Menu Close

Author: Jenn Manes

Nov. 7-12, 2022 Cruise Ship Schedule

Monday, November 7

  • One ship (Voyager of the Seas) – 3,114 passengers in port on St. Thomas

Tuesday, November 8

  • No ships

Wednesday, November 9

  • One ship (Symphony of the Seas) – 5,518 passengers in port on St. Thomas

Thursday, November 10

  • No ships

Friday, November 11

  • One ship (Norwegian Getaway) – 4,028 passengers in port on St. Thomas

Saturday, November 12

  • No ships

Share this post: [DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]

St John Time Change: None Here!

Today we’re talking about St John time change. We don’t do it here in the US Virgin Islands. End of today’s post.

Kidding! 🙂

But seriously, the US Virgin Islands, as well as our neighbors over in the British Virgin Island and Puerto Rico, do not observe daylight savings. We are on Atlantic Standard Time, which remains the same year-round. To simplify this, we are an hour ahead of New York City (and the rest of the EST states) from Nov. 6, 2022 through March 12, 2023. When mostly everyone springs ahead in March 2023, we will, once again, be on the same time as New York and the rest of the EST states.

One downside of being an hour ahead of EST is that all of our television shows start an hour late. For example, Good Morning America will now start at 8 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. Another random tidbit right there!

Now this may lead many of you to wonder when the sun will set on St. John. Tonight’s sunset time is 5:44 p.m. The earliest the sun sets on St. John is 5:41 p.m. this year. That will happen between November 15th and December 3rd. We will gain a minute or so of light every day beginning on December 4th.

Curious when the sun will rise and set when you’re on St. John. Check out our sunset page at www.IslandTidbits.com/sunset

Share this post: [DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]

St. John: Chain Restaurants & Stop Lights?

This is totally a Photoshopped pic. I promise you that Wendy’s is not coming back to Wharfside. 🙂

Hello everyone, and happy Friday! Let’s keep it light and easy today. Today we’re talking stop lights and chain restaurants.

One thing that makes St John so magical is the lack of any sort of chain restaurants. But did you know that we used to have not one, but two American chains on St John? It’s true!

Imagine wandering through Wharfside Village, gazing out toward the beautiful turquoise waters of Cruz Bay and passing by a Wendy’s fast food restaurant. Sounds terrible, right?! Well back in the early 90s, this is exactly what would have happened! Wendy’s was located in the section of Wharfside Village where La Tapa is today. It closed in 1992 after a fire caused extensive damage to the restaurant.

The old Subway building

Subway was the second and only other fast food chain to operate on St. John. (To my knowledge… Correct me if I’m wrong about this, folks.) It was located in a trailer across from Woody’s where Tap & Still is today. Subway closed in 2008, and then was transformed briefly into a campaign office. Since then, numerous restaurants have been in that spot including Iguana Grill, Across the Street, Umami and currently Tap & Still.

Now let’s talk stop lights. St. John does not have any… most of the time. 🙂 The only time we have a stoplight on St. John is when we have some roadwork going on. There are currently some out in Coral Bay where there is some roadwork happening. Once the roadwork is complete, we’ll return to being a stoplight-free island once again.

I don’t know about you, but I always love a random tidbit like these. And I hope you all do too!

Curious which restaurants are currently on island? I promise there aren’t any fast food ones! Check out our searchable restaurant map at IslandTidbits.com/restaurantmap

Lastly, you still have time to enter to win a St. John vacation for just $25! Proceeds will support the Animal Care Center of St. John. Get additional details on our prize package & purchase tickets securely at IslandTidbits.com/raffle

St John’s current stoplight – One of only two at the moment. 🙂

Share this post: [DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]


Island Tidbits would like to introduce you all to our latest advertiser Southern Exposure vacation villa. Southern Exposure is a spacious three bedroom, three bath villa with panoramic ocean views. It is great for families, as well as couples. It has a great outdoor space too with a pool. Click this link to learn more. 



Airport Eats: What to Expect at the St. Thomas Airport

Leaving the St. Thomas airport is never fun.

This story was originally posted Nov. 3, 2022. 

Let’s get straight to it, shall we? Today we’re talking about food and drink at the St. Thomas airport.

Leaving St. John is never easy. Hanging out at the St. Thomas airport isn’t super fun either. But I am happy to tell you that the US Virgin Islands has been making small improvements when it comes to the airport’s food and drink game, a much-welcomed change.

For starters, when you arrive inside the airport terminal (after going through Customs and security), you will see that there is not a single chain restaurant inside the Cyril E. King airport on St. Thomas. Instead we have just a handful of options, including one grab and go restaurant, a couple of bars and some kiosks. Check them out:

Hibiscus Cafe

Hibiscus Cafe is the main restaurant inside the St. Thomas airport. It’s a grab and go spot, although there are some made to order items. (There isn’t table service here or anywhere inside the St. Thomas airport.) Breakfast is particularly good, as you create your own omelette, and the portion size is huge. They also offer Johnny cakes, croissants and the like during breakfast. Lunch features great soup, burgers and fries, as well as some local dishes. You can also take advantage of the grab and go section that features yogurts, sandwiches and salads, among other things. The crispy chicken salad is particularly good, and is typically my go-to item when I’m flying out in the afternoon.

Grab and Go inside Hibiscus Cafe

There is also a full bar inside Hibiscus Cafe. It opens at 11 a.m. daily. Looking for an adult beverage prior to that? You can grab a cold beer from the cooler earlier in the morning. And no judgement if you do! haha

The bar at Hibiscus Cafe

Airport Bar & Rum Room

Speaking of bars, the new-ish Airport Bar & Rum Room is a great addition to the St. Thomas airport in my opinion. It’s located in the far right corner when you walk inside the terminal, beside the hallway to the Spirit Airlines departure gate.

The Airport Bar & Rum Room

This spot has a full bar, plus additional seating. You can sit and have a drink or two (or three…again, no judgement!), or you can grab some duty-free liquor to take back home with you.

I love this little bar!

Island Grind

Another newer spot that is a great addition to the airport is Island Grind, which is located somewhat in the center of the terminal, but closer to the American, Delta and JetBlue gates. This is a coffee and wine bar, but it also offers a variety of grab and go food options. And I have to say, they really look good, especially the morning pastries.

Island Grind is a coffee and wine bar at the St. Thomas airport.

Morning pastries at Island Grind
Grab and go at Island Grind – And they’re clearly kept in a cold case.

Rounding out our food options at the airport are two snack bar kiosks and a gift shop. The gift shop has sodas, snack items and a variety of souvenirs.

The Galley snack bar kiosk
The gift shop at the St. Thomas airport

And for those of you who are curious, yes, there is free wifi at the St. Thomas airport.

That’s all I have for you today, folks! A few more tidbits to make your St. John vacation easier to navigate. Have a great day!

Share this post: [DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]



Island Tidbits would like to welcome our newest advertiser! 340 Real Estate Co. is available to help you with all of your real estate needs, including houses, condos, commercial and land. On island since 1978. Check them out at www.340RealEstateCo.com


 

See St John: Round Bay to the End of the Road

Take a ride with me today from Round Bay, on St John’s East End, out to the end of Centerline Road (Route 10 0n the map). Pass Hansen Bay beach, Saltwell Bottom beach and more.

This video was created using a GoPro, so it appears I am driver faster than I was. I promise I always keep it well under the speed limit. 🙂 Enjoy!

Want to see what’s happening on St. John right now? Check out more than 20 live streaming webcams at islandtidbits.com/webcams

Looking to visit St. John’s East End and other interesting off the beaten path spots on St. John? Then please consider taking an Island Tour with me! Explore STJ is rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. Learn more & reserve your day at islandtidbits.com/island-tours

You can see this and all of our videos at islandtidbits.com/videos