I did a 4 day sail in mid-August 2011 on the Mercantile, one of the Maine Windjammers. There were 3 things that made the trip a disappointment--stuff that might not be an issue on a different boat. Basically, I loved the concept of a windjammer cruise, but this one didn't match expectations (that I got by reading the literature, which turned out not to be very accurate). First, we only went ashore on one day, and this was a real problem for most of us, who had been expecting to go once/day. Second, while the literature promised the cabin would be "small but comfortable," only the "small" was true. BEWARE! Look at the pictures of accommodations for other Windjammers, see pictures and comments online and you'll see some of the Windjammers are far more reasonable in terms of comfort than others--the Mercantile has Hobbit Holes, not really fit for normal sized humans. Finally, our Captain and crew weren't really interested in telling us about the history, nature, or anything about where we were sailing. On some other Windjammers, crew are more devoted to this. So--choose carefully among the windjammer opportunities. I wouldn't choose the Mercantile again.
Maine Windjammer cruises
in Freighter and Other Non-Traditional Cruise Travel
Posted
I did a 4 day sail in mid-August 2011 on the Mercantile, one of the Maine Windjammers. There were 3 things that made the trip a disappointment--stuff that might not be an issue on a different boat. Basically, I loved the concept of a windjammer cruise, but this one didn't match expectations (that I got by reading the literature, which turned out not to be very accurate). First, we only went ashore on one day, and this was a real problem for most of us, who had been expecting to go once/day. Second, while the literature promised the cabin would be "small but comfortable," only the "small" was true. BEWARE! Look at the pictures of accommodations for other Windjammers, see pictures and comments online and you'll see some of the Windjammers are far more reasonable in terms of comfort than others--the Mercantile has Hobbit Holes, not really fit for normal sized humans. Finally, our Captain and crew weren't really interested in telling us about the history, nature, or anything about where we were sailing. On some other Windjammers, crew are more devoted to this. So--choose carefully among the windjammer opportunities. I wouldn't choose the Mercantile again.