Thinking about St. John and how to go

[augie]

We're going to a beach that does not rent snorkelling equipment. Does any one know if there's a rental place at Havensight, Red Hook, or Cruz Bay?

 

TIA,

Mark

 

Low Key Watersports in Cruz Bay, just a few steps away from the ferry dock (to your right as you're approaching STJ on the ferry) rents snorkel gear.

[InsideCruiser]

Low Key Watersports in Cruz Bay, just a few steps away from the ferry dock (to your right as you're approaching STJ on the ferry) rents snorkel gear.

 

Thanks so much, this is the best thread.

 

$8 for Mask/Fin/Snorkel.

 

Here's the website for those interested.

[KansasScrapper]

We are in port from 10am - 6pm. Is this enough time to get over to St John and back???

[LUVNICK]

I am traveling with a group of 24. Does anyone know of a transportation company I can arrange ahead of time to get to the ferry to St. John? Also has anyone rented the small boats for exploring alot of the beaches by sea? I have seen sites for Dinghy rentals and was curious if this a good way to see alot? Any info or suggestions would be really appreciated.:)

[LUVNICK]

I just checked the port schedule, there will be 7 ships in the same time we are:eek: Not only that I think we are the last one in at 10:00 am out at 6:00pm. How can I tell wich port we are docking at? Should I still try to get everyone over to St John?:confused:

[augie]

We are in port from 10am - 6pm. Is this enough time to get over to St John and back???

 

Absolutely!

[augie]

I am traveling with a group of 24. Does anyone know of a transportation company I can arrange ahead of time to get to the ferry to St. John? Also has anyone rented the small boats for exploring alot of the beaches by sea? I have seen sites for Dinghy rentals and was curious if this a good way to see alot? Any info or suggestions would be really appreciated.:)

 

If I had a group that size and everyone wanted to go to St. John I'd try contacting some of the catamaran operators and look into a private charter. That way you would be more likely to be able to arrange convenient pick up, have some say in how to spend the time, etc. Even if you couldn't be picked up at/close to your ship's pier they may have some contacts and be able to get you where you need to be to meet them.

 

Trying to manage a group that size getting to Red Hook, ferrying to Cruz Bay, then exploring the beaches would be quite a chore - the herd moves at the speed of its slowest member!

 

If everyone staying together isn't that important to you, you may want to see what the interests of everyone are and divide into smaller groups, each one doing "their thing".

 

Good luck!

[BowToStern]

We sailed on RCCL's Freedom of the Seas on 8/15/2010 and, on the advice of an earlier post, elected to do the St. John shopping excursion while at St. Thomas. The rationale behind booking this excursion is that it left for St. John at 11:30 (port time was 11:00-7:00) with a duration of 6 hours while many of snorkeling trips did not depart until 1:15 with a duration of 4 hours. We intended to use the transportation for the shopping excursion to travel to St. John and then abandon the excursion in favor of going to Trunk Bay. Unfortunately, RCCL cancelled the St. John Shopping (along with two other excursions (St. John Volunteer and St. John Island Tour)) the evening before our arrival. Not being familiar with the taxi-Red Hook ferry-taxi to St. John, we elected to play it safe and book "St. John On Your Own" which shared transportation with the snorkeling excursions. While Trunk Bay was beautiful, please note the following:

- A departure at 1:15 is followed by a 45 minuted ferry ride and a subsequent 15 minute taxi. Arrival at Trunk bay is roughly 2:15

- Trunk Bay concession stands closes at 3:30, with the grill closing at 3:00:cool:

- Trunk Bay snorkeling equipment (excluding equipment rented through an excursion), must be returned by 3:30:cool:

- Our return was scheduled for 4:45, which required us to take a a taxi at 4:20. Thus, we had just over two hours of beach time at St. John:mad:

 

It seems that the excursion would be much better suited to an earlier departure time. The 90-120 minutes is not sufficient to thoroughly enjoy this magnifcant beach. There were Freedom passengers who had taken the Red Hook ferry and were able to obtain an extra hour in St. John (they caught the 12:00 ferry at Red Hook). If you have any sort of adventure in you, I'd recommend going on your own, or if you elect to book an exursion with an 11:30 departure, check with RCCL early on your cruise that they are indeed still on schedule.

[Host Anne]

I had written a long response last evening to Kansas and Luvnick and as I hit submit my computer bombed out!!! :( But as usual, Augie stepped in with perfect advice.

 

LuvNick ~ if you try to go on your own (I've done up to 35 people to St. John), make sure you pick a gathering place and time on the ship to get off together and make sure everyone knows that you won't be able to wait for those who are late. You can get off the ship together and take one safari taxi to Red Hook. When you get to Red Hook, have one person per family go purchase ferry tickets TO AND FROM St. John so you don't have to wait in line for the return (tickets are good for any sailing...no set time on the tickets). When you get off on St. John, you'll easily be able to find another safari to take you to the beach and stay with you for the day. With a group this large, the per person cost to rent the taxi for the day is pretty inexpensive. Then you can beach hop, etc pretty easily and have a taxi at your disposal. I've done this a bunch of times and it works nicely. You can also arrange with your taxi driver from the ship to Red Hook to return in the afternoon to pick you up. They are very dependable when you pre-arrange these trips.

 

The catamaran is another great option suggested by Augie but I just love being on the island. I think there is a different feel for it from land. But seeing it from a sailing vessel is very nice as well.

 

While going it alone can seem intimidating at first, it really isn't and you will definitely have company from others on your ship.

 

By the way, remember, the only place you'll have a 45 minute ferry ride is from downtown Charlotte Amalie. If you are docked at Havensight, take the taxi to Red Hook for the shorter, smoother ferry ride.

[LUVNICK]

Thank you for all the info. Is a safari taxi large enough and is there a way I can pre arrange this? Also does anyone know about the dinghy rentals on St John?

[Host Anne]

There are safari taxis that hold a lot of people (20 - 25). They are readily available when you disembark your ship and when you get to St. John. I don't know about dingy rentals but I'm guessing if you google it, you'll be able to find what you need.

[augie]

There are two companies in Cruz Bay that rent dinghies. Noah's Little Arks is located right next to the ferry pier, and Calypso is a short walk away at the NPS pier. Both outfits will provide an orientation as to what you can and can't do with their boats.

 

Calypso's boats have the center console that a lot of folks prefer, but none of their boats can be beached or anchored, they can only be tied off to mooring balls. If you have trouble getting back into a dinghy that's in the water (and that seems to be a common issue) you may want to keep that in mind.

 

Also, there's a limit to how many people you can comfortably/safely fit into these boats, so unless you rent the whole fleet ahead of time it may not work for a large group.

 

Also keep in mind that weather is a crapshoot. There's no way to know if it will be rainy, windy, or how big the swells may be until you're there. And days when there are a lot of cruise passengers on St. Thomas are also days when there will be a lot of boat traffic around St. John.

 

All that being said, people I know that have rented dinghies (I still haven't done this) almost universally report that it is a great way to see the island's north shore beaches.

[swdke]

I have a family group of 6, and we're interested in taking the taxi from our ship, the Caribbean Princess in November, to take the Red Hook ferry to St. John. Can 6 fit into a taxi, or will we need to take two taxi? Same question for St. John, after we arrive and take at taxi to Trunk Bay, will we get by with taking 1 taxi, or do we need two. Appreciate any info on this matter, thanks.

[augie]

I have a family group of 6, and we're interested in taking the taxi from our ship, the Caribbean Princess in November, to take the Red Hook ferry to St. John. Can 6 fit into a taxi, or will we need to take two taxi? Same question for St. John, after we arrive and take at taxi to Trunk Bay, will we get by with taking 1 taxi, or do we need two. Appreciate any info on this matter, thanks.

 

There will be no problem getting the six of you in one taxi at either place. It just may not look like what you normally think of when you think of a taxi.

[swdke]

I found this posted by The Islander on 3/18/2009:

 

Trunk Bay prices: Snorkel/Mask/Fins: $5 plus $25 deposit, all day (hours 9-3). Chairs $7 to rent ($25 deposit) for day (9-3). No umbrellas.

 

Where at Trunk Bay is it located to rent these items?

[augie]

Where at Trunk Bay is it located to rent these items?

 

There's a booth you can't miss between the parking lot and the beach.

[ebonniekins]

My head is spinning from all the wonderful information that everyone has posted. Now I know exactly what I need to do to make my arraignments for my St. John getaway in a little over a week. Thanks again everyone!

[Host Anne]

ebonniekins ~ I'm so jealous! Would love to be going with you. Enjoy your time there!!!!

 

swdke ~ most of the "taxis" you'll find when you depart the ship and get to St. John are the open air safari taxis. They have bench seats and often hold anywhere from 8 (on the smaller ones) to 20+ on the larger ones. When you get off the ship, most of the taxis wait until they fill up before heading to the ferry dock so you'll be sharing with others. Taxis charge a per person fee so it doesn't really matter...they fill quickly so you won't be waiting around. Once you get off in St. John, you can either find a safari that holds just 6 - 8 for your own group or again join another larger taxi that is going to the beach.

 

Hi Augie ~ how ya doin?

[augie]

Hi Anne - been pretty busy, how about you?

 

This morning my thoughts are with all of our friends on STJ and STT hoping Earl will spare them...

[Karma5]

6 people can fit into the regular or open air Taxis. I f there is a lot of traffic on St Thomas it can take 30-45 min to get to Red Hook from the cruise dock area. Also consider some wait time on ST John for the taxis to fill up , they don't usually leave with just 6 people .

 

"Be as you are"

[lcmslady]

I will be on the Summit in January 2011 visiting St. Thomas for the 3rd time.

 

The first time I took an excursion through the ship where we hiked on St. John - ended up at Honeymoon Beach and Caneel Bay - great day.

 

2nd time - hung on St. Thomas.

 

for the next trip, I'm leaning towards St. John - here's my decision/question.

Everyone is talking about how easy it is to do yourself. The ship offers an excursion where a boat picks you up at the dock, takes you to St. John, and gives you 2-1/2 hours on your own.

The cost is $40 - which appears to be around what it would cost to do it on our own.

I understand that doing the excursion limits our time on the island but removes the 'hassle' factor.

 

Anne - I'm thinking about a trip to St. John - have you ever tried the Concordia eco-tents? My sister did and raved but I'm not sure I'm up to 'roughing it' that much :)

[augie]

Everyone is talking about how easy it is to do yourself. The ship offers an excursion where a boat picks you up at the dock, takes you to St. John, and gives you 2-1/2 hours on your own.

 

The cost is $40 - which appears to be around what it would cost to do it on our own.

I understand that doing the excursion limits our time on the island but removes the 'hassle' factor.

 

Just keep in mind that whatever transportation you use on St. John, such as round trip taxis from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay for example, will be included in that 2 1/2 hours. If the remaining time is sufficient for you it sounds like a great way to go.

[lcmslady]

Just keep in mind that whatever transportation you use on St. John, such as round trip taxis from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay for example, will be included in that 2 1/2 hours. If the remaining time is sufficient for you it sounds like a great way to go.

 

Good point - I doubt it does.....I guess I'll have to think about it some more

[CariBear]

for the next trip, I'm leaning towards St. John - here's my decision/question.

Everyone is talking about how easy it is to do yourself. The ship offers an excursion where a boat picks you up at the dock, takes you to St. John, and gives you 2-1/2 hours on your own.

The cost is $40 - which appears to be around what it would cost to do it on our own.

I understand that doing the excursion limits our time on the island but removes the 'hassle' factor.

 

I had originally booked this same type of tour through RCCL for our upcoming cruise...it was actually cheaper than going on our own as my youngest child was free for some reason when I booked throught the cruiseline. After thinking it over I cancelled.....out of the 2 1/2 hours...I was planning 20 minutes to a beach, 20 minutes back to the ferry.....plus I didn't want to miss the ferry with the tour...so I would need to be back at the ferry early....so maybe 1 1/2 hours actually on the beach. Anyway, now we are going on our own and can spend as much time on St. John as we would like.

[InsideCruiser]

Here are some restaurants to give you a start. Here are the menus for The Beach Bar and Banana Deck which I've seen recommended on other threads.

 

The info below was posted elsewhere, but I thought I'd include it here as this seems to be the definitive St. John thread. Sounds like a good option if you're looking for something to take to the beach with you.

 

I'd recommend Deli Grotto in the Mongoose Junction shopping center. Delicious sandwiches!