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Ok, here's some stuff I wish I knew ahead of time and if it helps one person than it's worth it. The flights into St. Thomas are getting really old. This time we took the non-stop US Air from philly and back Sat 5/12-Sat 5/19. On the way there the baggage belt broke in the main area and everyone had to cram into this little back-up area about a 2 hr delay. The way back was the main problem. Our flight was supposed to leave at 2:55, it did leave at 6:40 with another hour and a half baggage delay in philly, no apologies either. I saw on the computer that the flight was only on time 30% of the time but I didn't know the delay was that long. Anyway, I spoke to the customs official going through and he said this happens every Sat. He said the only day he would travel through there is on a Monday. The airport just isn't built to handle that much traffic. I know a lot of people have to travel on Sat for work (we did) but if you can help it shoot for Monday. I wish I knew this ahead of time, it would have been worth another vacation day. If you can't do that make sure you call the airline ahead of time to make sure your flight is on time before you head home. Much more comfortable in the pool than in the airport.
Oh yeah, did I mention we have been to St. John 5 times in the last 4 yrs and have only had one occasion where everything went smoothly, that was a weekday to weekday trip so I think his advice is right.
Hertz and some other rental car companies won't let you take the car to St. John, however if you say you are staying on St. Thomas they give it to you. If you get caught (i.e. accident) it is a 1,000 fine. They don't tell you this stuff ahead of time so you are stuck at the last minute. Some of the other companies due, I think budget does if I remember.
Online check-in is a waste of time unless you have no checked baggage. You still have to wait in the same line as everyone else, even though you have your boarding passes. It took about 2 hrs to get through ticketing and customs.
P.S. Not trying to be a downer, we love St. John, but I think it is gonna be the jersey shore for us for a little while, the headaches are getting worse and making it not worth it. Even if you have a smooth day for us we get up at 4:30 in the morning and don't get to the house until 5 in the evening at best. HOPE THIS HELPS!!!
I don't care how many problems I have flying to or from the USVI, I will always be back! It could never dampen my trip, even though it is completely frustrating sometimes.
I totally agree, but if all I had to deal with is the Airlines and all the dysfunction that happens there by the time I got to our villa in St. John with a drink in my hand then it was worth it. Until you leave again and hope for the best. I will ALWAYS return to the island no matter what the airlines put me through I just travel smarter that's all.
Thats why US Air now has sooo many nick names - Useless Airways, US Scareways, US Despair etc, etc.
Sorry you had so much trouble - our airport is a hassel we know (many times a year that belt breaks 🙁 ) and unfortunately if you had researched this and alot of other forums it it discussed at lenght that Hertz does not allow their cars to STJ, Dependable care rental is one that does and gets great reviews.
Pia
Philly.....that's the flight I took back. Also, the same flight down. Getting there and having those conveyor belts broken down and then trying to get into that room where all the luggage was thrown everywhere was rediculous..by the time I got out of there I was soaked.
Also, still totally exhausted from the flight home. We got to the airport at 11:30 and had to wait there until 6:45-7:00 to take off.
There was a poor old couple in front of us who missed their connecting flight. I told them to make sure they put you up at the Marriott at the airport....do you know what US Air told them? We don't put anybody up at the Marriott because it's too expensive...just rediculous, these people were in their 70's and just trying to get home.
And Neil...I think we all try to fly smart. It's not our fault...it's the airlines and the airports fault.
With so many people traveling into St. Thomas, they really need to do something about that airport...
Does St. Thomas Airport have a website address? Maybe if we all start complaining to someone higher up then they might start thinking about changing somethings around or expanding if possible. This is really a BAD setup and benefits no one.
Contact the Virgin Islands Port Authority they are the ones in-charge of the Airport. St Thomas Airport has been obsolete even before it was completed. There are to many passengers for the airport. I guess you can google VI port Authority. It about time people start complaining maybe something will be done.
Good idea and I couldnt agree more.
Sean:
Don't despair........it's just another frequent flyer hassle....airlines being late....baggage problems....missed connections.....that's what a good book is for.
However, don't broadcast your thoughts about the Jersey Shore too much.....it's already too crowded here.
Hope your next trip is better.
btw....you might want to try Spirit out of Atlantic City next time.....we've flown them several times without any (significant) problems.....(I think we were 20 minutes late one time).
F.I.
Don't blame it all on the airport, although I agree it's a disgrace. We flew home on the 4:05 flight from STT to Charlotte on 5/12, it took off relatively on time. Unfortunately, the earlier US Air flight did not - there was a young women (early to mid-20s) who got on the plane, then decided she didn't want to fly and got off. They then could not find her bags, and had to hold up everyone else while they unloaded the bags to find her stuff. The plane finally rolled out just as we were boarding.
I was asking the gate agent what they were going to do, and she said they had the captain come down and talk to her, but she still wanted off. I personally think they should have charged her for all the missed connections, etc. that the other passengers had - there were a lot of pretty PO'd people on that plane.
We learned the hard way with USAir. Nothing but carry ons for us. With a washer and dryer we never need anything more.
I know what some of you are talking about.I was one of many passengers that came in on Saturday 5/12/07 via Spirit. The flight was great but it was getting my luggage. We had to end up at the other end of the terminal to get my bag. At the same time, Delta from New York had arrived so it was a mess. Everyone was trying to get to that little conveyor belt. However, three men from the Delta flight took over by removing the suitcases of the belt and putting them in the middle which helped an awful lot.
On my return on Saturday, 5/19/07, what a double mess. Just trying to get through Customs. The line was all the way to the baggage claim door. And there were some people who waited until they were at the Custom counter to fill out the declaration paperwork. In all my years of going to St. Thomas (home) I had NEVER, NEVER, seen it so bad.
St. Thomas is my home and no matter what problems I encounter, all I need is a dip in the beautiful water of Brewers Bay with a cold Greenie, and I'm set.
I would like to say that I'm really sorry that our visitors have to deal with so much but you know it's worth it just to be there. Maybe a letter to our Governor, the editor of the St. Thomas Daily News or even a call to our local radio station, WSTA might get the ball rolling.
