My husband, daughter ( who will be 3 in August) and I went to STX from 5/8-5/12. We used some AA miles and flew from JFK via SJU and stayed at the Buccaneer. This was our first trip to STX but second to the USVIs, having stayed on STT and day tripped over to STJ when my daughter was 3 months old.

Flights-Things at JFK were pretty much the same as in November when we went to Barbados. There is still someone stationed at the beginning of the security entrance reminding people to take out any oversized liquids in their carryons. We were still able to bring 3 small juice boxes for my daughter just like before but we did have to toss a bottle of juice that we also had.

My daughter’s favorite Wiggles song is “ Fly Through The Sky” so she kept asking me where Qantas was ( since it’s the plane in the video). I made the “mistake” of telling her I had seen our captain as I gate checked her stroller and from then until we boarded all she could ask me was “ Where’s Captain?”. Fortunately for me, as we were boarding he was standing in the galley so I pointed him out to her. He heard me and invited us into the cockpit. I was pleasantly surprised in the post 9-11 New York world that he could and would still do that. He let her sit in his chair, put on his hat and touch a few buttons. She was thrilled. He even offered to let me take a photo, but I didn’t have the camera. The entire flight crew was kid friendly. I suppose happy kids make for quieter kids which make for happier fellow passengers who are not traveling with kids which makes the flight crew happy. Our connection in SJU was fine and on time.

We hopped a cab to the Buccaneer. It’s a beautiful property with a spectacular view ( and I love a good view). It is not quite 5 star or the level of a Four Seasons in terms of luxury, but the service is still excellent. We had twice daily maid service which included turn down. They are also not obsessive about getting beach towels returned, no cards necessary. It is a hilly property so if you are mobility challenged or don’t like to walk, you may not like staying here. Its also an uphill walk to the main building where reception and the main restaurant are. You can get a ride though if you call and with the exception of one time, it came quickly.

The hotel has several buildings to it. We stayed in a family room which has two bedrooms separated by a bathroom. We also had a patio with a table and chairs as well as lounges, a mini fridge, iron, ironing board, and a tv in each room.
There are 3 beaches at the hotel. The beaches are ok, not the best in the Caribbean but still better than any here in New England. The tennis courts looked great, but I’m not a tennis player. I wanted to try the golf course but just couldn’t get myself motivated to do it. Plus, I don’t think we could have persuaded a 2 year old to tag along while we played even a few holes.

A fabulous and very filling breakfast buffet is included at the Buccaneer. We never ate lunch at all while on vacation, there was no need. This buffet had everything you could want and you could also order omelettes or special French toast or pancakes besides what was on the buffet. We also had dinner our first night at the hotel and it did not disappoint. They also offered a childrens menu which is always a plus for us. The portions were also generous.

Wednesday we spent the day at the beach and decided to get a rental car from Hertz. I wouldn’t recommend Hertz though since when we returned the car, although they would let us return at the airport instead of the hotel where they’d delivered it to us, they charged us a return fee. Normally that would be fine but since the car is housed at the airport location, we actually saved them the trouble of having to pick it up at the hotel. We wanted to use a different credit card than the one we’d guaranteed the car with and they originally said the system wouldn’t let them change cards but eventually they were able to do it. Lastly, they charged us for a car seat. This is also not unreasonable but the car seat was not in working order. We had to jury rig the seatbelts to make it work.

Wednesday evening we went into Christiansted and had dinner at Rum Rummers. The food was excellent and not overly expensive. Its also a great location right on the waterfront by the marina. I had wahoo that was fresh off the boat only a couple hours earlier. My husband and daughter shared some very good fish and chips as well as some scallops with manchego cheese and mango black bean salsa. They feed the tarpon there each night about 7. It was interesting to watch the fish go into a frenzy for the scraps. All I could think was they are lucky they aren’t on the menu.

Thursday we went on a Buck Island trip we had booked with Caribbean Sea Adventures. They leave right from the marina next to the cute yellow fort in town. It was supposed to be a glass bottom boat but after we’d all boarded, the boat wouldn’t start so they took us out on the Sailboat instead. I actually prefer sailing to motoring but we had booked the glassbottom boat so that Addison could see the fish too. The crew was great but I wish we had more time at our second stop which was the beach on Buck Island. We stopped first at the snorkeling trail. The trail is good but definitely not as good as Provo or the Caymans. That night I had a lot of sand to get out of my daughter’s bathing suit. I am surprised there was any left on the beach. She enjoyed rolling down the sand hill on the beach.

That night ( after removing all the sand), we drove to the Divi since I wanted to see what it was like as we nearly stayed there but they were full one of the nights we needed and my husband wanted to go to the casino. We had an unremarkable buffet dinner. It was fine, did the job but nothing I’d say is a must do. The Divi was pleasant looking but it I am glad we didn’t stay there since it did not seem to be close to any commerce. There are houses around but it looked as if you wouldn’t want to leave or would have to travel a bit to get to any other restaurants or shops. After dinner there was a free show with the Mocko Jumbie stilt dancers. There was also some music. It was enjoyable but again, nothing I’d say is a must do. My husband liked the casino but like most in the Caribbean its small.

Friday it was my idea to go on a quest to find the famous beer drinking pigs of the Mt. Pellier Domino Club. We actually didn’t get lost but its hard to tell. The roads on STX are well maintained but not well marked. There are plenty of junction signs but they don’t tell you which direction you will be heading once you make a turn. Also, I only say one sign that pointed to which direction Fredericksted and Christiansted were. Usually even when there are not street signs there are at least signs pointing in which direction the major settlements are.
The Domino Club is in the rainforest. We stopped on the way there at a petting zoo to ask directions. We didn’t know that we were only about a half mile away from our destination. My daughter loved the zoo though and the friendly cat. I did feel obligated to spend some money since we were clearly off the beaten path there and they were very nice so I got an excellent fruit smoothie.

When we finally got to the pigs, it was worth the drive. The Mt. Pellier Domino Club is an interesting place. If we had not had a child with us, we could have hung out there and drank a bit. There are some interesting characters there besides the pigs. ( And by that I don’t mean unsavory. I mean just different than the people I see in my everyday life. You know, the kind of stranger that it would be fun to get drunk with in the middle of nowhere in a rainforest with large pigs in the heat). We did get some Johnny Cakes and they were very good.

The pigs were the biggest hogs I have ever seen. OK so I haven’t seen that many hogs in my life but I was expecting something potbellied size but I was off by about 300 pounds. We bought 4 cans of ODouls ( one for each pig). They really do seem to like the beer. Be warned though, it can be messy when they bite into the can and it explodes spewing non alcoholic beer everywhere.

It really isn’t that far back into Fredericksted in the opposite direction from the way we came. We took a quick spin through town but didn’t stop, mostly because toddlers only have a limited span before they blow when you miss nap time. We did stop at Kmart on the way back to the Buccaneer to get some rum. Its $3.39 for the large bottle of Cruzan. What a bargain. I’m not even sure I really needed a bottle but I couldn’t resist at that price. I spent a few hours wandering the shops of Christiansted that afternoon by myself. I bought a pendant made out of a pottery chard from a ruin which I like very much since its unique. I’m not a jewelry connoisseur but I do regret not purchasing one of the bracelets that all the island women seem to wear.

For our last dinner we went back into Christiansted to Savant. I would highly recommend this restaurant. It has a dining room inside and an outdoor courtyard and bar in the back but they have the same menu. We sat in the courtyard. Its eclectic and romantic, lots of candles, a huge tree and unique décor. The food was very good. I had a grilled lobster special, my husband had mahi mahi and my daughter ordered chicken enchiladas ( which I ended up eating most of since she fell asleep after the bread and salad). In fact we had to take out banana rum cake to go and I’m glad we did since it was awesome.

Saturday we had a nice breakfast and then hit the pool for one last swim before heading to the airport.

A few last observations. We enjoyed St. Croix very much. From what I’d read, I expected that I would however we were a bit leery as St. Thomas and St. John were two of our least favorite islands of all the we have 15+ we have visited. I was surprised at how deserted the island was. It’s the off season but its not like its the middle of hurricane season. Lastly, people were not as dressed up at the Buccaneer as I had expected. The first night they did allow men not wearing collared shirts to have dinner although they did sit off to the side and not in the main dining area. There were two weddings later in the week and when the resort was busier they did enforce the dress code.

We definitely enjoyed our stay and would return to the island. I’d be happy to answer any questions anyone has. Hope you benefited from this.