St Croix- Buccanneer- please help!

Old Oct 6th, 2000, 07:55 AM
  #1  
michelle
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St Croix- Buccanneer- please help!

My husband & I are going to St Croix in December for a week & staying at the Buccanneer. We are looking for any recommendations you have for either this resort or the island. Some questions- do we need to rent a car- I heard the Buccanner has shuttles to Christainsted but not sure how often. Any good restaurants (esp italian & casual, fun places)? How are the restaurants at the Buccaneer? Snorkeling trips- any particular one you would recommend? Any nightlife- especially beach bars or beach parties? Any don't miss sights or activities? We love the beach but also love getting out & doing other things. Also any info on the standard rooms at the Buccaneer- we're debating upgrading to an ocean front room. Is the Bucanneer more of an older crowd- we're in our late twenties. Thanks for your help!
 
Old Oct 7th, 2000, 03:46 AM
  #2  
Robert
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Michelle; My wife and I stayed at the Hibiscus Beach Hotel in St. Croix. We had a beach front room and the view was great. We also rented a 4-wheeler and explored the entire island. The Buccaneer offered very nice accomodations. I would recommend touring with the local scuba dive shop in Christiansted. The people were friendly all over the island. We drive to the remote "rain forest" which is actually a sub-tropical rain forest, but nevertheless, it offered interesting hiking. The Bromeliads you see at K-Marts were growing all over the place, up in the trees. Horse racing was big there, and a vet who lives next to the Hibiscus raised and trained race horses on the beach. They let my wife ride the brother of Seattle Slew all over the beaches, and didn't even ask for money! I would definately purchase high-quality snorkeling gear from a dive shop and pack it. As we drove around the coast of St. Croix, beautiful reefs were every where. The shuttle service in nice, I'm sure, but island exploring with you own vehicle is better. Definately visit the bar in the middle of the rain forest with the beer-guzzling pig! Robert
 
Old Oct 7th, 2000, 12:00 PM
  #3  
Jennifer
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Definitely rent a car. St. Croix has lovely views from lots of mountainous high points. We loved to just drive around & around, as silly as that sounds, exploring. We also stayed at Hibiscus Beach, liked it because of the laid back, easy going atmosphere, but spent a day using the facilities of the Buc. I remember there was a watersports operation right on property by the beach bar & assume they can arrange a trip to Buck Island for you (great for snorkeling).

Unless it's changed, not much to do in Fredricksted, but worth a short stop or two while you're tooling around the island. Hug pretty close to the road that skirts the cruise ship pier & the fort there --- unless it's changed, lots of rummies & poverty. Probably safe enough, but why tempt fate. I remember a particularly good shop for origianl art, but can't recall the name, sorry. Spratt Hall runs a little oceeanside restaurant outside of F'sted, doesn't look like much, but the food was delicious. PRices were fair all over the island for everything, 3 years ago anyway.
Excellent shopping & restaurants all over Christiansted. Better shopping than STT, IMHO, more variety, better prices. Cheeseburger in Paradise (on the way to the Buc) often has live music at night, so inquire. Great burgers, too.

I don't recall a lot of nightlife, but we were there on shoulder & things were pretty quiet, which was fine for us. If you don't get the responses you need here, should be easy enough to find out what's going on where once you get there.

At night, stick to roads you've already traveled in the daytime, easy to make a wrong turn. Be SURE to get OUT of the 'rain forest' (agree, a pleasant drive but not a true rain forest) well before dark. The roads twist & turn & sometimes you are very close to the edge of the mountain. The mahoghany wood shop up there is interesting if you don't expect too much.

If you golf, you'll like the Buc better than Carambola. Ocean views, flowers, breezes. Not at all stuffy. Carambola was okay, just not most fun to play.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

 
Old Oct 9th, 2000, 08:39 AM
  #4  
peg
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Hi -
STX tag teaming with Cheri & Ray again.

Well, not to sound like a broken record, but you might read my trip report about St. Croix at caribtravelnews.com, click on "roundup" at bottom of home page, select St. Croix. We were there in June. Several pages are about the Carambola, where we stayed, but there also are several pages with misc info about the island, car rental, beaches, activities, etc. Write to me directly if I can answer any questions.

And, you'll love the Buccanneer & St. Croix.
 
Old Oct 18th, 2000, 02:43 PM
  #5  
nancigauld
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My husband and I stayed at the Buccaneer last February and will be returning this January.We were pleasantly surprised with St.Croix much less conjested than St.Thomas.The Buccaneer is a great choice--the hotel staff is helpful in recommending restaurants.We particularly liked the Villa Madeline--very romantic.We didn't rent a car but I think we will this time for a couple of days to really see the island.The shuttle service to Christensen is quite reasonable.We did go a a day cruise for snorkeling to Buck Island--very relaxing.Definitely upgrade to an ocean front room--each has a small private patio right on the ocean.Our favorite are the rooms closest to Mermaid beach.Have fun,Nanci
 
Old Oct 27th, 2000, 01:15 PM
  #6  
Jim
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Rent a car, although thebfood at the Buccanneer is excellent, there are somr great restaurants on St Croix. Italian, try thr Cultured Pelican, good food, great view. All dining is casual. Also be sure to get to Duggan's, a real tropical atmosphere. All the rooms are good at the Buccanneer and the crowd is mixed. Also, the best beaches on the island.
 
Old Oct 28th, 2000, 04:10 PM
  #7  
JJ
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My take on the Buccaneer.

My wife and I loved it. We split our vacation, four days in Puerto Rico, then an American Airlines shuttle to St. Croix for three days. The restaurants at the Buccaneer were much better than expected. We didn't tour the island but may do that next time. We didn't see a tremendous amount of nightlife, but after staying up much of the night in P.R., we didn't mind.

If you are doing Buck Island (a must---maybe the best snorkling you will ever go to) go on a power boat instead of a sail boat. The pros of a sail boat is that it may sail directly to the Buccaneer-- but will take twice as long. There is a shuttle to town (I think every hr. and it takes a matter of minutes).

As to ages, it wasn't an old crowd (my wife 29 and me 36) Some older, some younger.
 
Old Nov 14th, 2000, 12:45 PM
  #8  
Jane
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Hi Michelle,

My husband and I stayed at the Buc last November (1999) and we liked it very much - the landscaping is gorgeous and the views from your table while enjoying your breakfast from their Terrace restaurant (complimentary full breakfast) are lovely - we stayed in an oceanfront room - had a king-sized bed, TV with cable/HBO, small fridge, windowseat and a private stone paito with lounge chairs facing the water - the food at the Terrace restaurant was very good - but a little pricey for dinner - you are about a 6 minute drive from town (Christiansted) so I'd recommend renting a car before you arrive - other good restaurants are Duggan's (good lobster), Harvey's (casual inexpensive local cuisine), Stixx, Turtle Deli (Fredericksted) - the beaches at the Buc are nice but they are small (2 are anyway) - Mermaid beach offered good snorkeling - we sailed to Buck Island with Big Beard's - did the all-day trip for about $70 each - next time I'd do the 1/2 day - included was a BBQ lunch (not on Buck Island) consisting of burgers, hot dogs, grilled kingfish and rum punch - I'd recommend Big Beard's - shopping in C'sted was fun - driving around the island was fun too - if you want to drive through the rainforest I think you'll need a 4WD vehicle - snorkeling is also good at Cane Bay - STX was great - not too touristy and the locals were very nice - there is a "street party" in F'sted every Wednesday night (I think, maybe every other Wed.) when there's a cruise ship that comes in and I heard this was alot of fun but we didn't do that - also, at the Carambola there's a good Friday night Pirate Buffet with a show - hope this helps
 
Old Nov 18th, 2000, 05:38 PM
  #9  
rasrood
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Hey, Michelle. We lived on St. Croix for 10 years (moved back to states 3 yrs ago). Definitely rent a car, but you don't need 4wd for rain forest. Buccaneer is very nice. Our favorite beaches for snorkeling were Cane Bay on north shore and Rainbow Beach just north of Frederiksted. If Blue Moon bar is open in Frederiksted,go there - usually has jazz or some such music. Also for local flavor, eat at Brady's in Christiansted for lunch. Some of the best local food. Also, for a fun evening out with locals, go to Villa Morales near Frederiksted. Great Puerto Rican/Crucian food and they have fun soca bands on the weekend. Please feel free to ask about anything else. One thing, at night, stay on main roads.
 

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