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What was your first experience in the caribbean?
What was your first experience in the caribbean?
My first visit to the Caribbean was to St. Croix in 1992. My fiancé took me there to get married. Only the 2 of us! The first time I put my face in the water, I fell in love. Unfortunately, it wasn’t with my new husband and the marriage didn’t survive very long. However, my love for the Caribbean really grew over the years. While I was there, I picked up a brochure for Maho Bay Campgrounds and was totally intrigued. I thought that sounded like the most magical place in the whole world. I set a goal to be able to go there someday. I was into setting goals back then. I kept that brochure in my sight for years. Unfortunately, after the demise of my short but sweet marriage, I was unable to afford a trip like that. There were no cheap, last minute trips to STJ, not back then anyway. Then I met my new love in 1996 and introduced him to the caribe . He fell in love with it too but he still loved me as well. And still does, no matter how stinky I am. We started taking trips there. First we went to Turks and Caicos and other destinations but it was usually on a cheap all inclusive last minute deal. But I shared my brochure and goal with him and low and behold, we finally made the decision to go to Maho Bay. It was the most wonderful experience in our lives. I know that most of you like the cushy Westin Resort or Villas, but for me, there is nothing like sleeping out there in paradise with no air conditioner blurring in the back ground, but tree frogs and mongooses crapping on your things on the porch and wild donkeys showing up at 2:00 in the morning. It just doesn’t get any better than that. I am coming back Oct 6 for a 4 night trip to Concordia with my son and his family. Unfortunately, my love won’t be with me but we will be back soon. I could have gotten a 4 night trip with the Westin for less money than I am paying for Concordia, but I had to have them experience what I love with all my heart. And my son wants nothing less than that experience. I will miss my Sweetheart though.
See you in 3 weeks!
See you in 3 weeks!
cheers, Snorkles
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bubblybrenda
- Posts: 549
- Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:57 pm
- Location: Vancouver, BC
@Snorkles, what a lovely love story. I enjoyed it.
My first foray to the Caribbean was to St. John, 4 years ago I think it was. I had planned to meet a blind date on the Island and we planned to camp at Cinnamon Bay for two weeks. He was coming from the US and me from Canada. Of course, I purchased the flight months in advance and thereafter realized there was no romantic connection with the guy but I was going to follow through regardless. I did, the two weeks went fine, he is a St. John diehard and had been there at least 30 times so knew the Islands well and he imparted a lot of knowledge on me in those two weeks. That first trip gave me the courage to visit St. John 10 months later. I went alone, camped at Cinnamon Bay again for two weeks and one of these years I'll be back again, hopefully the next time I won't be going alone and will be able to share it with someone who will love the Islands as much as I do.
One of my mottos is: "I don't wanna wish I had because life's too short and death's too long" and I could have easily listened to others who told me I was nuts to travel to a foreign land to meet a guy but I also believe in nothing ventured, nothing gained.
My first foray to the Caribbean was to St. John, 4 years ago I think it was. I had planned to meet a blind date on the Island and we planned to camp at Cinnamon Bay for two weeks. He was coming from the US and me from Canada. Of course, I purchased the flight months in advance and thereafter realized there was no romantic connection with the guy but I was going to follow through regardless. I did, the two weeks went fine, he is a St. John diehard and had been there at least 30 times so knew the Islands well and he imparted a lot of knowledge on me in those two weeks. That first trip gave me the courage to visit St. John 10 months later. I went alone, camped at Cinnamon Bay again for two weeks and one of these years I'll be back again, hopefully the next time I won't be going alone and will be able to share it with someone who will love the Islands as much as I do.
One of my mottos is: "I don't wanna wish I had because life's too short and death's too long" and I could have easily listened to others who told me I was nuts to travel to a foreign land to meet a guy but I also believe in nothing ventured, nothing gained.
~Brenda~
Late in october of 2006, Flew into STT, landed and walked off the plane into my first warm tropical rain shower. Hopped the last ferry to roadtown, Tortola, BVI. After the long 12:00 a.m. from SLC, wife wasn't feeling too good on the ferry. Cleared customs, found a driver to take us to Cane Garden Bay, as he was driving us up over the mountains in the dark, wondering what in the world we were doing and what are those sounds coming out of the dark green forest/jungle. Pulled down the lane to Mongoose apartments to find Sandra waiting for us. We checked in, wife crashed. Was left to wander the beach and the listen to the coqui frogs for a while. That's when I became hooked.
Spent 3 days there, then hopped over to STJ for another 4, been back several times since and going in November.
Spent 3 days there, then hopped over to STJ for another 4, been back several times since and going in November.
The Caribbean
My first trip to the Caribbean was 2004 and I haven't been the same since. I visited Grand Cayman and stayed at a hole-in-the-wall place on 7 Mile Beach. Once my eyes met the color of that water, I was changed forever. By the end of the week I was a snorkeling maniac. Hooked for life. I came back to Minnesota obsessing over the Caribbean water shades. I was determined to see a variety of color offered on all the islands in the Caribbean. You might be laughing by now, but my kids actually printed a book with zoomed-in photos of the water from of the many islands I've been to - it has an answer key on the opposite page. They threw a zoomed in picture of the ship's pool just to throw me off. LOL 
My family would tell you that I am obsessed with the Caribbean. They are correct. I'm the first person to jump on planning anyone's trip there - ironing out all details for them, just because it's fun.
I became obsessed with St. John after a cruise stop in St. Thomas where we excursioned on a sailboat to some of the surrounding waters. My dream came true in 2009 when I stepped foot on St. John with my two adult children and fiance(again, on a cruise stop to St. Thomas). In 2010, I spent two days visiting St. John while staying on St. Thomas and fell deeply in love with the beauty and complete peace I feel just staring out at the waters.
In January 2011, I will be staying on St. John for 10 days. I can't tell you how excited I am!
I want to explore it all... to do and see as much as I can on this lovely island. There is no place I'd rather be.
My family would tell you that I am obsessed with the Caribbean. They are correct. I'm the first person to jump on planning anyone's trip there - ironing out all details for them, just because it's fun.
I became obsessed with St. John after a cruise stop in St. Thomas where we excursioned on a sailboat to some of the surrounding waters. My dream came true in 2009 when I stepped foot on St. John with my two adult children and fiance(again, on a cruise stop to St. Thomas). In 2010, I spent two days visiting St. John while staying on St. Thomas and fell deeply in love with the beauty and complete peace I feel just staring out at the waters.
In January 2011, I will be staying on St. John for 10 days. I can't tell you how excited I am!
I want to explore it all... to do and see as much as I can on this lovely island. There is no place I'd rather be.
Back in 1996 my mother gave me and my husband a "free" week anywhere we wanted to go through RCI. Believe it or not our very last choice was St. Thomas because everything else was booked up. We stayed at Bluebeards Castle that week and fell in love with STT and the castle. We then re-visited STT in 1997, 1998, 1999 and finally bought our timeshare unit in 1999. We've been going back every year since and sometimes, if we were lucky, we'd make a second visit in October. Now we have been staying our week and renting 3 extra days to make it a 10 day stay instead of revisting because of the cost of air line tickets. We have truly found our paradise. My father had always told me that the water in the Caribbean was more beautiful than in Hawaii and he was right. We had were fortunate to visit Maui in 2002 and as beautiful as it was - it DID NOT compare to the USVI or anywhere down there. Just my 2 cents!
I agree with you on the water color. My family calls me a water color aficionado....I consider myself a Caribbean Snob because I want nothing to do with Hawaii. I won't even go to Mexico anymore. If you knew me, you'd know that I'm the furthest thing from a snob... but I know what I like... and in this case, what I love!
Not as far back as some, but S-babe and I came to STJ for the first time on September of 2007. Yes, she still loves me in spite of myself, so no divorces or blind dates in this post! 
Years earlier I found a brochure for Caneel Bay, but could not afford to visit. For years I thought Caneel was the only place to stay on STJ. What a surprise when I looked into it and realized there where many more places to choose from. We arrived at STT and took a regular Taxi to Red Hook. Of course the Taxi stopped at 17 million stops before we reached Red Hook and we just missed the 5pm ferry. That was before the new terminal so we sat on a bench all alone wondering if we had made a wise decision.
We finally arrived and were met by the staff of Gallows Point and escorted to 3C. We went into town and ate at High Tide, which has become our 1st night ritual when we stay in Cruz Bay. The next morning we opened all the windows and thought we were in a dream when we saw the water. We fell in love with the Island over the next week and have been back at least once a year.
While we have stayed at other places, we have decided this year to retrace our steps of that first trip. We are staying in the same room and coming the same week in September hoping to re-live the deserted beaches we experienced on our first trip. We now understand the trade-off of missing a few places to eat in the off-season, but we think it is so worth it for us to be together and seem like we are the only ones there at times.
We are regularly asked if we are on our Honeymoon and the answer is always, YES! This trip will be our 10th Honeymoon!!! We make the most of our trips just in case it is our last. You never know what the future will bring, so we make the most of each trip...
Years earlier I found a brochure for Caneel Bay, but could not afford to visit. For years I thought Caneel was the only place to stay on STJ. What a surprise when I looked into it and realized there where many more places to choose from. We arrived at STT and took a regular Taxi to Red Hook. Of course the Taxi stopped at 17 million stops before we reached Red Hook and we just missed the 5pm ferry. That was before the new terminal so we sat on a bench all alone wondering if we had made a wise decision.
We finally arrived and were met by the staff of Gallows Point and escorted to 3C. We went into town and ate at High Tide, which has become our 1st night ritual when we stay in Cruz Bay. The next morning we opened all the windows and thought we were in a dream when we saw the water. We fell in love with the Island over the next week and have been back at least once a year.
While we have stayed at other places, we have decided this year to retrace our steps of that first trip. We are staying in the same room and coming the same week in September hoping to re-live the deserted beaches we experienced on our first trip. We now understand the trade-off of missing a few places to eat in the off-season, but we think it is so worth it for us to be together and seem like we are the only ones there at times.
We are regularly asked if we are on our Honeymoon and the answer is always, YES! This trip will be our 10th Honeymoon!!! We make the most of our trips just in case it is our last. You never know what the future will bring, so we make the most of each trip...
Tim
Just Another Day in Paradise!!!
Just Another Day in Paradise!!!
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snorkelqueen
- Posts: 432
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 12:33 pm
- Location: california
In 1986 we took a 14 day cruise in the Caribbean and I too feel in love. Raising a family, working on careers and buying a house became the priorities and left little money or time for vacations in far-off places. Being in California we traveled often to Hawaii though where I found that snorkeling was my passion. In 2002 in traveled to Virgin Gorda and I realized that the Caribbean was my place on earth. A couple we met on a dive trip suggested we "rent a villa with a pool on St. John" and the rest as they say is history. We have been back every year since our first adventure in St. John in 2003. I now travel sometimes by myself if hubby isn't feeling well enough and often my son (and various girlfriends) comes with me as well. I will return every year for the rest of my life. Swimming with the turtles at Maho renews my spirit and enriches my soul. Add a couple of pain killers and I have heaven on earth!
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GidgetPicklebrain
- Posts: 170
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:54 am
- Location: Frederick, MD
My first Caribbean Experience was in October of 2003, our 25th wedding anniversary. I wanted something truly special and began researching 18 months in advance - research which included joining this forum in 2002. St. John was EXACTLY what we wanted - lots of opportunities to experience nature, limited development, beaches and snorkeling for me, mountains and hiking for hubby.
It was perfect. My favorite hike was Ram Head - picnic supper while watching the sun set and moon rise together, then hiked back via moonlight. We had flashlights, but didn't need them. My basically non-swimming husband took to snorkeling with ease, but had trouble with water infilitration into his mask due to his moustache. He kept shaving it shorter and shorter as time went on. He went home with no facial hair at all and promised me on the ferry to STT that we would be back.
The only other time I've been to the Caribbean was a half-price 4-day stay at an all-inclusive on Grand Bahama island for my 50th birthday. This is where I had my most exciting snorkeling experience. We went around to the back side of Deadman's Reef at Paradise Cove, where I swam with a school of 15 spotted eagle rays ... twice!
We are finally making our promised return trip to STJ next August, with 5 days at Virgin Gorda tacked on. This time instead of staying at Estate Lindholm again (which we loved) we are trying out the villa experience.
It was perfect. My favorite hike was Ram Head - picnic supper while watching the sun set and moon rise together, then hiked back via moonlight. We had flashlights, but didn't need them. My basically non-swimming husband took to snorkeling with ease, but had trouble with water infilitration into his mask due to his moustache. He kept shaving it shorter and shorter as time went on. He went home with no facial hair at all and promised me on the ferry to STT that we would be back.
The only other time I've been to the Caribbean was a half-price 4-day stay at an all-inclusive on Grand Bahama island for my 50th birthday. This is where I had my most exciting snorkeling experience. We went around to the back side of Deadman's Reef at Paradise Cove, where I swam with a school of 15 spotted eagle rays ... twice!
We are finally making our promised return trip to STJ next August, with 5 days at Virgin Gorda tacked on. This time instead of staying at Estate Lindholm again (which we loved) we are trying out the villa experience.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. - Confucius
I first visited St. John on several family vacations in the mid-sixties. Once at a rental house on Lavender Hill and another time or two at Caneel Bay Plantation (as it was known then). I was pretty young so there's a lot I don't remember, but it did make an impression. No grocery store on STJ then, so we had to shop in STT and carry everything over on the ferry. The rental jeep looked like something from army surplus, no top and a steel basket welded to the rear gate for stowing your gear. Manual transmission, of course.
One thing I remember is going to evening programs put on by the park -- I think it was at Cinnamon, at a pavillion kind of structure where a ranger would narrate slide shows about the flora and fauna. Do they still do those? Probably using powerpoint by now.
I didn't get back until '94 when we got married and Jac took my word that it would be a nice honeymoon spot. Been back a few times since then.
One thing I remember is going to evening programs put on by the park -- I think it was at Cinnamon, at a pavillion kind of structure where a ranger would narrate slide shows about the flora and fauna. Do they still do those? Probably using powerpoint by now.
I didn't get back until '94 when we got married and Jac took my word that it would be a nice honeymoon spot. Been back a few times since then.
My first trip to the Caribbean (and STJ) was in July last year. My wife and I were 24 and spent a week there after our wedding in June. We stayed in a villa in Coral Bay which I probably spent too much on, but hey, it was our honeymoon right...? STJ was our destination because we love the ocean and we weren't disappointed. We went parasailing and did alot of snorkeling and hiking. Needless to say we fell in love with the little island and cannot wait to return (someday, hopefully not too far away).
Bryan
Jamaica. 1981.
We stayed a night at Half Moon Club in Montego Bay, amazed that they gave us cheapskates a room with a view of the bay, an arc of deep blue extending left and right of us. The pharmacist at the hotel's small shopping strip had sun-bleached posters of internal organs in his shop windows. A serious medicine man, with no time for souvenir-hunting tourists, he sewed up a snorkler's leg in the open air and let us watch.
Jumped on a 4-seater for the flight to Port Antonio, a bit of rain dripping into the cabin. Our plane bounced along a rarely-used solo landing strip at Ken Jones airport and halted in front of a terminal that was little more than a lean-to. A cow grazed nearby.
Camped out at the now-erased Dragon Bay Resort there, where Tom Cruise and Robin Williams later filmed "Cocktail." Picked up hitchikers who happily road in the open trunk of the car. One claimed to be "the best jerk man in Boston Bay." He was.
Tried to track down some Jamaican kids our nephews had met at the hotel. Asked a worker if they were anywhere around. He said, "Probably, yes." Paused a beat, and then said, "Or probably no."
TM
We stayed a night at Half Moon Club in Montego Bay, amazed that they gave us cheapskates a room with a view of the bay, an arc of deep blue extending left and right of us. The pharmacist at the hotel's small shopping strip had sun-bleached posters of internal organs in his shop windows. A serious medicine man, with no time for souvenir-hunting tourists, he sewed up a snorkler's leg in the open air and let us watch.
Jumped on a 4-seater for the flight to Port Antonio, a bit of rain dripping into the cabin. Our plane bounced along a rarely-used solo landing strip at Ken Jones airport and halted in front of a terminal that was little more than a lean-to. A cow grazed nearby.
Camped out at the now-erased Dragon Bay Resort there, where Tom Cruise and Robin Williams later filmed "Cocktail." Picked up hitchikers who happily road in the open trunk of the car. One claimed to be "the best jerk man in Boston Bay." He was.
Tried to track down some Jamaican kids our nephews had met at the hotel. Asked a worker if they were anywhere around. He said, "Probably, yes." Paused a beat, and then said, "Or probably no."
TM
First trip was with my wife, her brother and his wife, and 2 dear friends on a cruise in 1997. Did the Easter Caribbean tour with a full day stop at STT. Took a cruiseline "island tour" with stops at Mafolie hill and Mountaintop. Then shopped downtown for a bit. Finally took a taxi to Magens Bay for a couple of hours. Absolutely, positively 100% fell in love with the island. We saved for a couple of years then flew down for a 5 night trip. Stayed at the Mafolie hotel and could not believe how fortunate we were to be able to enjoy paradise for nearly a week! Now - after 6 more trips we stay 10 days, and I still get that 1st time feeling on every trip!
