Day passes anywhere??

Does anyone know of any nice hotels that have day passes on St. Croix? And if so, have you tried out any of them?

Havent been there but I am buying a day pass to Sandcastle. It's only $5 in advance and the reviews here sound great.

Yes, Sandcastle does have a day pass. When I went in 2011 it was $25 for access to the resort and beach, two chairs, two rum punches and an umbrella. Had a nice quiet relaxing day there. There's lots of positive reviews on this board about it.

Hi

We've just booked day passes for the sandcastle for the end of Dec. very rapid response to my email and no deposit requested. Reviews on Tripadvisor are very positive.

Another vote for Sandcastle. Even less $$ if you don't care about the free welcome drink. It's very close to the port.

Thanks for the info!

You might try getting in touch with The Buccaneer. Think you can get a day pass there (we stay each year as land guests). Gorgeous spot, very upscale, good food but the cab ride will be much more expensive than Sandcastles.

You might try getting in touch with The Buccaneer. Think you can get a day pass there (we stay each year as land guests). Gorgeous spot, very upscale, good food but the cab ride will be much more expensive than Sandcastles.

We are looking into The Buccaneer for a day pass and are wondering if you have any idea how much the taxi is for 4 people? Trying to decide if it is worth it.:cool:

We are looking into The Buccaneer for a day pass and are wondering if you have any idea how much the taxi is for 4 people? Trying to decide if it is worth it.:cool:

My google search shows that it will probably be about $50 each way so not inexpensive. If you are looking for a relaxing day with a nice lunch spot, the Buccaneer is terrific. But it is definitely not a hop, skip and a jump from the pier.

My google search shows that it will probably be about $50 each way so not inexpensive. If you are looking for a relaxing day with a nice lunch spot, the Buccaneer is terrific. But it is definitely not a hop, skip and a jump from the pier.

Thanks for your response. I think it is either The Buccaneer or Hotel on the Cay so it will be a bit pricey and a bit of a hike no matter what. I just don't want to pay the Cruise ship over $100/pp for four of us. $100 round trip for the taxi in comparison is not so terrible. If we can have a $200 day instead of a $400+ day, I think we would be ok.

It would be nice to see a little bit of Christiansted as well. It will be a Sunday so it sounds like there will not be too much going on.

My other thought is Rainbow Beach (I think this is the same island?? so cunfused by all the beaches at this point)

You have a good perspective here. If I had to choose, I'd go to the Buccaneer over Hotel on the Cay though, honestly, I've never been on the Day. The quality of the food and the nicer facilities would sway me. You can always take a cab from the Buccaneer into C'sted toward the end of your day, wander around town (it's not that big) and then grab a cab back to the ship.

When are you going? My only concern is if you will be there during a very busy week for the island. If the Buccaneer has a full house, sometimes they won't let non-guests on to the property.

And we went to Rainbow Beach last year for an afternoon (as part of a geckosislandadventure tour) and it is very nice. Beautiful sand and water. It will be crowded on a cruise ship day and the service at the restaurant will be a bit slow but you might enjoy that. You can rent jet skis and snorkel equipment right there.

You have a good perspective here. If I had to choose, I'd go to the Buccaneer over Hotel on the Cay though, honestly, I've never been on the Day. The quality of the food and the nicer facilities would sway me. You can always take a cab from the Buccaneer into C'sted toward the end of your day, wander around town (it's not that big) and then grab a cab back to the ship.

 

When are you going? My only concern is if you will be there during a very busy week for the island. If the Buccaneer has a full house, sometimes they won't let non-guests on to the property.

 

And we went to Rainbow Beach last year for an afternoon (as part of a geckosislandadventure tour) and it is very nice. Beautiful sand and water. It will be crowded on a cruise ship day and the service at the restaurant will be a bit slow but you might enjoy that. You can rent jet skis and snorkel equipment right there.

Aww.... Geckos Island Adventure tours was my first choice but it was already booked up. They could only accomodate one vehicle, not the two we need. They did get back to me quickly to try to offer some other options but I was concerned we would get back to the ship a little too late for comfort. That being said, we will try to beach with the other family we are travelling with. We are cruising Christmas week so it will be crowded everywhere but I believe we are the only ship in port that day and we are not a huge ship in todays standards. We are trying to contact The Buccaneer to see if we can arrange something.

Thanks for the good info. Glad to hear that Rainbow is a good option if the others don't work out.

Aww.... Geckos Island Adventure tours was my first choice but it was already booked up. They could only accomodate one vehicle, not the two we need. They did get back to me quickly to try to offer some other options but I was concerned we would get back to the ship a little too late for comfort. That being said, we will try to beach with the other family we are travelling with. We are cruising Christmas week so it will be crowded everywhere but I believe we are the only ship in port that day and we are not a huge ship in todays standards. We are trying to contact The Buccaneer to see if we can arrange something.

 

Thanks for the good info. Glad to hear that Rainbow is a good option if the others don't work out.

The bigger issue will be that the Buccaneer will have a full house. Definitely do not go over there unless you have connected with them and are assured that you will be let in. If you have trouble connecting with them, let me know and I can get a contact for you.

I'll take the contact info. not sure about posting it here though! email address?

ccrosner@aol.com

We ended up at Sandcastle. We had a good time but I cannot rave about it like some people have. The waves on the beach were very, very strong which made maneuvering the quick drop-off difficult. In trying to help me both my DH and DS got scraped up on the many, many rocks under the water. Once we got past the part where they were crashing, it was nice out in the water. I was a bit surprised to find the resort much smaller than I thought it would be. I was also surprised at how modest the pool was. I guess I am spoiled by having the opportuniry to visit some much nicer places over the years. We enjoyed ourselves, but definitely plan to try another place next time. Based on our one experience, I would only give it a 5 or 6 out of 10 myself. Do NOT go there without wearing beach shoes if you plan to go into the water.

I have contacted the Buccaneer (http://www.thebuccaneer.com) and have learned that you have two options for visiting them off a cruise ship:

Day Room - use of a room, beach lounge chairs and pool. You need to call or email them for a reservation. Price will vary depending on time of year.

Facility fee - The guests have an option to pay a $4 facility fee which gives access to parking, bathrooms, and beach showers.

In either case, you can purchase food and drinks at The Mermaid Restaurant on the beach which is quite nice and the food and service very good.

Hi

We spent Dec 28th at Sandcastle having pre booked before we set off. Other people from the ship were also using the hotel but had not pre booked. Taxi from pier cost $6 each return and the shuttle runs every 20 mins. The hotel is quite small and the pool is tiny.

The beach is beautiful and was uncrowded. The sea was flat calm and we did not see any rocks. We did not see anyone trying to sell anything on the beach which was great!! We ate at the restaurant attached to the hotel which has beautiful views. Service was a bit slow but we think this was about our waitress as we noticed that others were served more quickly. Food was great - we had shrimp tacos and pulled pork sandwiches.

I honestly do not understand how anyone could go into the ocean at Sandcastle and say they did not see any rocks, although I can only speak for our family's experience (and what I have read from other cruisers who have been there) so I must agree to respectfully disagree with the previous poster. There are an extensive amount of rocks throughout the whole beachfront in front of Sandcastle - and very large ones in many places. My DH and DS had the bloody scrapes on their legs to prove it. We swam and walked from one end of the property to the other at the beachfront, and there was only one section where the amount of rocks was small and it was very narrow. The property is not particularly in a cove, so I would suspect finding the seas flat was more of an anamoly than normal. Whether they always have strong waves like the day we were there I cannot say, but usually only bay locations tend to be flat as the norm. There are things to be said about the resort which are nice, and overall we had a good time, but I recommend people considering going there don't just take my word for it either - read a wide range of reviews/posts of the beach before making a determination.:)

Sorry but spent 5 hours there and no problems at all. We all were in the water and no issues. Different story in st lucia at reduit beach where sea was rough and my son issued his foot.

Sorry but spent 5 hours there and no problems at all. We all were in the water and no issues. Different story in st lucia at reduit beach where sea was rough and my son issued his foot.

Interesting. You must have hit upon the sweet spot that's for sure. We had the exact same problem in St. Lucia several years ago. Rough seas and got banged up on some rocks (although alot fewer than we encountered at Sandcastle:))

Interesting. You must have hit upon the sweet spot that's for sure. We had the exact same problem in St. Lucia several years ago. Rough seas and got banged up on some rocks (although alot fewer than we encountered at Sandcastle:))

I was also there right after a storm and the waves were very powerful and there were tons on jagged rocks. there were alot of injuries on that day....... Very strong current.......

.....two weeks later it was like a pond........

That is nature and the Ocean........

Yes the pool is small and there are not many chairs near it.....but the place is perfect for a low key simple day and the food at the restaurant is amazing......

Just don't go there thinking it is a Hilton or a big hotel chain....it is more like an Inn or a B&B.......

View of the ship and ocean is beautiful..........

Cheryl/Roslyn.

Totally agree!!

Perhaps there is also more rocks at low tide than at high tide?