St. Thomas/St. John
 

Hi folks. We will be in port at St.thomas from 8-6. We would like to do some shopping there at Charlotte Amalie, but then I want to spend some time at a BEAUTIFUL beach. Should we go to Magen's Bay, or take a ferry over to Trunk Bay in St. John? Thanks for your input!

Docked in St. Thomas x2 last year on back to back cruises. Went to Trunk Bay the first time and loved it so much we headed directly over there the second time. It is beautiful and would go directly there again! Sorry can't compare it to Magen's Bay as we haven't been.

Approximately how long does it take to get to Trunk Bay from the cruise ship? I will have the same problem in Jan. I have been to Magans Bay. It was o.k. I had heard so much about it perhaps I was expecting more, with all of the whoopla about it. I would like to try Trunk this time, if it is worth it with the additional time frame to consider. Thanks.

Take the ferry from RedHook.<BR>usvi-info.com/infousvi/ferries<BR>leaves every hour on the hour from 8am and like a 20 min ride to StJohns about $7 adults one way.

Have had the plan to go over to St. John's both times in St. Thomas this year. Both times the INS inspection took till after 9:00 - always several people who don't bother to check thru immigration. Had to scrap St. Johns both times. Cab to Red Hook is about 35 - 45 minutes depending on traffic. If you can't catch the 10:00 - forget it. The ferry ride is about 30 - 40 minutes and the ride to Trunk or Cinnamon Bay is another 20 minutes. That puts you on the beach after noon if you can't catch the 10:00. Not enough time for anything. Keep this in mind for your planning. Also - if you do make it - consider taking the ferry directly back to Charlotte-Amalie rather than Red Hook.

For peace-of-mind I would never consider taking different modes of transportation that may or may not operate due to mechanical difficulties or weather. Or a cab that may get stuck in traffic. A ship's tour may be a bit more expensive but at least you can enjoy yourself without the worry.<BR><BR>Paul

Peter-<BR>What do u mean &quot;check thru immigration&quot;?<BR>Paul-<BR>So u r saying that a &quot;ship's tour&quot; doesn't get stuck in traffic?<BR>I'me very confused and headed to StThomas and wud appreciate clarification.<BR>Thanks<BR>M

Margaret - every passenger on your ship will need to present their citizenship papers (passport, birth certificate, etc) to the INS authorities on board the morning you arrive in St. Thomas before anyone gets off the ship. They all do it a little different, but on ours we went thru a line around one of the dining rooms and showed our documents to an INS officer and our names were checked off. Those that don't go thru this process are paged until they do.<BR><BR>Pauls comments about using a ship's excursion stems from his travel agent bias in support of the cruise line's threat that they won't wait for you to set sail unless you've used a ship's excursion. What he doesn't tell you is that on any given day in St. Thomas there are between one and seven ships in town. There are conservatively thousands of cruisers that take either the Red Hook or Charlotte-Amalie ferries over to St. Johns. Many of them are on ship's sponsored excursions. If the ferries were to be blown up or something, the ships would all wait because some of their excursions would be affected as well.<BR><BR>They want you to pay half again or double for the same excursion and get you to do that by trying to scare you. Trust me, getting to St. Johns and back is just as easy as going to Havensight Mall on your own. Hundreds do it every day of the week with few problems.

I'm sure the posters will respond to your questions, but I do know the answer to this question..... Yes, even the ship's tours can get into accidents or be delayed in some way BUT the main difference is that the ship will wait on their own group to return. The independent ones--generally, NO. They wouldn't be able to track everyone's itinerary and form of travel that day in port.<BR> Sometimes it is just better to be safe than worrying all day about your late return.<BR> Enjoy your visit to St. Thomas. It is a beautiful island. I love the shopping there!

i think you should go on a boat and there take you snorkeling and you go for like a hour in a group of people <BR>

Thanks Gina!

Read the post under Caribbean topic. It should be here. Several young girls are going on there first cruise asking about tours. One poster is using the old &quot;scare tactics&quot; about being left behind. All they want to to is go shopping and to the beach. Silly to pay for those excursions for shopping at St. Thomas.

Hi Croozer,<BR><BR>Peter just likes to disagree with me. But he even states himself there is a time element.<BR><BR>Cruiser has the correct information.<BR><BR>It is not a scare tactic and the cruise line will not go broke if people go off on their own. <BR><BR>The ship's tour passengers get off the ship first. So if you get off the ship late and you have to rush to get the ferry and worry about how long you are going to spend in St. John. Is this peace-of-mind? <BR><BR>When I am on vacation, I spend the extra to go with the ship's tour. It is no skin off my nose what other's do. I am not being loyal to any cruise line. They don't pay me to say this. I know the ship will wait for me if I go with their tour. They also have the beach chairs and the umbrellas.<BR><BR>Paul

croozer,<BR><BR>When will you be in St. Thomas? What ship?<BR>

Croozer I don't know how long your ship is in port but if you're looking to do some serious shopping in St.Thomas you probably won't have time to do St.John on your own.If,however,souvenirs is all that you have in mind you can get those on St.John with plenty of time to enjoy Trunk Bay.I've cruised to STT many times and always spend my day on St.<BR>John.Unless things have changed since 9/11, I have never been on a ship in St. Thomas where the passengers have had to get in line to clear I.N.S. as stated by Peter.The ship must be cleared but generally non-citizen checks occur only at the port of debarkation.You could catch the ferry from the downtown waterfront in Charlotte Amalie direct to Cruz Bay,St.John(about 1 hour).A shuttle will be at the St.John ferry dock that will drop you off at Trunk Bay and there will be shuttles parked at Trunk Bay when you are ready to leave for the ferry back to STT.Just check the ferry schedules for times and MAKE SURE when you leave St.John that you get the ferry to Charlotte Amalie NOT TO RED HOOK.Trunk Bay is much nicer then Megans Bay,IMHO, and is worth doing on your own so that you have plenty of time to enjoy it.As for those souvenirs,across from the St.John ferry dock is a bunch of small shops called Mongoose Junction. Have a fun trip.

Charlie - I have been to St. Thomas three times since 9/11 on three different cruise lines and all three had to clear INS before anyone leaves the ship.<BR><BR>Also, on our last cruise in Grenada, our only tender (which is where you worry about being first off the ship), we were in the first passenger tender boat and we were'nt on a ship's excursion. Nine time out of ten in <BR>St. Thomas, you will be docked and no, ship excursions are NOT the first off the ship. Paul's dead wrong on this one.

Sorry Peter but as I stated&quot; unless things have changed since 9/11&quot;.....<BR>I still feel that an independent jaunt to Trunk Bay is very doable with an 8 hour stop in St.Thomas.

we were at stt last saturday (3 days ago). yes there is an on-board ins check. it went smoothly and fairly quickly. left the ship around 9:30- much later than we planned but still made it to red hook, across to cruz bay and to trunk bay for several hours (3+). i even took a side trip with a friend (leaving our wives to fry at trunk bay) we took a 45 minute tour (not inexpensive) with one of the taxi drivers waiting at trunk bay (felix by name- he was excellent) up the coast and then up to bourdeaux mountain for the prettiest view all cruise- looking down on coral bay- incredible.

Thanks Steve for the info. Now when you left the cruise ship around 9:30 how exactly did you get to where the ferry is to go to Trunk bay? Was there a taxi that took you? Thanks.

Open air taxis waiting for you right at the cruise ship - not to worry just go as it's definitely worth the trip. And yes last year we also had to check in with INS before disembarkation. No big deal - a relatively smooth process and we are not US citizens. My understanding is that anytime you reenter US territory you must check in with immigration.