St. John on your own

[mickeyboat]

We are booked on the 3/6 Eastern. The cast is myself, DH, DD3 and DD4. DH and I honeymooned on St. John 6/92 and the main reason for choosing the Eastern is so that we can return there and share it with our kids. (The experience won't be at all the same, will it? - no deserted beaches, no hammocks at sunset) The excursions do not appear to be appropriate for little kids so I would like to plan a trip on our own. I know that there are ferries that will take you to St. John - one out of Red Hook and one out of Charlotte Amalie. What are the logistics of getting to the ferries?

Once we get to St. John we would like to visit the shops in Cruz Bay, Mongoose Junction (if it is still there), the open air bar where they leave out the glass of sugar water for the birds, and of course, Trunk Bay. How much damage was done there by the hurricane several years ago? Are there cabs on the island to take us to Trunk Bay? Do you think we will have time to do all of this on St. John? Do you think this "excursion" will be too much for our kids?

Any suggestions and information you could provide will be much appreciated.

Denae

 

[Favorite Auntie]

I did the snorkeling at Trunk Bay excursion through DCL. As an adult I thought it was boring, snorkeling and then sitting on the beach, but with little kids I think it would be very appropriate.

I would be hesitant to do St John on my own because it is a fairly long ferry ride to and back (45+ minutes each way) and I would be afraid that I wouldn't time it right, or something would happen with the ferry, or something. But that is just me.

 

[jel0511]

As you can see by my countdown clock, we'll be on St. John on Saturday!! We travel here quite often, so I'll let you know what I think....

1. Take the ferry from Red Hook. It runs every hour on the hour, so if you happen to miss one, the next one is in an hour. The ferry from Charlotte Amalie is 45 minutes long and only runs every 2 or 2 1/2 hours and if the water is rough, this ride is MUCH more adventurous than the Red Hook Ferry.

2. Grab a taxi outside the ship and tell them to take you to the Red Hook ferry. Depending on what time you get off, you'll probably get the 9:00 or 10:00 ferry. The ferry ride is 20 minutes long, and it's probably a 20 - 30 minute taxi ride from the dock, depending on traffic. Plan on taking the 3:00 ferry back at the latest, as the ship's all aboard is at 4:30.

3. There are TONS of taxis waiting at the ferry terminal on St. John, so you shouldn't have a problem getting to Trunk Bay.

4. Mongoose Junction is still there, as is the bar, and there really isn't much damage to the island at all, it's still beautiful, just slightly more built up since 1992.

5. You'll have to St. John on your own, since none of the DCL sponsored excursions allow children under the age of 5, with the exception of the Jeep tour. Since all of them including snorkling, they don't allow any children under the age of 5 on the excursion, I've been told it's because of "insurance issues".

If you have any other questions, please ask!!!

 

[jeanie]

jel0511,

Which beach on St John's do you recommend, Cinnamon or Trunk Bay or others ????

Which one is the "shouldn't miss" type beach. We are not planning on snorkeling but if the equipment was available at the beach we might try it... We are looking for a relaxing beach, where we could swim and stroll and enjoy the views!

Also would you recommend any place for lunch? Our kids are 10 and 12 and pretty much eat anything....


Thanks!

 

[jel0511]

Well, there are MANY beaches on St. John that will fit the bill, but both Trunk and Cinnamon have facilitites located there. All of the other beaches, are just beautiful stretches of white sand, with nothing, not even a bathroom!!! Since you'll be coming for the day only, I'd recommend either Trunk or Cinnamon. Both will have places to rent snorkle equipment, but Trunk has an actual underwater trail to follow. It's relatively easy and close to shore, so it's perfect for beginners. Trunk will become crowded (now that's relative) when cruise ships are docked at St. Thomas, but it won't be overwhelming like Castaway Cay will be. My personal favorite beach is Hawksnest Beach. It's closer to Cruz Bay than Trunk or Cinnamon, it will be pretty desserted, but again no facilities, or rental places. Trunk and Cinnamon have everything right there: bathrooms, snorkel equipment rental, showers, and a snack bar for lunch. If you want to venture into Cruz Bay for lunch, there are some fabulous places. There is an AWESOME deli at Mongoose Junction, Lime Inn is also very good. Currently, I'm at a loss for what restaurants are open for lunch, since it sometimes depends on when you're going. Overall, between Trunk and Cinnamon, I prefer Trunk. I feel it's prettier than Cinnamon, and it is the more "modern" of the two. As I said before Trunk will get crowded, but not so much so as you'd see at any normal beach. If you're used to staying on St. John, anything more than 10 people on a beach is considered crowded, so when there around 200 or so people on a beach, it looks like a mob scene to those us used to tranquility. I have to admit, when we're in St. John, we go to Trunk early, and usually leave by 11:00, which is the time most of the people from the Cruise ships start to arrive. I hope you enjoy your trip to St. John, it's a VERY laid back island and you'll have a GREAT time. If you have any other questions, please ask.

 

[jlawall]

We've been to St. John 3x and always loved it! I agree with Lori, you can definitely do it on your own. I went to St. Thomas and St. John with a very young child years ago and the beach on St. John was the best. You can take turns snorkeling and relaxing on the beach with the kids. It's a great trip. They will love the ferry ride over and the open air taxi ride to the beach. There are a million taxis available to take you back! Have a blast!!!!!!!

 

[mickeyboat]

Thank you to jlawall, Lori and jel0511 for all the great information on St. John. I feel a lot more comfortable venturing out there on my own. We can't wait to revisit St. John. I'm sure it will be just as beautiful as I remember it (still need the bug spray - huh?)

Special note to jel0511: I would love to hear about your visit to St. John this weekend. If you can find time, please give me a report when you get back.

Thanks again,
Denae

 

[jel0511]

Will do!!! We leave on Saturday, and will be there for the week, so I won't get to report back until after then. Please send me an e-mail so I won't forget!!! This way, I'll leave it in my in-box to remind me when we get back!! We'll be staying at our usual, a private villa. It's an AWESOME way to see St. John, and truly great. My kids 5 and 2 LOVE St. John and they are really looking forward to going as well. I'm just starting to pack, so it's beginning to feel real.

 

[SFed]

We did Trunk Bay on our own in September with our 3 year old and had no problems at all.

We took the ferry from Charlotte Amalie in the morning. It leaves at 9, so if you want to make it, you have to hussle becuase you have to take a cab from the ship to Charlotte Amalie. The ferry was $7.00 per person one way. The ferry ride was around 30-40 minutes.

Once at Cruz Bay there are a ton of open air cabs to take you to Trunk Bay. At the beach, there is a snack bar, snorkel rental and a shop selling beach stuff. Bathrooms as well. The snorkel trail is above average and the beach is great.

There were plenty of cabs to return to Cruz Bay. We shopped a bit and then caught the ferry to Red Hook. The ride on the water was short, but the cab ride to the ship was at least a half hour. I think either way it takes about the same amount of time and ended up being about the same amount of money.

Our daughter did fine. She ended up napping the entire cab ride back to the ship and was ready to roll once we got back.

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

Is St Thomas or St. John the kind of island where you can rent your own car and explore/drive? My DH always wants to see as much as possible but hates large tours. I'm nervous about getting back to the ship. Also, anyone know approximately how much time we have on St. John?

 

[bah]

my family (me, DH, DD4) rented a car at Budget and got to St. John that way. Budget is located at the port, on the other side of Havensight Mall. Cost approx $50/day. We took the car ferry from red hook ($30RT) and drove to Trunk Bay. We got to explore a bit of St. Thomas, all of St. John, and have plenty of time to board the ship.

with our daughter, we felt safer driving her around in a car with a car seat (which you don't get with taxis)

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

BAH - did you make a reservation at budget before you cruised?

We'd like to do the rental car, but we were thinking that maybe we want the freedom to do as we please. I'd hate to think we can just rent a car without reservations and then find out there was none available.

 

[bah]

we rented a car through the internet before we cruised. we walked through the Havensight Mall to the Budget office, filled out the paperwork, and away we drove (on the left side, of course).

if you want more detailed info let me know...i'll pull out our vacation folder (we went in 9/03) and get you the details.