Give Thanks for the Rum Lady

This is a question I get asked often enough. I can tell you how I like to get here and give you some tips, but there are a number of ways to go depending on your ultimate plans.

I like to fly non-stop. For one there is less chance of losing your bag if you check one, for another it just takes too long otherwise. I like to get there! If you must make a change, go through Charlotte, not Puerto Rico . Believe me, you WILL lose your bag in PR or your connecting flight will be canceled. Something.

Whenever I travel, I avoid checking bags. That's just me. I'd rather do laundry.

US AIR flies direct from Philadelphia to St Thomas. As far as I know it's the only non-stop flight. Departing from all other airlines and cities you have to stop in Charlotte, Miami or PR. Remember, don't go through PR! It's a 3 hour 45 minute flight to STT from PHL. 

Bring toys, there are no movies or amenities. I hate it how airline travel has declined under the whine of poverty. Lately I heard Jet Blue flies to STT . THEY have movies and internet, but they aren't a direct flight. How much does it cost them to put in a DVD? Don't get me started on plane travel....
 As a note, US AIR only has non stop flights in the winter. In the summer you have to change planes (not in Puerto Rico!) , except sometimes they will have a direct flight on Sundays depending on the demand.

When you arrive in STT at Cyril E King airport you exit the plane down a metal flight of stairs, out into the bright light. You are directed along specific routes marked out by orange cones and uniformed agents. No picture taking and no food! Keep moving, no talking. As you walk along the outer pathway you can look inside the terminal to the "quarantine area" where the departing passengers sit. You'll be there soon enough. They are always tan and sad looking, staring out the windows at the tropical day that's now lost to them. Arriving, I can't help feeling I'm part of a process, move 'em in, move 'em out.

Just past the armed guard and through the sliding doors is the rum cart. Be sure to stop here, say "good afternoon" and get a free shot of rum from the Rum Lady. It will help if your bags didn't arrive. 

This is a letter written to the St Thomas Source Feb. 22, 2012:

The Rum Booth at the Airport

By XXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear Source:
My friends arrived with their 6 year old twins. I haven't been to the airport lately, so I told them to get a punch. They found only rum. What do you do with 2 kids who are thirsty under the circumstances? I asked for water - they didn't have any. What kind of a welcome is this? I found out the Government of the VI is paying Cruzan for this incredible marketing opportunity.
They should be donating it, or even paying us. And something should be available for kids, even if only water on our budget, which can afford to pay off what is probably the most profitable commercial enterprise in the territory. I further learned that other locals have commented on this embarrassing situation, but nothing is done.
It makes the place look like we are expecting a bunch of college kids on spring break. Can't we get Tourism to do something about this? I have already written to them and am eagerly awaiting their justification for this outrage.

Here's another opinion:

Enough of that, some people just don't get it.

If you have checked bags you have to wait for them and hope they arrive. Meanwhile all the planes from NY, NJ, Miami and PR arrive at the same time. All the bags are seemingly coming onto the same conveyor belt. Because everyone is suddenly on vacation and on a tropical island, the drinking has started. There's a food counter at the baggage claim  and soon everyone is walking around the airport with a bottle of beer. You would never do this at Philadelphia International. 
Quick, get serious, one person should get in line at the car rental desk! You do have a reservation, don't you?

Though you might have a reservation at Avis or Budget, it doesn't mean you will have a car. You'd think so.... after all, you reserved one, right? Isn't that by definition what a reservation means? Apparently not, it's a first come first served waiting game. The longest we waited for a car was 2½ hours, almost missing the ferry to St John. They kept telling us "Fifteen minute! Fifteen minute!"  

If you are staying at a resort like Caneel or the Westin, they both have lovely waiting rooms to check in, get a drink and a cold facecloth while a porter collects your bags and you're taken by private car and boat to the hotel. Not bad!

We rent from Avis or Budget because Hertz won't let you take a car to STJ. Meanies. On STJ the local car rental companies won't let you take their cars to STT.  Meanies. So plan your stay. You don't have to have a car on STJ but it helps, especially if you rented a villa. 

You can always take a taxi from the airport to the ferry dock in Charlotte Amalie, then the passenger ferry from Charlotte to Cruz Bay. One-way is $12.00/Adults. There is a charge of $2.50/piece for luggage/boxes/crates of chickens.  The bad news is they don't leave that often, 1and 5 pm. It's a 45 minute ride to STJ on the passenger ferry. 

Passenger ferries also leave from Red Hook, a shorter 20 minute ride on calmer seas, cheaper and more frequent.  You have to take a taxi from the airport to Red Hook. It's a fun trip though, winding across the length of the island, unless you get car sick from all that beer and rum at the airport.  

Only Broken Down Once!

Because we're on STJ for so long and want the flexibility of returning to STT for supplies, what works for us is to get a car at the airport and take the barge. It might even be the car we reserved. The barge is across the island in Red Hook, where there's a small sign for the CAR BARGE. Pay a $3.00 export tax to the woman in the little white gatehouse, enter the loading area and park backwards, rear to the boat. When you're signaled, BACK onto the ferry barge. The nice young folks will direct you. Wait with the car, someone will come by and take your fare, around $25-30 one way. Then you can sit in your car or wander around the barge. 

In 20 minutes, you're there in Cruz Bay! At this point the sun is starting to go down. We tend to just go out to dinner and save grocery shopping till the next day. It's been a long haul even if everything goes smoothly, which it rarely does. 

Any questions? 
Remember to KEEP LEF'!