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time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:26 am
by zhawkz
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.

Re: time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 11:32 am
by Coconuts
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

Re: time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 12:09 pm
by waterguy
I came back last Thursday we got to the airport 3.5 hrs early used a porter and only had 45min to spare.

Re: time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 1:30 pm
by ironman417
Hello and just asking, do you bring all your luggage with you when you go for lunch in STT?....Al

Re: time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 2:11 pm
by waterguy
We used Rachel for our taxi and she held it for us for 3 hours no charge

Re: time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 4:39 pm
by Lindy
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.

Re: time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:06 pm
by zhawkz
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."

Re: time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:39 pm
by Coconuts
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

Re: time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:45 am
by RonUSVI
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.

Re: time for lunch on way back?

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:21 pm
by mindehankins
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.