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St Croix Vacation July 4, - July 11, 2006
We left DFW airport at 6:50am, through Miami and on to St. Croix. An uneventful flight and all was on time. We never seem to have any trouble getting there, just coming back.
When we decided to go back to St. Croix this time, we had three major items we wanted to accomplish. One to dispel the rumors that St. Croix was not a good safe place to visit with not as much to do as on her little sisters. St. Thomas and St. John, two to go back to Buck Island and three to upgrade my Sonya’s Bracelet that I got on our last trip in 1997.
I am happy to report, all three accomplished! The first was not as easily done as the last two, but we did it.
We arrived on July 4, and I was all set to see some fireworks displays, but was disappointed. There were none to be seen. As a local explained later in the trip, some folks got careless in the past, someone lost a hand due to the mishandling of some fireworks, so the displays were extremely curtailed. Something about alcohol and gun powder not mixing.
We stayed at Hotel on the Cay, a quaint isolated hotel/timeshare building on Protestant Cay in Christiansted harbor. Having never been there before, we did not know what to expect, so we arrived with an open mind and waaaaay too much luggage! Not to self: When staying anywhere that requires a ferry ride and a lot of steps…PACK LIGHT! As arranged pre trip, a taxi met us at the airport when we arrived at 3:00pm. We took some back roads to HOTC and were met at the dock by the ferry, captained by Freddy, a most gracious man that has been doing the ferry run for quite a number of years. He never said how many, but he told us of the days he used to row people between the cay and the Dock!
We read that a golf cart would meet us at the HOTC dock to shuttle us to our room. Didn’t happen. We lugged our three suitcases and 4 carry ons up the steps to the hotel lobby, and checked in. Our room was #309…up three more flights of steep stairs. By the time we got up there, opened the door and was met with a stifling 100 degree plus temp, and no air conditioning I went back down to the lobby and said something to the effect that the room was not acceptable.
We were then presented with three more keys and asked to go check out those rooms and pick one out. So we had #307, 308, 309. 208, 207 and in all of those rooms, something didn’t work. Either the air conditioner was broken or the fridge was not working, or the sliding doors did not open/lock or both. We were quite disappointed, hot and very tired from traveling all day (since 4:00am that morning), when we stepped out on the front porch area and looked up the hill and saw some more units at the top. I raced back to the lobby and asked if we could see a room or two up there, and the desk clerk said I had requested a room with two beds and the rooms in the HM (Harbour Master) building only had one bed in each room. No biggy! We took two keys HM08 and HM05 and trekked up two more flights of stairs, and the rooms were great! HM08 didn’t have adequate air (we were quite warm by this time) and HM05 had good air but a broken fridge. We chose HM05 and had a new (different) fridge put in the next day. We had finally arrived!!
HM05 (all the rooms for that matter) is basically a one room with bathroom and a small area for hanging up your clothes. There was a small counter next to the bed that housed a coffee pot, toaster, microwave and a small (half) fridge. We brought a soft sided cooler on wheels so we thought we would just pack it with ice, and store our cold drinks in it. That was one of our four carry ons. It worked out well, except for one thing. It held ice all right, but it leaked all the water out. Imagine our surprise the first morning when we woke up to a LARGE puddle of water on the dresser, floor, and everywhere!
So, we were finally in our room, unpacked, and for the most part settled in, but we were hungry, tired, thirsty (for some adult beverages) and didn’t know our way around. But there is a beach Bar-B-Q every Tuesday night at the Beach Bar, so we figured…..AHA! Problem solved! We traipsed down 3 or 4 flights of stairs (we lost count) to the beach and joined the festivities. It cost $26.00 per person for the Bar-B-Q, and the drinks were extra, but it was really good! There was salad, veggies, beans, corn n the cob, ribs and chicken. Some desserts were on a table, mainly chocolate and white cake and some apple pie (tasted like Mrs. Smith’s) but pretty good. Best of all was the ice cold (as ice cold as things are on a tropical island) Carib beer! We cannot get Carib beer here in Dallas for some reason, so I always drink it (or Black Beards ale when I can find it) when I get to the Islands.
They had a Steel Drum band (amazing the sound that comes from those old oil drums) a Mocko Jumbie, and a guy that walked, layed down, and writhed on broken glass – set on fire no less. Then there was the limbo. What would a tropical vacation be without a limbo? All in all it was pretty cool, but we were way tired, and it was past our bedtime (old fogie alert folks) so we retired to the hard found HM05 to get some well deserved sleep! Tomorrow….we explore!
End of Day 1
So glad you finally got a good room and enjoyed the buffet. It is just sad that you had to go though all of that before you got a decent room. Can't wait ti read more...and see where you explored. This board very rarely gets a trip report about STX, so this is interesting.
There were 4th of July fireworks off the beach at Frederiksted that lasted about 30 minutes from first launch to finale. There used to also be a display from the yacht club on the east end of the island, but they've had funding difficulties the last two years. Frederiksted still draws a huge crowd for the display there. We went a few hours early since parking and traffic are a problem as the appointed hour approaches. After a picnic on the beach at the old Changes in L'Attitude site, the fireworks brightened up the sky for a while and then we waited a while for traffic to clear... but still left a little earlier than we should have and had to wait for the traffic jam to disperse. But it's only once a year and it's the biggest traffic jam you can ever find on the island, so it's part of the experience. I suspect most lifelong locals would have a hard time grasping that people sit through much worse traffic twice DAILY on the mainland just to get from home to work and back again.
Bluwater, You seem to be pretty knowlegable. We're visiting St. John in August for 8 days. Although we visit every year, our trips are usually limited to St. John, St. Thomas, Tortorla or Virgin Gorda. I would like to travel to St. Croix. We haven't been there in at least 12 years and the last time we took an "island hopper" plane; I wasn't too thrilled-8 passengers and the crew of 2. On VINOW there is a ferry out of STT to ST. Croix running every couple of days. Does that run in August. I would like to take it and spend a few days in St. Croix at the Buccaneer/Buck Island or another hotel. Any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks for your insight.
The ferry will still be running between STX and STT in August... weather permitting. It can be rougher some days if the winds are up and if there is a serious risk of a tropical storm or hurricane coming close to the islands they will shut down operation for a few days until it has gone past.
You probably took Cape Air between the islands in the past. Another option for a quick island hopping flight is to take Seabourne Airlines seaplanes. They hold more passengers and they take off from and land in the water... which is the softest way to land that you have ever felt. It's an experience as well as a way to get somewhere. Some people are a bit concerned the first time they fly in a sea plane, but they quickly find out it's not a bad way to travel. It's also only about a 20 minute hop between the islands instead of two hours or so on the ferry... which can be unpleasant if the seas are rough.
The Buccaneer hotel isn't on Buck Island. Buck Island is a national park and there are no houses allowed there. The parks department has put in some picnic tables and a bathroom, but the rest of the island is left to nature. The Buccaneer is a great place to stay. There are other hotel options that can save some $$ in your pocket for other activities.
I second the seaplane. It is a great way to travel. Port to port with no airport...
cpete, I'm glad EE and STX Realtor had the scoop on the ferry. I am not up to speed on STX, but would like to be. Enjoy your trip.
Bluwater - when you come down to visit the islands you'll have to pop over to STX and explore for a couple of days. Expand your horizons! 😉
Thanks for the input on the ferry and seaplane. Maybe we'll try the seaplane.
Thanks tremendously for the input. Since we're only planning to be in St. Croix from a Monday to a Wednesday (assuming we take the ferry rather than the seaplane), can you suggest other hotels that can save us $$. 2adults and two children ages 16 and 14. We normally would rent a house if we were staying for a week or so, but only have 2-3 days for St. Croix.
Thanks
