Reports from St. Thomas/St. John

Would like to hear from those of you on cruises visiting St. Thomas this month, particularly those who travel over to St. John. We're planning to visit St. John on our February cruise and I'm very anxious to hear feedback from recent visitors concerning the condition of the island. THANKS!

Following. We are on the Grandeur sailing 12-9-2017 and initially booked the St John on Your Own excursion, which is no longer available. We ended up choosing the Caribbean Sail to Christmas & Honeymoon Coves instead. I'll try to remember to report back what I see.

maysill88:

You might want to double check on that "St John on Your Own" excursion. I had mine canceled as well, but then I noticed it BACK among the excursion choices. It's now $10 more than when I originally booked it ($39 versus $29/pp) But it appears to have an earlier start time? Hard to tell with these ship excursions. Timing is pretty vague in the description. Maybe RCL has contracted with a different third party for the transport for this excursion? If it's worth $10 more to you, you might see if you can still book it. It was worth it to us. It's about the same cost as using the Red Hook ferry and a bit less stressful.

This was published yesterday. Long story short they are receiving visitors now in limited numbers but don't expect all of the creature comforts to return for awhile. The national park is still closed.

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2017/11/st-john-the-little-virgin-island-that-could/slide/1/

I did see it listed at the higher price of $39 after our $29 booking had been cancelled. I did not rebook it right away, and then at some point it disappeared from the options altogether. Maybe they are not anticipating St. John to be ready for excursions in December.

I just looked again at the available excursions for St. Thomas in the cruise planner, and all of the St. John ones have been removed. :(

We have booked the "St John on your own". We are not going until May. It's not be cancelled yet. Can't remember what we paid each, but it was in British £.

Our start time is 8.30am

Thank you for posting that article. It actually sounds pretty positive if you're a cruise ship visitor. I won't need over-night accommodations. I'm there to experience the natural beauty.

Bumping, as I am aware cruises including stops in St. Thomas are returning this weekend.

Anyone just returning from their 11/4 cruise go over to St. John???

I follow St. John Brewers on Twitter and Facebook and the Tap Room is up and running. Mongoose Junction has been open since November 6th.

Gregg

Thanks, Big G. Hoping to hear from others who have been there recently. We are more interested in how nature is coming back. I know a lot of trees were stripped of their foliage, making the mountains less lush and green. Curious to hear impressions. :cool:

We'll be there in January so are also interested in hearing back from others who have been after the hurricanes.

Thanks, Big G. Hoping to hear from others who have been there recently. We are more interested in how nature is coming back. I know a lot of trees were stripped of their foliage, making the mountains less lush and green. Curious to hear impressions. :cool:

Reports are that the foliage is already returning quickly for the trees that survived. By February it will look much different than it does now. I will be in St. Thomas in a few weeks to see for myself. But for the trees that were felled by the storm it will take decades to restore those. Some experts say 20+ years.

On Facebook? Try following the Virgin Islands National Park. They have been posting updates regularly- https://www.facebook.com/virginislandsNPS/

On Facebook? Try following the Virgin Islands National Park. They have been posting updates regularly- https://www.facebook.com/virginislandsNPS/

That is a good source. Also, NPS announced that Honeymoon and Hawksnest beaches at Virgin Islands National Park are officially reopened as of Monday, November 13. https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/severe-weather-response.htm

My sister is in a closed Facebook group for St. John and she has seen encouraging photos of the landscape returning to green posted there as well.

Saw some photos that were very encouraging.

Keith

Will check out both those Facebook pages. Thanks!!

Thanks for all the links for updates.

I wish this thread had not been moved. Royal Caribbean is the line first returning to St. Thomas and I was hoping for some first hand accounts - particularly from St. John. That said, I too appreciate the links. Very helpful!!

I wish this thread had not been moved. Royal Caribbean is the line first returning to St. Thomas and I was hoping for some first hand accounts - particularly from St. John. That said, I too appreciate the links. Very helpful!!

NCL is there also

NCL is there also

Oh! I didn't realize that! Thank you!

On Viking’s schedule as well.

The recovery blog at VInow dot com has timely updates on returning cruise line schedules, as well as beach conditions, water quality, and other information on all of the islands of the VI. For example Hawksnest and Honeymoon beaches on STJ have been opened after major clean up efforts on the beach and removal of debris from the water. It’s still a good idea to wear water shoes when entering the water from any beach to prevent potential injury from remaining debris.

Per the blog, some popular beaches on STT are currently “no swim” beaches due to dangerous pollutants from runoff during the hurricanes, and it’s important to be updated on this information before you leave on a cruise. You can also join VInow and receive a newsletter.

Progress is definitely being made, and this blog and other sources are helpful to those traveling to the islands...

Has anyone been to downtown Charlotte Amalie this week?

We're arriving on Silhouette next Thursday Nov. 23 and are wondering whether Cuzzins is open or not.

No news on Cuzzins in the business section of the recovery blog. But very sad to read that High Pockets was destroyed by Irma...