Carol,
You're probably right. I've not been there myself - T&C that is, but having done StJ over the Christmas holidays, we thought the water and the breezes were COLD. And truthfully, since the family just did T&C this year and didn't complain about water temps, as well as my boss and his wife who just returned from two weeks there, I drew the conclusion it was warmer there.
That being the case, if I were the OP, and depending on where they're coming from, St. Maarten/St. Martin might be a great choice for them. It has all they're asking for and it's definitely warmer water temps than StJ, no?