Help ..info needed on how to get to St. John from the Windstar ship that docks at West India Company Dock ...Bluewater??

[fedexretiree]

In a few weeks we will be arriving on Windstar Star Pride that docks at the West India Company Dock.  Getting in at 8:00am and leaving at 10:00pm.

Because we will be in port for several hours we are wanting to go to St. John on our own... Can I get information about how to get there, cabs, ferry and which to use.   Also,  how far is the ferry from WICD?

 

Also would like to know which beach to go to on St. John.  I have been to Trunk before and it was BEAUTIFUL.   Was wondering, since we have time if we should go by taxi to either Maho or Cinnamon or is there another that would be good for snorkeling (looking for easy snorkel not a lot of current).   Would prefer to have chairs and drinks as well.   Also want to make sure that we won't have trouble getting a cab ride back to Cruz from which ever beach we go to.  

Most likely we will never have this much time at St. John again so I want to make the best possible use out of it.  

Thanks in advance for all of the help.

[Ms411]

Taxis will be waiting at the dock to take you to the Red Hook ferry dock on St Thomas so you can take the people ferry to St John. Ferries leave every hour on the hour both ways during the hours you're in port. Takes about 30 minutes to get to ferry dock.

 

Be prepared to pay cash for taxis and ferries.

 

There will be taxis at St John ready to take you to a beach. You should go to Maho this time. Chairs, food, drinks, snorkel gear, etc. Turtles like tovm hang out there. Taxis waiting when you're ready to return.

 

Taxi fares for both St Thomas and St John are available online. There was an increase in Oct 2022 so quotes prior aren't current.

[fedexretiree]

Is Maho as nice as Trunk.  My friend that I travel with has never been to St. John before so I want to take her to the best beach even if that means going back to Trunk again.

[Ms411]

Trunk is nicer.

[fedexretiree]

Thanks so much...

[kbr]

Fedexretiree, We (Tony and Kathy) are also sailing on the Pride for 14 days, leaving San Juan on 1/14.  Is that the sailing you are on also?  We just recently booked, so I am scrambling to research each port, although we have done the first leg with Windstar 3-4 other times.

Edited January 4, 2023 by kbr
typo

[fedexretiree]

22 hours ago, kbr said:

Fedexretiree, We (Tony and Kathy) are also sailing on the Pride for 14 days, leaving San Juan on 1/14.  Is that the sailing you are on also?  We just recently booked, so I am scrambling to research each port, although we have done the first leg with Windstar 3-4 other times.

HI Tony and Kathy.... We don't leave until the 1/21 so St. Thomas is on the 2nd leg of our trip.  My friend and I have never been on Windstar before so we are really looking forward to it.  We usually travel with Celebrity.

[kbr]

So we will all be on board the Pride during the week of 1/21, it will be your first week on board and our 2nd week.  When we disembark on 1/28, we are flying to St. Thomas to stay for one more week, then back to home to the cold!

 

See you on board in a couple of weeks!

[fedexretiree]

2 hours ago, kbr said:

So we will all be on board the Pride during the week of 1/21, it will be your first week on board and our 2nd week.  When we disembark on 1/28, we are flying to St. Thomas to stay for one more week, then back to home to the cold!

 

See you on board in a couple of weeks!

I just love St. Thomas.  I told my husband that if we ever did a land vacation on any of the islands that would be the place that I would like to stay for a week or longer.  So excited for this cruise ...our 1st one in 3 years.  

[kbr]

You will LOVE Windstar.  We started sailing with them about 10 years ago, as a special treat and a retirement gift to myself.  We've only been back on the larger ships a couple of times and each time we swear to only cruise on Windstar in the future!  (We usually sail 3-4 weeks a year.) This is our first B2B with Windstar and then went out on a limb and added the the extra week in St. Thomas.  Just hoping all stays calm with my "elderly" responsibilities back at home for 3 weeks!  

 

[blue_water]

8 hours ago, fedexretiree said:

I just love St. Thomas.  I told my husband that if we ever did a land vacation on any of the islands that would be the place that I would like to stay for a week or longer.  So excited for this cruise ...our 1st one in 3 years.  

If you do return for a land visit I highly recommend the Sapphire Beach Resort & Marina condos, they are sea front on gorgeous Sapphire Beach. We’ve stayed on many beaches throughout the Carib, and Sapphire is one of the nicest experiences. Be sure to rent through an owner, directly or through VRBO - if you rent through the condo assn you may not be happy with the condo. The Sapphire Village condos are on the hill behind the marina and are a less expensive option!

Have you ever been to the BVI? Staying there is even more amazing!

 

For STJ, when you board a taxi to the beach, the driver will give you an option for an island tour before dropping you at the beach. Since you have so much time Inwould suggest taking advantage of that. The cost was ~$25/pp, but included your fare to the beach. And although I don’t usually recommend Trunk Bay because it is so hyped and crowded, I would in this case since you want to share that with your friends. Unless Cinnamon is a good choice, we’ve not been in some time…

Going on your own is so much better than through the cruise line. The ferry is ~20 - 30 minutes and the ferry departs on the hour…
 

Enjoy!

Edited January 5, 2023 by blue_water