Cruise ship excursion to St John?

[joanna111]

I will be on an RCI ship in port in St Thomas from 8 to 5. The cruise ship offers an excursion that takes you to St. John, cruises around the island and then you have (they say) 3 1/2 hours free before you meet to take the ferry back. The excursion time is listed as 6 1/2 hours starting at 10. It appeals to me because it avoids the stress of deciding what time to leave St. John to go back to the ship. It's $40 which I'm happy to pay.

 

Here's some of the description:

Join a private ferry for a fully narrated scenic ride along St. Thomas’s south shore into the quaint island of St. John Remaining onboard your tour boat is the best way to see thousands of acres of unspoiled National Park highlights. You will see beautiful famous beaches, the Caneel Bay Hotel , historical points of interest, Peter Bay, and multimillion dollar villas. Cruise along the pristine northwest shores of St. John and revel in the beauty of its National Park vistas.

 

Back along the coast, you will stop at scenic overlooks such as Cinnamon Bay, Trunk Bay, Maho Bay.

Use the cruise to choose a beach to visit as you will have approximately 3 1/2 leisure hours once you return to Cruz Bay.

Anyone done anything like this?

[blue_water]

Yes and it is a gorgeous way to see beautiful St John. We've also done the self-excursion so we could go directly to one beach or be on our own time. But can't think of a better way to enjoy your day on STJ than the tour boat!

[kahliasmom]

I'm thinking of doing this one also. My dd11 loves to go to National Parks and complete the junior ranger program and get a badge. When the ferry boat drops you off in Cruz Bay is it right by the park visitor's center? After that I would love to go to Honeymoon Beach.

[2206]

If you don't remain onboard for the tour, I wonder how much longer you have to explore on your own? It seems like a stress free way of getting to St. John's!

[kahliasmom]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1515031

 

Here's a link to an older thread answering our questions. Catcruiser said you'd have about four hours if you got off with those doing the shopping tour.

[kahliasmom]

I typed the name of the tour into google search and also found these reviews on tripadvisor

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147404-d2501002-Reviews-Independent_Sea_Tours-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

[kahliasmom]

And another thread from earlier this year about the coastal cruise. Provides some great information.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1599173

[Ms411]

Yes, the boat drops you at the Visitor Center. Los of projects to get that badge!

[blue_water]

You will find a ton of relevant information if you search, most folks don't take the time so you'll find repetitive posts over the last several months. But there is good info there

[kahliasmom]

@Ms411 sounds great! We did a bunch of national parks out west this summer, so now we are hooked.

 

@ Blue_water, I love to do research on the internet.

[cruisegirl1]

I’ve used an RCCL St John “History” tour just for the ferry transportation to/from St John. Pick up and final drop off was at the cruise dock. No scheduling issues of catching a taxi or the public ferry. We had no intention of actually going on the tour and simply took a taxi from the ferry dock to Trunk Bay. We will likely do the same for our upcoming cruise.

 

We were interested in going to the beach and the beaches in St John were way less crowded than the St Thomas beaches.

 

M

[blue_water]

I am confused...perhaps you took a ship-sponsored tour boat from the cruise dock? There is not a ferry available there so I'm assuming that's what you are referring to...That is very easy, we enjoyed that our very first visit to STT/STJ. But we found alternative options to be enjoyable too. Just a matter of the experience you want.

[Superweezie]

I just did this exact tour last week with celebrity. I did the walking tour with time on our own. We had at least 3 1/2 hours. The walk is very quick. We found it interesting but not really necessary. I felt like they expect people to skip the tour and just get to the beach. It was very convenient and not being familiar with the area like the feeling of knowing exactly where to met up to get back to the ship.

[Ned11]

If you were to do an excursion with the cruise line to STJ and only wanted to have a wonder, can you get an earlier ferry to get back to the ship? :confused:

 

I'm not in to beaches, so I'm not really looking to stay after the tour or shopping.

[Superweezie]

I'm sure you could catch another ferry but you would have to pay for it. The excursion ferry does not go back and forth. St. John's is very small. You will be lucky to find 30 minutes worth of shopping there. It's primarily known for beaches and hiking. It has trails all over the island.

[blue_water]

You should do the self-excursion directly Cruz Bay. 20 min taxi to the Red Hook ferry terminal, 20 min ferry to Cruz, about $34 roundtrip. Very easy to do and you will be with several others doing the same thing. Just grab whatever return ferry you want, they depart every hour. Couldn't be any easier!

 

I must disagree with the previous poster however. Cruz Bay has some very nice shops as compared to STT. If you walk to your left from the dock you'll find Mongoose Junction with several nice and unique shops (clothes, art) and a great bar to wet your whistle at. Head back to the right of the dock and there are some great shops there as well as the Beach Bar for a cocktail in the sand. Many ppl who stay on STJ will have their first drink there upon arriving on STJ. And straight ahead from the dock you'll find St John Bracelets, the owner is a very high-quality craftsman and he will custom make a nice Hook bracelet for you while you shop and lunch (or for a close friend).

 

Definitely worth a visit even if you don't care for a beach.

[Pagogo]

We went on that excursion a few weeks ago and it was FANTASTIC! Captain Jack was very informative and inspirational! Listen to him and you'll know what I mean. The tour was beautiful and we took a taxi to Trunk Bay (beautiful). Taxi was $6 per person (each way). On the way back, you received complimentary rum punches (with seconds if needed!)

 

This is a fairly new excursion, but I highly recommend it and next time we go to St. Thomas, we will be back with Captain Jack and his fine crew!!

[blue_water]

pagogo What excursion is this? Not familiar with Cap't Jack. Ship option to Cruz Bay?

[Pagogo]

I believe it was called "Destination St. John's - coastal waterway cruise"

We were originally going to go on our own to St. John's, but when I thought about it, it wasn't that much cheaper doing it that way and with the RCI excursion, the ship won't leave without you!

[Ron_L]

I must disagree with the previous poster however. Cruz Bay has some very nice shops as compared to STT. If you walk to your left from the dock you'll find Mongoose Junction with several nice and unique shops (clothes, art) and a great bar to wet your whistle at. Head back to the right of the dock and there are some great shops there as well as the Beach Bar for a cocktail in the sand. Many ppl who stay on STJ will have their first drink there upon arriving on STJ. And straight ahead from the dock you'll find St John Bracelets, the owner is a very high-quality craftsman and he will custom make a nice Hook bracelet for you while you shop and lunch (or for a close friend).

 

Definitely worth a visit even if you don't care for a beach.

 

I agree with Blue...

 

We went to St. John on our own last week and spent 4 1/2 hours wandering around Cruz Bay and wish we could have spent more time. We visited the shops at the ferry dock including St. John Spice, a very nice shop with a great selection of hot sauces, including several made right on St. John, walked around the streets in that area where there are more shops, and then headed to Mongoose Junction for a great lunch at Sun Dog Cafe. Then we shopped at Mongoose for a while and then hit The Tap Room, home of St. John Brewers, for a couple of beers and free Wifi. Try their mango pale ale! Then we walked back to the Beach Bar to relax and have a couple of painkillers before catching the ferry back to St. Thomas.

 

If you are more adventurous you could hire a taxi to give you an island tour or even rent a car and explore on your own.

[Ms411]

If you don't want to go to the beach, you should visit the National Park HQ at the dock. There's a display that shows the history of St John and a replica of the island. Gift shop has great gifts for kids at mostly reasonable prices. From there you should go to Mongoose Junction and then to Wharfside Village.

 

If you were to go on your own from Red Hook via ferry, Wharfside Village would be your first stop, and then on to Mongoose.

[blue_water]

I agree with Blue...

 

We went to St. John on our own last week and spent 4 1/2 hours wandering around Cruz Bay and wish we could have spent more time. We visited the shops at the ferry dock including St. John Spice, a very nice shop with a great selection of hot sauces, including several made right on St. John, walked around the streets in that area where there are more shops, and then headed to Mongoose Junction for a great lunch at Sun Dog Cafe. Then we shopped at Mongoose for a while and then hit The Tap Room, home of St. John Brewers, for a couple of beers and free Wifi. Try their mango pale ale! Then we walked back to the Beach Bar to relax and have a couple of painkillers before catching the ferry back to St. Thomas.

 

If you are more adventurous you could hire a taxi to give you an island tour or even rent a car and explore on your own.

 

Yes Ron - That mango ple ale was ecxellent! And we are looking forward to a longer visit to STJ in a few weeks.

[Ron_L]

Yes Ron - That mango ple ale was ecxellent! And we are looking forward to a longer visit to STJ in a few weeks.

 

How long? We rented a villa for a week in 2007 and loved it!

[blue_water]

Not nearly long enough, we're spending a week on Sapphire Beach on the East End of STT and just driving STJ one or two days to see more of her. We usually stay on Tortola and spend a few days on STT after, but this time we're just going to STT, my wife likes having more creature comforts on STT and this is just a quick trip :p

But we'll at least have a chance to see beaches we haven't yet visited like Maho and Francis, and drive over to Coral Bay if that makes sense. A friend also rents a villa up behind Mongoose and they love it there. So look forward to seeing more of the island.

[Ron_L]

Not nearly long enough, we're spending a week on Sapphire Beach on the East End of STT and just driving STJ one or two days to see more of her. We usually stay on Tortola and spend a few days on STT after, but this time we're just going to STT, my wife likes having more creature comforts on STT and this is just a quick trip :p

But we'll at least have a chance to see beaches we haven't yet visited like Maho and Francis, and drive over to Coral Bay if that makes sense. A friend also rents a villa up behind Mongoose and they love it there. So look forward to seeing more of the island.

 

Enjoy! We really like Francis. I swam with a large turtle for 20 minutes while she casually munched on the grass the last time we were there!

 

The drive to Coral Bay is worth it if you have time. If you haven't been to Skinny Legs for a burger they are good. You may also want to drive out to Miss Vie's snack shack. her conch fritters are still the best I have tried and her beach is beautiful and usually deserted.

 

After our last visit to St. John and to JVD we've decided to head back for a longer time soon. I was thinking about a couple of days on St. Thomas (maybe at Sapphire), a couple of days on St. John, a couple of days on Tortola (Long Beach?) and then maybe even a couple of days on White Bay in the cabins by the Soggy Dollar Bar. Who knows if we'll actually do it, but its fun to dream :D