USVI-On-Line

Who: me, husband, sons (12 & 9), our friends (husband & wife), and their son (11). Our fifth time on STJ, their first.

When: Dec 26-Jan 4. Had a fabulous vacation, but will not travel during Christmas/New Years again. It was a completely different place - so crowded!! Nice to have nine days without having to pull the boys out of school, and the weather was good, but the crowds were just overwhelming.

Bullet points:
-stayed at Plumeria and LOVED it!!! Perfect for us! (Will post villa review soon.) We will absolutely stay there again when we return to STJ. The view is amazing and the indoor/outdoor living is addictive. I am really missing it now.
-rented 2 vehicles from Conrad Sutton. Good vehicles, parking was a nice perk.
-used a 24 can Polar Bear cooler to bring our frozen meat/dairy for the first time. Love that cooler!
-had Shanna at Blue Sky do our provisioning - great experience. We still had to make several "quick" trips to Starfish to restock throughout our vacation (gosh, our kids sure eat a lot!), but it was SO nice to arrive to a well stocked villa.
-"quick" trips to Starfish are not really all that quick. It was soooo crowded all of the time, and they were out of a lot of things very often. A result of the holiday crowds, I assume.
-spent a day with Captain Rick on Lion in da Sun. Fabulous Day! HIGHLY recommend a day with him.
-did a morning (9:30-12:30) kayak/snorkel with Jen from Hidden Reef Eco Tours. Loved it! Jen is the best!!
-island was so green! Had more rain than we've ever experienced, but nothing more than 10 minutes or so.
-enjoyed every morning on the deck with a big mug of Kiss of the Jumbie watching the sun begin to light up STT. Ahhh, best way to wake up. Love that Kiss of the Jumbie coffee from STJ Spice!
-discovered Valley Doll Hot Sauce #151 from STJ Spice!! Used it on everything!
-loved listening to the coqui frogs, puts me right to sleep.
-Cooked most of our meals, but had good food out as well: pizza from Ronnie's, bbq from Candi's, New Years Eve dinner at Banana Deck, lunch at Shipwreck, lunch at Trunk, lunch at Foxy's Taboo.
-beaches: Jumbie, Gibney, Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon, Maho, Leinster, Salt Pond, Haulover, Hanson. Love them all.
-everyday I took some time to just float in the water and be surrounded by "my color".
-experienced a 100 degree temperature change on the day we returned home to Minnesota! Not fun.
-a great vacation, will dream about this one and hope for the next!

Happy Travels to everyone!

Enjoyed your report! We have never been to STJ during high season as we were concerned about the crowds and how different the island would be from our normal summer or fall trips.

I was talking to my clients in MSP today it sounds pretty brutal up there right now. I have been to MSP in January but right now sounds like it is a lot colder than normal.

We leave in 3 weeks (eek!) and I am constantly lurking for current reports, thanks for posting! It will be us (mom, dad and 8yo) and our friends (no kids). I am using Blue Sky for the 2nd time, I love her service.

Enjoyed reading your TR, don't you just love "Plumeria"? The view really can't be beat. I stayed there in October of 2012 before Kevin and his wife purchased it and I hear he made some wonderful improvements. I don't think I would be a fan of going over the holidays due to the crowds but if someone wanted to drag me down there, I guess I would let them

I've always been curious about the "on" season....sounds like we'll continue to be "off-seasoners."

Thanks for the TR!

Stay warm!

High Season, right now is not busy. I was able to get seats/tables at Joes Rum Hut for Happy Hour the past week, walk in to Waterfront Bistro, High Tide and Virgin Fire with guests with out reservations. Was able to actually find food at Starfish on Saturday late afternoon still on the shelves.

Christmas is the busiest time on the island, even the "kids" servers/bartenders/retail do not party after work because they have to work long shifts during the days and nights.

Life is back to normal on island!

Btw Virgin Fire is becoming one of my favorite new restaurants on island. I love their half price appetizer menu during happy hour 4:30-6:00