ferry times

[hlsess]

this is 1st time for us- me, my 2 teens and my mother-
We arrive on Sat at 2 - plan to take 3:00 CA ferry over
We depart at 3:00 on Thursday- i assume we need to be on the noon ferry to CA and grab a sandwich in STJ- does this sound about right?

[California Girl]

I can't comment on if your proposed schedule sounds right or not, but be sure to check the ferry schedule on the day you plan to leave. We didn't do that and when we got to the ferry dock, someone asked if we had verified there was going to be a ferry at that time, I said I hadn't and this person said to always call and check, because they don't always stick to the schedule. Fortunately, the ferry was on time that day and we got our ride to CA, but I'll always check from now on.

[jayseadee]

Hi,

I don't see a Noon ferry to CA, but you could catch the noon ferry to Red Hook.

As California Girl suggests, call ahead.

The numbers can be found above - Trip Planning => Getting Here => Ferry Schedules.

Have a wonderful trip!

[RickG]

If you can check into your flight ahead of time, do carry-on only and print your boarding passes before you leave St. John, then 3 hours is enough. Otherwise, leave 4 hours before your plane departs.

Relax, have fun!

Cheers, RickG

[hlsess]

why does it take so long to check in at STT- I assumed if we left at noon- we would be at airport 2 hours b/f takeoff? is this not enough time- we will have more than carry on-

[sailorgirl]

why does it take so long to check in at STT- I assumed if we left at noon- we would be at airport 2 hours b/f takeoff? is this not enough time- we will have more than carry on-

When you get there you will see why

You have to go through both passport control and TSA security before you reach the boarding area. If you have to check bags then it takes even longer.

[sailorgirl]

PS are you doing carry on only? Even with that it takes more time than you think. My teen had carry on for the return last year ( primaily because they lost her bag on the way down and she refused to part with it after that) but like all teens she "forgot" that she had packed something that didn't meet the requirments and they went through everything. Figure there will be a bunch of folks like that on the line with you.

Consider grabbing a sandwich at Deli Grotto before getting on the ferry the pickings at the airport are very slim.

[hlsess]

thanks- so we need to take the 11 ferry - get to airport by 12 and it could take 2 hours to get through security etc- flight is at 2:58- glad it isn't in the morning

[RickG]

Here's a note I sent to the Washington Post in response to an article on Sunday regarding United's fees for a second checked bag. It captures why you need to be there early - its because of the idiots in line ahead of you!

http://tinyurl.com/2mlml3

"CoGo, I was personally delighted to see United institute new baggage fees. My family with two kids can easily travel with one checked bag for all four of us! That's only to satisfy the DHS no liquids carry-on rule. The people who bring two or three bags invariably have one bag that is overweight and they slow us all up trying to repack their bags. It's a vacation, not a migration. I'm tired of check-in taking so long. Europe is worse because people can't seem to understand that the weight limits are different.

We are so fatigued by the 60 minute check-in times at the St. Thomas airport that we will be doing no checked luggage on our spring break trip. We will check in and print our boarding passes on St. John and go directly to immigration/customs when we arrive at the airport. That way we get to spend an extra hour touring St. Thomas rather than standing in line behind the cruise ship bovines."

They are threatening to print this one... Maybe I shouldn't have said bovine?

Cheers, RickG

[waterguy]

Rick the link doesn't work
Thank you

[martini girl]

We just came home on Saturday. We took the 10 a.m. Red Hook ferry for a 1:35 p.m. flight. USAirways computers were down, they were hand writing all the boarding passes. The lines were unreal!

Fortunately we secured the glorious services of a wonderful porter who saw us past all the mess...we were in serious disbelief on how this all went down!
We were in line at the snack bar in just a short time, however, the rest of the folks in the regular check-in lines barely made their flights. While we were leaving on a Saturday which is considerably more busy, I would definitely allow 2.5 hours from start to finish.

[RickG]

Here's a note I sent to the Washington Post in response to an article on Sunday regarding United's fees for a second checked bag. It captures why you need to be there early - its because of the idiots in line ahead of you!

http://tinyurl.com/2mlml3

"CoGo, I was personally delighted to see United institute new baggage fees. My family with two kids can easily travel with one checked bag for all four of us! That's only to satisfy the DHS no liquids carry-on rule. The people who bring two or three bags invariably have one bag that is overweight and they slow us all up trying to repack their bags. It's a vacation, not a migration. I'm tired of check-in taking so long. Europe is worse because people can't seem to understand that the weight limits are different.

We are so fatigued by the 60 minute check-in times at the St. Thomas airport that we will be doing no checked luggage on our spring break trip. We will check in and print our boarding passes on St. John and go directly to immigration/customs when we arrive at the airport. That way we get to spend an extra hour touring St. Thomas rather than standing in line behind the cruise ship bovines."

They are threatening to print this one... Maybe I shouldn't have said bovine?

Cheers, RickG

Here's the the version they printed in the Washington Post Travel section on Sunday. They left the cruise ship bovine comment out - just as well.

http://tinyurl.com/2h4a6k

Cheers, RickG