The Virgin Islands are Open

We are so excited to write that. The territory has been amping up towards re-opening for a long time now and a lot of you have been asking us a lot of questions so here is what we are anticipating with the “Blue Phase” and open doors!

Open Doors, Welcome back!

We have officially entered into the BLUE phase which means that Hotels and Villas can allow guests to book reservations and to check in as of yesterday. Here are the guidelines as of right now:

Restaurants have been allowed to open since last week and there are more open or planning to open than there are ones that are closed. They have to operate at 50% capacity or 50 patrons whichever is less, respect social distancing, and employees have to wear masks. (we feel for them, it’s HOT!!) A few people have asked about patrons wearing masks and no, you cannot eat and drink while wearing a mask so as long as you are at your table, and not in a large group, you don’t have to wear your mask. They are not going to be seating large groups all together as of right now, so if you’re traveling with a bigger group, pick your 5 favorites and plan to sit with them while the rest sit at another table 🙂
Retail stores are open and requiring a facial covering inside
Boats are allowed to take tourists again, and we are so happy to see bookings coming in and we can’t wait to take you all out on the water
The beaches are wonderful, they’re still relatively empty, and the concessions on select beaches are back open as well

What does this mean for your charter with us?

WE ARE OPEN! whew! That feels good to say and we are looking forward to seeing all of you very soon. The weather is gorgeous this upcoming week which will be really wonderful for our first few charter guests!

A few things are going to be different going forward and hopefully only temporarily:

Cups onboard: We are no longer going to be offering reusable Tervis Tumblers onboard but instead we are going to have them onboard for purchase at a discount. Then at the end of the day you can take your cup and a full painkiller home with you! You can also purchase Yetis from us to use during the day, but we have to know ahead of time because our inventory is limited; you can also purchase them online and make a note not to ship them to you.
Snorkeling Gear: While we sanitize the gear profusely anyways, for the time being we are asking that you bring your own mask and snorkels with you, fins will still be provided for adults
Facial coverings– we ask that you have them with you on the dock during checkin and when boarding the boat. We have really nice Virgin Islands Flag buffs that should arrive any day and will be on the boats for purchase for anyone who needs one or just wants one! You can purchase these ahead of time on our online shop!
Hand Sanitizer– we have really great eco-friendly hand sanitizer onboard for everyone to use

Don’t Forget about the Sunscreen Ban

While we’ve all been focusing on everything going on in the world and when the VI will open, we want to make sure none of you missed the ban on chemical sunscreens in the VI. We’ve always tried to mitigate the chemicals in sunscreen by not allowing spray sunscreen onboard but we are expanding that and asking that you all comply and use ONLY truly reef safe sunscreens when visiting Saint John. This means you need to read the labels and make sure the active ingredients are Zinc and Titanium oxide and none of the harmful chemicals. Rashguards are also a great way to save on sunscreen and skip the chemicals!

Help us and save our reefs for the future of the Virgin Islands.

We can’t wait to take you out on the water very soon to explore the beauty of the USVI and have The Best Day of Your Vacation!