Best cost effective way to St John?

[disneydave]

Sailing on Celeb Summit Jan 2014; docked in ST on the 17th. We have been to SJ in the past and always did it on our own but will be with a group of about 14 this time and so thinking about cruise excursions to get us there but concerned about time of travel using the cruise. Here is what I'm finding but what am I missing?

If we do it on our own we will get a taxi and take the 9:00 ferry to SJ. As I recall taxi is about $20 pp to the ferry and then a few $ for round trip on the ferry.

The cruise has several excursions that we can jump off of but the timing I'm unsure of. The self explore says it leaves at 10am Yuck but the cost is $35 so much less than taxi each way plus ferry. But won't see the beach till about 11ish along with everyone else in the crowd.
Beach and snorkel leaves at 8:30 but costs $67.75 pp will get there earlier but no real cost savings.

Is there a way to get a group to SJ early and keep the cost down?

[blue_water]

[quote name='disneydave']Sailing on Celeb Summit Jan 2014; docked in ST on the 17th. We have been to SJ in the past and always did it on our own but will be with a group of about 14 this time and so thinking about cruise excursions to get us there but concerned about time of travel using the cruise. Here is what I'm finding but what am I missing?

If we do it on our own we will get a taxi and take the 9:00 ferry to SJ. As I recall taxi is about $20 pp to the ferry and then a few $ for round trip on the ferry.

The cruise has several excursions that we can jump off of but the timing I'm unsure of. The self explore says it leaves at 10am Yuck but the cost is $35 so much less than taxi each way plus ferry. But won't see the beach till about 11ish along with everyone else in the crowd.
Beach and snorkel leaves at 8:30 but costs $67.75 pp will get there earlier but no real cost savings.

Is there a way to get a group to SJ early and keep the cost down?[/QUOTE]

The taxi from your dock (Havensight) to Red Hook is $18 - 20pp [U]roundtrip[/U] and the ferry is $14pp roundtrip. So the total roundtrip cost is ~$34pp and that's one of the least expensive options. It also gets you to the dock early enough to make the 9AM ferry and removes the potential for queues at the dock while waiting for other passengers on your excursion. Edited November 4, 2013 by blue_water

[blue_water]

Alternatively you may be able to get a better taxi price by hiring a 15 - 18 person taxi to drop you and return for you. Just contact the taxi companies that advertise at vinow dot com to see if that is a viable option. You'll also see hourly rates under the scheduled fares as well and that may even be cheaper for the group.

[disneydave]

We must have gotten it hard last trip. Memory tells me that just off the ship we paid 20pp for the taxi from West Indies to red hook and then same at red hook back. So $40 round trip. Ouch. Where did we go wrong. Trip to RH was via a van just off the ship and from RH back was a truck with bench's in back at the taxi stand.


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[blue_water]

Not sure, but the fare is $9 - 10pp each way from Havensight (for 2 or more ppl). You'll typically be directed to an open-sided safari pickup truck that holds between 9 and 25 ppl, or it could be a van as well. Typically for a large group like yours you will be on a larger taxi with others as needed to fill it, or they may place you on 2 different taxis that are ready to leave.

Definitely get a price before leaving from each end, if anything you should get a better price for the larger group, but that can work against you as well because it takes longer to coordinate a group...
We haven't taxied to and from RH because we drive when staying at Sapphire. But if the fare from the RH terminal is more than $10pp or even $11pp for some reason there are smaller taxis stationed close by at Fish Tales restaurant. But you shouldn't have a problem with the taxi fares at the terminal. Edited November 4, 2013 by blue_water

[Bosjoe]

[quote name='disneydave']Sailing on Celeb Summit Jan 2014; docked in ST on the 17th. We have been to SJ in the past and always did it on our own but will be with a group of about 14 this time and so thinking about cruise excursions to get us there but concerned about time of travel using the cruise. Here is what I'm finding but what am I missing?

If we do it on our own we will get a taxi and take the 9:00 ferry to SJ. As I recall taxi is about $20 pp to the ferry and then a few $ for round trip on the ferry.

The cruise has several excursions that we can jump off of but the timing I'm unsure of. The self explore says it leaves at 10am Yuck but the cost is $35 so much less than taxi each way plus ferry. But won't see the beach till about 11ish along with everyone else in the crowd.
Beach and snorkel leaves at 8:30 but costs $67.75 pp will get there earlier but no real cost savings.

Is there a way to get a group to SJ early and keep the cost down?[/quote]

Funny how things work, I am on Reflection and the self explore leaves at 8:30 the other one leave at 10. Just double check out the tours, when you log into your Celebrity account and look at your cruise, search the excursions page and advance search for 6hrs or more, I will be doing one of them.

[blue_water]

I would consider the real self-excursion rather than the ship's "self explore" option simply because you are in control of your departure times and are not tied to an even larger group.
Self-excursions to any of the beaches on STT - and even to some on STJ - are commonplace and very popular because it is so easy to get around and you have more freedom. No need to pre-book through the ship, and definitely no need to worry about being on your own. Some folks prefer the organized ship groups, but it's great to get away from that at this port.