Do Not book a St John ships excursion on the Allure OTS

[jebridan]

The Allure OTS is having problems arriving in St Thomas on time these days and therefore the ships excursions to St John are basically worthless. You end up with around 2-3 hours on St Johm after the ferry and a cab to the beach. They advertise 5 hours in St John and you get nowhere near that. They did give us a partial refund but I would much rather have had the time! We ended up at Canell Bay since it was the first stop and after eating lunch, we had about 45 minutes on the beach. Wish we had gone to the beach on St Thomas and had more time.

[fishman620]

That's not good! Now I am second guessing my ship excursion on the Celebrity Summit to St. John......has others cruisers had problems with docking in St. Thomas late?

[O2B@Cagain]

The Summit is listed as in port from 8-5 while the Allure is listed from 11-something like 7. Also the Summit is the only ship in port and arrives at Havensight, while the Allure is at Crown Bay, quite a bit farther from St John.

[jebridan]

Yes we were supposed to be there much earlier. The ship didn't even dock until around 12:30 and the last ferry leaving St John was at 5. I think right now this is just an AOTS problem.

[BubMunkeyBles]

Did St John from the Summit last year with no issues. Plenty of time on the beach. We even spent about 90 minutes shopping first.

[baseballmom94]

I'm booked on this excursion from Allure next week with my teen daughter. What would you suggest we do instead? I booked through RC for the security of getting back to the ship on time. We've already been to St. Thomas so wanted to see St. John. Any advice on other options at this point?

[Life is Good Cruising]

I'm booked on this excursion from Allure next week with my teen daughter. What would you suggest we do instead? I booked through RC for the security of getting back to the ship on time. We've already been to St. Thomas so wanted to see St. John. Any advice on other options at this point?

 

We did this tour on Explorer of the Seas many times, I understand the time constraint and you've been to St. Thomas. St. John's is absolutely beautiful, 60% of this island is a National Park. The beaches are gorgeous!!!

I wouldn't change a thing, go and enjoy yourself in St. John's.

[baseballmom94]

Thanks for the encouragement to stick with this excursion, Linda. That was my inclination. Since you've been to St.John several times, do you have any suggestions on where to go and how to get around the island efficiently and maximize our time?

[bedfordmom]

We did the St John Eco Tour through NCL and loved it. It was an afternoon ferry ride over, hike through the national park to the beautiful honeymoon beach and then a short hike back to a taxi to the ferry. It was a wonderful action packed 4.5 hour ship excursion that maximized time and guarenteed you would not be left behind. Next time, if I have about 8 hours, we will do this on our own after seeing how easy it was.

[momckb]

We did the St John Eco Tour through NCL and loved it. It was an afternoon ferry ride over, hike through the national park to the beautiful honeymoon beach and then a short hike back to a taxi to the ferry. It was a wonderful action packed 4.5 hour ship excursion that maximized time and guarenteed you would not be left behind. Next time, if I have about 8 hours, we will do this on our own after seeing how easy it was.

 

Hi,

We are going to St. Thomas on the NCL Escape in Nov. (inaugural cruise) and I would like to go to St. John. The itinerary says arrive 8am-depart 4pm but fine print says must be on board 2 HOURS before. Do they really enforce this? When reading this forum, it sounds like people are embarking much closer to sailing. The time difference makes a big difference in our comfort of striking out on our own.

[brookie848]

Hi,

We are going to St. Thomas on the NCL Escape in Nov. (inaugural cruise) and I would like to go to St. John. The itinerary says arrive 8am-depart 4pm but fine print says must be on board 2 HOURS before. Do they really enforce this? When reading this forum, it sounds like people are embarking much closer to sailing. The time difference makes a big difference in our comfort of striking out on our own.

 

You will need to be on board 30 minutes before the ship departure.

 

The two-hour rule is only for the first day's embarkation from Miami.

[Life is Good Cruising]

Thanks for the encouragement to stick with this excursion, Linda. That was my inclination. Since you've been to St.John several times, do you have any suggestions on where to go and how to get around the island efficiently and maximize our time?

 

There's plenty of shopping when you get off the ferry at Cruz Bay, St. John's is so beautiful it would be a shame not to see the island. There will be open air safari buses waiting for you when you depart the ferry that will take you to any of their beaches, or you can take a tour of the island. We take the taxi to Truck Bay, $6 pp and $4 admission on Truck Bay. The taxi will be waiting for you at Truck Bay to take you back to catch the ferry.

[Jiffymom]

Oh come on. Sometimes tours get delayed its just the gamble of cruising.

So did you get 4.5 hours instead of 5 . Stop bashing the cruise tours I'm sure it was something that couldn't be helped

Many many go to St John and love it. I'm sure some would pay extra to get away from the snow even if you only got 3 hours of paradise on St Johns

[kathy59]

Hello! I was so happy to read your response on St. John. We are going on Allure in April and considering a 4 hour ship excursion tour. It's an open air safari vehicle thru the National park and then Cruz Bay on our own. Any other input on St. John on "must see"? We have been to St. Thomas a couple times but never to St. John. Thanks!

[Life is Good Cruising]

Hello! I was so happy to read your response on St. John. We are going on Allure in April and considering a 4 hour ship excursion tour. It's an open air safari vehicle thru the National park and then Cruz Bay on our own. Any other input on St. John on "must see"? We have been to St. Thomas a couple times but never to St. John. Thanks!

 

St. John's is noted for their pristine beaches and turquoise water. We've taken the island tour also and they did make a stop at a beach along the way for about 30 mins.

[Jean A]

We did the St John Eco Tour through NCL to beautiful honeymoon beach. The park ranger kept telling us to be careful not to trip on the trail. Being one of the young ones I tripped on a tree root. I think I was busy watching the landscape to find a mongoose. I fell face first and caught myself with my hands. Cut my right hand and fracture my left wrist. I waited until I was back on ship to see Dr. I was very pleasantly surprise that NCL covered all of my medical expenses on the ship (RX, x-rays, cast, and cleaning dirt out of other hand and bandages it up).

[skiiergirl]

Was this the "Self Explore" (ST03) that only includes the ferry ride or did it include tour, etc? I am trying to find out if anyone has done the ST03 Self Explore if there is a particular ferry time back or if you have choices in ferry back? (On the RC ship excursion that picks you up at the ship.) (I understand Red Hook has choices if you do it on your own.)

 

Thanks.