St. John On Your Own (ST59) vs, literally doing it on your own?

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.
 
Hi!
We did this excursion. I have not tried the Red Hook ferry. If I remember correctly we left quite early (8am? can't remember exactly). And there were other excursions on our ferry. The amount of do-it yourself people, like us, were few. But we did not have a lot of time there. I felt rushed. And we went to hike around the national park on our own. Hit up Honeymoon Bay. We did a bit of shopping at Mongoose, but the shops were nothing like pre-hurricane when we went (May 2019). It was convenient, but If you want to maximize your time there, and you are comfortable doing the ferry, to me, that would be the way to go.
 
Hi!
We did this excursion. I have not tried the Red Hook ferry. If I remember correctly we left quite early (8am? can't remember exactly). And there were other excursions on our ferry. The amount of do-it yourself people, like us, were few. But we did not have a lot of time there. I felt rushed. And we went to hike around the national park on our own. Hit up Honeymoon Bay. We did a bit of shopping at Mongoose, but the shops were nothing like pre-hurricane when we went (May 2019). It was convenient, but If you want to maximize your time there, and you are comfortable doing the ferry, to me, that would be the way to go.

Thanks. Do you recall what time you arrived at Cruz, and what time you needed to be back for the return ferry?
 
Thanks. Do you recall what time you arrived at Cruz, and what time you needed to be back for the return ferry?

I don't remember exact times, but looking at the time stamp on some of my photos, it looks to be we arrived around 9am-my first photos from near the restrooms at the entrance to the National Park. Pictures around 11am at Honeymoon Bay. The ferry back was at around lunchtime-12/1pm., if I remember correctly The line to get on was very long.
 


I don't remember exact times, but looking at the time stamp on some of my photos, it looks to be we arrived around 9am-my first photos from near the restrooms at the entrance to the National Park. Pictures around 11am at Honeymoon Bay. The ferry back was at around lunchtime-12/1pm., if I remember correctly The line to get on was very long.

Thanks again. I feel like if we can get two solid hours in at Trunk, we’ll be satisfied. But it would be nice if the return ferry left a little later. Since you’re dropped off right at the pier, it’s not like you have to worry about getting stuck in traffic on the way back.
 
Thanks again. I feel like if we can get two solid hours in at Trunk, we’ll be satisfied. But it would be nice if the return ferry left a little later. Since you’re dropped off right at the pier, it’s not like you have to worry about getting stuck in traffic on the way back.

Agreed. You will probably be fine if 2 hours is your time frame. I just felt a little rushed. My mindset is that you are never able to stay long enough in St. John. So beautiful there. My paradise. ❤
 
Indeed. One of these days, we're going to skip our annual cruise and just rent a house/villa in STJ for 7-10 days.
 


Indeed. One of these days, we're going to skip our annual cruise and just rent a house/villa in STJ for 7-10 days.

My family did this when I was in college. We rented a house for 3 weeks. One of those houses up in the cliffs that you needed a 4x4 jeep to get to. Looking back now, I realize I didn't appreciate it enough. But then again, I was in college spending my summer in a remote location with no internet, friends, many activities, etc. I read A LOT that summer. It was also the summer that the final Harry Potter book came out and Dad actually made the ferry trip to St. Thomas to get us both a copy. One of my best, most appreciative memories of him.

But I can't deny the island is absolutely breathtaking and a true island paradise. Whenever someone asks about it, I always say "you know those yearly calendars with the beach scenes? Yeah it's exactly that." If we ever have a cruise stop in St. Thomas again, I'm making sure that we take the trip over to STJ so DH can experience it too.
 
Indeed. One of these days, we're going to skip our annual cruise and just rent a house/villa in STJ for 7-10 days.
We have had 3 land-based vacations on St. John. They are exquisite! We have rented 3-4 bedroom villas each time, and had to have Jeeps to get up to them. Each time, we had a private pool and sumptuous views.

Our son said that he wished we could stay on a Disney cruise ship at night and spend each day on St. John. But, I liked staying on St. John.
 

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