St John, go on your own or thru the ship?

[NECruiser83]

Thanks, NECruiser83 :) Appreciate the detailed reply.

 

Not a problem!! I had to look myself because I was confusing Antigua and and Anguilla and almost told you the wrong thing, glad I double checked! Lol. Have a great cruise!!

[TravelerThom]

I was surprised to discover that renting a car is by far the least expensive way for 4 people to get to and around Saint John. The car ferry fare for car and passengers was less than the fare for 4 walk on passengers, no taxi fare on St.T, no taxi on St.J, and we toured the whole island plus went to two beaches and made it back in plenty of time:). YMMV

 

Thom

 

Note that you will be driving on the "other" side of the road (something I've done many times).

[Nana57]

Is the ferry ride over very rough? Wondering if I should take a pill before going on the ferry.

[Clarea]

Is the ferry ride over very rough? Wondering if I should take a pill before going on the ferry.

It can be, if you are sensitive to motion, I'd take precautions.

[Nana57]

Thanks!

[Nana57]

The Allure docks at 10 am. The tour says it starts at 11am. Would you know how many hours we would have on St. John before we head back? Is it worth it or will we feel rushed? Should we go to the beach there or is it better to just walk around?

[dani negreanu]

Note that you will be driving on the "other" side of the road (something I've done many times).

 

4 "Saints" in one cruise - Thomas, Kitts, Lucia and John ....

 

Thanks, Thom.

 

In this case, I know that DH will prefer to rent an automatic instead of the usual manual he enjoys driving in Europe :)

 

For many many years, you couldn't get a DL in Israel without learning "manual" first... Actually, it took me some time to get used to "automatic", but now I enjoy it very much :D

[Big_G]

We are thinking about heading over to St John from St Thomas. I would prefer not to book thru the ship since I am reading you do not get much time (less than 4 hours). Is it difficult to do it on your own? I am posting here instead of the St Thomas board since I am specifically curious about the RCI excursion "Self Explore St John" ST03

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I highly recommend the Tap Room in Mongoose Junction. It's a microbrewery and brew pub run by St. John Brewers of which one of the owners is from North Providence. ;)

 

http://www.stjohnbrewers.com/taproom.html

 

Almost forgot, we also always take the ship excursion.

Edited July 23, 2016 by Big_G

[TravelerThom]

4 "Saints" in one cruise - Thomas, Kitts, Lucia and John ....

... Actually, it took me some time to get used to "automatic", but now I enjoy it very much

That is a lot of Saints for an Israeli:p

 

I had manual cars for 50 years; I now have my first automatic only because that was the only way I could get my desired vehicle.

 

More comments on driving in USVI: Although they drive on the left, almost all vehicles are standard US, meaning that the driver will be by the edge of the road, not the center. Traffic in Charlotte Amalie can get quite heavy, especially during rush hour, so figure that into your time line. It has never made much sense to me why USVI drives on the left; the US got the islands from Denmark and 1917, and the Danes had driven on the right at least back to the 1700s; all I can figure is that since BVI drives on the left, the USVI does also.

 

Thom

[NECruiser83]

I highly recommend the Tap Room in Mongoose Junction. It's a microbrewery and brew pub run by St. John Brewers of which one of the owners is from North Providence. ;)

 

http://www.stjohnbrewers.com/taproom.html

 

Almost forgot, we also always take the ship excursion.

 

Wow!!! That's really cool, what a small world huh?

[MattInFLL]

You can also rent a car in St John once off the ferry. That's what I've done since I'm not a sit at the beach guy. But I did want to explore the far more pristine St John. I've done it twice. Once with their ferry once on my own via Red Hook. I'd probably do it with RCI again. Not much difference in timing and price but more peace of mind.

[dani negreanu]

I'm wondering if St. John is a nicer island than St. Thomas (Charlotte Amelie), or is it because some of you have been to St. Thomas several times before?

 

I've never been to those islands, and I'm more interested in seeing nice views than spending time on a beach :)

[Big_G]

I'm wondering if St. John is a nicer island than St. Thomas (Charlotte Amelie), or is it because some of you have been to St. Thomas several times before?

 

I've never been to those islands, and I'm more interested in seeing nice views than spending time on a beach :)

 

St. John is less developed so there's more scenery and less traffic.

[FOXTROT]

Have gone to St. John both ways. Bottom line it is a few dollars cheaper to do it on your own. Don't be a fool go through the cruise line. When you factor in one rum punch with the ship's excursion you are ahead. When we did it on our own there was road construction & we just made it back to the ship.

[MattInFLL]

St John is mostly a national park. Far less developed and not nearly as touristy. You basically have a few shops, some bars and restaurants by the ferry and not a lot else besides beautiful beaches and scenery. It's a nice change from St Thomas which is completely developed.

[dani negreanu]

Thanks, Gregg, Foxtrot & Matt.

 

Scenery is what I'm looking for :)

[Pipo]

We did it on our own, no problems. We went to Caneel Beach Resort, Honeymoon Beach. Beauuuuuutiful place.

But we almost lose our ferry back to St. Thomas and the cruise, because the Virgin Islands have a different time than Florida (ship time). But I forgot about it and I was following the published schedules, instead of adjusting my time. But fortunately I noticed about my error early enough, and was able to catch the ferry back, just in time, three more minutes and could have been my worst nightmare.

[NECruiser83]

We did it on our own, no problems. We went to Caneel Beach Resort, Honeymoon Beach. Beauuuuuutiful place.

But we almost lose our ferry back to St. Thomas and the cruise, because the Virgin Islands have a different time than Florida (ship time). But I forgot about it and I was following the published schedules, instead of adjusting my time. But fortunately I noticed about my error early enough, and was able to catch the ferry back, just in time, three more minutes and could have been my worst nightmare.

 

Oh my! Good thing you caught it!!! I would have freaked out!! I think we are going to go with the ships excursion just to be safe.

[robntawn]

We usually do the ship sponsored tour to St. John, which typically gives us about 3 1/2 hours at the beach. I suppose you could have a little bit longer by doing things on your own, but it sure is nice not having to worry about last-minute cancellations or scheduling problems.

Edited July 23, 2016 by robntawn

[lovelife]

Have gone to St. John both ways. Bottom line it is a few dollars cheaper to do it on your own. Don't be a fool go through the cruise line. When you factor in one rum punch with the ship's excursion you are ahead. When we did it on our own there was road construction & we just made it back to the ship.

 

They always give us a few!!:D Love this excursion.

[broberts]

We usually do the ship sponsored tour to St. John, which typically gives us about 3 1/2 hours at the beach. I suppose you could have a little bit longer by doing things on your own, but it sure is nice not having to worry about last-minute cancellations or scheduling problems.

 

How right you are. Self guided only offers more beach time to those who have fairly high risk tolerances.

 

When I did it, I was not willing to cut things very close by taking the last ferry that would get me back to the ship in time. I took the second last, just to be safe. As a result, my beach time was about the same as that offered by a ship tour.

[baileybrad]

Saw this older thread and wish to piggyback on it....Honeymoon Beach

 

We are looking at 2 RCI excursions for St Johns, the first is one that I believe many of the posters on this thread who have used RCI to get over and back to St Johns have utilized---"The St Johns on your own" excursion.

 

The other one that we are looking at is the "St john Exclusive Honeymoon Breach Break. It is obviously more expensive but besides the different location comes with beach chairs, access to kayaks and stand-up boards.

 

This one indicates that you approach Honeymoon Beach from the parking lot of Caneel Beach Club. Seems to be a walk of about 1/2 mile.

 

Also, I seem to have read there are no bathroom facilities on Honeymoon Beach but have also read that it is not as crowded with cruisers as Trunk Bay.

 

Any input or comments would be appreciated. Our party is mom, dad, and 3 teenage sons. Thinking that the kayaks and boards would give the teens something to do. BUT would we miss shopping around the ferry area since the Honeymoon Beach excursion would be more controlled?

[PAcruiser19372]

Saw this older thread and wish to piggyback on it....Honeymoon Beach

 

We are looking at 2 RCI excursions for St Johns, the first is one that I believe many of the posters on this thread who have used RCI to get over and back to St Johns have utilized---"The St Johns on your own" excursion.

 

The other one that we are looking at is the "St john Exclusive Honeymoon Breach Break. It is obviously more expensive but besides the different location comes with beach chairs, access to kayaks and stand-up boards.

 

This one indicates that you approach Honeymoon Beach from the parking lot of Caneel Beach Club. Seems to be a walk of about 1/2 mile.

 

Also, I seem to have read there are no bathroom facilities on Honeymoon Beach but have also read that it is not as crowded with cruisers as Trunk Bay.

 

Any input or comments would be appreciated. Our party is mom, dad, and 3 teenage sons. Thinking that the kayaks and boards would give the teens something to do. BUT would we miss shopping around the ferry area since the Honeymoon Beach excursion would be more controlled?

That is the one thing about the RC excursion is being on their time schedule Last time we went over on the RC St. John's on your own, their ferry to the Island and that day we took a taxi to Cinnamon Bay Beach. My buddy rented a paddle board there and I believe they had kayaks available for rent as well. After a day at the beach we then taxied back to Cruz Bay and had plenty of time to shop around and sample some drinks. If Trunk Bay is your preference you could also find out how many ships are in port the day you're in St. Thomas, if only one or two Trunk Bay should not be that bad.

[katiel53]

We did the St John snorkeling excursion through the ship and it's been my favorite excursion of all my cruises. I love St John and I wouldn't take the chance on going on the ferry etc unless booked through the ship.

[meadowlander]

Saw this older thread and wish to piggyback on it....Honeymoon Beach

 

We are looking at 2 RCI excursions for St Johns, the first is one that I believe many of the posters on this thread who have used RCI to get over and back to St Johns have utilized---"The St Johns on your own" excursion.

 

The other one that we are looking at is the "St john Exclusive Honeymoon Breach Break. It is obviously more expensive but besides the different location comes with beach chairs, access to kayaks and stand-up boards.

 

This one indicates that you approach Honeymoon Beach from the parking lot of Caneel Beach Club. Seems to be a walk of about 1/2 mile.

 

Also, I seem to have read there are no bathroom facilities on Honeymoon Beach but have also read that it is not as crowded with cruisers as Trunk Bay.

 

Any input or comments would be appreciated. Our party is mom, dad, and 3 teenage sons. Thinking that the kayaks and boards would give the teens something to do. BUT would we miss shopping around the ferry area since the Honeymoon Beach excursion would be more controlled?

 

I have been to Trunk Bay on St. John twice. The first time was with a RC excursion and the second time on my own via taxi-ferry-taxi. On your own, you will have more time on St. John and I would not consider it risky. You can research these boards for specific information. There are some shops on St. John where the ferry docks.

 

That being said, if I do it again, most likely will book a ship excursion and let them do all the work/planning trading off on time spent on St.John.

 

No comment on Honeymoon beach as I have not been there.