How much time actually at the beach on St JohnTrunkBeach

[mommyinmd]

This excursion looks like it may take a while to get to the destination. How long do you actually have at the beach to enjoy of the 4.5 hrs that the tour is listed for. Thanks

 

[Wonderwoman1982]

Well, for the $45 you will be paying PER PERSON to go on that, you might ought to consider what WE did when we went.. We rented a car from Avis ( across the street from Havensight dock) which only costed like $50 for the whole DAY and then took a car ferry ($27 round trip) to go to St. John... Costed us a total of $67 and we went to BOTH Megans Bay AND Trunk Bay, and spent as much time as WE wanted and weren't packed into buses like sardines and we didn't have to wait in the long lines you WILL be waiting in at the ship (waiting for everyone who is going to get there) BUT I will say, CALL ahead and check the ferry schedule. I read somewhere about them cutting back on ferry times. (It USED to be a ferry every 30 minutes would leave..) AND, DEFINATELY go to Trunk Bay. If I could do it over again, we'd have gone there and skipped Megans Bay all together.. Trunk Bay was AWESOME... And was the only place we found to have FRESH water showers to rinse off in afterwards.. It was the greatest place we went our whole trip.. And don't listen to all the folks who talk bad about renting your own car. The driving is NOT complicated there (they drive on the left side there..) And traffic was NOT a problem. OUr day was GREAT with no troubles. Car rental is the ONLY way to go, and when we go again to western carribbean, we'll do it there, too... OH< if you're interested, I have discount codes for Avis.com to save you like $25% on your car rental price... Let me know..

 

[mommyinmd]

That certainly sounds much more affordable .I would love to get the code to save 25%. I think you'll need to email me off the boards for that one though as they don't allow codes to be listed here[ bnuth@wam.umd.edu ]
Can you get offf the ship the same time as the people who take a Disney excursion, or do you need to wait?
Any idea where to find the phone # for the ferry schedule? Thanks very much!!:

 

[northsouth]

http://www.st-thomas.com/week/ferries.html

Here is a link to the ferry schedules, it lists the phone # too but no area code. I'm pretty sure you can get the St Thomas area code out of your local phone book though. Good luck!!

And wonderwoman, I like your idea too, thanks for the info!!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Wonderwoman1982

Don't listen to all the folks who talk bad about renting your own car. The driving is NOT complicated there

I certainly think it's doable. I would have done it myself if our schedule was different. But I think it's important for anyone considering renting a car to be aware of what they're in for. It's definitely not as easy as driving around Central Florida... and for some... this might be too much of an adventure.

Here's a page that has some driving tips for St Thomas:

www.st-thomas.com/week/driving.html

 

[mommyinmd]

Is this the right ferry?[taken from the link from Dave above]
It says it runs every hour on the half hour.So what would be the earliest ferry you think might be possible to get on- 8:30,9:30?
I am assuming the Disney excursions would use this ferry too. By the time we leave the ship, walk to the Avis place , do the paperwork and drive to the ferry- the 8:30 one seems unlikely. Do they only let Disney shore excursion folks off the ship first? The price of 40.00 plus the car rental of about 66.00[from a quick check of the Avis site] Thanks for all the help. We leave in less than 1 week[squeals of joy!!!] :


<CAR FERRY ST. THOMAS - ST. JOHN

BETWEEN RED HOOK AND CRUZ BAY. Round trip $40. 20 minute ride. Check in 15 minutes prior to departure. Boyson, Inc. (776-6294) and Republic Barge (779-4000). >

 

[northsouth]

I'm having trouble getting the link for you because of board woes but there have been other good posts of people "doing St John on their own", with taxis and ferries, and it's not too difficult.

there is supposed to be a 45 minute ferryride ($7) from Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay, as well as the 15-minute ferry ($3) from Red Hook to Cruz Bay, which is reached via taxi from Havensight or C.A. about $8 per person taxi fare. So each way transportation is $7-$11 pp.

Then when you get to Cruz Bay St John you can catch a "safari bus" ($4-$5) to Trunk Bay or Cinnamon Bay. There is park admission ($4? free for kids?) at TrunkBay, and Cinnamon Bay supposed to be no charge to enter.

It is a lot like the Disney excursion but you have more freedom to leave the beach when you want (don't miss the ship at 415pm!!) and it is cheaper. And you're not dealing so much with the excursion crowds. Sounds like the Disney excursion gives you about 2 hours beach time, on your own you could probably stretch it to 3 hours, but it's advisable to head back on the 1pm or 2pm ferries to be safe.

hope this helps, and hope I didn't leave anything out!!!

 

[Wonderwoman1982]

Hey all, there is Republic barge, too. Check out www.st-thomas.com We paid $27.00 ROUND trip. Not the $40 it said. We expected to pay more, but they only wanted $27.... And just because the cruise info SAYS you get there at 8, trust me, you don't get off. You have to wait until EVERYONE cleared customs, or they dont open the doors. And I'm not exactly sure what time you'd get to the ferry, but we just drove up and waited about 15 miniutes before it left. There is one every 30 minutes regardless of when you get there. Just CALL ahead of time and make sure the schedules are the same. At Avis.com, use this discount # It's AWD # A108300.... It'll save you 25%... We paid much less than $66 for a full sized car. AND we all in all, if we add up how much time we spent at Megans Bay, AND Trunk Bay, we EASILY had over 5 hours of beach time. And we got back to the ship by 4:30-4:45... Normally, you'll have to be back earlier, but we had one of those "mystery cruises" so our time schedule changed JUST a little...

 

[mommyinmd]

Thanks for the info. Did you need a coupon for the Avis# at all?
I'll log into Avis later to find what kind of price we can come up with. I sure would like to avoid being in one of those crazy taxis if I can.

 

[kshabare]

Great suggestions but we of 11 have booked this excursion and are curious how much time here and there. Any info available from someone who actually purchased the excursion from DCL? I was told from the booking agent on DCL you can snorkel from the boat or from the beach.

Another question:
Are Teva sandals appropriate? Will DB with C. Palsey be okay with his sneakers on until the time is right to go in the water? Everything safe on the boat for your return trip? Okay to go barefoot once on the boat?

Kim ºOº

 

[castawayfan]

We just got back and purchased the excursion from DCL mainly because we were really lazy about taking taxis and wanted it all done for us. We were off the ship by 8:15, the boat to Trunk Bay was waiting right next to the ship. They took us directly to St. Johns, taxis were waiting and we had a little over 2 hours at Trunk Bay. Did the reverse on the way back and we were back on the ship by 1 PM. Worked out really good for us and I would do it that way again.

 

[mommyinmd]

Does everone return at the same time on the Disney excursion?Can you catch a later boat back than the one you did that returned you at 1 pm?
I have reserved a car at Avis- I think it was about 48.00, thanks to the above advice for the discount.I am still a bit nervous about missing the boat. OMG, my husband would never let me forget that if it happened!! Decisions, decisions.

Where do you park if you rent a vehicle?Is there a parking charge for this. We will have our own snorkle stuff [heavy] and would want to be close.

 

[my3kids]

Wonderwoman: Would you send me a PM with the Avis code. Last time I went to St. Thomas I didn't go to St. John and I've always regreted it. You plan sounds perfect for us. Thanks for making it sound like a good alternative.

 

[castawayfan]

Mommyinmd:

Everyone returns at the same time because you come over on the same charter. I read somewhere that even if you do the beach on your own you should catch the 1:30 ferry back. Don't forget that the ship leaves St. Thomas early - I think all aboard was 4:30.

 

[Wonderwoman1982]

My3Kids, I can't figure out how to send a private message.. SORRY.. The Avis code is AWD# A108300.... And No, you don't need an actual coupon. They'll give you whatever rate you reserved it with. Just print out your reservations quote and take it with you. And when we were there, maybe we're a little more adventurous than most, but we didn't leave St. John until the 3pm ferry.. It only took like 30 minutes to get from Red Hook to Charlotte Amalie.. The island is small, so we didn't worry too much. BUT I'm NOT recommending this to ANYONE else.. OUR departure time was a little different, like at 5:30 or 5:15pm.. Our schedule was altered somewhat due to the weather. And we didn't arrive in St. Thomas until later than we were supposed to. So, plan according to the NORMAL arrival and departure times..Oh, and yes there is a parking lot at Trunk Bay.

 

[nancycels]

i know when i was a child(oh bout 30+ yrs ago) magens was starting to get overcrowded!! so i wd go w/trunk if u have the option! also per my Mom, who hates driving when she's away from home, driving wasn't too bad... she just had to get used to having a stick again!!