Rachael vs. "regular" cab:

zhawkz · Post by **zhawkz** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 5:11 pm

I'm a little fuzzy on using Rachael vs. any other cab. I DO know she is direct (STT to Red Hook no stops/drops/pickups) and so of course more money. You are paying for the convenience, but how much more? She is $50 from airport to Red Hook, right? How much is a cab that stops along the way? And what is the time difference (roughly...how much time do you save) between using her and some other cab?

Thanks in advance.

Jeff&Cindy · Post by **Jeff&Cindy** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:13 pm

I'm going to try to word this carefully so as to not offend the loyal following that Rachael has. My point for you is, there are no guarantees.

Last year we had read all of the posts about Rachael's services and decided that booking a stress-free, direct, private transport would be worth the extra cost. Unlike most of the posts you will find, her services to us were not stress-free, not direct or private. It can happen.

We'll be giving the taxi a shot this time.

Lovermont · Post by **Lovermont** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:20 pm

Rachel is a lovely person. But... the one time we used her, she was late to pick us up because she was bringing someone to the airport. We waited for her, watching the public taxis leaving full of Red Hook bound travelers. Not a big deal, but we did sort of wonder why we booked her. I've never had any bad experiences with the public taxis. A couple of times they've stopped along the way, but they have always delivered us to Red Hook in time for the next ferry. There are a lot of Rachel fans on this forum, and I can understand why so many people like her, but I think sometimes we lose sight of the fact that there are dozens of taxis going to Red Hook, and my experience is that it's usually easy going.

toni · Post by **toni** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:33 pm

We are regular cab people.

Realize though that these usually aren't just 4/5 person cabs, in general they are more like 10 or 11 person cabs and they often aren't going directly to Red Hook. That will be the end result, but you can stop at other hotels, or the CA ferry area (we stopped here last time, think it was the bvi ferry?)

So you might be somewhat squished in and if you're in a yank to get to the ferry by a certain time then it may or may not happen. But I like "touring around" so it doesn't phase us.

Believe it was $15/pp and that included that we had 2 carry on size bags since I think they charge by bag.

On the plus side also, I talked to a nice couple I sat next to and then we saw them several times while we were there and chatted so that was fun.

I think Rachel might be more convenient with bigger groups perhaps.

Caw954s · Post by **Caw954s** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:42 pm

I have no experience with Rachel and we leave on Wednesday for our first trip to St. John. I hired a private taxi from STT to red hook (Wheatley) because our flight gets in at 2:45 and I *really* want to catch the 4:00 ferry to STJ. There's 5 of us and its 90.00 with no extra for bags. So, my thought was it wasn't that much more than the regular taxi and we'd have a better chance to catch the 4:00 ferry. On the way back we're taking the regular taxi since our flight is at 4:00 and we have plenty of time to get there.

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:03 pm

When we took Rachel's cab a year and a half ago, she charged us $20 per person, and there were three of us. A regular cab charged $15 per person and $2 or $3 per bag. The regular cabs wait for every seat in the 15 passenger van to be filled. They frequently have problems like no A/C. I have made as many as 5 stops before geting to RH. I am trying to get on "Island Time," and to get to STJ. The regular cabs seldom to the job for me.

Yes it costs a little more. Yes it is a little faster. Yes it is more comfortable. Yes she is more friendly than the other drivers. I don't mind the extra money. I'm on vacation. I intend to have a good time. For us, it starts at the bag claim area.

JIM

va2stj · Post by **va2stj** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:29 pm

We have used Racheal 4 times going to STJ. One time she did have another very nice gentlemen pick us up and take us to Redhook. She did call us first to make sure it was ok. One other time we missed the Red Hook ferry and she actually drove us around to her favorite spots on STT and returned us to the ferry instead of just waiting for the next ferry. Very delightful "Island Girl", I think she knows everyone on the island.

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:43 pm

Rachel charges $25 pp for 2, $20 pp for 3 or more.

I am her friend, we have been friends for almost 15 years. I can assure you that she does her very best to provide everyone with a great experience but that does not always happen as with any one woman business. During very busy times, she hires other drivers as she can not get to every flight. It does not always work out and unfortunately some people do not get the experience that most people do.
I am not making an excuses for her, just explaining as she has explained to me.

As with any private taxi company, the benefit is that you get a dedicated ride to the ferry with no stops along the way. There are many people that enjoy the group taxi ride; they like the opportunity to chat with folks and to see parts of STT.

It is a matter of personal preference on how you prefer to get to the ferry and no matter what, after it you will be on boat to STJ at the end!

zhawkz · Post by **zhawkz** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:01 am

So I did find her phone number and see it's best to call ahead with your flight number. How far ahead? A few days? A week?

Thanks for all the great perspectives/information. Fantastic board with some very helpful folks here. Thanks again.

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:38 am

I would call well in advance, as I said, she is a one woman business and she does get booked on busy days

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 10:09 am

We have used a private van (taxi) since 2005 and the value of it depends on what price one puts on conveniece.

I have friends and family that would walk to Red Hook to save a buck if they could. I view vacation differently, time wasted in transit (whether jammed in a van or sitting at the ferry) is wasting my vacation time on STJ so we have no problem with spending the extra dollars. To each their own.

I found this interesting - new friends of ours will be visiting STJ for the first time next month. Their villa rental company strongly encouraged them to use a private taxi. The husband questioned me about it and was of the mindset "why spend the extra $?" but in the end decided to book it as it (if all goes as planned) puts them on the 4pm ferry, giving them time to pick up the Jeep and get to their villa before dark.

I have not heard about any villa rental company promoting a private taxi before.

MN_Bhoy · Post by **MN_Bhoy** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 10:43 am

My wife and I used Rachael's service between STT and Red Hook in July. We had two carry-on bags only. We knew it would be more expensive than the standard cab but we were eager to get to the ferry ASAP.

An up-front fee was not discussed. She ended up charging us $90 for a one-way fare which was much more than I had thought it was going to be. To make matters worse, we didn't make the ferry and waited at the dock and watched others who were on our flight arrive via standard taxi at a fraction of the cost.

Rachael was very nice and told us all about the island during the ride, but I don't think it was worth $90 for two passengers.

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 10:51 am

$90 for 2 people? I love Rachel but even I would have refused. I had never heard that before from anyone

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 10:51 am

PA Girl wrote:I have not heard about any villa rental company promoting a private taxi before.

My friends were recently told the same thing

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 11:08 am

We were on island in November and did both the private taxi with Rachel and a regular taxi...
Rachel charged $50 total one way for hubby and I...
I didn't mind paying a little extra on our arrival because I wanted to kick off our vacation with no stress,etc...
She was great and it was just hubby and I, and no stops along the way, etc...Very sweet lady.
Also, our son decided to join us and came in the next night. It was his first time flying to STT, alone at that, and very late at night. He got in around 10:40 pm..It gave this mama peace of mind that Rachel would be there because I knew she would make sure he was taken care of. (Even though he is 23, he's still my baby

)....
She also took him back to the airport on his departure..
I decided to use a regular taxi on mine and hubby's departure since we paid for Rachel's services 3 times that trip already..and I just needed to cut some expense.
The regular taxi was fine for us, as we had plenty of time to catch our flight. There were only 3 other people with us and we made no stops. I think STT has gotten better. They have someone who gets head counts and directs people to taxi's, etc and I think they really try to get everyone underway quickly.
Bottom line....If we were in a big time crunch or extenuating circumstances I would book Rachel....If we have plenty of time, etc I would be ok with public taxi.
Rachel is a "treat"...Like if you feel like you want a little perk or pampering. Like going ahead and splurging on the lobster instead of having the hamburger because you are on vacation, in the islands, and for pete's sake you deserve it..lol

**ps..Have to add..One year we did have a taxi driver from airport to ferry that was pretty unsafe. Speeding and passing cars. I finally asked him to slow down. Did not care for his crazy driving.

usvi-on-line