Our stay near the shores of Saint James was only a day and a night, but it was a time we will remember in this little place called Christmas Cove. We read a few reviews about this mooring field/anchorage, and were also told about this offbeat place by our friends, Craig and Bobbi, who had been craving pizza for weeks. See, what makes this anchorage so special, aside from its beauty, is the Pizza Pi.
From a mooring in Christmas Cove, a 37-foot monohull, now named Pi, has been converted into the Pizza Pi pizza shop, and has been serving pizza off of the boat, in this little cove, for over a decade. This floating restaurant has changed hands several times over the years, with new visions, and improvements being made, making this quirkish eatery a destination hotspot for boaters.
At one point, boaters would either come up to the boat by dinghy or raft, pay for their pizza, and head back to their own boats to eat. Now, there is another option. Guests can sit on giant floats, with their feet dangling in the water, and eat pizza right alongside Pi, the owners, and its patrons. If you’re interested in reading the full story about how Pizza Pi came to be, or drooling over the menu, check out their website here.
Of interest, there are even shuttle services that brings guests to Christmas Cove from Saint Thomas and Saint John for a day of swimming, snorkeling, and pizza eating! It was nice that we could enjoy this experience on our very own boat.
Also of interest, and this was gleaned from Pizza-Pi.com: “Long before Jeffrey Epstein owned the adjacent island, it was Christopher Columbus that made Christmas Cove famous, named after the explorer who anchored his boat there on Christmas day in 1493. For the next 300 years, the cove was favored by pirates for its calm waters. No longer a staging base for expeditions to steal gold, the real treasure is Pizza Pi, the best pizza in the Caribbean from the world’s only floating pizzeria.” So, there you have it, a little slice of history along with our slice of pie!
We left Saint John island in the morning and arrived at Christmas Cove around 10am. Several reviewers on Navionics suggested placing your order early in the day because the owners get busy and may not be able to accommodate you otherwise. So, we placed our order at 9:30am, on our way to Christmas cove, for a 4:30pm pick-up. Thankfully, we got our order in on time.
Craig and Bobbi offered to pick up the pizza, and we offered to have them come to our boat for a feast and fellowship. I made a salad and homemade chocolate chip cookies. It was a fun and memorable time!
