Best way to St. John?

[goofydadeo]

What's the best way to get from WICO (the St. Thomas port dock) to connect with the St. John Ferry in Charlotte Amalie (not Red Hook)? Also, any feedback on this ferry vs. Red Hook would be appreciated. Last time we to a taxi to Red Hook, waited around about 30 mins for the 20 min. ferry to St. John. Will the Charlotte Amalie to St. John ferry be faster?

 

[goofydadeo]

Forgot to mention that our group is 4 adults and 3 children.

 

[Makaroni5]

Goofydadeo - Lucky you! 3 more days only. Have a super time on your cruise. Let us all know how it was. You all must be so excited by now. We are and our cruise isn't until May 3rd.
Bon Voyage and Bon Appetit!!!!!

 

[goofydadeo]

Thanks Makaroni! We are very excited. Enjoy your cruise too! You'll love the Eastern. It's my favorite - this is our third time on it!

 

[Rhonda]

We rented a jeep from Avis in St. Thomas (just a short walk up the street from the ship) and they gave us a map and a ferry schedule to get to St. John.

We had a wonderful time! The ferry ran about every 45 minutes or so. Be sure to get one back early enough to fill the rental car back up with gas and fight the bad traffic! Everyone is trying to return rental cars and get back to the ship at the same time. It took about 3 times as long to get back to the ship, as it did to get to St. John in the morning!

 

[AprilN]

Which ferry route is faster depends on your timing. We wanted to get to St. John as quickly as possible, and because we didn't leave the ship until 8:30 or so, the taxi drivers at the port told us that we would get to St. John faster if we took the short taxi ride to the Charlotte Amalie ferry landing, and then the 45 minute ferry from CA to St. John, then the longer taxi ride to Red Hook and the shorter ferry ride. This was based on the departure times for the ferries: because we left the ship a little late, we could make the 9:00 at CA, but not the 9:00 at Red Hook (our first choice).

Coming back from St. John, we took the ferry to Red Hook, because the departure time was more convenient. Overall, I believe it's faster to take the Red Hook ferry and then drive across St. Thomas back to the port.

The taxi ride from the port to the CA ferry was quick and easy. We just approached the taxi line and found a taxi that was leaving for downtown. It might be worth renting a car on St. Thomas if you're going to be exploring more of the island, but our goal was to spend as much time on St. John as possible - so we went with a taxi.

I hope this wasn't too confusing! Keep in mind that the ferry to/from Charlotte Amalie doesn't run as often, or as late. You can find a ferry schedule here. Have a great time on St. John!

April

 

[goofydadeo]

AprilN - thanks very much for your detailed info. It's just what I was looking for. We too are trying to maximize our time on St. John and will take your advice on the 9am CA ferry. I'll take both schedules with me for the return since it increases our flexibility on departure times. I remember a lot of congestion trying to get back to the ship so who knows maybe is it faster to come back on the CA ferry? Thanks again!

John

 

[AprilN]

If you can make the 9:00 AM ferry from Red Hook, it will get you to St. John about 25 minutes earlier. Then again, you have to be in Red Hook by 9:00 AM, which we obviously failed to do. If you managed to be one of the first families off the ship - and of course, not tendering - you could probably do it. We went with the CA ferry because we didn't get our bottoms in gear.

The main reason we took the Red Hook ferry back from St. John is because we would have had to take the 2:15 ferry to CA, as the 3:45 would be cutting it too close to the 4:30 all board time. The 3:00 ferry from Red Hook allowed us a little time for shopping in Havensight (right by the port) before we reboarded the ship right at 4:30. Of course, that still wasn't very much time on St. John (maybe 5 hours total), but it was a spectacular (half) day of snorkeling. I sure wish the Magic could stay later on St. Thomas!

There was a little traffic on the taxi ride back from Red Hook in the afternoon, but we didn't have any problems. Have a wonderful cruise!

April