Car Ferry

You ain't seen nothing yet.
It actually was worse when the barges came into Cruz Bay creek.

You ain't seen nothing yet.
It actually was worse when the barges came into Cruz Bay creek.

It is devolution in progress. Progressively worse in the 8 trips we've made now. That said, my wife and boy had a great time camping at Cinammon. We even had a sitter one night for taking her for a birthday dinner. Even though her first choice Rhumb Lines was closed for private party we had very good sushi at the place across from Woody's.

If having no directions given and cars cutting in line really surprise you I remain amazed that you still live in the USVI - Tourists and rental jeeps frantic to get to the airport, Islanders doing what everyone does every day, and employees who could really care less are the norm on both sides of the ferry experience - just who would you actually have expected to solve the problem? Not the VIPD, maybe some Federales from Border Control??

Glad you and the family enjoyed the staycation and STJ in general, I have totally given up on the place since the change in demographics of tourists and influx of nouveau riche visitors and residents who treat the whole STJ idea like St Marthas Vineyard. If I am not on a sailboat there I avoid it altogether and that is a sad state of affairs -- IMO.

If having no directions given and cars cutting in line really surprise you I remain amazed that you still live in the USVI - Tourists and rental jeeps frantic to get to the airport, Islanders doing what everyone does every day, and employees who could really care less are the norm on both sides of the ferry experience - just who would you actually have expected to solve the problem? Not the VIPD, maybe some Federales from Border Control??

Glad you and the family enjoyed the staycation and STJ in general, I have totally given up on the place since the change in demographics of tourists and influx of nouveau riche visitors and residents who treat the whole STJ idea like St Marthas Vineyard. If I am not on a sailboat there I avoid it altogether and that is a sad state of affairs -- IMO.

In general nothing surprises me here anymore, but the organization and professionalism has steadily declined on ferries. It's not something that will make me pack up and leave, but I don't understand how it has so quickly gotten so bad. Out first few trips were a breeze. We like cinnamon. We don't deal with the db crowd. We pack a cooler, camp, cook our own food and relax at far end of beach away from everyone.

I don't recognize the moniker "db crowd" - Do I want to??

Douchebag

If you were camping a douche bag would be one of those solar shower bags that warm in the sun and provide a nice hot shower!

soarty: not quite sure of your frame of reference regarding the barge operation as you've only lived here a very short time. However, visitors use the barge a lot, particularly those vacationing on STJ who rent their vehicles on STT and, even when the MrB was pulled out of the schedule, there were very few complaints. Love City quickly pulled their barge from Crown Bay to help ease the load and, although the whole operation has suffered here and there from some delays, there have been surprisingly very few complaints overall from either visitors or residents.

There are frequently times when fewer than three barges are running (maintenance, etc.) but the operators run back and forth constantly during such times to ensure the crossings run as smoothly as possible. Sorry you were upset but hope the getaway was overall delightful despite the annoyance!

I have used barge 8 times in 2 years. It is progressively gotten worse. That was my only point.

With the Mr. B out of service, (probabily permanently) it has been a CF with the barges. You can address complaints to the Public Services Commission, directly.

Sounds like it's hit or miss based on recent experiences. I was over to STT on a Sunday, about 4 weeks ago, and had a good experience. There was only one barge in service that day (Capt. Vic) and they were running back and forth continuously. I was worried on the way over that there would be mechanical problems while we were running around buying a bunch of perishables, and no way to get the car full of stuff home, but all went well. We got on the barge both ways without waiting more than 30 minutes. On both sides, the line was closely monitored and kept in order as well. When you entered the lot on STJ side, there were two lines, impossible to line jump, and all went well. On STT side, there was someone telling you where to back up, and when it was time to load, they told who to go, who to stay, based on first come first serve.