Red Hook-Ferry-Taxi?

[videoman]

Okay....trying to decide if it is worth it to NOT do the DCL excursion to Trunk Bay and to go on our own. I would LOVE to hear from fellow cruisers who have ventured out on their own w/this..Here are my many questions????

*Do you get more time at trunk bay??? how much more???
*What is the cost (traveling w/2 adults & 2 children)???
*Is it nerve racking to fit into the time schedule - in other words is it worth booking w/Disney for the sanity of knowing you will not miss the ship!
It seems that you take a taxi to Red Hook (are these available right when you get off the ship?)
then go on the Red Hook Ferry - and then take another taxi to Trunk Bay....How long does this process take???

Sorry so many questions.....thank you for your help....these boards are amazing!!!!

 

[mickeyboat]

We did St. John on our own in March. We did not go to Trunk Bay but I can help with some of your questions.

We tendered in to St. Thomas and the tender dropped us off in downtown Charlotte Amalie. We took a taxi, about 30 minutes, to Red Hook. We paid $8 per person for the taxi ride. I think is there had been more people in our cab, it would have been cheaper. A word of warning, the road was curvy and the driver fearless, so DD3 almost got car sick in the taxi.

We got to the ferry dock to take the 10:00 ferry - immigration was a little late that morning and tendering took a while - you may be able to make it to the 9:00 ferry. The cost of the ferry was $3 for adults and $2 for children. The ferry ride was about 20 minutes and uneventful. The ferry left a little late so we got to St. John at around 10:45.

We toured around Cruz Bay and had lunch (we honeymooned on St. John so we wanted to revisit our hotel and our favorite restaurant).

We elected to take the downtown ferry back to St. Thomas. It left at 2:15 and took about 45 minutes. That left us plenty of time to tender back to the ship. This ferry discharges passengers right at the tender dock. Another word of caution - this ferry is VERY rough. Several of us were certain the ferry would capsize! Someone told me that their ride over was even worse. But there are beautiful beaches and homes to see on the ride.

If you choose the downtown ferry and dock at Havensight, you will probably have to take a taxi to and from the downtown ferry landing.

Taxis are plentiful at the Cruz Bay dock and Trunk Bay is only a couple of miles away.

Make sure you leave St. John by around 2PM to get back to the ship on time. If you choose the return on the Red Hook ferry, make sure you leave enough time to get through the traffic in St. Thomas. It can be heavy if there are a lot of ships in port.

St. John is definitely worth it! I think doing it on your own is a vary viable and workable option. Trunk Bay is amazing, don't miss it. I would say you will have more time there is you go on your own. But if you are really concerned about getting back to the ship on time, you can always do the excursion.

Denae

 

[rcdisneyfam]

1 of us went to St. John's via taxis and Red Hook Ferry. The taxi drivers never charged the kids and they met us at the times we agreed on to pick us back up at the beach and at the Ferry. We did do Trunk Bay and it was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The water looked like a swimming pool, it was so clear. We did not do the excursion with DCL, took our own snorkel stuff and it was fine. The cost was substantially less doing it on our own and would do it again.

 

[jwann]

I, too, am interested in the OP's question. Am I confused? Have the previous posters actually rented cars or just used taxi's? I thought you could rent a car right in Charlotte Amile and then take the car ferry out of Red Hook to St. John. Is that right??

 

[CM_Mom]

We did the St. John Island Tour and decided that the cost of the excursion was DEFINITELY worth the additional cost. I think we figured around $25 -$30 per person for doing it ourselves and it was $39 for the excursion. HOWEVER, the boat to the St. John docked right next to the ship so we just got off the Magic and on the Island Queen. On the trip over we had our choice of inside or outside seating and a guide giving us a travelogue of the area. The folks to the Trunk Bay excursion and the Eco Hike were also on the boat with us. Once at St. John, you get on taxis that are waiting and go. When the trip is over the boat is waiting and you head back. Got back to the Magic in time for late lunch at Topsiders and then shopping at Havensight.

Since we were on VACATION, it was the NO WORRIES solution for us.