Cruise Critic heads to St. Croix!

Hi all -

I'll be heading to the Virgin Islands on a port visit this month. I'll be in St. Croix for a few days, meeting with port and tourism officials and scoping out excursions. Any questions that you have about the island, let me know and I'll do my best to find out!

Great questions, everyone! I will do my best to find the answers. It seems like people have particular interest in the different beaches, as well as things to do on Sundays. While I'll be in the USVI tomorrow (Monday) through Friday, I will make sure to ask about weekend hours. I'll also try to find out about those motorcycle excursions!

I'll also be reporting live from the trip on this thread, as well as putting together stories for the Lido Deck, our sister site The Independent Traveler and updating our port profiles for USVI. I'll be on a tight schedule, but I do think the islands have some new attractions since the last time our staff was down there....lots to do is a good thing!

I've just spent two full days exploring St. Croix, which was the only Virgin Island that was new to me. I'm happy to report that it's an enjoyable place, with a charm all of its own. I would come back here on vacation for sure.

First, your expectations. You'll enjoy a stop here more if you know ahead of time what it isn't - namely St. Thomas or St. Maarten. It doesn't have the masses of duty-free shops. There's no pre-fab terminal like you see in Costa Maya or Grenada. No Senor Froggs. No Ripley's Believe it or Not.

Instead, the ship drops you off in Fredericksted, within walking distance of a locally owned few shops and cafes. Fort Fredericksted is tiny, almost too small to be a "fort." It is picturesque, however, and you'll get some nice photos of it, as well as the other Creole cottage-style buildings in town.

For beach bums, things couldn't be easier. There's a very nice stretch of sand directly north of the fort. Vendors with chairs, umbrellas, food and rum all ply their trade here and it makes for a super cheap, enjoyable day. (I'll write more about other options in a minute)

If you like to snorkel or dive, St. Croix is fabulous. I took a half-day excursion to Buck Island with Big Beard Adventures, which is based at the Christiansted Boardwalk. The trip takes you first to the southwest side of Buck Island, which has just about one of the most unspoiled beaches I've ever seen. It's a US National Monument, so there are no beach chairs or vendors. It does, however, have a few picnic tables to put your stuff on, as well as a restroom.

Big Beard does a snorkeling lesson here for people who need a refresher, while everyone else can try out their equipment in the shallow water or walk on the beach. I did both. Because the bottom is sandy, you won't see too many fish on this side (although I did see an eel!). If you're a nervous snorkeler, though, it's a good place to get your feet wet.

If you walk to the north end of this beach, you'll find a nesting spot for endangered brown pelican. They were in the water and also in the trees, so very easy to spot. The island is also home to turtles and endangered tern, but I didn't see those.

After an hour on this stretch, the catamaran takes you over to the reef. This is deeper water and can get a little choppy; however, everyone in our group was able to manage it. The reef here is extensive, although you can tell it's been damaged; even though it was 20 years ago, parts of the island are still recovering from Hurricane Hugo.

The reef has a short snorkel trail, which the staff takes you on. More timid swimmers can hang on to a life ring as the staff pulls you (you also have to wear inflatable life jackets, per National Park guidelines). What's cool about the reef is that it's TALL like an underground forest. In some places, you can only get through with two people. The brain coral on the bottom were gigantic - some of the biggest I've seen. While this reef wasn't "teeming," as I'd describe several places I've been in BVI, Thailand and Belize, there were a decent amount of fish, in all colors. Certainly plenty to keep you occupied during the hour that you're here.

The half day excursion does not provide food or drink, although there's a cooler for you to bring your own snacks and also water. They do have a full-day option which takes you to a beach BBQ after you're done snorkeling. The operator works with taxis in the port to make sure everyone gets back to their ship on time. The captain and crew were pleasant, and the ship had music that this Gen Xer loved - 80's retro, such as Smiths, Cure, Psychedelic Furs, etc. A few kids were on board and they seemed to love it. Excursions are run seven days a week, so if you need something to do on Sunday, this is a great option.

The Christiansted boardwalk has a few lovely restaurants and bars, with marina views. Several that looked fun included Rum Runners, Angry Nate's and the Fort Christian Brew Pub. All are open on Sunday and several have champagne brunches.

Keep in mind that there's no beach in Christiansted, except for the Hotel on the Cay (which is on an island in the harbor). This hotel does rent umbrellas and chairs to non-guests. St. Croix Water Sports Center is also located on this beach, and they rent jet skis, snorkels, kayaks, etc. A ferry takes you over to the hotel, running about every 15 minutes, and there is a fee for non-guests ($5). I did hear that some of the cruise ships come here for their beach day so if you want to do this on your own, I'd see about making reservations.

Other ways to spend time in Christiansted: The city does have a fort, much larger than the one in Fredericksted. There are also old buildings here, built in Creole style by the Danes. It's really an attractive little town. Again, not too many duty free shops or hawkers; more like boutiques.

As per reputation, not many shops in Christiansted or Fredericksted are open on Sundays. The manager at Sonya, the jeweler that makes the famous hook bracelets, told me that she had tried opening Sundays as an experiment, but it ended up not being worth her while. Tourism officials told me that they are encouraging more shop owners to stay open on Sundays, but it's a tough argument. St. Croix only gets one or two ships at a time, and power is extremely expensive on the island. For many business owners, it's just not worth the cost to stay open on Sundays. If St. Croix does end up getting more ships, perhaps that will change.

I need to run to catch my sea plane over to St. Thomas, but will be back on this thread to write quite a bit more, including info about Cruzan Rum Distillery, the beer-drinking pig of Mt. Pellier Domino Club and all the various beaches.

Hi all....sorry it's been a while since I posted. I've written several stories about my USVI trip but they haven't been posted yet. Let me see if I can answer some of your questions.

Whim Plantation: I was told that it is open on cruise ship days from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Motorcycle Tours: That operator is no longer in business.

Shops on Sundays: A lot of them are closed. I asked the woman at Sonya Ltd. why, and she said they tried staying open for cruisers at one point, but they didn't make enough money to justify the cost. I know the tourism board wishes that more people would stay open, but there's no way for them to insist. My recommendation if you're there on a Sunday is to do something active, like kayaking or an ATV tour, or go to the beach.

Getting to Buck Island without snorkeling: Transport to the island is regulated by the National Park Service, which has specially designated concessionaires. Here's who they are, according to their website: Our concessionaires are:

Big Beard's Adventure Tours, 44A Queen Cross St., 340.773.4482

http://www.BigBeards.com info@bigbeards.com

Caribbean Sea Adventures, 59 King's Wharf, 340.773.2628

http://www.caribbeanseaadventures.com info@caribbeanseaadventures.com

Dragonfly, Green Cay Marina, 340.773.3161

teroro@msn.com

Jolly Roger Charters, Christiansted Harbor, 340.513.2508

captainmike90@hotmail.com

Llewellyn's Charters, St. Croix Yacht Club, 340.773.9027

Teroro II, Inc., Green Cay Marina, 340.773.3161

teroro@msn.com

Let me know if you have other questions!