Ferry to Tortola from St Thomas - need recommendations

[auntbevie]

Counting down the days and need the best ferry company recommendation. We are sailing out of Tortola on Saturday, Feb 23 for a week and then staying on St John after the sail. I'm not concerned with getting from Tortola to St John but need to know which company is most reliable from St Thomas to Tortola. The reviews aren't so good on any company. We land around 1:30 and won't have checked luggage to worry about. Also, would it save us time to arrange for a taxi driver waiting for us to get to the ferry dock...not sure if Red Hook or Charlotte A. is the best choice for ferry departure....boy do we need this vacation!!

[CHM]

I can't remember which company we used from St. Thomas to Tortola for our sailing trip. I remember we researched the times and which company would take us to the proper area of Tortola to meet our charter. We did use a private taxi (Rachel) and she offered recommendations. I do remember that at the end of our trip, the process for the ferry was crazy. Half of our group was going to the airport on STT and the rest of us were going to St. John for a few days. We were bombarded getting out of the taxi at the ferry dock. Everyone wanted our business and was trying to convince us to use their company.

[Charlie2001]

The ferries to Tortola leave from Charlotte Amalie. Don't worry about which company is best, just get a ticket on the next ferry that's leaving. And also, don't trust what they tell you at the ticket counter, wait until you see a specific ferry come to the dock before you buy your tickets. The counter agents will tell you that their boat is the next one leaving just to sell you a ticket, even if that's not accurate information.

[AquaGirl]

I agree with Charlie2001's advice. We are going to Tortola from STT also, and have done a lot of reading on various forums. Everyone says to just take the next available ferry and don't buy your ticket until you see it arrive. There has been some funky stuff going on with the various ferries in the past 6 months or so. I've also read its best to leave from CA, rather than Red Hook, as there seems to be more ferries going from CA to Tortola, than from Red Hook.
Happy traveling!