USVI-On-Line

Travelers: Two New England couples, ages 51 thru 58, second trip to St. John. Fairly active people, not into parties/nightlife. Enjoy good food, beaches and water sports.
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My husband and I (B&D) and our friends R&P were scheduled to leave on the 7:30am AA flight from JFK but, due to a rather "crappy" situation (see thread "Paradise delayed"), we had to move our departure to Sunday, same flight. Our friends went on ahead. But, as we all know, problems happen in multiples - one of our checked bags did not arrive. How does that happen on a non-stop flight?? Thankfully we had packed a few things in our carry-ons, enough to keep us in clothes for a few days, and the villa had a W/D so we didn't stress it too much. We had our diving & snorkel gear so we were good.

Arrived on St. John at 2:15pm on Sunday, greeted by R&P. Enjoyed drinks and mahi tacos at Mojo's Cafe, then wrote some sandscript for the webcam... anyone see it? JIGZ with a crazy lady waving, about 3pm on the 25th? I felt a bit odd, as there was a gentleman standing on the balcony right under the camera, watching the whole thing. He probably thought I was drunk.

R&P had already picked up the jeep from St. John Car Rental and groceries from Starfish Market, so we headed out to Oleander villa. In brief - very nice place, well appointed, wonderful location, great view, tiny pool. We settled in, hung out a bit then got cleaned up and back to town for dinner. Went to The Balcony for a so-so meal, nothing special. Lunches are much better. Back to the villa for nightcaps and early bedtime.

Monday morning we were up early, had breakfast in the villa, packed up the jeep and headed out to a beach for some R&R. We saw Hawksnest to be nearly empty so stopped there. It was wonderful! Snorkeling was OK, water was cool but heavenly. Drove out to Shipwreck Landing for a delicious lunch of fresh fish sandwiches, but our noshing was cut short by a phone call that our lost luggage would arrive at the ferry dock in 30 minutes and we had to meet it or it would be returned to AA. Off we go, back to Cruz Bay in seriously record time and got our bag. Rest of the afternoon at the villa, then dinner at Uncle Joe's BBQ, it was amazingly good.

Tuesday morning was the guy's first dive with Low Key Watersports so we gals headed off to Gibney beach for some snorkeling - it was my first time left-side driving and I did just fine. Nice little beach, snorkeling was fine, nothing special. The beach was mostly in the shade so we went back to Hawksnest to sit in the sun before meeting the guys for a tasty lunch at the Banana Deck. Afternoon at the villa then back to town early; the guys had a night dive so us gals hit the town for some serious shopping. Dinner at Morgan's Mango, can't pass up lobster night!

Second Half soon come!

We had a delayed bag on that same AA flight in December. (We had driven 6 hours from VT to JFK, thinking that a non-stop flight was the best way to go in winter.) I agree with you - how can they misplace a bag that's tagged for a non-stop flight? Glad you had your snorkel gear; we didn't for the first three days. I learned my lesson with that one.
I look forward to reading the rest of your TR.

Glad you finally got to the island are off to a great start!!!

Regarding lost luggage on direct flights. Rumor has it that occasionally they aren't really "lost" - the airline just has to prioritize their commercial cargo (mail, crates, etc) and if the plane gets full, luggage is the first to be "bumped" from the ride!

Maybe not at all true, but I sure believe it.

Send the second half of your report soon!

vi lover wrote: Regarding lost luggage on direct flights. Rumor has it that occasionally they aren't really "lost" - the airline just has to prioritize their commercial cargo (mail, crates, etc) and if the plane gets full, luggage is the first to be "bumped" from the ride!

I have worked in an airport handling bags from the curb all the way to the back room where they make it onto the carriers out to the planes. I have never heard of such a thing. Those bags simply either were tagged incorrectly, or in most cases, didn't get loaded on the plane in time for take off.

Thanks for sharing your experiences....I can never read enough about STJ!!

Great start! I did see your sandscript. It looked good, but he tide was getting to the "Z" by the time I pulled up the cam.

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

adsjayhawk wrote:Great start! I did see your sandscript. It looked good, but he tide was getting to the "Z" by the time I pulled up the cam.

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

I'm glad someone saw the sandscript! Our trip was last week and yes, we did enjoy it, thanks! I'll post the second half soon.

As for the luggage, we checked two bags at the same time so they should have been together, we had both claim tags. After we filed the claim, we called numerous times that afternoon and the next morning, was told it was "not in the system." There was no tag on the bag when it arrived; my guess is that the check-in person did not put the tag on and it just sat at JFK until we filed the lost luggage claim, describing the bag (it's an unusual color).

I'm more and more becoming convinced to get scuba certified. A nightdive on STJ sounds incredible!
Happy for your successful trip thus far.
Have fun, and try a Johnny Cake, they're delish!
Smiles-
MJ