ENOUGH TIME FOR BOTH

[rabbit72]

Looking for some advice about timing.  We've been to St Thomas & St. John several times but not doing them both in same day.  We'll be in port 11:30-7pm and will be the 2nd ship arriving into St Thomas.  We're traveling with people who have either never been to St John or never be to either island.  We were looking to go to Trunk Bay for part of the time and then head back to St Thomas and do Coki or Magen's for the duration of the time.  I know the ferry leaves every hour on the hour and accounting for travel time back & forth do you think this is doable?  Thanks for any info. 

[Stinger-pr]

Will in theory you could make it work, I think it would be too rushed to really enjoy it. You'd have to be back onboard by 6:30pm you'd have about 7 hours. The ferry from Charlotte Amalie to St. John takes about 45 minutes each way so you'd loose almost 2 hours total on the ferry. If you take it from Red Hook it's about 20 minutes, but you'd have to factor how much time it takes and how much it's going to cost. On your return to St. Thomas, you have to factor in the time to taxi to/from either Coki or Megan's. Heavensigth dock to Megan's is about a 15 minute ride, 20 minutes to Coki.

[beautifulbill]

Do less..........see more

[Ms411]

There isn't a ferry from Charlotte Amalie to St John any more.

 

It is unlikely that passengers will be off the ship at 11 so they may not make the noon Red Hook ferry.

 

 

[cruiseapril]

We would do two separate excursions. 

[blue_water]

I’d suggest enjoying STJ, take an island tour of STJ before getting dropped at Trunk or Cinnamon Bay, then spend some time in Cruz Bay. As you know there are nice shops and great spots for lunch. Total round trip transportation cost from Havensight is ~$50pp, with the island tour ~$66. If your friends are interested in a nice memento, St John Bracelets makes beautiful gold and silver Hook bracelets, check their site...

 

Your friends will see some of STT between the cruise dock and the Red Hook ferry. If you get back early you could ask a driver at the ferry to give you a ride over Skyline Drive for your friends to see the scenic views on your return to the ship. And Paradise Point is a nice way to end the day if time...

 

Or if you would like something different for you as well and you haven’t taken it before, consider the Champagne cat sail, nice day that!

Edited September 7, 2019 by blue_water
Typos

[Holly2]

We usually go to trunk bay and may book Celebrity’s St John  on your own for convenience.

how and where do we book an island tour?  There are 4 of us and wewould like to spend about an hour touring before the beach.

sorry to ask such a basic question but search feature seems to-be-missing. 

 

 

 

 

[Stinger-pr]

Actually there is. But it doesn't leave from the Charlotte Amalie waterfront like the old one did. This one leaves from Crown Bay and has been in service since the beginning of the year. It has a limited schedule, though, with only three round trips per day. BUT... with an 11:30am arrival of their ship, they will not be able to use it since their next available departure from Crown Bay is at 3:30pm and the last trip from Cruz Bay, St. John to St. Thomas leaves around 4:15pm, I believe. It's also a $40 round trip! This is a private company doing the route, not a government-run ferry. So it's not cheap and it might be more targeted to residents or people who are arriving/leaving to St. Thomas by plane and spending more time at STJ.

Edited September 8, 2019 by Stinger-pr

[Stinger-pr]

50 minutes ago, Holly2 said:

We usually go to trunk bay and may book Celebrity’s St John  on your own for convenience.

how and where do we book an island tour?  There are 4 of us and wewould like to spend about an hour touring before the beach.

sorry to ask such a basic question but search feature seems to-be-missing. 

 

 

 

 

When you get to the dock in STJ you will be able to hire a taxi driver to give you an island tour and drop you off at the beach.

[Holly2]

Sounds easy enough.  Thanks.  what desinatiions would you recommend?

how much$ do you think it would be for 4 of us for an hour?

[Stinger-pr]

I'm sorry for not doing this right...

 

This post was in response to the one below.

5 hours ago, Stinger-pr said:

Actually there is. But it doesn't leave from the Charlotte Amalie waterfront like the old one did. This one leaves from Crown Bay and has been in service since the beginning of the year. It has a limited schedule, though, with only three round trips per day. BUT... with an 11:30am arrival of their ship, they will not be able to use it since their next available departure from Crown Bay is at 3:30pm and the last trip from Cruz Bay, St. John to St. Thomas leaves around 4:15pm, I believe. It's also a $40 round trip! This is a private company doing the route, not a government-run ferry. So it's not cheap and it might be more targeted to residents or people who are arriving/leaving to St. Thomas by plane and spending more time at STJ.

 

16 hours ago, Ms411 said:

There isn't a ferry from Charlotte Amalie to St John any more.

 

It is unlikely that passengers will be off the ship at 11 so they may not make the noon Red Hook ferry.

 

 

 

[Stinger-pr]

5 hours ago, Holly2 said:

Sounds easy enough.  Thanks.  what desinatiions would you recommend?

how much$ do you think it would be for 4 of us for an hour?

I'm guessing it shouldn't cost more than $20 per person. Any island tour will take you basically to everything accessible by car but will likely take more than an hour. Maybe talk to the drivers there about a customized, shorter tour. There are trails to hike in STJ but those are better suited for those on longer stays on the island. Take your pick of beaches between Trunk Bay and Honeymoon beach. Both are amazing! Trunk Bay has an underwater, marked trail for those that do snorkeling.

[Ms411]

A St John tour is typically 2 hours and is $25 per person if there are 2 or more passengers. Here are the taxi rates for St John.

 

https://www.*****/stjohn/getting_around_stj/taxis-rates/

 

[Ms411]

The *** replace the site vinow for com. Sorry, I keep forgetting that url doesn't work on cruise critic.

 

[Ms411]

Dot com - not for com.😊 Sorry for confusion!

 

[blue_water]

12 hours ago, Holly2 said:

We usually go to trunk bay and may book Celebrity’s St John  on your own for convenience.

how and where do we book an island tour?  There are 4 of us and wewould like to spend about an hour touring before the beach.

sorry to ask such a basic question but search feature seems to-be-missing. 

 

 

 

 

Actually, when you exit the ferry at Cruz Bay safari taxis will be lined up to transport folks to the different beaches. After you board a safari taxi the driver will give you two options - drop off at Trunk Bay, or stay with him for a tour of the north shore and some of the history, and be dropped at Trunk after. The prices are listed in my earlier post, the tour would be especially nice for first-time visitors. Note that the Red Hook ferry is much preferred because it is a short ferry ride and the water is much calmer than from CB...

 

Would highly recommend going on your own rather than on the ship excursion as your time on STJ with that option is very limited. The taxi and ferry services are excellent and very convenient. Just give yourself a couple hours to get back for safety.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2019 by blue_water

[Holly2]

That is perfect. Thx!

[rabbit72]

Thank you for all your responses.  I thought it would be too rushed to do both so since I've been to both I will let the newbies decide but hoping they lean towards STJ 😉

[blue_water]

32 minutes ago, rabbit72 said:

Thank you for all your responses.  I thought it would be too rushed to do both so since I've been to both I will let the newbies decide but hoping they lean towards STJ 😉

I think that’s a good idea as your friends will see some of STT, especially if you ask a driver to give you a mini-tour via Skyline Drive for a little more $$. 

Enjoy showing them around 😀