was considering Sunny Liston and Godfrey. Any suggestions on which one to take would be greatly appreciated (I've been reading posts about these tours on the St. Thomas board as well). Right now we're leaning more towards Sunny...

 

It depends on how the ship lets passengers leave. Let me explain, our last 2 visits, both on RCI ships, we had to go through Customs in St. Thomas. When you were done with Customs they stamped your hand signifying you could leave the ship right away. This was great as you did not have to wait for all the passengers to clear before getting off. They did look for this stamp as you left the ship. If they are still doing this and if you get in line early for Customs inspection, you might be OK.

[DebNY13]

We were on the 8/17 EOS cruise and had no problem whatsoever getting off in St. Thomas. We were off the ship at 9:00 a.m. (we had booked our own excursion for 9:30). It was done the way Bob stated....go through customs, they stamp and then you can leave....simple!!

 

Hope this helps.

 

Deb

[judycruiser]

There are two scenarios when arriving at St Thomas; this determines when you can leave the ship.

 

Last port prior to St Thomas was an American port such as San Juan; there is no immigration; passengers can leave as soon as the ship is cleared.

 

Last port prior to St Thomas was a foreign port such as Nassau, passengers must go through immigration not customs. This usually moves pretty fast. Cruiselines handle this differently as far as passengers leaving the ship. Some let them leave after the passenger is through immigration or some require that all passengers go through immigration before anyone can debark.

 

When you can leave depends on your last port and how the cruiseline handles debarkation of passengers after immigration (if it is required).

 

Judy

Veteran of 86 cruises