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I'm going on a cruise in April that docks in St. Thomas from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and want to go to St. John for snorkeling in the underwater park. Is that at Trunk Bay? I've never been there and need to know exactly what to do to get there from the pier and whether we should take a bus, cab, ferry or taxi each way or both ways, how long it will take, how much time we would have at St. John, and approximately how much it will cost for four people. I'd like to do this on our own rather than doing a ship sponsored excursion but I'm a little apprehensive unless I can figure out exactly how to do it and make it back to the ship on time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Option #1
You would take a taxi from the cruise ship to Red Hook. Any taxi will take you just say you want to go to Red Hook. This should be about $10 a person. This is a 30 minute to 45 minute ride depending on traffic.
You will take a ferry from Red Hook to St. John that leaves every hour on the hour and is a 20 minute ride. The ferry is $5 per person one way.
When you get to St. John there will be taxi drivers asking if you "want to go to the beach?" Ask one of them to take you to Trunk Bay, it is a ten minute ride. This should be about $6 per person.
Trunk Bay charges a $3 admission that goes to the National Park Service.
The return trip is reversed.
Option #2
Locate the St. John ferry terminal in Charlotte Amalie on the docks in front of the Street Vendors Plaza and refer to the Ferry Schedule on VINOW.com to find the ferry time best suiting your arrival. This ferry goes to St. John and from there get a taxi to Trunk Bay. You can return on this same "downtown" Charlotte Amalie ferry if you time it well. This ferry is $10 per person and is a 40 minute ride.
Is the St. John ferry terminal within walking distance of where our ship will be docked and, if so, how far of a walk is it? It should like this way would be cheaper, since we'd be eliminating the taxi to get to Red Hook, but which way would you recommend? What time would we need to leave St. John in order to be sure to get back before the ship sails at 5:30? Thanks for your help.
I have never done the cruise thing, but what I have understood from people who were on a cruise ship in STT and wanted to go to Trunk Bay is that there is very little difference in cost between the cruise ship excursion and doing it yourself. As I recall, someone said that they only saved a couple of dollars a person by doing it themselves. Seems a lot simpler to do the cruise ship excursion and not have to worry about getting back on time. Since the ferry between Charlotte Amalie and Cruz Bay only runs at certain times, you may spend a good bit of time waiting for the ferry or else leaving early to catch it.
The cruise critic site, both the destination section and the message boards, typically have lots of information about excursion alternatives and precise timing requirements. You might want to check there with others who've tried the same plan.
I would check the destination board in cruise critic, but it will probably be cheaper to take the excursion with the ship.
Either way the beach will be busy with cruise ship passengers. If your ship offers an excursion with snorkeling at Trunk and a tour of St. John, you should try that. Once you experience the true St. John outside of Trunk Bay, you will fall in love with it.
