time for lunch on way back?

zhawkz · Post by **zhawkz** » Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:26 am

Our flight leaves at 3:15 on a Wednesday (Jan 30). Generally, I know a weekend flight home means get to STT 3 hours early. But since it is a Wednesday, was thinking 3 hours was too much? Was hoping to grab lunch at Amalia Café before heading to the airport.

Coconuts · Post by **Coconuts** » Wed Jan 09, 2013 11:32 am

zhawks: That place has really great reviews on TripAdvisor, and I have been itching to find a window to eat there. You could take the 11:15 ferry from Cruz Bay to Charlotte Amalie, which brings you to the dock a bit before noon, walk to the restaurant, and have time for a leisurely meal before taking a short cab ride (ten minutes) to the airport. If you were there on or before 2 PM on a weekday, your 3:15 PM flight should be easy to make. Let us know how you like it!

All the best,

Kevin

waterguy · Post by **waterguy** » Wed Jan 09, 2013 12:09 pm

I came back last Thursday we got to the airport 3.5 hrs early used a porter and only had 45min to spare.

ironman417 · Post by **ironman417** » Wed Jan 09, 2013 1:30 pm

Hello and just asking, do you bring all your luggage with you when you go for lunch in STT?....Al

waterguy · Post by **waterguy** » Wed Jan 09, 2013 2:11 pm

We used Rachel for our taxi and she held it for us for 3 hours no charge

Lindy · Post by **Lindy** » Wed Jan 09, 2013 4:39 pm

Al - If you take the downtown ferry to Charlotte Amalie you can park your luggage at the Visitor's Center across the street from where the ferry drops you off. They will also call a cab for you when you are ready to head to the airport.

zhawkz · Post by **zhawkz** » Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:06 pm

Okay now which is it?

"You could take the 11:15 ferry from Cruz Bay to Charlotte Amalie, which brings you to the dock a bit before noon, walk to the restaurant, and have time for a leisurely meal before taking a short cab ride (ten minutes) to the airport. If you were there on or before 2 PM on a weekday, your 3:15 PM flight should be easy to make."
OR
"I came back last Thursday we got to the airport 3.5 hrs early used a porter and only had 45min to spare."

Coconuts · Post by **Coconuts** » Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:39 pm

zhawkz: As with many things, it probably follows a bell curve. Was Waterguy's two and three-quarter hour ordeal a two sigma or three sigma outlier? Dunno. We have caught a LOT of flights out of STT over the years, made them all, and show up from one to two hours (max) ahead of our departure time. I'll admit, that does include some close calls when we were cutting it close and the check-in, customs/border, and security queues were loaded. One dodge that I have seen but not used is paying a porter to assist with your bags; I don't know if this is always the case, but I have seen them escort travelers past the folks waiting in the customs/border line, and directly to an agent.

All the best,

Kevin

RonUSVI · Post by **RonUSVI** » Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:45 am

Any one of the cabbies at the dock in CA will hold your luggage for you while you eat/shop then take you to the airport. They have been doing that for years.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:21 pm

Zhawkz, it took about 2 hours to get through customs and tsa today (no porter). Busiest I've seen the airport. We usually travel in April.

usvi-on-line