St. Croix Trip Report March 7-14, 2009

It was early in December when my wife and I started thinking about “Spring Break”.

In Southern Illinois, Southern Illinois University and John A. Logan College schedule their “Spring Break” at the same time, and many of the local school districts follow their lead. That worked out well, as both my wife, a student at SIU-Edwardsville and my daughter, a student at Carterville High School, had their spring breaks at the same time.

My wife and I both enjoy the Caribbean, having traveled in the past to St. Thomas, St. John, and Tortola, so we gave some consideration to returning. We’d never been to St. Croix before, so we did some preliminary investigation, or rather, I did some preliminary investigation and decided to surprise my wife. I made airline and hotel reservations, printed out our itinerary and a picture of a beach, and enclosed it in her Christmas card.

Merry Christmas, we’re going to St. Croix!

St. Croix is a small island in the Caribbean about 3,000 miles from Carbondale or 1,500 miles south of Miami, Florida. St. Croix is 28 miles long and 7 miles wide and was “discovered” by Columbus in 1493. St. Croix (along with neighboring St. Thomas and St. John) were purchased by the United States from Denmark in 1917 and are now known as the “United States Virgin Islands”, or “U.S.V.I”. Here’s a summary of our trip.

Aircraft Transportation

American Airlines got us to and from St. Croix. We left St. Louis at 6:00 am and flew to Miami on a Boeing 757, changed planes and flew from Miami to St. Croix on a Boeing 737, arriving just after 4:00 pm. Our return flight left St. Croix at 4:00, we changed planes in Miami, and arrived back in St. Louis right at 11 pm. The flights were smooth and on schedule and we had no problems at all. Cost for three round-trip tickets, including taxes and security fees was $1650, (or $550 each) which was less than tickets cost last year.

Car Rental

I found many car rental providers on St. Croix, ranging from the “biggies” like Hertz to the smaller “family-owned” rental agencies. Being in the car rental business myself, I try to patronize the independents as much as possible, and many former travelers recommended “Judi of St. Croix”. I compared rates and although their rates were slightly higher than some of the competition, I chose them because they seemed to offer better service and I wasn’t disappointed. A representative of their company was waiting for us as we got off the aircraft, took me to their off-airport location to pick up my car, and had me on the road in a timely manner. The rental car was a new Toyota Yaris, and was in clean and in excellent condition.
I picked up the car on Saturday afternoon and dropped it off the following Saturday afternoon and the price was $278.00.

I thought that was a reasonable price, and their customer service was outstanding.

Accommodations

We actually stayed at two places. The first was the Ramada Hotel in St. Louis. Since our flight left at 6 am, we drove to St. Louis the night before. If you stay there at least one night, you can park your car there for free, up to 14 days. Due to runway construction and street closures, the Ramada was difficult to get to. I finally stumbled on the right street and we checked in. The room was clean but there was no hot water. On the other hand, we were just using the room to sleep in, so it wasn’t a big deal. We woke at 3:30, got dressed, had a cup of in-room coffee, and went to the lobby, where the van driver helped load our carry-ons in the van and took us to the airport, which was only a 5 minute drive away. On our return, we simply called the hotel and they picked us up less than 10 minutes later. If you have an early-morning flight, getting there the night before is the way to go, especially with the “free parking” option. Total cost for a night’s lodging, parking, and shuttle to the airport was about $75.00

Our lodging on St. Croix was “Cottages by the Sea”, on the west side of the island. Our family isn’t interested in the glitzy all-inclusive resort atmosphere, and even if we were interested, the $300 per night rates that they charge doesn’t work with our budget. Cottages by the Sea is a small, family-owned property with just 18 units, set on a mile of beach not far from the town of Fredericksted. Each unit is equipped with a king-size bed and a sofa-sleeper, a kitchen with all the expected equipment (stove, refrigerator, toaster, blender, coffee maker, pots, pans, plates, silverware, glasses, etc) and a bathroom with shower. All units are equipped with air conditioning, although we never used ours because of the ocean breeze blowing in the windows. The units were simply but nicely furnished and were great for two or three people. Other amenities included a free bottle of premium Cruzan rum, basic cable TV, and Wi-Fi. The housekeeper visited every morning to sweep, straighten, and deliver fresh towels. Depending on what unit you occupied, you were never more than 30 steps (yes, 30 steps) from the beach. If you like beaches, especially beaches that aren’t crowded, this is the place for you. The office was centrally located and was staffed from 9 am to 9 pm. Adjacent to the office was a locker containing snorkel gear, a library with hundreds of books, and a pile of beach toys, all available to guests at no charge. Also available to guests at no charge but at your own risk were two sea kayaks. Also near the office was a telephone for making local calls, and a computer with Internet access, all available at no charge to guests.

With only 18 units, we soon became acquainted with many of the other guests, and would frequently stop and chat with our “neighbors”. We really enjoyed the atmosphere at “Cottages by the Sea”, but it isn’t for everyone, “Cottages” is just that, a small, informal, family-friendly, low-key place for people that like relaxing by the ocean. If you’re looking for a lot of excitement, or looking for someone to kiss your butt, look elsewhere.

The cost for “Cottages by the Sea” was $150 per night but we ended up getting one night free. We’d booked the “Calypso” cottage, as it was more appropriate for three persons than some of the other cottages. Unfortunately, the previous occupant of the “Calypso” cottage decided to stay an extra night, so the manager put us up in another unit for one night, and to compensate us for our inconvenience, gave us that night free. Total lodging cost, including tax was $972.

Eating places and Food

There are people who live to eat, and people who eat to live. My family usually falls into the latter category. We aren’t fancy and breakfast is usually cereal or toast or a bagel, and lunch is a sandwich. We stopped at the “Plaza Extra” grocery store on our way to stock up on food (and beer) for the cottage, ate breakfast and lunch at our cottage and ate most of our dinners out. Here are the places we visited:

Beach Side Cafe:
The cafe was right next door to “Cottages by the Sea” and was certainly convenient. It featured open-air dining with a gorgeous view of the ocean. I had a Cajun tuna steak, my wife had mahi, and my daughter had a salad. The food was good but not exceptional, and the service was acceptable. Including tip, about $80.00

Blue Moon Cafe:
This establishment was in downtown Frederiksted on the waterfront, and featured live jazz on Wednesday nights, so that’s when we went there. It was a popular place, and we didn’t have reservations, so we had to wait 30 minutes for a table. The food was good. I had bbq ribs, my daughter had soft-shell crabs, and my wife had what she described were the best scallops she’d ever had. Total bill, including tip was about $100.00

Fort Christian Brew Pub
One day we traveled to the other side of the island and stopped for a late lunch at St. Croix’s only brewery. The Pub is right on the Christiansted boardwalk, on the waterfront. I had a Cajun chicken wrap, my wife had a crab wrap, and my daughter had a grilled chicken sandwich. I also had two of their own brown ales (similar to Newcastle) and wives had 2 pale ales. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. This was my favorite place. Casual, scenic, and friendly. The bill, including tip, was $62.00

Villa Morales
The villa is a Puerto Rican restaurant and is only open Thursday thru Sunday. We had never tried Puerto Rican food, so we gave it a shot. It took us a few tries to get there, as the “tourist maps” provided were not very accurate. There weren’t many people there, and we chose an outside table. My wife had red snapper, I had Puerto Rican roast pork, and my daughter was adventurous and ordered roast goat. The service was great. The owner stopped by and chatted with us to make sure everything was ok, and he was a really nice guy. There were two servers and they made sure we had everything we needed. The food was good, but not noteworthy. Puerto Rican roast pork isn’t any different from Southern Illinois roast pork. The red snapper was good, and one of the servers complemented my wife, telling her “you really know how to eat a fish!” as all she had left was a bony skeleton. The roast goat was certainly different, and was really salty. Including tip, the bill was $60.50

Sunset Grille
Friday night is “Mexican Night” at the Sunset Grille, a waterfront restaurant north of Frederiksted. We like Mexican food, so we gave it a try. It, like many eating-places is open air, and some may wish to bring along a sweater, as the ocean breeze may be chilly to some people. My wife and I both ordered blackened fish tacos, and my daughter ordered a Caesar salad. We also ordered conch fritters as an appetizer. We were pleasantly surprised to be entertained by a talented female vocalist who performed a lot of “Motown” oldies. The service was good, as was the food, but after all, a taco is a taco. One interesting experience was our 17-year-old daughter legally (but not that assertively) ordering her first alcoholic drink. Total bill, including tip was $76.50

Turtle’s New York Deli
"Turtles" are located right on the waterfront in downtown Frederiksted. We were returning from an adventure and stopped there for carry out. I had a Cajun roast beef and onion sandwich, my daughter had a tuna sandwich, and my wife ordered a curried chicken sandwich. The sandwiches were so large I only ate half of mine and saved the other half for later. Of course, for $9.00 per sandwich, you expect a large one. Cost was about $30.00

Activities
The main “activity” was relaxation on the beach, and as the beach was only a few steps away, we did a lot of sitting and reading on the beach. The climate on St. Croix is about as perfect as it gets, with afternoon temperatures in the mid 80’s during the day and in the 70’s at night. There was always a nice breeze blowing, and if one did happen to get a bit too warm, you put down your book and took a swim. The ocean was cool but not cold, so a dip was refreshing. As I previously mentioned, “Cottages by the Sea” maintained a large “lending library” with hundreds of books, so there was always something to read. A large selection of beach toys was available, as was snorkel gear. A large coral reef was less than 100 yards offshore provided good opportunities for snorkeling, but due to the unusually rough seas, the water was somewhat murky (it’s usually crystal clear) and visibility was limited. I snorkeled twice, and saw literally hundreds of cool-looking fish, just not very well. The coolest thing was when literally hundreds of fish swam around me. I don’t know what kind of fish they were, but they were about foot long, silver, with a blue streak down each side. Two sea kayaks were also available, and I used one once, but the sea was just too rough for fun. I managed to get out and back ok, but another guy who wasn’t as experienced as I tipped over several times. He was an idiot, didn’t wear a PFD!

One morning we drove out to Point Udall, named after Stewart Udall, a former Secretary of the Interior. Point Udall is the easternmost tip of the territorial United States and is quite impressive. On our drive we passed a HUGE radio telescope. We also passed the local Boy Scout Camp. The camp gate was locked, but we parked in the driveway to take pictures, and while we were doing do, a Jeep pulled in as well. The driver got out, perhaps to ask us exactly what we were doing. I noticed the driver was wearing “Philmont” Boy Scout shorts, and I mentioned to him that I had a pair just like his! It turned out the driver was the District Executive of the Virgin Islands Council on his way home.
We must have talked for almost an hour, and learned all sorts of stuff about St.Croix. We continued on to Christiansted and walked around Fort Christian. Fort Christian was built in the 1600’s to protect the town of Christiansted from marauders. It was cool walking around the fort, which was open from the top of the battlements to the bottom of the dungeon. Linda got in the dungeon and closed the door, took a picture, and didn’t stay inside very long!

We also visited the Botanical Gardens and the Whim Plantation. Up until the mid 1800’s, sugar cane was the main industry on St. Croix, with 80% of the available land used for growing sugar cane. There are ruins of sugar plantations all over.

The Botanical Gardens are on the site of old sugar plantations, with thousands of trees, plants, and flowers growing. We spent a morning there, and it was fun seeing flowers that we’re not used to, and other flowers that we’re familiar with because we cultivate them.

We also visited the Whim Plantation. The Plantation was established in the 1700’s by the Danish West India Company and was totally restored. Even though a guided tour of the “Manor House” was $10 per person, it turned out to be well worth it. Our “tour guide” was a personable (and very pregnant) woman who was able to show us how life really was 200 years ago.

We also tried to visit the Cruzan Rum distillery, but we arrived right after 12:00, and that’s lunchtime for the factory workers. We didn’t want to wait around for 1.5 hours, so we headed back to our cottage on the beach. Later we talked to some of our neighbors who’d taken the tour and they told us the tour was barely 30 minutes, and the best part was the tasting room so we didn’t miss too much.

Based on other islands we’ve been to:

The roads on St. Croix were much safer. They were wider, not as steep, and we didn’t see any pigs, goats, horses, chickens, or any other livestock like we saw on St. John and Tortola.

The cottages we stayed were the most convenient to the beach, being just steps from the door of my cottage to the beach, and the beach was not at all crowded, unlike many other beaches.

St. John was a prettier island, probably because most of it is a natural park.

I was again surprised at the lack of cordiality we experienced when interacting with some of the younger native people. There were exceptions, like the personable tour guide at the Whim Plantation and a couple of the servers at restaurants, but the rest of the young native people we spoke with were not exceptionally friendly. I’m talking about the check out people at the K-Mart (yes, there’s a K-mart) or the employees at the Plaza Extra Grocery Store, and others I’d greet in a friendly manner, only to be answered by a frown and grumbling. Interestingly enough, it was only the younger people that acted that way. I don’t know if they don’t like white people, or don’t like tourists, or don’t like older people, or all the above.

All in all, visiting St. Croix was an exceptionally relaxing and enjoyable vacation.