To all who are reading this:

Remember, everyone has an opinion, and they are just that..."opinions". Why would this be the cruise ship capital of the world if it wasn't a nice vacation destination? Why would we have over 1.5 million visitors staying in our hotels each year if it wasn't a great vacation spot? Why would there be so many posts on this board? Why would this board be here to begin with?!?

Not 'authentic'?!? True, we are not "Fijian"-authentic...because we are not Fiji!! We have a true, authentic, Caribbean culture.

And "St. Johns" is the name of the town in Antigua...."St. John"(no 's') is a U.S. Virgin Island. If Mike can't even get the name straight, I wouldn't put much stock in anything else he says. I'm not picking on you, Mike, but you should expect to have differing opinions to be voiced when you slam our island, our home, like that. It was probably so 'relaxing' for you because no one wanted to be around such a negative person. No offense, but, you ARE being very negative.

Thoughts?

Marty! Hope this finds you! While we are on the subject of "authentic".... What are some typically local foods I should look for? Things that are just part of living there? Certain fruits? Habits? My husband's family lives in Texas...Everything gets Salsa!!

Let me start by saying, I know I should just leave this one alone. Admittingly, the devil in me could have so much fun with this one. It would be so easy to use my sarcastic wit to shoot this post down in flames.

Truth of the matter is, that everyone is allowed their own opinion.... Mike included. And after thinking about it some more, I realized this post contradicts itself so many times it really does not make any sense. It makes me wonder if it is for real in the first place OR if this was just posted by someone for the sole intent of getting a rise out of the nice folks who hang out here.

As I am writing this, I am thinking to myself..... what a waste of time. Why am I doing this? The devil on one side is saying..... DO IT, DO IT. Then the angel popped up and said, NOW NOW..... be NICE!

So I will ask a couple of questions and get on to something more important..... you know..... like watching paint dry.

Question 1 - Why would you go on vacation to relax and somehow get involved in the local politics? Lets save that one for the "Politics and Religion" forum.

Question 2 - Why would you state that this is the "poor mans island getaway"? Obviously it insinuates that you have loads of money..... apparently more than you know what to do with. But many of the good folks who participate in this forum have saved all year (and in some cases, many years to be able to visit this dream destination). How pompus of you to post something like that.

Oh I could go on and on..... But there is paint drying in the other room. Gotta go.

TMax

Mike,

I don't have devil in me but I'm a bull (Taurus). Why would you write such a negative post? You speak about politics, I guess you don't live on mainland.Now that's a topic of discussion!!! But this is a travel forum...
St Thomas and St John are on the top list of vacation spots. They have been written up favorably in more magizines than there are trees.
My advice to you is next time stay home.

42 more days.....

Loving the USVI Islands
Grace

P.S. That was not an opinion,that was a down right INSULT!!!!

I have to put my two cents worth in. My husband and I went to stay at the Sugar Bay Resort in St. Thomas three years ago. We spent so much time on St. John that we used up our hard earned money on taxi cabs. We have saved for 3 years to go back to stay on St. John. We love the beachs, the snorkeling, the people, the food (and there is some authentic food like genipes, Mike, do you know what that is?). We love everything about St. John and we love St. Thomas do. Stay home. The poor folks like us save for years to just go and "relax".

ok, got a wee devil on my shoulder too...mike i too am disappointed of your views of my home. am very curious knowing how long you visited our "3rd world-esque island"? reading a couple weeks of newspaper headlines and speaking with a few folk does not give one an accurate view of the us virgin islands.for instance,have you inquired of our history. how bout the carib indians? did you know the first ever successful slave revolt took place on st.john? have you watched the quadrille dancers? telling their stories with music and dance? how bout the french and dutch influence here? did you visit the synogue while on island. the local history is multi-faceted and so unique. as with most islanders, i am sorry of your conclusions, and usually take such as personal, because we love the visitors we host and we do want you to relax and enjoy all we offer.however, in your case , i will take exception of these feelings. on a political note, visit any us state,city or territory and tell me you agree with the politics offered....that's what makes us a step above the rest, basically the same small town politics as the mainland, but you can't beat the people nor the view!!!!

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, however I'd have to disagree. I'll be visiting the VIs for the fourth time in 2 years in only 10 days. I've stayed on both St. Thomas and St. John. I have been to various areas of the Carribean including Jamaica, the Bahamas and Dominica and if you think that St. Thomas is "3rd World," you'll want to make sure you steer clear or those locations for sure. I personally enjoyed them all, but those locations are not as nice as St. Thomas (certainly not St. John). I return to the VIs because I feel very safe exploring all parts of the islands as opposed to staying confined to a gated resort. I'd have to rate St. John up there with Barbados and Aruba as its natural beauty is AMAZING!

Mike The USVI isn't for everybody...you should try Las Vegas...I think you'd like it there...very authentic, and certianly not third world.

I have lived in this region for many many years. So the "stay home" or "VI isn't for everyone" comments are funny. You can knit-pick on me, I don't mind. Spend more than a 14days a year in the area.

#1 cruise ship stop has very little to do with the island culture and a lot to do with the location and build-up of overly commerical dock areas. Tip to cruise people... "duty free" is stupid and anything you can find in the shops at the harbor you can find elsewhere.

I have been to Vegas and I will be going back there. 😉 However I prefer the ocean.

Poor mans gateaway... I've had friends come and visit in the off season. $750 for 6 days at S. Harbor (included airplane) is a pretty good deal to me. Food is cheap. Taxi's can add up, but you should rent a car and save. Driving might look a little crazy, but it is pretty fun. You can't touch another island for that price.

You stay there long enough and politics come into play. Just something to be aware of. Someone on this board might be thinking of moving to this area.

I didn't say USVI was a bad place. Like I said, it is a good budget getaway.

I can do a package deal to Hawaii for 750.00 in the off season,,,does that Make Hawaii cheap?

Mike,
You obviously fired up a few people with your post.
VI can be a budget get away or you can easily spend $5k-$100k for one week. Depends on how you like to travel.
No Fine Dining? I have lived here about 1yr and have been pleasently surprised by the selection and quality of food on the island. You can find cheap food or expensive and good food. I have had the pleasure of dining at four out of the top ten restaraunts in America so I would like to think my fork is well traveled and I enjoy the food here.
Lifestyle really depends on what you are here to do. My wife puts in 60-70hrs week so I dont think she would fall under your victim of relaxation stereotype.
I was paticularly curious about you not being able to find things on the map. What map were you looking at? The island is only 13 miles long and most everything is on a decent tourist map. As far as staying at the resort that is the worst possible advice you could give to anyone visiting the V.I.'s IMO.
I dont understand the only thing to do is relax argument either. I guess you were not interested in.
Snorkeling, Scuba, Golf, Shopping, Hiking, Helicopter Tour, Gambling, Big Game Fishing...so on and so on.
Vacation is what you make of it, and it sounds like you did not make much of yours. Just an opinion....much like yours.