usvi-on-line
Trip report Feb 23 to Mar 2 - long
Trip report Feb 23 to Mar 2 - long
We took our 7th trip to St. John during the last week of February. Our party consisted of seven repeaters, including our two year old son, and two newbies.
I rented the villa from Saturday to Sunday as a way of easing Hubs into a future 10 day vacation.
We drove down to Philly the night before and stayed at the Sheraton Suites. The hotel is under renovation and is not equipped to accommodate the number of guests coming through for the stay/fly packages. The 5 am line for the airport shuttle was more than hotel could handle and tempers flared.
Transportation
USAir from Philly, direct to STT. The flight got off a bit late but all in all, ok.
We used the Christopher Taxi/Dohm's Water Taxi services again, which was as good as we remembered. For a group of our size (including luggage), it is a few bucks more per person.
We rented two, nearly brand new Dodge Nitros from St. John Car Rental. This was our 4th straight year renting from this business.
Nitro #1 was on empty, which required a trip back to the rental office, where they told us to fill it ourselves, and then to the gas station. This was annoying as driving back thru town was not on the top of our list of desires at this point in the travel day.
Hubs filled Nitro #2 with gas prior to returning it and was surprised when STJCR informed him we would be charged a $20 fee (plus cost of gas) to top it off. He elected to drive himself to the gas station, where it took another $4 to push the gauge over the F line. When they say they want the vehicle tanks filled, they mean filled to the tippy top.
Funny, they didn't offer to pay us the $20 service fee when we received Nitro #1 with an empty tank. When Nitro #1 was returned empty as instructed, there was a bit of back and forth until the clerk recognized that STJCR had indeed acknowledged on the rental agreement and approved in writing the empty tank status.
No big deal, we will continue to rent from them but being in business ourselves, we continue to be bemused by the STJ standards of customer service.
For our Sunday return trip, the USAir line at the airport was insane. The taxi driver called ahead to one of his porter friends, which saved the day for us. She charged us $3 per bag, plus tip.
While we have used porters in the past, I don't ever remember the time savings being so great. We heard from people in the waiting area that they stood in the USAir check-in line for more than 1.5 hours. I honestly can't believe there hasn't been some sort of riot or uprising over the porter-issue.
Our return flight was interesting, to say the least. After take-off, the plane's landing gear would not retract. After the announcement that we would land in San Juan for maintenance, we circled some island off the coast of PR for what felt like two hours. (We where greeted in San Juan by a fleet of fire trucks and emergency vehicles!)
Since I am trying to suppress the memory, I am not going to recount the following 12 hours. Let me just say, happiness was the San Juan airport fading into the distance under a tranquilizer-induced fog.
Activities/Snorkeling
For the first time ever, I saw both turtles and octopi while snorkeling. We could see turtles from the beach at Peter Bay, Maho and Waterlemon.
While snorkeling at Maho, I literally saw so many turtles at a time; I was scared I would bump into one of them. At any given time, there were at least six to eight swimming right in my immediate area. I saw little dinner-plate sized ones as well as mature turtles with remora.
I saw my first octopus at Waterlemon and the second at Francis. In addition to the octopus, I saw a great number of tiny (baby) fish at Waterlemon. It really was like swimming in an aquarium. The first mate on Born to Rhumb said snorkeling at Waterlemon was hit or miss recently so I considered myself lucky that day. The Francis snorkel was also enjoyable with lots of large schools of fish and active feeding.
We chartered Born to Rhumb for a day trip. We were very happy with the boat and crew. It was our 6th STJ boat trip and probably our most enjoyable for many reasons. I would be happy to answer specific questions but since everyone looks for something different in a great charter, I won't take up room on why it was so great for us.
I was the only one willing to snorkel that day so we made a stop at Waterlemon and then cleared customs in Tortola. We had lunch at Cooper Island and stopped at White Bay on the way back.
White Bay was like OC, MD shore in the middle of summer. I could not believe the amount of people on the beach in the middle of the week. The first mate said White Bay's popularity seems to have exploded in the past year. While I made glad we made the stop for the newbies, we probably won't visit again until someone else has the desire to see it.
We hit the following beaches during our week; Peter Bay (several times), Maho, Hawksnest, and Francis. We intended to visit Jumby and Gibney but there was no place to park at either each time we past, both were parked full with many, many vehicles along the road.
My mom's boyfriend reported seeing a 4' black tip shark while snorkeling at Waterlemon. Because I know he is not one to exaggerate and he kept a rather large fishing boat (meaning he knows fish/sharks) on the Delaware coast for many years, I have no reason to doubt him on the shark sighting. Id of the species, maybe, but the actual sighting, I definitely believe him.
We saw a morning wedding at Hawksnest, complete with the groom picking the bride up and rushing into the water fully clothed after the ceremony! This provided material for a long "would you be pissed if..." conversation between us three married couples. To the newlywed couple, thanks for giving us reason to reminisce about our own weddings and newlywed years!
Housing
We rented Rivendell from Viva Vacations. It is located in Lower Peter Bay. The house surprised me in pleasant and unpleasant ways. I will post a separate review in a few days.
We loved the North Shore location with quick access to all the beaches and the easy drive to town. The Peter Bay beach access is ok but the walk down via a very rustic path (completed with ankle-busting rocks) as well as the steep return was not as easy as I hoped. Add a little kid and beach stuff to the trek and we certainly got a work out during the week.
According to our observations, the rock monster house appears to be complete and occupied. We saw people coming and going out of the house as well as hanging around on the patios.
Food/Drink
We took a cooler full of frozen meats for the stay at home folks. The Polar Beach/Techniice performed well. Our meat stayed frozen solid for 36 hours. The advance meal planning worked well for our group as it definitely saved me time while on vacation.
We pre-ordered a started package from Katilady and beverages from Mixology. Both orders were on-time and correct.
We dined at Lime Inn, Caneel buffet, Morgan's Mango, Stone Terrace, and Zozo's in the evenings. We enjoyed all very much and the food this trip seemed exceptionally good. Automatic gratuity of 18% to 20% was added at each restaurant, sometimes it was brought to our attention, sometimes not.
I would describe our group as high on the picky customer scale for a number of reasons including; playing frustrated amateur chef at home, working in the industry, and way, way, way too much expense account eating and drinking. We enjoy casual as much as the more formal places. We are still talking about our great dining experiences last week.
After that disclosure, I can honestly say there was only one evening when all six of us were not very pleased with our meals. That evening was at the Caneel buffet and our displeasure was caused by the crowds.
We have stayed at Caneel several times in the summer and have eaten there on winter vacations. I wasn't going to post about this but the experience was too much to keep to myself.
Looking back on it, our visit was negatively impacted by timing. We sat down at 7pm and the place was mobbed. About 20% of the guests were like us, normally dressed and behaving like reasonable adults. The other 80% seemed to come straight from the beach (or a deserted island) and were ready to CHOW DOWN.
The line at the lobster station was ridiculously long and people were literally making pigs out of themselves. We have never experienced the free-for-all, pushy crowd behave we witnessed that night.
The guy in front of me took four lobsters; the one in front of him took three. As a result of people trying to eat their weight in food, the grill could not keep up with the crowd and the lobsters were under-cooked each time one of our group tried to eat one.
I am not kidding - People were yelling at the cooks, demanding more food. It was insane. There was a group of 20-somethings that physically pushed people in order to get to the front of the line. This particular group made a real spectacle of themselves and there seemed to be a mob uprising brewing based on the comments around me.
This was disappointing for us as we were really looking forward to then lobster portion of the buffet.
There were six adults in our group that night and five ordered wine by the glass. The waiter first had us order by brand and variety, then came back and asked us to order by bin number. My $10 glass came topped off with ice.
I would definitely do the Caneel buffet again but not during high season. Lobster induced madness aside, the rest of the food was worth the cost but not as relaxing as we would have liked. I have a detailed run down of all the offerings, pm me if you are interested.
Lunches at Shipwreck, Island Blues, and the Ocean Grill were good as well. Lunch at the Cooper Island Beach Club was wonderfully casual with tables set right in the sand under the palm trees.
Part of the group ate at Skinny's for lunch on day and the Ocean Grill and Pastory for dinner. They reported the Ocean Grill was not nearly as good for dinner as it was for lunch.
Kid stuff
We traveled by plane, train, and car since he was two months old. This trip was the first time it felt like work. While worth it (for our family), I have discovered we are in a period where the parental energy required seems to increase significantly along with his size/age.
Also, I think our group size affected the situation. The four "aunties and uncles" and the grandparents added tons of excitement for his days and evenings, which sometimes resulted in more work for us.
Travel was no problem at all. I purchased a portable DVD player as a last line of defense but he did very well in the airport and on the plane.
The beach was so much fun but tiring as he wanted to be in the water ALL THE TIME. If anyone saw a woman swimming up and down Maho with a little blonde boy on her back for hours at a time, it was likely me.
Although the house came with a portable bed, we took along his Peapod travel bed. We are on our second model and I love this product.
I packed just a few books and three toys, which was perfect. It kept clutter to a minimum.
I took way too many diapers and clothes. I could have easily gotten by with half as much although the extras did come in handy during our airport confinement.
Random stuff
We finally made it to Sloop Jones and purchased shirts for the entire family. We are going to be just too cute in our island outfits come summertime.
Is it just me or are there fewer goats and donkeys on the island? All week we saw only one set of goats/sheep and one set of donkeys in Coral Bay as well as the resident Caneel donkeys.
I made it to the Beach Bar gathering and it was so great to meet up with a few forum friends. I am so glad I "scheduled" myself the time to be there. Based on the group conversations, it really is a very small world.
The newbies really seemed to enjoy themselves. Technically, they were only half newbies as they visited St. John more than once on day trips and spent time on St. Croix with a family friend who lived there full-time.
No matter how well everyone behaves and gets along, eight adults under one roof is lot of people. It was more work for me than I anticipated.
Our first three STJ trips were in the summer, we switched to winter trips in 2005. While I do love the break from the Pennsylvania winters, I am beginning to miss the STJ low season.
Sickness within our big group as well as receiving some very sad news from home on our last day put a different (sad/stressful) spin on the trip but a great time was had by most none the less. This was the first year we didn't seriously start planning the next winter's trip but Hubs and I are currently planning a late summer/early fall trip for just our immediate family.
Sorry no pic yet, maybe I will find the time this week.
I rented the villa from Saturday to Sunday as a way of easing Hubs into a future 10 day vacation.
We drove down to Philly the night before and stayed at the Sheraton Suites. The hotel is under renovation and is not equipped to accommodate the number of guests coming through for the stay/fly packages. The 5 am line for the airport shuttle was more than hotel could handle and tempers flared.
Transportation
USAir from Philly, direct to STT. The flight got off a bit late but all in all, ok.
We used the Christopher Taxi/Dohm's Water Taxi services again, which was as good as we remembered. For a group of our size (including luggage), it is a few bucks more per person.
We rented two, nearly brand new Dodge Nitros from St. John Car Rental. This was our 4th straight year renting from this business.
Nitro #1 was on empty, which required a trip back to the rental office, where they told us to fill it ourselves, and then to the gas station. This was annoying as driving back thru town was not on the top of our list of desires at this point in the travel day.
Hubs filled Nitro #2 with gas prior to returning it and was surprised when STJCR informed him we would be charged a $20 fee (plus cost of gas) to top it off. He elected to drive himself to the gas station, where it took another $4 to push the gauge over the F line. When they say they want the vehicle tanks filled, they mean filled to the tippy top.
Funny, they didn't offer to pay us the $20 service fee when we received Nitro #1 with an empty tank. When Nitro #1 was returned empty as instructed, there was a bit of back and forth until the clerk recognized that STJCR had indeed acknowledged on the rental agreement and approved in writing the empty tank status.
No big deal, we will continue to rent from them but being in business ourselves, we continue to be bemused by the STJ standards of customer service.
For our Sunday return trip, the USAir line at the airport was insane. The taxi driver called ahead to one of his porter friends, which saved the day for us. She charged us $3 per bag, plus tip.
While we have used porters in the past, I don't ever remember the time savings being so great. We heard from people in the waiting area that they stood in the USAir check-in line for more than 1.5 hours. I honestly can't believe there hasn't been some sort of riot or uprising over the porter-issue.
Our return flight was interesting, to say the least. After take-off, the plane's landing gear would not retract. After the announcement that we would land in San Juan for maintenance, we circled some island off the coast of PR for what felt like two hours. (We where greeted in San Juan by a fleet of fire trucks and emergency vehicles!)
Since I am trying to suppress the memory, I am not going to recount the following 12 hours. Let me just say, happiness was the San Juan airport fading into the distance under a tranquilizer-induced fog.
Activities/Snorkeling
For the first time ever, I saw both turtles and octopi while snorkeling. We could see turtles from the beach at Peter Bay, Maho and Waterlemon.
While snorkeling at Maho, I literally saw so many turtles at a time; I was scared I would bump into one of them. At any given time, there were at least six to eight swimming right in my immediate area. I saw little dinner-plate sized ones as well as mature turtles with remora.
I saw my first octopus at Waterlemon and the second at Francis. In addition to the octopus, I saw a great number of tiny (baby) fish at Waterlemon. It really was like swimming in an aquarium. The first mate on Born to Rhumb said snorkeling at Waterlemon was hit or miss recently so I considered myself lucky that day. The Francis snorkel was also enjoyable with lots of large schools of fish and active feeding.
We chartered Born to Rhumb for a day trip. We were very happy with the boat and crew. It was our 6th STJ boat trip and probably our most enjoyable for many reasons. I would be happy to answer specific questions but since everyone looks for something different in a great charter, I won't take up room on why it was so great for us.
I was the only one willing to snorkel that day so we made a stop at Waterlemon and then cleared customs in Tortola. We had lunch at Cooper Island and stopped at White Bay on the way back.
White Bay was like OC, MD shore in the middle of summer. I could not believe the amount of people on the beach in the middle of the week. The first mate said White Bay's popularity seems to have exploded in the past year. While I made glad we made the stop for the newbies, we probably won't visit again until someone else has the desire to see it.
We hit the following beaches during our week; Peter Bay (several times), Maho, Hawksnest, and Francis. We intended to visit Jumby and Gibney but there was no place to park at either each time we past, both were parked full with many, many vehicles along the road.
My mom's boyfriend reported seeing a 4' black tip shark while snorkeling at Waterlemon. Because I know he is not one to exaggerate and he kept a rather large fishing boat (meaning he knows fish/sharks) on the Delaware coast for many years, I have no reason to doubt him on the shark sighting. Id of the species, maybe, but the actual sighting, I definitely believe him.
We saw a morning wedding at Hawksnest, complete with the groom picking the bride up and rushing into the water fully clothed after the ceremony! This provided material for a long "would you be pissed if..." conversation between us three married couples. To the newlywed couple, thanks for giving us reason to reminisce about our own weddings and newlywed years!
Housing
We rented Rivendell from Viva Vacations. It is located in Lower Peter Bay. The house surprised me in pleasant and unpleasant ways. I will post a separate review in a few days.
We loved the North Shore location with quick access to all the beaches and the easy drive to town. The Peter Bay beach access is ok but the walk down via a very rustic path (completed with ankle-busting rocks) as well as the steep return was not as easy as I hoped. Add a little kid and beach stuff to the trek and we certainly got a work out during the week.
According to our observations, the rock monster house appears to be complete and occupied. We saw people coming and going out of the house as well as hanging around on the patios.
Food/Drink
We took a cooler full of frozen meats for the stay at home folks. The Polar Beach/Techniice performed well. Our meat stayed frozen solid for 36 hours. The advance meal planning worked well for our group as it definitely saved me time while on vacation.
We pre-ordered a started package from Katilady and beverages from Mixology. Both orders were on-time and correct.
We dined at Lime Inn, Caneel buffet, Morgan's Mango, Stone Terrace, and Zozo's in the evenings. We enjoyed all very much and the food this trip seemed exceptionally good. Automatic gratuity of 18% to 20% was added at each restaurant, sometimes it was brought to our attention, sometimes not.
I would describe our group as high on the picky customer scale for a number of reasons including; playing frustrated amateur chef at home, working in the industry, and way, way, way too much expense account eating and drinking. We enjoy casual as much as the more formal places. We are still talking about our great dining experiences last week.
After that disclosure, I can honestly say there was only one evening when all six of us were not very pleased with our meals. That evening was at the Caneel buffet and our displeasure was caused by the crowds.
We have stayed at Caneel several times in the summer and have eaten there on winter vacations. I wasn't going to post about this but the experience was too much to keep to myself.
Looking back on it, our visit was negatively impacted by timing. We sat down at 7pm and the place was mobbed. About 20% of the guests were like us, normally dressed and behaving like reasonable adults. The other 80% seemed to come straight from the beach (or a deserted island) and were ready to CHOW DOWN.
The line at the lobster station was ridiculously long and people were literally making pigs out of themselves. We have never experienced the free-for-all, pushy crowd behave we witnessed that night.
The guy in front of me took four lobsters; the one in front of him took three. As a result of people trying to eat their weight in food, the grill could not keep up with the crowd and the lobsters were under-cooked each time one of our group tried to eat one.
I am not kidding - People were yelling at the cooks, demanding more food. It was insane. There was a group of 20-somethings that physically pushed people in order to get to the front of the line. This particular group made a real spectacle of themselves and there seemed to be a mob uprising brewing based on the comments around me.
This was disappointing for us as we were really looking forward to then lobster portion of the buffet.
There were six adults in our group that night and five ordered wine by the glass. The waiter first had us order by brand and variety, then came back and asked us to order by bin number. My $10 glass came topped off with ice.
I would definitely do the Caneel buffet again but not during high season. Lobster induced madness aside, the rest of the food was worth the cost but not as relaxing as we would have liked. I have a detailed run down of all the offerings, pm me if you are interested.
Lunches at Shipwreck, Island Blues, and the Ocean Grill were good as well. Lunch at the Cooper Island Beach Club was wonderfully casual with tables set right in the sand under the palm trees.
Part of the group ate at Skinny's for lunch on day and the Ocean Grill and Pastory for dinner. They reported the Ocean Grill was not nearly as good for dinner as it was for lunch.
Kid stuff
We traveled by plane, train, and car since he was two months old. This trip was the first time it felt like work. While worth it (for our family), I have discovered we are in a period where the parental energy required seems to increase significantly along with his size/age.
Also, I think our group size affected the situation. The four "aunties and uncles" and the grandparents added tons of excitement for his days and evenings, which sometimes resulted in more work for us.
Travel was no problem at all. I purchased a portable DVD player as a last line of defense but he did very well in the airport and on the plane.
The beach was so much fun but tiring as he wanted to be in the water ALL THE TIME. If anyone saw a woman swimming up and down Maho with a little blonde boy on her back for hours at a time, it was likely me.
Although the house came with a portable bed, we took along his Peapod travel bed. We are on our second model and I love this product.
I packed just a few books and three toys, which was perfect. It kept clutter to a minimum.
I took way too many diapers and clothes. I could have easily gotten by with half as much although the extras did come in handy during our airport confinement.
Random stuff
We finally made it to Sloop Jones and purchased shirts for the entire family. We are going to be just too cute in our island outfits come summertime.
Is it just me or are there fewer goats and donkeys on the island? All week we saw only one set of goats/sheep and one set of donkeys in Coral Bay as well as the resident Caneel donkeys.
I made it to the Beach Bar gathering and it was so great to meet up with a few forum friends. I am so glad I "scheduled" myself the time to be there. Based on the group conversations, it really is a very small world.
The newbies really seemed to enjoy themselves. Technically, they were only half newbies as they visited St. John more than once on day trips and spent time on St. Croix with a family friend who lived there full-time.
No matter how well everyone behaves and gets along, eight adults under one roof is lot of people. It was more work for me than I anticipated.
Our first three STJ trips were in the summer, we switched to winter trips in 2005. While I do love the break from the Pennsylvania winters, I am beginning to miss the STJ low season.
Sickness within our big group as well as receiving some very sad news from home on our last day put a different (sad/stressful) spin on the trip but a great time was had by most none the less. This was the first year we didn't seriously start planning the next winter's trip but Hubs and I are currently planning a late summer/early fall trip for just our immediate family.
Sorry no pic yet, maybe I will find the time this week.
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martini girl
- Posts: 329
- Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:29 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
Nice report PA Girl. We loved Born to Rhumb when we took the trip last year. We were thinking of taking the ferry over to Jost this most recent trip, but after reading your mention of crowds, probably glad we didn't. We thought Cinnamon looked like the Jersey Shore in July. I found STJ noticeably more crowded this Feb than same time last year, however, I still need to get away from winter in PA so I guess we'll continue to deal with it. Thanks for the TR.
Thank you for the great trip report. We will be on St. John later this month and I have a couple questions for you. We have also scheduled Born to Rhumb and was wondering how you liked the Cooper Island Beach Club. Would it be a fun place to go with teenage kids? When is the Caneel buffet? Every night or just certain ones? Although after your experience I am second quessing eating there. What was the name of the cab driver that was able to call his porter friend on the way to the airport. I'll probably have more ?'s for you later!!
Badger
Badger
Thanks so much for the trip report! I travel with a big group every year and I am the organizing - I agree, it is a bit of work - I can't imagine having a baby, too (mine is 17, although we had one guy on last year's trip that was SOOOO needy 
Glad you enjoyed your day with Captain Kevin. I just love going on Born to Rhumb and we are looking forward to it again in April!
Glad you enjoyed your day with Captain Kevin. I just love going on Born to Rhumb and we are looking forward to it again in April!
Paula
I printed your report and read it. I kept saying OMFG as I read the transportation and Caneel Buffet sections. Thanks for the tip on White Bay being crazy busy. We may look for something else to do on our Spring Break boat trip.
Taking two year olds to the beach, whether its OCMD or Maho Bay is work. You end up being a beast of burden. Things are easier when they are tiny and when they hit four or so. At 6 they can carry their own luggage!
Travel with groups is always a trick. It's hard being the entertainment director and head chef. There's no better antidote than a "me" trip. Especially with a little one. I think that STJ works great on a 2-6 year olds schedule - early to bed and early to rise.
I hope you recover from your trip and everyone is doing well.
One question, how bad does something like the Caneel Buffet need to get before you walk out? Having no crowd control, ice in the wine and undercooked food seems to be getting close.
I'm with you on off-season. November is starting to get busy. With kids in school, July and August trips start looking pretty reasonable.
Cheers, RickG
Taking two year olds to the beach, whether its OCMD or Maho Bay is work. You end up being a beast of burden. Things are easier when they are tiny and when they hit four or so. At 6 they can carry their own luggage!
Travel with groups is always a trick. It's hard being the entertainment director and head chef. There's no better antidote than a "me" trip. Especially with a little one. I think that STJ works great on a 2-6 year olds schedule - early to bed and early to rise.
I hope you recover from your trip and everyone is doing well.
One question, how bad does something like the Caneel Buffet need to get before you walk out? Having no crowd control, ice in the wine and undercooked food seems to be getting close.
I'm with you on off-season. November is starting to get busy. With kids in school, July and August trips start looking pretty reasonable.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
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traveler22
- Posts: 853
- Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:17 pm
- Location: New Jersey
PA Girl,
I feel your pain re: the PHL airport. We've switched to harrisburg through charlotte after too many horrible travel experiences through PHL! It's still USdespAIR, but slightly easier. Plus, I was tired of the Sheraton Shuttle at the PHL airport too...
Welcome back to PA -- it'll be spring soon.
I feel your pain re: the PHL airport. We've switched to harrisburg through charlotte after too many horrible travel experiences through PHL! It's still USdespAIR, but slightly easier. Plus, I was tired of the Sheraton Shuttle at the PHL airport too...
Welcome back to PA -- it'll be spring soon.
Thanks for your report. I'm sorry you hit the snags that you did, but it sounds like you had some great times too.
And, two octopi?? I am SOOOO jealous! I spend hours and hours looking for those darned things and have only seen one in all of my trips!
The turtle experience at Maho sounds increidble also.
(Note to self, continue to avoid Caneel's buffet....yikes!)
And, two octopi?? I am SOOOO jealous! I spend hours and hours looking for those darned things and have only seen one in all of my trips!
The turtle experience at Maho sounds increidble also.
(Note to self, continue to avoid Caneel's buffet....yikes!)
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
Badger - We had fun at Cooper Island - extremely casual and laid back. The beach was incredible with tons of palm trees. Dining is either on the patio (which is sort of raised up so you have a better view) or under the palms in the sand. I think teens would find something to do. There was a water sports hut but I didn't go in. The staff was really fun and engaging.
The Caneel buffet is Monday nights. We really like Caneel and it wasn't my intention to trash it but it was a wacky experience.
The cab driver was Christopher. He has been on island for some time and is pretty well know. I don't have his phone number (Dohm's arranged it) but someone else may see this post and chime in.
The porter was a woman by the name of Daf. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a former drill sergeant by the way she bossed the husbands (she wanted to load the cart her way) and dispensed the crowd blocking the curb.
RickG – Had we been alone (just Hubs and I) I would have raised a stink but for the peace of the group, I held my tongue. If I would have opened that door, 3 of the 6 would have totally ripped into the manager. (I will be contacting him this week via email.)
The experience was so bizarre, I half expected to see one of those silly TV video crews to show up and say “Ha Ha, got ya!” The young-ish group that was pushing people out of the way really burned me because many of the guests they were displacing were elderly and someone could have fallen. The only reason I didn’t say anything directly to them (normally I would speak up) was two of the guys were obviously drunk and English was not their first language. I was just waiting for one of the cooks to flip out because you could see they had had enough to the mobs’ antics – both the drunks and the lobster piggies.
Liamsaunt – the first octopus sighting was total luck. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. He/she was reaching out of its den to drop a shell. I couldn’t see any other spent shells in the area. The second was easy to find as there were several bright pink (the interior) very clean shells surrounding the rock.
Sunlover – we are ready to switch back to MDT-Charlotte-STT. While I like getting to STT on the early direct flight, the morning rush at the hotel is a pain in the butt. I figured out we got 30 minutes of extra sleep staying in Philly verses rolling out of bed at home and driving straight down. Factor in the cost and it wasn't worth it.
The Caneel buffet is Monday nights. We really like Caneel and it wasn't my intention to trash it but it was a wacky experience.
The cab driver was Christopher. He has been on island for some time and is pretty well know. I don't have his phone number (Dohm's arranged it) but someone else may see this post and chime in.
The porter was a woman by the name of Daf. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a former drill sergeant by the way she bossed the husbands (she wanted to load the cart her way) and dispensed the crowd blocking the curb.
RickG – Had we been alone (just Hubs and I) I would have raised a stink but for the peace of the group, I held my tongue. If I would have opened that door, 3 of the 6 would have totally ripped into the manager. (I will be contacting him this week via email.)
The experience was so bizarre, I half expected to see one of those silly TV video crews to show up and say “Ha Ha, got ya!” The young-ish group that was pushing people out of the way really burned me because many of the guests they were displacing were elderly and someone could have fallen. The only reason I didn’t say anything directly to them (normally I would speak up) was two of the guys were obviously drunk and English was not their first language. I was just waiting for one of the cooks to flip out because you could see they had had enough to the mobs’ antics – both the drunks and the lobster piggies.
Liamsaunt – the first octopus sighting was total luck. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. He/she was reaching out of its den to drop a shell. I couldn’t see any other spent shells in the area. The second was easy to find as there were several bright pink (the interior) very clean shells surrounding the rock.
Sunlover – we are ready to switch back to MDT-Charlotte-STT. While I like getting to STT on the early direct flight, the morning rush at the hotel is a pain in the butt. I figured out we got 30 minutes of extra sleep staying in Philly verses rolling out of bed at home and driving straight down. Factor in the cost and it wasn't worth it.
