This may not be of interest to many, because it affects those travelling from Boston and NYC, but I learned that JetBlue now codeshares with Cape Air - and it looks like the savings are pretty significant in some instances. For me, going from Boston to San Juan and then to Beef Island and then the ferry to get to Virgin Gorda is an itinerary fraught with too many potential hiccups - even though it costs a fair amount less, given the way Cape Air really porks you from SJU to VIJ, which is almost criminal (and as an aside, BOS to STT is also out of the question for me).

Anyhow, if one goes to the JetBlue site (https://www.jetblue.com) and enters as a departure many of the major cities that it serves and scrolls through the destinations, both Tortola and Virgin Gorda will appear as one of them, using Cape Air under its codeshare system.

One example, and I again acknowledge that it's a Boston departure and thus likely not helpful to many here - but nevertheless hopefully illustrative of potential savings that one might obtain from other major cities, my customary flight option (with a total travel time of ~ 8.5 hours, which includes a ~3.5 hour layover in San Juan), via codeshare was a total round trip fare of $1,500 (much less than I've paid before), and the San Juan layover contemplated the same Cape Air flight leaving for VIJ at 4:30 that one would incur if booking two separate tickets on each discrete airline. However, that total fare of $1,500 is a relatively good deal, given that Cape Air is bending people over for $500 or more one way from SJU to VIJ - and that's the "value," meaning non-refundable fare; refundable is over $1,000 one way.

A bit of poking around indicated that there were also some pretty good savings if one used Tortola's Beef Island airport as a destination via a codeshare, but again, it will depend upon the departure city. However, if you're already inclined to take JetBlue, I suggest looking into the codeshare fares. MAF

Does anyone have any idea when the Sandbox on Prickly Pear is actually open? Went by the other day and chairs were out on beach but nobody around. I’ve had rough luck finding them open and I love that spot for an afternoon north sound hang.

Is sol le Luna closed?

Can anyone share their experiences at Rancho Del Sol restaurant? It's a pitching wedge from where we will be staying for the month of February, it could become our go to since its so close.
thanks!

Michael and I arrived on island on Saturday on Jet Blue 1877.
Our plane arrived after KLM, Air France and another large carrier and the immigration hall was FULL! But the lines moved quickly.
The baggage claim was another story.
The baggage handlers were removing baggage from the carousel but not really telling anyone what baggage that was for. With so many large planes in at once, it would have helped to have someone directing traffic. Luckily, our bags arrived on the carousel and 45 minutes after getting on the hateful bus to drive us across the tarmac, we were out the door.
Lesley and Shirley were there to greet us with our wonderful car. A newer Corolla. Off we went to see Sylvain at Select Wine Cellar.
We enjoyed a glass of wine with him and then we bought a selection of wines to bring with us to our room at Divi.
In our opinion, we have the best room on the island. Far from all the restaurants etc, our room looks out over the ocean with the sliding doors not facing Great Bay. It is lovely and quiet.

Jeannie from Shop and Drop had stocked our room. What a wonderful service she provides. There was water already in the refrigerator for me.....and groceries for the next day's breakfast.


Saturday night it was pizza from Gizmos (NOT very good at all but better than it has been) and off to bed.
Sunday morning we slept in. It was lovely to wake up in our favorite place well rested! The bed in our room is sooooo ultra comfortable.

I checked the hours for On Dirait Le Sud. Kathleen had previously said something about this shop in a trip report so we wanted to give it a shot. Like her, our experience was fantastic. The shop closes at 1 on Sundays. The man whose name I didn't get who waited on us was apparently the owner. He could understand English but sometimes couldn't find the English word. Conversely, I can understand French but struggle to speak it. Nonetheless he was SUPER friendly and helpful. We will definitely be visiting there more often. What a wonderful little shop and thanks to Kathleen for mentioning it in her trip report.

We also went to Carrefour to purchase some other supplies. Then back to Divi to unload.
At this point it was around 2 pm and decided "Lupper" was in order (like brunch on lunch/supper). Off to Avantika. If you have never been to Avantika, you don't know what you are missing. I love the food there. It is tasty! I have the cashew stir fry while Michael had some curry dish I can't remember. Delicious!

Back to Divi to lounge about and relax and some delicious charcuterie for an evening snack!

Today is another day! Only one little tiny ship in port so perhaps a day in Pburg? Who knows?

Soooooo,
After a late night/early morning with some great friends, we decided whilst solving the world's problems that we needed to book a getaway with our families. Has anyone done the San Pedro area of Belize? There's a few places on VRBO that I have started looking at. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!!

NEWS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hours of operation at the Edward Wilmoth Blyden Marine Terminal will change to 0800 – 1700 hours, daily. This change is effective Sunday, October 09, 2022, until further notice. The office can be reached at 774-6755.

Hours of operation at the Cruz Bay St. John Port of Entry will change to 0800 – 1800 hours daily. This change is effective Sunday, October 09, 2022, until further notice. The office can be reached at 776-6741.

NEWS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hours of operation at the Edward Wilmoth Blyden Marine Terminal will change to 0800 – 1700 hours, daily. This change is effective Sunday, October 09, 2022, until further notice. The office can be reached at 774-6755.

Hours of operation at the Cruz Bay St. John Port of Entry will change to 0800 – 1800 hours daily. This change is effective Sunday, October 09, 2022, until further notice. The office can be reached at 776-6741.

Anybody have the link to the SXM cruise ship schedule for this week?

The Spaghetti House has good reasonably priced food but their wine selection leaves a little to be desired. I wonder if they would allow BYOW and charge a corkage fee. Has anyone tried this?