Soo-She!
We got cocky a month ago and decided this whole waiting at the airport thing is dumb. So we timed it all to get there just an hour before our flight. Big mistake. Not because there was a crowd. Late in the day, there isn’t. But we walked up to the counter 50 minutes before departure and were told we were too late. An hour, minimum we were told. As the agent started talking about booking us on the next day’s flight, I pulled Wade out of the bag, made a joke, said we had no checked bags, made another joke and eventually got through. (Note: You cannot do this because you don’t have Wade.)
The point is, arrive 2 hours early. Which means you have time to kill. Which means the dreaded Cyril E. King cafeteria and bar. The bar part is fine. But not the cafeteria part. Until now! A new cooler that is stocked full of really fresh looking garden salads, spring rolls, and yes it’s true, Sushi. Not great Sushi. But not bad Sushi. Fresh? Just ask. “Fresh dem every day,” says the woman. The label says “prepared fresh by Chef Jean-Philippe, Galli, St Thomas.” We ate it. We liked it. We lived.
August 13th, 2007 08:49
You guys are brave!
August 13th, 2007 08:52
BTW….still waiting for “a really GOOD Cyril E. King Airport update!” We are leaving for STJ on 8/29, so any tiny morsel of positive news will be most welcome
August 13th, 2007 09:54
Wow - brave isn’t the word. I saw this sushi last month when we were coming home and thought, “No one is ever going to eat that!” I stand corrected.
I hate all the food at the airport, except the odd macaroni and cheese with the little bits of random veggie bits. The seem to have it only about 1/3 of the time, so I find it a special treat when they do have it. Nothing like a carb-load before that big flight!
August 13th, 2007 12:14
I usually just get fries. Some of that stuff looks scary. I like to eat at J.J.’s before we board the ferry. It seems like we still end up in that damn concession line at Cyril King. I’m hanging at the bar and getting in a few more painkillers and sleep on the plane in November.
I think we are going to have Eddie from Wheatley’s (we love him!) take us to the new “Grand Yacht area” and find a place for lunch. Then to the airport and do the porter thing again so we can just zip through and won’t have to be there so early. I think we will shoot for one and a half hours early. We had been thinking about an hour but after this article , we’ve reconsidered. Our flight leaves around 3pm so we may hit some traffic getting there. Leaving the island is just a BITCH anyway you do it.
August 13th, 2007 15:31
Is this for all outbound flights? I’m going to be flying from St Thomas to Puerto Rico, will it be just as bad getting out? I have a big group flying down next week for my wedding!!! Will this start my party off to a bad start? What am I to expect? I love St John and I hate to think this is going to set things off to a bad start and make things terrible when everyone leaves…
August 13th, 2007 19:05
Thank you for the Cyril E King food update. Mother of God–were they ever going to improve that menu? YES–we will try anything different, EVEN POISON if necessary. Just anything at that airport has got to beat the not current, but constant “menu”.
August 14th, 2007 16:21
I flew out yesterday at 4:05. STT to San Juan. Arrived at the airport at 2:15. Waited in the very long customs line (porters were not bringing people to the head of the line and people were mad that they were paying to wait in line) Then through security.
Was 3rd in line for some french fries and by the time I finished them, they were boarding my flight.
Folks behing me in food line missed their early flight. They too arrived too late; about 45 minutes before the flight and they would not check them in.
Just be smart and get there early.