USVI-On-Line

I just returned from a whirlwind Thursday-Monday run from Boston to STJ. A wonderful trip for my sister-in-law's wedding. There were a lot of us traveling. We rented 3 villas up on Roman Road (near the Westin) - Seagrass Cottage, Crystal Seaview and Tre Vista.

High Points:

Got to finally meet Ruth who was sitting on the deck of Grateful Shed having a cocktail as I made my way up her driveway to go to the reception up at Tre Vista!!! What a cool house she has - in a neat area!! So sorry for all of the noise we made, Ruth. I hop we weren't too irritating

Trunk Bay - Always disliked this beach due to crowds. We spent most of the day there on Friday and it was great! Crowds were small and the beach is all there still. Plus - we had the El Presidente flowing from the snack shack. All good.

Paris Car Rental - Never used them before. When I got there, Catered To had arranged for my late arrival as it was after 6. I went back the next morning to fill out the paperwork and no one was there at 10:30 a.m. I called, left a VM and never stopped back to do anything until I returned the car. NO PROBLEM from them with that at all. EASY. Love that.

Tre Vista - Can you say WOW? Place is unbelievable. Views, infinity edge pool, a big lawn, fantastic kitchen. It was perfect as an accommodation and as a wedding reception site.

Crystal Seaview and Seagrass Cottage - Crystal is MUCH bigger and more modern than Seagrass. My mother described it as a "mansion." I wouldn't go that far - but it is very nice; and has all of the amenities. Seagrass is a typical "Caribbean" style villa. Beautiful views, but with plenty of mileage. I would be happy to answer questions about any of these.

Passion Fruit Caterers!! AWESOME people. Food was amazing and they picked up the slack after some minor disasters at the outset of the reception (one, for example was when the power went out at the villa during the "toasts" to the Bride - and my 6 year old nephew fell in the pool!!

Not So Goods:

Katilady as a wedding planner. I won't get into it here; but suffice it to say, the groom asked them to LEAVE at the start of the reception. A nightmare.

Cinnamon Bay Beach - Where did it go?? The wedding reception was here; and the beach wasn't. No fault attached to it, as I love the place - but I liked it a LOT more when it had 20 yards of sand between the trees and the break!!!

4 Day "vacation" - Geez. Just when I got settled in we had to leave. What's up with that?

American Airlines' new "mute" pilots - I am not a huge fan of flying. I am really comfortable in the small planes because you can see and hear everything. A lot less comfortable at 48,000 feet than at 5,000. One thing that makes me feel better is the few times that the pilot/flight deck guys come on the horn and tell me 1) where we are; 2) when we're getting there and 3) how the flight is going. On the way from BOS to SJU we got two total soundbites. One right after takeoff, and the second to tell the flight crew to get buckled up midway through the flight due to turbulance. On the way home there was NONE until we started to descend into Boston - no "we'll be cruising at 48,000 feet; temperature in Boston is 45 degrees and raining" - Nothing NADA. Hey - its a pet peave.

Neither here nor there - but FYI:

We LOVE Rachael. Have used here a number of time. BUT - something I did not know until this trip is that the cost is DOUBLE that of taking a cab that is sitting at the airport. We had 14 people in our group when we arrived on Thursday. She had another cab in tow. We went from the airport to Charlotte Amalie. The charge was $12 per person (which included 1 carry on per person). Seemed really steep to me for a 10 minute ride. On the way back, I asked a cab that was sitting in CA what the fare was. He quoted me $6 a head. When I mentioned this to Rachael, she said that was the difference between a pre-arranged cab and one that was sitting at the dock. Hmm. I thought we were helping her out by hiring her in "advance" - guaranteeing her a fare. Anyway - not sure I will be doing that again. As I said, we really do like her - she's very sweet - but that just doesn't seem right to me.

All said - it was a great time. Can't wait to insert the Feb '11 ticker

-DUX

Great report!
I didn't see your Rachel FYi, though

What's the FYOI on Rachel?

BTW do you live in Duxbury, MA? Your forum name leads me to that question.

Sorry - I missed the Rachael part - just edited it and put it in!!

YES - I've been in Duxbury for the past 11 years. Love it here Have you been?

DuxDweller wrote:Sorry - I missed the Rachael part - just edited it and put it in!!

YES - I've been in Duxbury for the past 11 years. Love it here Have you been?

My cousin has lived there for 17+ years. Have visited many times.

Yes, a private taxi is much more expensive. That is the reason that many people do not use them.

In a brief (and I hope semi-accurate)explanation, you need to be part of an association that allows you to pick up people at the airport. If you are not part of this association, you have to have prearranged "Charter" trips in order to take passengers out of the airport and out of Red Hook. I do not fully understand all the details and legalities, but it is very hard and expensive to get into these associations. They get much more business and can only charge the posted rates. A private taxi has to really hustle for business. Get to know people at resorts, on web boards, etc. It is a tough job, in my opinion, and very competitive.

All that being said, and as much as I LOVE Rachel, I don't think it is is worth it if you are taking the downtown ferry.

Thanks again for the report!

I don't mind taking a cab at the airport to get to the downtown ferry. However, if I have to go to Red Hook again, I'm hiring someone to take me. Last time we went to RH, we had nine people in the cab, plus luggage and we missed our ferry because he waited over a half hour to squeeze two more people in. We even offered to give him extra money, but because it's a set rate, he wouldn't leave. After that I have been going from downtown, but honestly in a similar situation, it's worth it to pay twice as much, especially when the rental car place closed on us.

Sorry to hear that the wedding planner didn't work out but glad to hear that the ute did not drown in the pool on S-I-L's wedding day! Would you consider sharing the gory details of what went wrong? I'd be curious since friends are thinking about a STJ wedding using a planner.

I know what you mean about the short trips. It takes me 4 days to finally get relaxed.

LuLu - I did not think of that aspect of it; though I always have at least my 6 with me - so I probably fill the cab without having to wait.

Either way - it is just an FYI so that no one is surprised.

99 - Short version is that they were really not a "help" at all. For example, they missed the "rehearsal" at Cinnamon and then tried to claim that we either weren't there or were swimming and drinking beer so could not be located. I can testify that there were 30 of us; fully clothed and waiting on the beach. We did the rehearsal on our own.

I'd be happy to add details if you or anyone else wants to PM me.

Thanks Dux, will do.

Dux,

Thanks for the report and overall sounds like you had a great time in spite of the wedding planner issue and the fall into the pool.

Agent, I highly recommend Stacie Mulcare as a wedding planner on island. She planned ours and also our friends. She is the best! Her husband makes excellent cakes too.

Thanks for the great mini report. All very useful information. 4 days is short, but it makes you just want to come back again soon! We were also married there, a great excuse to keep coming back. Hope they invite you too! And I agree about silent pilots. I feel better when I hear from them now and then. Mary Beth & DuxDweller, my husband's parent, sisters, etc all live in Duxbury. We spend lots of time there. Beautiful town. We're headed up there for the holidays & his parent's 50th anniversary. I'll need a trip to St. John after that!

It was fun meeting you, Dux.
I work with wedding planners a lot on St. John and they are all very professional. I was not aware that Katilady was a wedding planner. Must be something recent.
Get that ticker going for the next trip.
See you then!
- Ruth

Wonderful short report, Dux! Sounds like a really fun wedding.