welcome to the board
ferries are on time and run from early morning to late at night

both beaches you mention are great
if you are new to snorkeling Trunk is a great place to start

If you are comfortable around boats you may want to consider renting a dinghy in STJ and hitting all the north beaches you want

Question for you - are you from VA?

Thanks for the reply - very helpful. We are from MI.

good friend same name in VA

do a search on dinghy rental
some great threads

The cruise ship comes in to Charlotte Amalie one way or the other. I have noticed the preferred ferry to use is the downtown one. If you can make the 9 o'clock one you will be okay. The next one is 11 which could be a little late to have any good time in St John. You may then want to cab it to Red Hook and take the next one there as they run on the hour. Coming back I would recommend coming to Charlotte Amalie at 3:15. The ferry drops you right in town and you can easily get a cab to the ship from there in time for your departure.

Hi mmuncie. We've ferried twice from STT to STJ, the first being Christmas 2006 and again last month. Ron's correct about getting up and being out early to catch the ferry. Regardless of how late you were up the night before, be the first one off the ship at STT. If you can make the 9:00 CA ferry, then your taxi ride will be shorter. We chose to go to RH because we wanted to see a bit of the island and the new terminal, and it's a shorter ferry ride. I think our driver used HWY 40 (correct me if I'm wrong) and it didn't seem to be as congested as the usual route (HWY 38 I think).

Once you arrive on St. John, there will be taxis at the end of the pier that will take you to the beach. We chose Trunk both times because they have a nice snack shop and you can rent chairs, etc.. They also have showers and changing facilities. We had our own snorkel gear, but you can rent that at Trunk if needed. You can also rent snorkel gear at Low Key Watersports which is in Wharfside Village just to the right at the end of the pier. Trunk will get crowded as the day goes by, but pick a spot away from the guard station (down the left side of the beach) and you'll have more privacy.

This year, we left around 12:30 or so and headed back to Cruz Bay for lunch. I had a great mahi-mahi sandwich and shark bites at Woody's, but there's lots of other places if you want to explore a bit. We caught the 3:00 ferry back to RH, but in hindsight, I would return to CA. There was a lot of traffic coming back from RH, and it was a long ride.

We liked STJ so much we vacationed there last year and are returning again in two months for a week. Enjoy your cruise! Hope this helps some.

Oh yeah if a dinghy becomes an option I would get a reservation

Hi mmuncie!
I'm from Michigan also. Been to St. John several times this past year. The dinghy suggestion is wonderful. You can rent them for half a day or a full day. Check out this website for rental. www.calypsovi.com. You will fall in love with St. John Island. If you are like the rest of us, you will want to book another vacation and stay on the island for a longer period of time. While on St. John, look up this wonderful Bed & Breakfast. Estate Lindholm. www.estatelindholm.com. The owners are Lauren and Brion Morrissette. Can't miss it if you are going to the north shore beaches by taxi. It's just up the hill from town on your way to the beaches. If you choose the dinghy rental and/or stop by the Estate, tell them Fran from Michigan sent you. Have a wonderful time!