Hello everyone! We have some good news to share with you all today, and some not-so-good news. Let’s start with the good news…
St. John will “reopen” for tourism on June 1. The island was never really closed, as the Governor has reiterated several times, but accommodations have not been permitted to accept new guests since March 24th. Beginning June 1, hotels, villas, Airbnbs, etc. will once again be able to check in new guests. This applies to the entire US Virgin Islands – St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix. So in a nutshell, you are allowed to visit again starting on June 1 per the Governor.
Restaurants will be permitted to reopen for in-house dining beginning this Tuesday, May 26th. (In-house dining ceased in late March. The restaurants who’ve remained open throughout the pandemic were permitted to offer take out and delivery only.) Beginning Tuesday, restaurants can operate at 50 percent capacity or 50 persons, whichever is less, per order of the Governor. Bars are also permitted to reopen.
Should you choose to visit after June 1, you will not be required to self quarantine per the Governor. There has never been a mandatory quarantine for travelers arriving to the US Virgin Islands per the Governor. It is unclear at this time whether masks will be required. When I asked the Governor directly about this, he stated that it is likely, but that a final decision has yet to be made.
Now on to the not-so good news…
St. John Festival, also referred to as Carnival, has been cancelled per order of the Governor.
Two major airlines – Spirit and United Airlines – are planning to suspend service to and from St. Thomas. The Department of Transportation recently approved a request from both carriers to suspend service to the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. (This is the airport that serves St. John.) Silver Airlines and Seaborne have also requested to drop service to and from St. Thomas. It is unclear when this will begin or how long the suspension will be. (Click here to view the entire list of suspensions.)
American Airlines flies to St. Thomas via Miami daily. Delta has been flying sporadically via Atlanta. JetBlue and Cape Air (a small commuter airline) also offer service to St. Thomas.
But let’s end on a positive note, because we’re all about positivity here at News of St. John! Today is the very last day to enter our raffle. Tickets are just $20, and all proceeds will support the Animal Care Center. You can enter to win a five-night stay at Aquamare at Grande Bay plus $1,000 courtesy of 340 Real Estate Company. Learn more and buy your tickets at www.newsofstjohn.com/raffle
Did Spirit state what date they will suspend service? Immediately? Why would they do this right when the island is opening back up?
It did not state a date. You can see the full Order here: https://beta.regulations.gov/document/DOT-OST-2020-0037-0175
I just called Spirit and the manager I spoke with said they have not received any information yet and did not even know what I was referring to
It was an Order issued earlier this weekend by the Department of Transportation.
o yes! I know it is true. I just wish that they would have info as to when it starts to help with planning as I have a flight with them on June 13
I agree 100%! It’s a bit frustrating that the DOT announced that it’s happening but didn’t say when…
so grateful for your updates! Been following it daily. You are our connection to the latest news . We love St. John!
thank you for keeping STJ close in heart during these challenging, changing times. I’ll be there 10/28 thru 11/3 hopefully all is good. I’m coming solo but a friend and her husband are coming in. they heard about your jeep tours. I told them about mine. will you be doing tours, then? Thanks for all you do Jenn
Hi Trish, yes I absolutely will be! You can check out the new tours site at http://www.explorestj.com
I would love to take you all out and about!
I can highly recommend Jenn’s tours! You will love the day!
Concerning the wearing of masks. I asked this question directly to Government House and received the following answer. Open Doors phase begins June 1.
AMAY 8, 2020, 9:54 AM
Good Day, Please have the governor address the following at the next press conference. Will the current mask requirement remain in place after the territory is opened to tourists? Thank you
MAY 9, 2020, 1:56 PM
Good day. Governor Bryan announced in a previous press conference that face coverings will remain a requirement during the Open Doors phase.
file:///C:/Users/Sunny/Downloads/COVID-19-Path-To-New-Normal-Infographic-Flyer-Final32%20(1).pdf
And on May 13th, I asked the governor about masks. This is his exact response:
“Most likely, we have not made a final decision as we want to see how this month goes. So far so good.”
So as stated in the story, he has not made a final decision.
Just spoke to United. Suspending flights to STT until July 5.
Wondering if this United decision is a permanent one that will extend through next winter. We are already booked for January.
We have united flights booked for June 27 and they haven’t been canceled yet? When does this order go into place?
I’m afraid United is now showing no scheduled flights to STT on June 27
Wrote a message earlier. I spoke to United. Suspending flights till July 5.
Jenn, thanks for the heads up. I just checked on my United flights (direct EWR to STT) for early December 2020 and they are still there and not cancelled. I also went in as if I was booking a new flight and saw open flights/itineraries. I’m sure hoping United is not discontinuing service from Newark to St Thomas. We are till hoping and looking forward to our annual 2 weeks stay in December. Maybe this is just temporary or just through hurricane season?
I definitely think it’s temporary. Fingers crossed!!
Thanks for update Jenn. See you June 16th
Can’t wait to welcome you ladies back!
Delta in early August…hope that holds!
I just reviewed the DOT document you had a link to. Looks like the airlines are just asking to be relieved of their obligation to fly to St. Thomas during the summer months this year:
“The Department directs all interested parties to show cause why the Department should not issue an order making final its tentative findings and conclusions discussed herein and in Appendix A, and award exemptions to the 15 Covered Carriers allowing them to suspend service through September 30, 2020 …”
Looks like summer bookings on United and Spirit are our of luck, but hopefully everything will be back to normal from October 1 on. And the DOT is accepting comment up until May 28 on these requests to suspend service, so the airlines would probably not notify anyone holding a ticket for the summer until they receive the official OK from the DOT.
Spirit confirmed that my daughter’s flight from STT to FLL for June 1 is still scheduled. And they still show this flight on their website so ostensibly they are still selling tickets for it. I could not get them to tell me when the suspension would start. So… they could cancel at any time I guess
We were scheduled for Jun 13th on American. They canceled and we booked on Delta. Then Delta canceled, so we punted until July back on American. If they cancel again, I am renting a boat in San Juan and sailing over…just saying. We come down once or twice a year and we are overdue. I cant wait to get back and support our favorite restaurants and stores.