usvi-on-line
What was your first experience in the caribbean?
First it was Jamaica, but I didn't like the idea of staying at an AI. It was a great time with friends and family, but I wanted OUT. I wanted to explore.
Next was Grand Cayman. We rented from Turtle Nest Inn and walking through that hallway and seeing that water, I knew we were "there". We were able to get all around the Island, snorkel so many spots and find beaches where it was only myself and my husband.
My Great Aunt always told me she wanted to go to STT. Unfortunately, she passed away before we could go. It was always in the back of my mind, so we started searching for places (condos). Sapphire was it. I knew, as soon as put my feet on that beach, that it was perfect.
I love how STT is so close to STJ and the BVI's. We've met alot of friends and love to go back and visit with them.
I often check on other places to go, but I'd be too nervous to think that someplace else would be better.
Next was Grand Cayman. We rented from Turtle Nest Inn and walking through that hallway and seeing that water, I knew we were "there". We were able to get all around the Island, snorkel so many spots and find beaches where it was only myself and my husband.
My Great Aunt always told me she wanted to go to STT. Unfortunately, she passed away before we could go. It was always in the back of my mind, so we started searching for places (condos). Sapphire was it. I knew, as soon as put my feet on that beach, that it was perfect.
I love how STT is so close to STJ and the BVI's. We've met alot of friends and love to go back and visit with them.
I often check on other places to go, but I'd be too nervous to think that someplace else would be better.
"Paradise...it's a state of mine"
-
toes in the sand
- Posts: 994
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 2:21 pm
Our first trip to the Caribbean was in 1984. we were young and we pinched pennies and saved enough to pay for a week on St. Marteen. My wife worked for a small airline and had inter-airline priveleges. We were able to fly to SJU free and for a small fee we were to catch an inter-island flight to St. Marteen. We arrived at SJU we checked in with the island hopper desk and were told that the flight was full as was every flight the rest of the day. We waited for cancellations then spent the rest of the night in a cheap hotel in downtown San Juan. The Green Frog or Turtle or Iguana Inn I believe. We went back to the airport first thing in the AM and got the same story of full flights. I asked if we could spend more to upgrade our tickets. For a mere $50 each we purchased seats on one of the "full" flights. When we boarded the plane we found at least a third of the seats empty. we'll never know for sure but it appeared that as long as we were flying on airline passes we were not going to board a flight. That $100 and the cheap hotel blew our car rental budget for the week. When we arrived at the resort we walked the beach of what we thought was paradise in the fading sunlight. We had a wonderful week but our dining menu consisted mostly of ritz crackers and peanut butter, hot dogs cooked on the electric grill in our studio room at the resort and drinking Baileys Irish Cream which was as cheap as water and whatever was on the free buffet menu at the resort. We rented a car for one day and toured the island and different beaches. We left that island knowing that the caribbean was where we would be spendeng all of our special vacations in the future.
"got a drink in my hand and my toes in the sand"
-
Capn Dan and Ruby
- Posts: 1006
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:08 pm
- Location: PC Florida
First trip was with Greyhoundmom and Greyhounddad. We spent a week at Harmony Cottages at Maho 5 years ago. We were in love.We learned to scuba, because we did some free diving when we took a trip on the Pepper & I can't hold my breath very long. 
I wanted to stay with the fishes longer so we had to learn how to strap on the tanks. We have never been sorry! We had to miss a year 2 years ago and were miserable. 
We are in a little of a financial crunch this year, but Capn. Dan couldn't stand the idea of canning this trip and re-scheduling for next year. Me either! Besides we are taking our girls on their first experience!!!! 
I wanted to stay with the fishes longer so we had to learn how to strap on the tanks. We have never been sorry! We had to miss a year 2 years ago and were miserable. We are in a little of a financial crunch this year, but Capn. Dan couldn't stand the idea of canning this trip and re-scheduling for next year. Me either! Besides we are taking our girls on their first experience!!!! 
Machine Guns, Big Dogs and Night Watchmen
1996 St. Croix
We were young and dumb but had saved enough for a 4 day trip to St. Croix. We left Indiana in knee deep snow and arrived a few hours later in paradise. The water color was breathtaking and we were immediately addicted.
The condo we stayed at seemed like the Ritz to us at the time but in reality it wasn't in the best area. The resort had a fence with broken coke bottles on top to keep someone out. Odd but we didn't give it too much thought.
The next day we walked up the beach until we came to signs warning, "private beach, KEEP OUT". I was convinced the sign was meant for everyone else but not US. I told Kate, ignore it, what are they going to do about us walking the beach. Well, about a quarter mile up the beach we came upon a house with a guy standing at the door looking at us and pointing what looked to be an AK-47 in our general direction. At that point common sense, and a bit of fear, finally kicked in and we beat a hasty retreat the other direction.
That night when we went to bed I left the door open but the screen door locked. About 2:00 am in the morning we heard a loud and frantic knock at the door. I jumped up, ran to the door and found a security guard with his gun pulled and the largest dog I have ever seen. I kid you not, well maybe a little, that this dog had a direct bloodline to Seabiscut. This dog had to be part horse. By this time I scared s...less! The guard said he was concerned that someone had broken in since the door was left open and that we needed to shut and lock the door immediately.
Those things made the trip memorable but it was our 1st experience snorkeling that really made a lasting impression. It was like nothing else we had ever experienced. This began many years of trips to the Islands. After trying many others we finally gave St. John a shot and have been hooked ever since. On New Years Night we return for 10 days for our 13th visit to our home away from home.
By the way I have really enjoyed reading this thread. Thanks for kicking it off.
We were young and dumb but had saved enough for a 4 day trip to St. Croix. We left Indiana in knee deep snow and arrived a few hours later in paradise. The water color was breathtaking and we were immediately addicted.
The condo we stayed at seemed like the Ritz to us at the time but in reality it wasn't in the best area. The resort had a fence with broken coke bottles on top to keep someone out. Odd but we didn't give it too much thought.
The next day we walked up the beach until we came to signs warning, "private beach, KEEP OUT". I was convinced the sign was meant for everyone else but not US. I told Kate, ignore it, what are they going to do about us walking the beach. Well, about a quarter mile up the beach we came upon a house with a guy standing at the door looking at us and pointing what looked to be an AK-47 in our general direction. At that point common sense, and a bit of fear, finally kicked in and we beat a hasty retreat the other direction.
That night when we went to bed I left the door open but the screen door locked. About 2:00 am in the morning we heard a loud and frantic knock at the door. I jumped up, ran to the door and found a security guard with his gun pulled and the largest dog I have ever seen. I kid you not, well maybe a little, that this dog had a direct bloodline to Seabiscut. This dog had to be part horse. By this time I scared s...less! The guard said he was concerned that someone had broken in since the door was left open and that we needed to shut and lock the door immediately.
Those things made the trip memorable but it was our 1st experience snorkeling that really made a lasting impression. It was like nothing else we had ever experienced. This began many years of trips to the Islands. After trying many others we finally gave St. John a shot and have been hooked ever since. On New Years Night we return for 10 days for our 13th visit to our home away from home.
By the way I have really enjoyed reading this thread. Thanks for kicking it off.
Machine Guns, Big Dogs and Night Watchmen
1996 St. Croix
We were young and dumb but had saved enough for a 4 day trip to St. Croix. We left Indiana in knee deep snow and arrived a few hours later in paradise. The water color was breathtaking and we were immediately addicted.
The condo we stayed at seemed like the Ritz to us at the time but in reality it wasn't in the best area. The resort had a fence with broken coke bottles on top to keep someone out. Odd but we didn't give it too much thought.
The next day we walked up the beach until we came to signs warning, "private beach, KEEP OUT". I was convinced the sign was meant for everyone else but not US. I told Kate, ignore it, what are they going to do about us walking the beach. Well, about a quarter mile up the beach we came upon a house with a guy standing at the door looking at us and pointing what looked to be an AK-47 in our general direction. At that point common sense, and a bit of fear, finally kicked in and we beat a hasty retreat the other direction.
That night when we went to bed I left the door open but the screen door locked. About 2:00 am in the morning we heard a loud and frantic knock at the door. I jumped up, ran to the door and found a security guard with his gun pulled and the largest dog I have ever seen. I kid you not, well maybe a little, that this dog had a direct bloodline to Seabiscut. This dog had to be part horse. By this time I scared s...less! The guard said he was concerned that someone had broken in since the door was left open and that we needed to shut and lock the door immediately.
Those things made the trip memorable but it was our 1st experience snorkeling that really made a lasting impression. It was like nothing else we had ever experienced. This began many years of trips to the Islands. After trying many others we finally gave St. John a shot and have been hooked ever since. On New Years Night we return for 10 days for our 13th visit to our home away from home.
By the way I have really enjoyed reading this thread. Thanks for kicking it off.
We were young and dumb but had saved enough for a 4 day trip to St. Croix. We left Indiana in knee deep snow and arrived a few hours later in paradise. The water color was breathtaking and we were immediately addicted.
The condo we stayed at seemed like the Ritz to us at the time but in reality it wasn't in the best area. The resort had a fence with broken coke bottles on top to keep someone out. Odd but we didn't give it too much thought.
The next day we walked up the beach until we came to signs warning, "private beach, KEEP OUT". I was convinced the sign was meant for everyone else but not US. I told Kate, ignore it, what are they going to do about us walking the beach. Well, about a quarter mile up the beach we came upon a house with a guy standing at the door looking at us and pointing what looked to be an AK-47 in our general direction. At that point common sense, and a bit of fear, finally kicked in and we beat a hasty retreat the other direction.
That night when we went to bed I left the door open but the screen door locked. About 2:00 am in the morning we heard a loud and frantic knock at the door. I jumped up, ran to the door and found a security guard with his gun pulled and the largest dog I have ever seen. I kid you not, well maybe a little, that this dog had a direct bloodline to Seabiscut. This dog had to be part horse. By this time I scared s...less! The guard said he was concerned that someone had broken in since the door was left open and that we needed to shut and lock the door immediately.
Those things made the trip memorable but it was our 1st experience snorkeling that really made a lasting impression. It was like nothing else we had ever experienced. This began many years of trips to the Islands. After trying many others we finally gave St. John a shot and have been hooked ever since. On New Years Night we return for 10 days for our 13th visit to our home away from home.
By the way I have really enjoyed reading this thread. Thanks for kicking it off.
I am so glad I did open this thread. I enjoyed writing and remembering and have very much enjoyed reading all the replies. Can't wait to get back there in less than 2 weeks. I promise to write a detailed trip report. Thanks to everyone.
cheers, Snorkles
<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">
<img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/ ... t.png"></a>
<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">
<img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/ ... t.png"></a>
1994 St. Thomas/St. John. I won a trip from a 7-UP bottle contest called Uncola Island...yep, unscrewed the cap and voila - 5 nights on STT and it happened to be our 10 year anniversary. We took a day trip to STJ, rented a Jeep for the day, explored the entire island and fell in love! I told hubby he would have to bring me back for our 20 year anniversary (we were scrimping pennies back then!!) and lo and behold, he did and we have gone every year in December since. I can't even think of going anywhere else. We have introduced several friends who are also addicted and they join us each year. This December will be our 10th trip and there are still things we have not seen or done!! 
1992, Bahamas. It was a trip that was paid for by my mother and her husband. It was a Disney cruise. We went to Nassau. I was not impressed with the town. We went on a snorkel trip to Paradise Island. The beach was beautiful but the reef was dead so the snorkeling was not great. I had been snorkeling in the FL Keys before this trip several times which was much better. It did make me want to return to the Caribbean though. I didn't go back to the Caribbean until 1999 when we went to Turks and Caicos. I found STJ in 2005 and by far love it the best! I have been to Bonaire and Cozumel since then, but nothing beats the beaches in STJ!
Last edited by sea-nile on Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
-
Chris @ Work
- Posts: 115
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 3:46 pm
- Location: League City, TX
1986. My wife and I were to celebrate our honeymoon (8 years in and 1 child after) and thought of a national park. We had a National Geographic book on parks and spent hours dreaming of the options. There was a section on the USVI and STJ in particular "where one can get away" so we went to the travel agent (yes, that's what one used back then...no internet).
We explained we wanted to rest on a beach "OK so you want Cancun!" she said and we said no, in the caribbean and she said "OK so a cruise!" and we said no and pulled out the book. "OK but I don't have information on this place called Caneel so I'll have to fax them and call you back". DId I mention this was 1986?
We land at old STT airport and walk into the worn out terminal decorated with those multicolored flags you find at used car dealerships. "What have we done? I asked myself while being taxied to the ferry. We checked into Caneel and were taken to our cottage.
Still blown away by the views, surroundings and possibilities while looking out on BVI it dawn on me...I took out the book and the first page of the STJ section had a picture of Caneel Bay and in the upper LH section our cottage. Fate, karma, you name it but STJ is still the only place we can come to "and get away".
Did I mention our second child is named Jonathan?
We explained we wanted to rest on a beach "OK so you want Cancun!" she said and we said no, in the caribbean and she said "OK so a cruise!" and we said no and pulled out the book. "OK but I don't have information on this place called Caneel so I'll have to fax them and call you back". DId I mention this was 1986?
We land at old STT airport and walk into the worn out terminal decorated with those multicolored flags you find at used car dealerships. "What have we done? I asked myself while being taxied to the ferry. We checked into Caneel and were taken to our cottage.
Still blown away by the views, surroundings and possibilities while looking out on BVI it dawn on me...I took out the book and the first page of the STJ section had a picture of Caneel Bay and in the upper LH section our cottage. Fate, karma, you name it but STJ is still the only place we can come to "and get away".
Did I mention our second child is named Jonathan?
This brings back so many memories to me. That first trip to St.Croix, we took a sail boat to Buck Island after we were married at the court house. It was only me, what's his name and the skipper. I jumped off the boat first and immediately had a group of those little needle nose fish swimming around me and I thought they were going to kill me. It was a wonderful experience. We drank rum and skipper sang songs to us. I wonder where what's his name is today. I hope he is ok wherever he is because he intoduced me to the most magical thing I could ever imagined. The love of my life, the Caribe!
cheers, Snorkles
<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">
<img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/ ... t.png"></a>
<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">
<img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/ ... t.png"></a>
-
howie's sunshine
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:44 am
Bless you Howie's Sunshine. I've been on this forum for a long time and remember your loss. I hope and pray you can go back soon.
cheers, Snorkles
<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">
<img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/ ... t.png"></a>
<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">
<img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/ ... t.png"></a>
Our first was June 1975, our honeymoon. Friends had suggested a Caribbean cruise, so we flew down to Miami on National Airlines (remember them?)
Took the Norwegian/Caribbean ship Skyward (small by today's standards) to Cape Haitian (Haiti), San Juan PR, STT, and Puerto Plata DR.
Being that off-shore activities were much more limited than they are today, we didn't get to STJ. Didn't even make it over to Magen's Bay. But as we sailed out of Charlotte Amaile, we stared at that turquoise water & promised each other that we'd return to the VI.
Took the Norwegian/Caribbean ship Skyward (small by today's standards) to Cape Haitian (Haiti), San Juan PR, STT, and Puerto Plata DR.
Being that off-shore activities were much more limited than they are today, we didn't get to STJ. Didn't even make it over to Magen's Bay. But as we sailed out of Charlotte Amaile, we stared at that turquoise water & promised each other that we'd return to the VI.