St. Thomas/St. John Ferry Service

[Renee]

I will be going on a cruise in March 2003 to the Eastern Caribbean. We will be stopping in St. Thomas. We would like to head over to Trunk Bay for a few hours. We would also like to spend some time shopping and sightseeing in St. Thomas. Is this doable? Also, how long does the ferry service take if you head to St. John's on your own? Would it be better to go through the ship's shore excursions or on your own? Or, would there just not be enough time to fit all of this in? Thanks in advance for any comments.

[Donna]

Hi Renee,
Yes, you can head over to St. John first thing in the AM by taking a taxi over to Red Hook Ferry, then another cab once at St. John to Trunk Bay for snorkeling or any of the other beautiful islands. Here is the ferry schedule:

http://www.st-thomas.com/week/ferries.html

The taxi getting to the ferry is a good 20 minutes and about another half hour to St. John. Once at St. Johns is a short ride to the beach and bring plenty of film, nice scenic ride to the beaches. If you head out early in the morning and spend a few hours there, you can easily get a cab back to the ferry and still have time for some lunch onboard your ship and then you can shop in St. Thomas. We did do just that once and it was do-able. You can even do your shopping right by the ship pier in Havensight mall, it basically has all the same stores that are downtown, but smaller and right there walking distance from the ship.

[Rhonda]

I agree with Donna. Don't do the tour through the cruise line. You will be rushed and be disappointed that your stay is over with so quickly.