Can this be done in time in St. J/St. T

[sunnyspring]

On Tuesday, July 20, we are arriving on the Carribean Princess in St. Thomas. Is it realistic to do the following agenda between 7 am and 6 pm?

Take cab to Red Hook
Take ferry to Trunk Bay
Do Trunk Bay snorkel trail
Take St. John Island Tour starting at Trunk Bay from private taxi
Take ferry back to Red Hook
Take St. Thomas Island Tour from private taxi
Return to ship by 6 pm

Any idea on what we could expect to pay for private taxi tour on St. T and ST. J (2 kids, 2 adults)?

Is there a better way to take an island tour than a private taxi, realizing we won't have a lot of time to wait for a tour to start since we are packing a lot in.

Also, any tips so we can use our time to see both islands most wisely would be really appreciated.

Lisa

[richtersl]

Before you plan your day, you do need to know that the 7:00am is the time your ship is scheduled to arrive in St. Thomas and the 6:00pm is the time your ship is scheduled to leave St. Thomas.

In the morning, your ship needs to clear customs before passengers can disembark. The earliest you can get off the ship will be around 9:00am. You will probably need to be back on board by 5:30pm at the latest. So, the actual time you will be on St. Thomas/St. John will be from 9:00am (approxmiately ) to 5:30pm (sharp).

You can grab a cab to Red Hook when you disembark. There will be lots of them waiting for you. If all goes smoothly, you can be on St. John by 10-10:30 and at Trunk Bay definitely before 11:00.

To be realistic, you may get sidetracked in Cruz Bay, St. John because there is a bit to see there.

What I would do is have the cab driver drop you off in Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas when you return from St. John. There is a lot you can see just by walking through town. Taking an island tour might be pushing it and you will find yourself rushed instead of relaxed and enjoying yourself. ;)

[MandyGirl]

[color=darkorchid]... but if you are coming [b]directly[/b] from a US port as your most recent port stop (such as in the US or San Juan) you [b]won't[/b] have to clear immigration and can walk straight off the ship as soon as she docks in St Thomas. :) That can save you some time. The clearing of immigration is new since 9/11 when coming into a US port (such as St Thomas or San Juan or domestic US) from a [b]non[/b]-US port (such as St Maarten or Tortola). And then you still get to clear immigration as well as customs when you arrive back at your embarkation/disembarkation port. [/color]
[color=#9932cc][/color]
[color=darkorchid]We had been in St Maarten the day before our St Thomas stop, and all had to clear immigration... but still made it to our 9:00 wedding on St John in plenty of time (off the ship at 6:45 and had the option of ferry directly from ship in bay to St John, getting to bypass St Thomas to get to St John quicker - I wish more ships offered that "shore excursion" to purchase - we paid only $8 roundtrip for that and it saved us time)[/color]
[color=#9932cc][/color]
[color=darkorchid]Here are examples of taxi rates for St John: [/color][url="http://www.vinow.com/stjohn/getting_around_stj/taxi.php"][color=darkorchid]http://www.vinow.com/stjohn/getting_around_stj/taxi.php[/color][/url]

[Ocean Boy]

[COLOR=Navy]sunnyspring...

You may be able to fit in what you have listed but I think it is going to be a very tiring and un-relaxing day for you. When we were there on Mariner we hired a taxi to tour the island. The rate is about $20.00 per person. He took us all around and he was definitely not in any rush. We stopped at plenty of scenic overlooks, took all the time we wanted at Mountain Top, and he even offered to stop someplace to let us go swimming. It was well worth the money.

Later we took the tram up to Paradise Point and then went through some of the shops at the pier. That took up the day. I think that if we had tried to fit St. John into the day we would have felt very rushed and not really have enjoyed the day.[/COLOR]