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Hey all! I have never posted here but have lurked around for several weeks preparing for our trip to St. Thomas. We left on Tuesday March 9th and returned home Sunday March 14th. I found the board really helpful so I thought I'd post a few things about our trip to maybe help some of you who are planning a trip.
First of all, DO NOT fly with Carribean Sun. They are affliated with US Airways (which we have never flown with before), but they are VERY unprofessional. When we got to San Juan where we had our connecting flight with Carribean Sun, 30 minutes after our flight was supposed to take off they informed us (after we had to finally ask) that our flight had been cancelled. They told us they would put us on the 6:30 flight which was 4 hours away!!!!!!!!!!! We heard one man raising heck saying his 9:30 flight was cancelled and they put him on the 2:30 and that flight was cancelled as well. A friend of ours who speaks Spanish actually heard the man who was working the counter tell someone, in Spanish, on the phone that the 6:30 flight was overbooked but thats the flight he told everyone they would be on. To make a long story short we transfered airlines and got there right on time thanks to Cape Air (highly reccomended)! On the way home our flight was to leave STT at 8:05am. When we arrived at the airport no one was even there for Carribean Sun, when we called they told us they didn't even open until 7:30, seems odd being that our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:05am. Then after they came out we were informed that the flight we had reservations for had been cancelled 3 weeks ago and a new flight was scheduled for 8:30am. We were never told of this. So this left us exactly 1 hour to get our bags in SJU, take them through customs, stand in line and check our bags (13 of them between the 6 of us) and then run through security and get on the plane. We were furious, yet they didn't seem phased. In fact, they even told us that they would have the plane land at 8:00am and do a quick turn around and take off at 8:10 instead so we could try to make our flight in SJU. Basically they thought we were stupid, that we would actually believe that they would change the take off time by 20 minutes (early), who cares about the other passengers on the 8:30 flight huh? It was a nightmare. We didnt take off at 8:10, we took off at 8:35 and by the time we got our luggage and made it down to AA's ticketing line, we had missed our flight in SJU. We spent the entire day in SJU waiting stand-by for our plane. And while we had Carribean Sun on hold, trying to figure out a way to be compensated, we heard the manager bad mouthing us to other employees. We will be filing a complaint with US Airways as well as the FAA. Others on our AA flight home, flew with Carribean Sun as well and had only terrible things to say.
All in all our trip was wonderful. We stayed at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef in Charlotte Amalie and it was fantastic! They have wonderful pools and beaches as well as restaurants. They are pricey, but seeing as how cabs are at least $5 a person each way, it evens out. (We spent $60 going to Kmart and back, which is only about 2 miles at most!) It was CRAZY! Cabs are a rip off! You can try to negociate with them, but good luck, most wont budge. My advice would be to tell someone that you'll be there for a week (or however long you'll be there for) and tell them that you'll take their card and will use them for the whole week if they cut you a deal. I wouldn't advise renting a car either. The hills are very steep and its hard to see around the corner due to all the turns in the roads. Every car has a dent or two (or 50) in it. Just be very careful if you rent a car.
A lot of people ask about nightlife. A great bar we went to was Duffy's Love Shack in Red Hook. (www.duffysloveshack.com) It seems to be very popular in St. Thomas (and St. John) and its tons of fun. They play great music and they have great drinks. The drinks come in cute ceramic cups and you can keep them! Refills on drinks are cheaper if you buy the cup. Friday and Saturday night's are the best to go to Duffy's with 2 for 1drinks on Saturday from midnight to 1am. It's a great place. We also went to Shipwreck Tavern which is a nice pool bar in downtown Charlotte Amalie. They too had great music. At night you can walk around Red Hook fairly safe, but I wouldn't reccomend it any where else. St. Thomas is a great place and I always felt safe, but walking around any where at night isn't a very smart thing to do. People think when they're on vacation they can leave their fears at home.
We took a tour around the island with Godfrey's Tours. Let me just say this man is amazing! He gives a GREAT tour and at a very reasonable price. He took us shopping for 3 hours downtown, and then took us every where on the island and gave us lots of interesting facts. At the end, he gave us our choice of 3 beaches to swim for 2 hours. We chose Coki Beach and the water was just amazing there. Crystal clear. We snorkled and had frozen drinks. Everyone had a very nice time. On the way home, we dropped several people off at their cruise boats, and then he took us to get bait to fish with since we couldn't find it anywhere. He even offered to let us shop in Havensight for a while if we wanted since we were the last thing he was doing for the day. We were ready to head back to the hotel to shower and eat, but he was very generous to offer us that. We gave him a very nifty tip because of his hospitality and I urge anyone who goes on his tour to do the same if they receive a nice trip. He talks through an intercom system from the front of his cab while you ride in his safari truck, he also plays Carribean music when he's not talking. It's a lot of fun. He's very professional and picked us up promptly at our hotel holding a sign with our name on it. You should definitely take a tour with him...don't miss it! www.godfreytoursvi.com
The second day we were there, we went on the Kon Tiki party boat/booze cruise. We met lots of fun people of all ages, not just limited to a younger crowd. Everyone sipped on rum punch that was flowing the entire trip. The rum punch tasted just like Kool-Aid and we were all wondering if we were getting scammed until several drinks later we were all hammered! It has Cruzan 151 in it. Great stuff! The Kon Tiki cruise lasts around 3 to 4 hours. They took us to Water Island (i hear its sometimes different) and let us swim for an hour or so after they got us good and drunk. Everyone socialized and had a fun time. By far something everyone should do while in town.
All in all it was a great trip. We were very sad to see it go! In conclusion, DO NOT fly Carribean Sun, Marriott is a great place to stay or even eat a meal, go on a tour with Godfrey and have fun in the sun on Kon Tiki. Hope this helped. :o)
Michelle
Hello Michelle,
Your flight experience sounds aweful and could certainly put a damper on a vacation when its starts and ends that way - glad you had a good time once on island. Thanks for sharing! Did you do any nightlife things around the hotel, how was that?
--Islander
Michelle,
Good report! Yours is the 2nd or 3rd time I have read nothing but positive on Godfrey. Seems that he knows what he is doing. Hope the internet boosts his business.
Sounds like your flying experience wasn't that great. We learned a few years ago to stick to one major airline all through out and go non-stop if possible.
I learned a few things from your post and would like to try them out on our next trip. The Kon Tiki will definitely be on the list. Thank you.
Patrick
We didn't really do any nightlife things around our hotel. All the bars at the hotel close at midnight and when 4 college kids are on Spring Break, midnight is early! We did eat at CoCo Joe's several times which was great. Its right on the beach and you can see and hear the waves crashing onto the beach while you eat. The menu consists of nachos and burgers etc, so it's pretty casual and not too expensive. On Friday night's CoCo Joe's has karaoke...its quite a sight! We also ate at Windows On The Harbour and Captain's Cafe, all restaurants at the Marriott, and all were delicious. But the nightlife seemed to happen outside of the hotel.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that the Paradise Point sky ride is FREE on Wednesdays. After we got off the Kon Tiki cruise, looking for trouble (wink), we headed over and much to our surprise it was completely free. I believe its after 6:00 on Wednesdays and it's usually $10.00. At the top you can see incredible views and eat at the bar. We took lots of pictures. We just developed 6 rolls, and still have another 8!
Patrick--you should definately go on a tour with Godfrey and do the Kon Tiki. You will have a blast. Tell him we said hi!
If I think of anything else I've forgotten, I'll post it! :o)
Michelle
Thanks Michelle,
Yes the Paradise Point on Wednesday thing you went to is Happy Hour and the tram is free for that. So its a good deal and a nice place to hang out (view, drinks, food).
Again glad you had a good time and thanks for sharing your vacation with us!!
--Islander
Michelle -
I am going to St. John for a wedding in July (first visit for all of us) and we are flying with Caribbean Sun from SJ to St. Thomas, so now I know that I need to do some calling ahead in an effort to TRY to make this as smooth as possible. Secondly, the engaged couple is having their reception at Duffy's and we were hoping that it would be a great time. Sounds like I need to save some room for drinks on the booze cruise......Thanks for the info!
Michelle B.
Thanks for the great trip report & info. It seems after reading for months on this and other forums that it's going to take several years of trips to take everything in. BUMMER!! We're leaving Sunday for STT as 1st timers to celebrate our 10th annv. Staying at Secret Harbour Resort which is only 4-5 minutes from Red Hook. That's great to hear that such a fun party place is close.
Again, thanks for the info.
Loved your review Michelle. So you liked Coki Beach? We are only visiting St Thomas for a day by cruise and are looking to spend some time a Coki and Coral World. I hear the bathrooms at Coki could use some work? Did you happen to see them? I am hoping Coral World has their own. Thanks for your info..... Pat
Lori,
Secret Harbour is AMAZING -- we stayed there December 4-13 last year and couldn't recommend it more. Ernest Halliday, the manager, is known for going out of his way to make your stay perfect -- he even offered to have us call him in the middle of the night to get get ice for us! The houskeeping staff were wonderful -- our room was always spotless when we returned to it (even if we didn';t leave it until early afternoon) and they left a lot of extra towels for us on each visit.
The hotel just refurbished their beach with a couple of tons of white sand, and there is a great reef on the right side of their bay if you snorkel (the left side of the bay was fine for swimming but wasn't that great for snorkeling). There is also an on-site dive shop that will take you out and teach you to dive. They are, in act, the only dive instructors on St., Thomas who are certified by the Handicapped Diving Association.
The Blue Moon Cafe has great food and good service. It's all open air with a nice view of the water -- there is also an open air bar next to the restaurant. Lunch prices are reasonable for the island but the dinner prices were a bit high for our budget.
You will want a car -- the hotel is out in the middle of a residential area and it's too far to Red Hook or the local grocery store to walk. There is a wonderful fruit stand right at the intersection where you turn off the main road to head down the peninsula to Secret Harbour.
Be sure to take part in the Manager's Cocktail party, whic they have once every week - lots of rum punch, chicken wings, and Ernest and his band sing calypso music so you can dance. They also offer door prizes for USVI trivia (hint -- remember that there are 4 islands in the USVI and you'll do fine!)
Tell Ernest Penny in the wheelchair and Kelly from last December say hi and are promoting him well!
Have fun!!
The Hip Crip
Hello Pat,
Yes Coral World has nice bathrooms, changing rooms, lockers ect. - If you visit Coral World first then keep the ticket/braclet - which ever they are using now and then you can use the facilities there as Coki is right next door.
--Islander
Already got the car rental taken care of. Thanks for all the great info. I will tell Ernest hello for ya. 4 days to go!!!!!!!!! Hopefully the rain will be gone by then.
Hi Michelle,
I am delighted to read your letter about St. Thomas. I am planning a trip in May with my sister and did not have any information about the island apart from the web site. I am now definately going to book it and hopefully have as good a time as you did. I am flying American Airlines.
Will let you know how we get on.
Mary
Good read on your trip report, and glad you made the best of what started out as a sour experience. 🙂
I'm an aircraft mechanic for a company who flies for US Airways Express. If your bad airline experience included a booking by US Airways from the states with a Caribbean Sun connection then by all means complain to US Airways. However, if you just booked with Caribbean Sun...the only affiliation we have with them is a code share...meaning they fly passengers to help ease our loads from places we might not go. US Airways has code share agreements with Caribbean Sun, Lufthansa, and United Airlines...but none of these airlines dictate how US Airways operates...other than the bad press we may receive from a little Caribbean puddle jumper that sounds pretty iffy. 🙂
US Airways offers direct flights to STT from Charlotte (CLT) and Philly (PHL) which might be a better bet in the future unless you wanted to go to Puerto Rico first.
Oh my, I'm sounding like an airline executive...please shoot me now. 🙂
