Jumully Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 Has anyone done this through RCCL? It's listed on Freedom for our stop in St Thomas - we're interested in spending time at one of the beaches in St John that day - total excursion time is listed at 4 hrs. I'm reading that the ferry time is approx 45 mins each way...I guess my real question is, how much of a pain is it to get back and forth truly "on your own" between the islands, and cost-wise, is it basically a wash? We're sched to be docked from 8 am-8pm, so I do feel like there would be plenty of time to go on our own, but we just haven't done it before. Just don't want to lose out on that beautiful beach time, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted May 3, 2019 Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 11 hours ago, Jumully said: Has anyone done this through RCCL? It's listed on Freedom for our stop in St Thomas - we're interested in spending time at one of the beaches in St John that day - total excursion time is listed at 4 hrs. I'm reading that the ferry time is approx 45 mins each way...I guess my real question is, how much of a pain is it to get back and forth truly "on your own" between the islands, and cost-wise, is it basically a wash? We're sched to be docked from 8 am-8pm, so I do feel like there would be plenty of time to go on our own, but we just haven't done it before. Just don't want to lose out on that beautiful beach time, lol! Calling @Matt since I think he did St. John’s on his own. We did an excursion which as awesome as we got to see some plantation ruins. I was nervous about the ferry so we did the excursion but now I’ve been there I will try going on our own next time! Jane Jumully 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANATL Posted May 3, 2019 Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 I did this exact same thing in the 90's - multiple times .. sorry but kids have prevented me from doing recently. The trick then and I'm betting still now.. be one of the first off the ship. I always caught the ferry on opposite side of bay from cruise ships. Cheaper route: take taxi to Red Hook Ferry, take ferry from there. Shorter Ferry trip..only 20 minutes to St John. You WANT to be on one of the early ferries.. When you arrive in St John there's always taxi's / pickup trucks that will ferry you to the beach you wish to visit. I went to Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay.. it's so peacefull being one of the first one's there.. Remember, it takes a while for the excursion trips to get organized. Ferry runs regularly and never had a problem getting back.. oh, and if you want, you can spend a little more time there if you're not into shopping in St Thomas. So pluses: Cheaper, there before excursion crowds, take your time.. maybe go to a different spot than the excursion groups. St John's is gorgeous .. Jumully 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted May 3, 2019 Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 If you decide to do it on your own, be sure you take your passports, credit cards and cash with you in the unlikely event you don't get back in time to get back on the cruise ship. 4ensic and Jumully 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumully Posted May 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 Thanks everyone for the replies & advice! Have only been to St Thomas once (so far!), but am very interested in trying to see St John when we do this fall. It will be our first port, so we should still have the energy to be off the ship first if we go it on our own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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