Car Barge

[kelowd]

Our first trip to St. John is days away! We will be arriving in St. Thomas on 4/30, 2:30. We've rented a jeep at the airport. What is the car barge situation? Are there only two now? Will we have adequate time to catch one?

[Pia]

Still 2 - lines can be long so just be patient - you will have no problem catching one before the last ferry but give yourself ample time on your return - the last 3 times we went to STT not all cars made it (we have been lucky all times we were the second to last on) and there were probably 15 left in line and we arrived about 40 mins before the ferry we wanted was due to leave. MY friend went over to STT on Tuesday this week and didn't make the 8am or 9am so was finally on the 10am (with us)

Pia

[iheartsj]

There has been a third barge that goes into action when lines are really long. Just go to the barge staging area and wait in line. On your return to St. Thomas be sure to be at the barge staging area at least an hour before the barge you HAVE to be on to make it to the airport 3 hours before flight departure (if American Airlines). If your flight leaves at 4 pm that means you must be on a barge no later than noon. So I would try for the 11 am just to be sure and arrive at the dock no later than 10:30 am. Not sure how long it takes to return a car on St. Thomas so you may even want to allow more time. Better yet don't rent a car on St. Thomas and you won't have to deal with the barge.

[kelowd]

I'm wishing we would have booked on St. John. I'm afraid it's probably too late to book something there now. I've tried both Courtesy and St. John rentals and neither have anything available.

[awardb]

Check with L&L Rentals (bookajeep.com) and see if they have any. Have used St. John CR and Courtesy in the past, we now use L&L, though all 3 are great to deal with.

[iheartsj]

Here is list of car rentals on St. John. There have been several new ones in the last couple years.

http://www.stjohnusvi.com/rentals.html

[kelowd]

Thank you for all of the comments!

[Pia]

I heard yesterday we are down to 1 barge as the other one failed inspection - this is not confirmed (by me) however the lady that told me was on the only ferry in service as was told by an employee.

Pia

[Coconuts]

I can confirm that we are down to one barge (Love City) as of Wednesday; I'm not sure when they might get more in operation. Don't plan on pulling in shortly before the barge departs and also being on it. Also: folks who need to catch a flight should take an earlier barge than usual.

All the best,

Kevin

[fmzip]

There has been a third barge that goes into action when lines are really long. Just go to the barge staging area and wait in line. On your return to St. Thomas be sure to be at the barge staging area at least an hour before the barge you HAVE to be on to make it to the airport 3 hours before flight departure (if American Airlines). If your flight leaves at 4 pm that means you must be on a barge no later than noon. So I would try for the 11 am just to be sure and arrive at the dock no later than 10:30 am. Not sure how long it takes to return a car on St. Thomas so you may even want to allow more time. Better yet don't rent a car on St. Thomas and you won't have to deal with the barge.

I see you mention American, why so early with American? I have TSA Pre which I understand St Thomas has now. Does that help any?

[Pia]

Sometimes it's open most times not so don't plan on it (I have been pre-check the last 3 times and all 3 times it was closed)

Pia

[snorkeler525]

They opened up PreCheck when we left the island April 23rd. The regular line was getting really long and they called people with PreCheck out of it over to the PreCheck line plus let new PreCheck people get in that line. It was mid-day if that helps.

Sharon

[iheartsj]

I see you mention American, why so early with American? I have TSA Pre which I understand St Thomas has now. Does that help any?

It is American Airline policy that you arrive at the airport 3 hours before departure. Time for arrival for other airlines vary. Pre Check or not you still need to be lined up at the check in counter early to check your bags. Pre Check only applies after you have already checked your bags and are waiting for TSA

[Pia]

As I mentioned ... TSA Pre-Check - sometimes it's open most times not so don't plan on it (I have been pre-check the last 3 times and all 3 times it was closed)

Pia

[Kevino]

TSA Pre was not open April 22 at STT.