getting to trunk bay from st thomas

[yarcraftman]

Does anybody know how i can get from St Thomas pier to some ferry to St Johns to trunk bay? I have done the RCCL excursion twice but that tour only allows us to stay at trunk bay for an hour or so.

 

I am sailing on AOS on 1/16 and would like to schedule my transportation if possible to spend the entire day at trunk bay? Has anybody done this before or help me find the right people to do it?

 

Thanks,

 

Jack

[mj]

There are plenty of taxis available at the pier to take you to Red Hook. The cost is approximately $9 per person.

[roe2ship]

At the pier, take a taxi to Red Hook then catch a ferry ($3.00pp) which runs every hour, that ride is about 15 minutes, then grab another taxi to Trunk Bay. That fare is another $8-10pp and is about a 25 minute ride. We used a driver "Puff Daddy" reliable and picked us up when we asked him to. Good Luck.

[emmy]

We just did this on a cruise a couple of weeks ago. We grabbed a taxi at the pier (there were ourselves and another Cruise Critic couple). Price was for us $8.00 per person and our taxi driver's name was Trini and on our way to Red Hook he called ahead to Cruz Bay on St. Johns and made arrangements for a taxi for us with "Puff Daddy'. We had others in the jitney type taxi and we made a stop first at Trunk Bay and we went to Cinnamon Bay and the cost was $8.00 return per person. He picked us up at the beach at a designated time and was not late.

 

A Tip for you ~ when you get to Red Hook we purchased a return trip ferry ticket $6.00 return per person so that we did not have to wait in line when we were ready to take the ferry back. Speeded the process up a bit.

 

We grabbed the taxi at the pier at Havensight just past 9 am and were at Red Hook about 9:30 am about a 15 - 20 minute ride and the ferry goes every hour so we caught the 10 am ferry. We had Puff Daddy pick us up about 1:30 from Cinnamon Bay and we made the 2 pm ferry.

 

hope this helps..any other questions just ask away. This was the first time we did it on our own and worked out very well.

 

Emmy :)

[emmy]

roe2ship....

 

yes Puff Daddy is 'da man... good service ;)

 

Emmy

[Nan-L]

Also you can go to the port(by taxis) and go to trunk bay, a little longer ferry ride, but think in the end the time is about the same. This one does not take cars.

[Folgy]

When I went to Trunk ,it was such a long line up people waiting to pay to get through the gates to get on the beach ..we gave up and took a cab back.Besides there would be so many crumb crunchers/poopaloopas on the beach it would not be enjoyable anyways. I think there were about 5 or more cruise ships in harbour at the time.

[emmy]

Folgy...the day we went to Cinnamon Bay there were about 25 people..beautiful beach, showers and change facilities and no charge to get in.

 

Enjoyed our time there..good alternative to Trunk Bay

 

Emmy

[ShawninFL]

We have been to trunk bay two or three times. As everyone has said, just take a cab to Red Hook and ferry on over. When coming back, we always take the ferry right into Charlotte Amalie. It takes about 45 minutes and is a nice ride. You get dropped off right in the shopping district.

[Sun and Fun]

We are planning to do this in January. We want to go to Trunk Bay first thing getting off the ship and then hope to spend time shopping in the afternoon. How much time is enough at Trunk Bay? For those of you who have done this, what should the day's schedule look like? I think we are in St. Thomas from 8-5.

[debbie1008]

"crumb crunchers/poopaloopas"

...thanks for the giggle!

[DChabira]

Day 2- St. Thomas

We docked at 7am, grabbed some breakfast at the Windjammer and were off the ship at 8am. We immediately caught a taxi to Red Hook ($7.00 ea) and took the Ferry across to Cruz Bay in St. John ($3.00 ea) once in Cruz Bay we rented a jeep ($50.00) and headed for Waterlemon Cay to snorkel. We drove until the paved road ends and then onto a dirt road for about a mile. We then parked and hiked about a mile and a half down the beach until we came to a tractor tire on the beach. From here we put on our gear and swam out to a small island. There is minimal snorkeling just off the beach, but the snorkeling around the island is world class. The swim out to the island isn't too bad but there's a strong current against you coming back to the mainland and you have to kick pretty hard. We had snorkeling vests and I wouldn't go out there without wearing one. We made it back to Cruz Bay by 2:00pm and caught the 2:15pm Ferry all the way back to Charlotte Amaile where the ship was docked ($7.00 ea). The Ferry doesn't actually go to the pier but drops you off in town, where we walked back to the ship, which is quite a long walk.

There is a "Pueblo" supermarket by the dock where you can stock up on Soda, Beer and Wine.

[yarcraftman]

Thanks all for your replies; this info really does help. I was assuming that maybe I would need to somehow make reservations first but it does not sound like that at all---sound really easy. It sounds like maybe taking the red hook-cruz bay ferry first sounds nice and then come back thru Charlotte Amalie second---great idea so the wife can shop before we leave port.

 

Can't wait to get out there---thanks everyone.

[brn2crz]

Just when I decide I don't want to spend the time getting to TB,and just enjoy St Thomas...I read one of these threads...Is TB that much better,really than those in ST?? I have heard various opinions about the crowds,and that seems to be hit or miss...I have seen a lot of beautiful Islands...(except Hawaii ,"sigh" ) But it sounds like this one is special.

And while mine is past poopaloopa stages...He is still some what "annually deficient" so all the cab rides don't appeal to me.

[calenta]

Yarcraftman.........My husand I will be sailing AOS on 1/16/05. Are you sailing AOS also? If so are you signed up for the meet and mingles?

 

S

[calenta]

Yarcraftman.........I guess DAHHH is the word for me. By the time I got done reading all the replies I forgot what you wrote except 1/16/05 so I guess we will be sailing together. I am Shannon and my husband is Gary and we in our 30's and are from Ohio.

 

We are also thinking of going to St. John's but to Cinnomon Beach. Everything I heard they say it is beautiful and not crowded and by the time we get to St. Thomas we thought of just being beach bums.

 

We are doing the Quad Racer tour in Aruba, are you doing any excursions?

[DannyS]

St. John is a beautiful island, and Cinnamon Bay is a beautiful beach.

 

I wouldn't buy the round trip ferry ticket, just to keep options open for the trip back to St. Thomas. If the next ferry is to Charlotte Amalie, take that one. If the next ferry is to Red Hook, take that one instead. Either way, you'll have little problem getting a taxi back to the ship.

 

The Charlotte Amalie ferry is better for shopping, but it doesn't make the trip as often as the Red Hook ferry.

[beachchick]

Just a few things. The Charlotte Amalie ferry does not run as often. The last one from St. John stops at Red Hook first because it is a commuter run. However, pax for this ferry are loaded in this order: cruise pax and other tourists first, then students, then workers get what's left. Remaining workers wait for the next Red Hook ferry. The overall time is about the same taxi+Red Hook ferry or Charlotte Amalie ferry. Our taxi driver to Red Hook told us that the road from Red Hook to Charlotte Amalie can get really crowded in the afternoon so keep that in mind.

 

We liked the Red Hook ferry over and then the last Charlotte Amalie ferry back. However, some Carnival pax were onboard and their ship was leaving an hour earlier than Mariner. After the Red Hook stop, which is not listed on the schedule, they were freaking out. The ferry was scheduled to dock after 4:30 and they still had to grab a taxi from the downtown ferry dock to the cruise dock for a 5:00 departure. They are not next to each other. Because there were only cruise pax left after Red Hook, the captain made arrangements to pull up to the cruise ship dock. Now this is not the usual thing. In fact, the cruise dock isn't built to accommodate ferries. It was bizarre to see the cruise dock getting closer and closer. We were thinking, this isn't right...hm. Then the crew came back and said that we were making a special stop. We pulled up to the end of the pier where some safety posts had been removed to let us get onto the dock. The ferry exit was about 10 feet below the dock itself. It was a hoot--the crew would hoist your stuff up to the dock. Then you would step up onto the huge tire ferry bumper, 2 crew members would grasp your upper arms for support and to basically toss you up, while you leaped up onto the dock. Mariner was the last in line, so there were many pax on their balconies just standing there with their mouths hanging open or laughing. We gave the crew a big tip just for the entertainment value, plus being on the last ship in line we didn't have to make that long trek down the pier after a tiring day. I did take pictures to prove this happened because I just knew it would be considered a "Caribbean" legend. I think the Carnival pax made it to their ship.

 

The Charlotte Amalie ferry is a nice way to see the St. Thomas coast, but be aware that the water can be choppy at times. I loved the cool water spray and the feel of the wind, but a few people were unhappy.

 

Enjoy St. John. We loved it. :D

beachchick

[yarcraftman]

Hi Calenta (Shannon),

 

Looks like we will be sailing together, myself and fiance will be cruising and also two of our closest friends. We did sign up for the meet and mingle. I've been on this cruise (now 3 times) so I usually do not sign up for the RCCL excursions anymore and just do it on my own.

 

We rented a Jeep in Aruba last year and drove around the island and did some beach hopping. We are usually beach go'ers for most of the week though trying to brighten up our pale white Michigan skin. Hopefully we'll meet at the meet and mingle and maybe can meet up for drinks sometime to.

 

Take care

[elaineb]

Here is ferry schedule:

 

 

 

http://www.*****/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/

[mberli]

Trunk Bay is definitely worth the trip. Nothing on St.Thomas compares to it. On St.Thomas there is some sight-seeing and some great shopping and good food, but for snorkeling, Trunk Bay is one of the world's 10 best beaches

 

Mel

[brn2crz]

Trunk Bay is definitely worth the trip. Nothing on St.Thomas compares to it. On St.Thomas there is some sight-seeing and some great shopping and good food, but for snorkeling, Trunk Bay is one of the world's 10 best beaches

 

Mel

 

 

Thanks...( I think) :)

[calenta]

Yarcraftsman...........I understand about the white skin LOL......This is our first cruise to the caribbean islands with the exception of a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas with our son. This time we are doing it alone. I am glad to hear you and your friends signed up for the meet and mingles so maybe we can meet and have a couple of drinks. So since you done this cruise before is there anything that you would recommend? I know most of the time we are just playing it by ear except the quad tour. I know my husband wants to do the wave runners on one of the islands too. If you don't mind me asking how old are you guys?

 

Take Care and counting down the days. Two months to go...

[yarcraftman]

Calenta/Shannon,

 

My fiance and I are both in our early thirties (30 &32) and my friends attending are 30 and 29.

 

We are going to rent a car in Aruba this year and drive down to some beaches a few miles from where the ship docks (there are car rentals right at the cruise terminals). Last year we rented a Jeep and drove over to the "desert side" of the island which is probably where your quad excursion will near the Natural Bridge. We had a lot of fund despite the 1hr of rain and dust etc--its all all you look at it :)

 

In Curacao we just took a cab to small beach that someone recommended to me called "Mambo beach". Its really beautiful and the water is very pretty and there are several bars on the beach. My fiance (Alison) and my friends are not much into the shopping scene so we usually just hit the beaches and check out the islands. We have done the RCCL beach excursion to St. John (from St Thomas) but the time there is extremely limited. This year I am planning on us taking a ferry separtley (on our own not thru RCCL) to St John's and then taking cabs to Trunk Bay (which I cannot say enough about)--faboulous snorkeling too!

 

St Marrten, I usually cab it to Orient beach and see my buddy Johnny who works at the local beach (I met this guy during my first visit to the island). Johnny rents beach chairs, and umbrella's and serves up some great island drinks.

 

Are you guys staying in San Juan the night before? We are leaving Detroit on 1/15 and arriving around 2pm in SJU. I do not really care for San Juan itself from what I've seen. I'd enjoy arriving a day before my cruise and just haning out.

 

If you have anymore questions etc. feel free to email me at

yarcraftman@yahoo.com

 

We look forward to meeting you and your husband.

 

Can't wait--in fact 2 months from now we'll be in Aruba!

 

Take care