squirk
Saw what you did and knows who you are.
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2011
In the past, when stopping in St. Thomas, we always get off the ship ASAP, taxi to Red Hook, grab the 9:00 ferry to St. John, and then jitney to Trunk Bay. We've found that when we do this on our own, we tend to get to Trunk around 10:15-10:30, and we seem to beat the tour groups by at least 45 minutes, and the beach is almost completely deserted. Once we wrap at the beach, we usually poke around Cruz Bay/Mongoose Junction and then grab either the 1:00 or 2:00 ferry back to Red Hook and then taxi back to the pier. Even with bad traffic in the afternoon, we always arrive back at the ship with plenty of time before the ship leaves. This has worked very well for us four times in the past.
We are sailing the E. Carib. again in May of '22. Looking at Port Adventure ST59 (St. John On Your Own), I was wondering how early that excursion usually leaves and/or when it usually arrives in Cruz Bay. The PA caught my eye because it seems like there would be fewer logistics and maybe some time savings in this excursion vs. having to taxi to and from Red Hook.
But then I thought - if the ST59 ferry leaves a little later in the morning, at the same time as all of the STJ excursions (i.e., all excursions are on this same ferry), then I'm guessing we won't beat the crowds to Trunk? Also, the PA description says you only get 2hrs., 15 min. on STJ. I'm feeling like that might not leave a whole lot of beach time once you factor in the time waiting for a jitney to fill up and travel to and from a beach.
So I am now wondering if the convenience of this PA is offset by the fact that 1.) we might arrive at Trunk with the masses, and miss that blessed window of time with zero crowds; and 2.) we might actually have less time on the island vs. doing it on our own?
I'd be grateful for comments from anyone who's done this excursion, or better yet, done this excursion AND also done DIY with the Red Hook ferry. Please and thank you.
We are sailing the E. Carib. again in May of '22. Looking at Port Adventure ST59 (St. John On Your Own), I was wondering how early that excursion usually leaves and/or when it usually arrives in Cruz Bay. The PA caught my eye because it seems like there would be fewer logistics and maybe some time savings in this excursion vs. having to taxi to and from Red Hook.
But then I thought - if the ST59 ferry leaves a little later in the morning, at the same time as all of the STJ excursions (i.e., all excursions are on this same ferry), then I'm guessing we won't beat the crowds to Trunk? Also, the PA description says you only get 2hrs., 15 min. on STJ. I'm feeling like that might not leave a whole lot of beach time once you factor in the time waiting for a jitney to fill up and travel to and from a beach.
So I am now wondering if the convenience of this PA is offset by the fact that 1.) we might arrive at Trunk with the masses, and miss that blessed window of time with zero crowds; and 2.) we might actually have less time on the island vs. doing it on our own?
I'd be grateful for comments from anyone who's done this excursion, or better yet, done this excursion AND also done DIY with the Red Hook ferry. Please and thank you.