Ferry and timing

lisa mcg · Post by **lisa mcg** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:38 pm

Will the 1pm ferry for a 3:45 flight out of STT be enough time? Or should we leave at noon?

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 2:03 pm

If you are leaving on a Saturday I would take the noon ferry. Last time John and I flew home on a Saturday during high season, we waited for 2.5 hours just to get to customs! Then of course we had to go through security. It was really crazy! Luckily, we had left on the noon ferry and our flight was at 4 PM. We didn't even have time to get a drink before we had to board the plane.

cdrott · Post by **cdrott** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 2:12 pm

Normally the ferry trip takes 30-40 minutes. The drive from Red Hook to the other side of Charlotte Amalie can be much more variable especially going through town. Let's figure 40 - 60 minutes. Assuming that you want to check in two hours before your flight (this is usually great plenty) you want to be at the airport at 1:45 so conservatively this is not going to work. On the other hand, summing the two high figures above would put you at the airport by 2:40 still a reasonable time to clear customs if things go well.
It all comes down to your tolerance for risk compared to your tolerance for sitting around.

luvinsun · Post by **luvinsun** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 2:37 pm

We are taking the noon ferry for a 5:40 pm flight out of STT... The airport is just nuts.

SusieQT · Post by **SusieQT** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 2:58 pm

We were planning on the 2pm car barge for the 5:40 usair flight. Is that not enough time?

St. John Lover · Post by **St. John Lover** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 2:59 pm

To answer you appropriately really depends on:

1) Will you have to check baggage or do you just have carry-ons? (this makes a BIG difference)

2) What DAY of the week are you leaving? (weekends are much longer custom-line waits than week days)

3) What DATE are you leaving? (mid-January MUCH less busy than mid-February!)

I'm someone who HATES to waste my last day sitting in the airport when I could have squeezed an extra hour in at an early-beach "good-bye" plus I've been traveling here for over 20 years at least 1x/year...

SusieQT · Post by **SusieQT** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 3:10 pm

Yes, checked baggage

This Thursday. January 5, sadly!

lisa mcg · Post by **lisa mcg** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 5:22 pm

Thanks everyone..we are leaving on a Sat in Feb..the very busiest time, so I got my answer!!! We check bags to boot

lisa mcg · Post by **lisa mcg** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 5:24 pm

one more question..should we get Rachel for the way back or doesn't it really matter?

St. John Lover · Post by **St. John Lover** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 6:08 pm

Ok, it's this Thursday which shouldn't be a super busy day at all BUT you have checked luggage. So, my advice would be (sadly) yes, go with the earlier ferry (12pm).

As far as whether you need to pay the extra bucks for a private taxi, I wouldn't. When the taxis pick you up from Red Hook, they pretty much all take full loads to the airport. If people need to be dropped off in other places, they'll generally put them in a different taxi. I've never had a problem with that.

So glad you liked St. John and had a good time! (But sad for you that you are leaving so soon...)

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:25 pm

Everyone's opinions will differ on the taxi issue. For me, personally, it is worth the extra money to book the private taxi. The last time we took the public taxi from Red Hook to the airport (same trip with the 2.5 hour customs wait, ironically!), the drivers kept shuffling us from one vehicle to another. Apparently one or more of the drivers "jumped the line" and so we all had to move.

Plus, the taxi we were finally in had the worst driver. There was a couple with an infant that had a rear-facing carseat and the driver refused to allow them to hook up the seat, saying that it took up two places. And he would not let anyone out to wait for the next taxi so the couple could use the carseat properly! The mom started crying, it was awful.

I ended up basically sitting on John's lap so that couple could connect up the seat somehow. I doubt it was hooked in right. And THEN, when we finally got to the airport, the driver tried to charge a full fare for the baby even though we and the couple had all squeezed in one row to accommodate the carseat with us and the van was at capacity anyway! At that point everyone intervened. This was a really young couple and I can't imagine how embarrasing and stressful that experience was for them. It was a bad ending to a lovely vacation. I'd rather pay the extra $15 or so and ride stress free.

lisa mcg · Post by **lisa mcg** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:33 pm

Thanks liamsaunt...will book Rachel for the return since there will be 6 of us! Don't need any stress for our re-entry!!!!!

Bigcheeze · Post by **Bigcheeze** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:30 pm

Get a porter at the airport(Daphne)...enough said

toni · Post by **toni** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:39 pm

Coming back in November on a Monday it took us 1hr and 50 minutes to get to the airport including ferry time. We took the noon red hook ferry, traffic was slooooooow.

Lots of people at the airport, but we didn't have to check luggage so we had no waiting there.

Good luck!

St. John Lover · Post by **St. John Lover** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:12 am

Ah yes; get the porter! How could I forget that?! Super cuts your time down for not much $ at all...

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Ferry and timing

Ferry and timing