Hi Tuxedo Cat and everyone,
I noticed some of the posts here recommend going to the BVI's when the cruise ships are not in port that day...my question is how to find out what days the cruise ships are in port..my hubby, 27 yr old daughter and myself will be taking our first trip to St. John the first week of January and we plan on taking a the New Horizons II over to the BVI's for a day trip...I saw a post that mentioned the Baths get very crowded on cruise ship days...what days are those???? Thanks for the info everyone...I am soon to be a STJ fan..

Here's a link to the cruise ship schedule for St. Thomas/St. John. The schedule is usually posted a few days before each upcoming month:

http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/cruiseship/

We did the New Horizon's II trip in May and it was great. We didn't have any problems with crowds the day we went. We choose a Monday.

Thank you KVR for your response. Will definately try to book our New Horizons trip on an off cruise ship day. This site has been so helpful in planning our trip. Thanks again everyone. I hope to post a trip report after our return.

Just to add, we booked the New Horizons II trip 3 months out. Didn't even look at the cruise ship schedule before we booked. That tour is quite popular, so book now to ensure you get a spot on the day you want to go.

I have the winter cruise ship schedule at work. I'll try to remember to bring it home with me tomorrow & let you know how many ships are in St. Thomas each day that week.

There may be a slight variance but it's usually pretty accurate. You can also check the schedule KVR posted or the West Indies Company Dock but they're usually posting it just a few days before the start of each new month.

Oh, and it's pretty certain there will be at least one ship per day in January & most days more than one but at least you can pick the least busy day.

I was wrong. The schedule I have only goes to Dec. 31 but I should be getting the complete winter schedule in the next couple of weeks. I'll be happy to post the ship arrivals when I do get it. Sorry!

Thanks Carrybean. I just booked with bookitusvi yesterday for a trip on HorizonsII. I decided to choose a Friday because glancing at the cruise ship schedule site KVR sent me (thank you again KVR) Fridays seemed the least busiest days for cruise ships. Not real keen on going during January high season, but my daughter is in grad school and I booked it around her vacation time. Any other advice on the trip would be most appreciated, i.e. what not to miss, what to pass up, any other day trips that are a must, etc. But no hiking thank you.

Actually, the first half of January is a little slower as to hotels being full, etc. Christmas is bedlam. It's hard to tell how the awful hurricane's hitting Mexico & Florida will have an impact here so the ship schedule this far in advance wouldn't be 100% accurate anyway but you're right, Fridas generally are slower ship days.

Geeze, I really need to preview my posts. Sorry about the typos.

In addition to the New Horizons II tour, we did organized Island tours of both St. Thomas and St. John. We didn't have a lot of time, so it was a good overview of both Islands. We also enjoyed snorkling at Coki Beach and viewing the sealife at Coral World. We did the Sea Trek and thought it was pretty cool.

We would have liked spending more time beach hopping on St. John. Maybe someday.

Thanks again Carrybean and KVR. We are renting Villa Ventosa through Windspree. Anyone have any info on the place? I did read one review awhile back on the Fodors site. It looks nice and has the amenities we require..it is near Coral Bay on the quieter side..has anyone used Katilady? I am having them stock our fridge before we get there since we are arriving late in the day...just curious if anyone has comments about the food products and wine they provide?? Thanks everyone for any insight.