Ferry from STT to Moorings

Searching all the Ferry threads has simply confused me even further.

Current travel itinerary...

Flight arrival into STT on Tues 11/26 at 2:30 PM
Flight departure out of STT on Tues 12/3 at 5:40 PM

My original thought was to buy round trip tickets on the Road Town Fast Ferry...

Tues 11/26 - Depart STT at 4:15 PM and Arrive at Road Town at 5:05 PM
Tues 12/3 - Depart Road Town at 2:30 PM and Arrive at STT at 3:20 PM

Is this my best option? We are staying on the boat Tues evening at the Moorings base so I was hoping to get all the briefings/provisioning done on Tuesday so we can leave the dock first thing Wed morning. With my arrival into STT being 2:30 PM is there another way to get to the Moorings base sooner than the Road Town Fast Ferry arrival of 5:05 PM?

Thanks for all your help!!!

Never buy round trip tix..buy one way for the first boat going..

Our only experience has been with TMM, not Moorings, but I don’t believe you can get your briefing done that late in the day Tues to be able depart weds am early. You still have to clear customers on Tortola which can take a bit of time. But you could be all ready to go with your provisioning and squared away on the boat.

As Mal said, don’t buy round trip ferry tickets. We’ve landed in STT at 2:30/2:45 pm many times and always made one of the ferries. We relied on Kevin (well known taxi driver) to get us to the best ferry to still make it to Tortola that day. We prearranged to have him meet us. The last known number I have for him is 340-643-0025. I’m sure others here can chime in on whether he’s still around.

Try this course for Moorings briefing....

https://www.moorings.com/bviapp

Its not a bad course. If you have been in the last year to a briefing or are a regular there they let you skip the briefing. I will ask regardless if there is anything new that I need to know. The one thing I always like to have every time is the boat review. I think this is what will hold you up at 600 pm on any night and it is "controlled chaos" in the AM at Moorings base as everyone is trying to depart..

I believe Riteway/C&C closes at 700? so you may want to have your boat pre provisioned.

IMHO I would get an earlier ferry back to STT as with what you have you will have less than 2 hours at STT airport departing. You have to have the boat back by 1000 anyways and it can be kind of crowded in Road Harbor around 10:00 with boats returning so we try to get back to base by 0800.

Have a great time

I agree don't make ferry reservations. They will not guarantee you a spot if the boat is sold out as it will be first come first served. Buy your ticket on arrival for the next departure.

You outbound ferry departure will leave you plenty of time to get a drink at the bar uptop the ferry the terminal. On the return I would look for an earlier ferry. Too many things could wrong and the two hour window you are allowing is not enough if there are any delays.

At the Moorings the charter briefing and boat checkout are two different things. If you need the charter briefing do it online as suggested. The boat checkout is done the morning you depart the dock. This will include a review of all boat systems and an inventory of equipment. If you are not familiar with the particular boat you will be on take your time with the checkout. Even if you push it an 11 am departure is probably the earliest you will get off the dock. When you are ready for the checkout ask for it at the customer service desk. You may have to be persistent as the dock staff work at island pace.

I suggest you plan on arriving at the airport on St. Thomas 3 hours prior to plane departure to have the best chance at a stress-free trip.

KFQ

"We relied on Kevin (well known taxi driver) to get us to the best ferry to still make it to Tortola that day. We prearranged to have him meet us. The last known number I have for him is 340-643-0025. I’m sure others here can chime in on whether he’s still around."

Yes that is his number, just saw him a couple weeks ago. I've always used his service.
I have found its good practice on every island we visit to try and use the same driver. It cuts out the fear of getting gouged or worse.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm a virgin to the Virgins...

I guess I assumed that the Road Town Fast Ferry is the best option since it is direct, sounds like that is not necessarily always the case???

BTW - Great forum, thanks for all the help!!!

Hey Five Faces, on the return from Tortola do not cut it that close, its always easier to take an earlier ferry and have the ferry terminal hold your bags and walk around CA and eat and shop to kill time.
Much less stressful than missing flight due to long airport lines (trust me that sucks)
If you call Kevin he will meet you at the baggage carousel and get you to the next ferry, he has called ahead for us before and made sure they would still be there when we were close on arrival due to snow storm delay in the DC area. We have used just about every ferry and they all get you there within 5-10 minutes of the times scheduled.

I'm going to go a bit against the prevailing advice, such as don't book a round trip, and suggest that you look into the Moorings transfer package. We used it last year and I assume it is still in place. For $90 a person we got transfers from STT to the ferry landing, the round trip ferry ticket (not counting baggage and other fees that I assume are standard), transfers from Road Town ferry dock to the Moorings, and the reverse on our return.

Someone was waiting for us at STT with a Mooring sign, and other than a groan when he saw our luggage, got us all assembled and to the dock. We had a bit of a wait in Road Town until the driver collected all the inbound passengers, but that happens when you fly to EIS.

On our return our son was planning to meet his girlfriend at STT and the two of them catch a cab to the St. John ferry in Red Hook. Her flight was delayed so he headed to Red Hook on his own. They honored his ferry to STT voucher for the much longer ferry to Red Hook ride.

All in all in was a painless process that we'll probably use again in our 07/2020 trip.

One word of warning to all ferry riders. Seas can be a bit rough to be sure to take you sea sickness meds before boarding.

Best bet is to get to the ferry terminal and get on the first available ferry to road town. In our experience getting off the dock first thing is not probable. 10am or so is about first thing. you'll have no problem getting to the Moorings on Tuesday, but before the office closes is another thing. Being in a hurry down there is a good way to be disappointed. Good luck, enjoy.

I am not sure of your budget but on the way into the BVI we always use Dolphin Water Taxi. They meet you at the airport for the land taxi, then they have boats for getting to customs and coordinate the customs process. In the past they took us directly to the Moorings or Horizon YC base. There is beer in the land and water taxi and if your plane is late you are not stuck in the USVI. I find that given the need to start vacation in STT when you land it is a great way to start. I recommend it 1000%