Hello Lynne,

Welcome to the board!!

Your husband will love the diving opportunities available on St. Croix. Here are some links you can check out to get an idea and make some plans:

www.anchordivestcroix.com
www.canebayscuba.com/
www.divexp.com
www.n2blue.com/
www.divescubawest.com
www.stcroixscubashack.com
www.stcroixscuba.com/

Fishing, you might call some of the following:
Capt. Pete’s Louie G. (340)773-1123
Catch-22 w/Capt. Bunny (340) 778-6987
Lisa Ann Charters (340)773-3712

And for St. Pattys - well St. Croix has a Parade - there are colorful green 🙂 decorations, troupes... lively folks parading in Christiansted, block party at the bars/restaurants in the area - a several hour affair - late morning to mid-afternoon typically. The numbers I have for the folks in charge are (340)773-1139 & (340)778-5912

--Islander

Hi Lynne,

I'm there March 11-19 for my 25th trip there. St. P Day parade is March 12, 11:00 AM (I think, might be 10:00). Where are you staying?

Since my list of things to do is quite lengthy I'll e-mail it to you separately. Islander's list of scuba shops is great - the folks at St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure (SCUBA - the last link in his post) are the best!! I don't dive or fish, but I've heard nothing but raves about their operation and I know them as great people.

You'll love St. Croix!

I am heading to St. Croix for St. Patty's Day also, but I believe the parade is on the 19th - can anyone on island confirm the date?

Thanks!!

I would like to thank all for the help and emails. We usually go to Belize and I saw this trip on Skyauction to learn to dive thru Ultimate Bluewater Adv. with 4 days of diving and a room the hotel is the Best Western in town by the dive shop I was told by Ed the owner. We will be there from March12-16 ( My b-day is the 15) then going to Carambola Beach the 16-18 still on a wait list for flying home eather on the 19 or 20 to San Francisco. I need to find out about the parade I hope we get to see it!! It is hard planning a surprise trip we work together and I don't want him to find out yet where we are going . He has been a diver for 30+years and all our children are divers. I do not even SWIM but decieded to take lessons and learn to dive for my birthday. To surprise all the family.I hope I can!!!!

Lynne: Don't worry! If you can dog paddle and float, you can dive! Once you put those fins and weight belt on, all you need to do is BREATHE and kick! Easy! Enjoy your lessons. Diving is a great gift to yourself!!
(From a non-swimming diver!)

That is what I have been told I sure hope you are right!!!! I love the picture my family take and I always go out in the boat with them and have to wait for them to have all their fun and I want that special bond that divers have . Can't wait.( Can't swim yet eather ha ha)

Lynne, best of luck... I just got certified last summer at age 45 and did my first dives off St. John in Nov, it's the best thing you'll ever do. A friend's son said comparing snorkelling to scuba is "the difference between watching TV and being in the TV " (14-year old). I'd love an update on the St. Croix package, I've had my finger on the Skyauction bid button twice... would love to know if it's worth it to get some more diving buddies.

I'm told the parade is the morning of Saturday, March 12.

Lynne, you're in a great location at the Best Western - I'll be right next door at the Hotel Caravelle (where you will take your dive intro) March 11-19. Best happy hour in town is at Rumrunners at that hotel. Incidentally, since the parade involves many in the restaurant industry, there are numerous places in Christiansted that are not open for dinner on the parade day (staff has indulged too much!). Rumrunners will be open though.

Ed and Molly Buckley are the best folks and will take fantastic care of you.

I can highly recommend Rumrunners as well. The best happy hour is town, and also fantastic food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Eggs Benedict for breakfast is great, and they have the only live lobster tank on the island. Be sure to check them out.

I hate to say but I will be 53 on March15 and am taking my first swim lesson in San Francisco today! I am watching the message board and will take any advise . I can't wait to go. I am determined to be a diver for my b-day!!!

Lynne,

For breakfast you can't beat Shenanigan's in the Pan Am Arcade (behind Stixx), about a 2-minute walk from the Best Western. It's lively, quick, very inexpensive, delicious and squeaky clean. I like Bombay Club for several meals (also a short walk). It's in an old West Indian townhouse and serves everything from burgers to filet. Reasonable prices and interesting menu. I didn't mention it on the restaurant thread because it's not "fancy", but it's very nice.

Hello again,
Not to beat a dead horse, but I would really like to be there for the parade. In the event calendar on www.gotostcroix.com, it lists the parade as 3/19 - do they have the wrong date in there? I've been in the past and sure don't want to miss it!

Thanks so much!!

Yipe!!! I checked with the powers that be in St. Croix last May before booking my FF tickets and was assured it would be March 12! This being the islands things could change though - I'll check again and post when I get a response!

Hey girl,

I'd be very interested also to know when Patties day is. We'll be in St Croix from Mar 12th thru the 28th. Last year we arrived late on the day of the celebration. I'm hoping it falls on the 19th this year...in the middle of our trip. If they really celebrated on the actual day we'd have no problem but I guess they want to make it on a week-end.

Hello,

I called the parade organizer/contact person and... its March 19th, starts at 11am at the Fort in Christiansted.

--Islander

Thank you Islander!

I can't wait to come down for a visit!

Joanne, I noticed you are scheduled to leave on the 19th, perhaps you could extend your stay???

Have a great weekend all!!

Alas Islander...just one more thing to get excited about. Thank-you for the info.
It's -19 here at my lake cabin right now. Thankfully the wind is only about 10mph. But, I'm listening to Jimmy B. and sipping on some Cruzan...so life is good.

Thanks Islander, neither of my sources have responded to me yet. Since my flight is late afternoon, and since Christiansted pretty much closes down by mid afternoon so folks can sleep it off, I should be okay. So long as the parade clears and a taxi can get into town I'm cool!