March 8 Lord Sheffield

[gonna go cruising]

I know while planning my cruise, I kept seeing "Lord Sheffield" in titles of these threads. I finally looked at one to see who in the heck Lord Sheffield was and I certainly am glad that I did. I lucked into getting a spot a couple of weeks before we sailed.

 

We arrived at the dock at Chesterfield’s around 10:40 or so. Captain Rob, Erica and Veronica were busy readying the ship for the passengers. I think in total our trip consisted of 17 passengers. Once on board we found a place to sit and started sailing toward our destination for the swim and snorkel. The crew let the sails down and off we went. There was not much wind so we used the motor to help us along the way. We didn’t mind at all as no one can create the wind to sail and had we not used the motor it would have cut into our swim time. When it got almost unbearable due to the heat, Erica and Veronica cooled us off with buckets of water from the beautiful blue sea. That cooled us off in a hurry.

 

The rum punch was incredible! One who has never partaken of this excursion may wonder what the big deal is. Once you have gone on the Lord Sheffield, you no longer wonder. It was the highlight of our cruise (and we had one heck of a great time on the cruise). Captain Ron and the girls are so incredibly friendly that you feel you have known them from somewhere before. There was plenty to drink, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, plenty to eat (cheese, fruit,smoked herring, and the “oh so wonderful ribs”. I am not a rib person but Rob has it down and no one can resist them!) and plenty to be merry about! The sail over to Long Bay was so beautiful. Once there and seeing the clear water and fish around the boat, we soon jumped in to enjoy the Caribbean. My daughter got brave and jumped from the bow, and I being a chicken used the ladder. The noodles and snorkels were provided by the Lord Sheffield (we brought our own snorkel and masks) if one wanted to use them. Floating and swimming in the water was such an exciting experience and even though it was deep water, the water was so crystal clear you could see the bottom and everything on it. We had our swim time, and headed back toward the dock. We took turns heading into the wind on the bow. It was awesome with the wind in your face. This excursion is family friendly and appeals to all ages.

 

I loved the scenery, the laid back atmosphere they provided and the company was great. I highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting St. Maarten. You will find that they are very personable people who enjoy what they do and want to make sure YOU are having a good time. I plan to go back again. I recommend everyone try it. http://www.lordsheffield.com is the link and Rob will email you back about anything you ask.

 

Such a friendly crew you must try it! The excursion is such a good value you better book while there is an open spot!

[caribbean crazy]

That was an awesome review! How long were you able to swim and snorkel? Was there a reef in that area? It sounds like you had a great time.

[gonna go cruising]

There was a reef-like area that I did not venture to but some of the women went over to and saw some eels and a huge starfish. I think we swam around an hour, which was plenty of time actually, maybe longer, maybe shorter, as I did not wear a watch on the trip unless absolutely necessary. I felt it was well over the 45 minutes we had been told though. The water was so clean and clear. Very refreshing swim. The fish were very abundant where we were so I did not venture too far from the ship though. If you post your email I can try to send some pics from the area to show you more of it.

[caribbean crazy]

I would love to see your pics! Please e-mail them to me at caribcrayz@yahoo.com when you get a chance. Thanks!

[gonna go cruising]

I tried to put up a webshots page. Let me know if it needs work. I was careful not to use shots with other passengers in them as I did not get permission to post them. I am assuming Rob and the crew do not mind being in the pictures. Rob, if you read this let me know if you want to be removed.

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/gonnagocruising

[rjack22]

What kind of ladder does the Lord Sheffield have to get out of the water? It is difficult to do?

[caribbean crazy]

gonna go cruisin,

 

Those were great pics! The water is absolutely beautiful, and I bet it is even more beautiful in person. It's going to be a great day.

[GeorgiaStar]

Are there any shady places on the boat for those of us who don't want to get too much sun? You said you took your own snorkel equipment, but do they provide it to those who need it? Sounds like alot of fun! Thanks for the insight!

[gonna go cruising]

Yes, they provide snorkel equipment to those who need it and it is in very good shape. You can go inside if you want to stay out of the sun. The ladder was wood and rope and not hard to maneuver actually. I think the fun way according to my daughter was just jumping in though!

 

Yes, beautiful water. I cannot wait to go back!

 

We used the bullfrog 36 spray on sunblock and never burned at all. Got plenty tan but no burn. I had heard of it here on the boards and am glad I did. Will swear by it now!

 

caribbean crazy-glad you liked the pictures!

[caribbean crazy]

Hey gonna go cruising,

 

I wanted to ask your opinion. Did you prefer going on the Lord Sheffield to just hanging out on one beach all day and relaxing? We are trying to decide between a beach day and taking this excursion. When you anchored at Baie Longue were you able to swim to the beach if you wanted to or was it too far away? Also, did you notice an undertoe? I am originally from Florida and LOVE the water, so I'm having a hard time deciding whether to spend some of my time sailing on the boat or just spending all of my time with my toes in the sand and water at a beach? Oh, so sad that we have to suffer over such hard choices, isn't it? Thanks for all of your information. I hope you're not in post cruise depression yet - maybe you're still on that post cruise high.:)

[kpauley]

gonna go cruising - Thanks for sharing your pictures. My family is on this excursion on 3/30. Were those stingrays in one of your pictures?

 

Kathy

[gonna go cruising]

Well, since we booked an open ended cruise onboard, maybe I can avoid too much depression but I know what you mean. I had to make the same decision as you are and looked at the number of ships in port, decided I would rather do the Lord Sheffield due to it being so unique and knew we would be able to chill (bake) on the beach at Princess Cays on the last day, and if not able to tender in we would take our chances. There were so many ships in port that day (I remember maybe 7) so we thought the beaches and shopping would be so overcrowded and wanted to do this. It is all a matter of personal choice and I am one that could lay on the beach all day long. I have no regrets though at all.

 

If we wanted to we could have swam to the beach, but we were having too much fun where we were. If you notice the big rock in one of the pictures, several swam over there and were really intrigued by the starfish and eels they saw.

 

I did not notice an undertow at all and felt completely safe in the company of Rob, Erica and Veronica. I am not a good swimmer at all, but got over the fear of the open water as soon as I got in.

 

I have actually been too busy catching up at work now to be depressed but it will hit as it usually does. At least we have one to look fwd to in the next four years sometime. Gee that is a long time!

[gonna go cruising]

gonna go cruising - Thanks for sharing your pictures. My family is on this excursion on 3/30. Were those stingrays in one of your pictures?

 

Kathy

 

One of the pictures you refer to is what they called angelfish but I believe they are some kind of jacknife fish. No stingrays were spotted on our cruise except at Princess Cays. We did not personally see it, but were told of it.

 

We did see a whale off the Port side of the ship one day though. It was pretty cool!

[gonna go cruising]

What kind of ladder does the Lord Sheffield have to get out of the water? It is difficult to do?

 

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/gonnagocruising the last picture in the album is of the ladder. Notice the beautiful water.

[lbfluffy]

going on the Carnival Victoy in December. We are scheduled to arrive at 11 AM. THis excursion shows it leaves at 11. Will we be able to make it? How far is he from where the ship docks. This sounds like fun. Thanks.

[gonna go cruising]

We were on the Caribbean Princess and they changed to atlantic time on our way out. The excursion does leave at 11am but if your ship does not change times to atlantic that may mean a problem for you. If you arrive at 11 est it would be 12 atlantic and they would have already sailed without you. You may want to email him and find out what time he will sail the day you are in port. Sundays seem to be different if I remember correctly.

[travelgals]

kpauly, we (4) are on on this ship with you on 3/30/05.

[kpauley]

kpauly, we (4) are on on this ship with you on 3/30/05.

 

Great, travelgals. We'll see you next week. What cruise ship are you on? We're on the Caribbean Princess. There is also someone else on our ship on this excursion, but I don't know how many there are of them.

 

Kathy

[travelgals]

We are on the QM2, packing at this moment and can hardly wait.

[gonna go cruising]

I hope you all have a wonderful time. Post about it when you return!

[kpauley]

We had a wonderful time aboard the Lord Sheffield on 3/30. I would recommend it to others and wouldn't hesitate to do this again. The only thing I wish was that we had more time in the water. But then again, this is a sailing excursion not a day at the beach.

 

Our sailing was full - 25 passengers plus the crew of 3. Even though we were full, there was room to spread out and move around. The crew made it around and talked to everybody. If you left thirsty, it was your fault. First mate Veronica was always checking to see if you needed something to drink. They have a bottled grapefruit drink called Ting, that you should try.

 

For those concerned about shade, you wouldn't believe the shade protection the sails actually provide. Also, you can go inside.

 

Be sure and go out on the bow of the ship. My husband and daughter spotted a dolphin while up there. I love seeing dolphins.

 

If anybody has any questions, I'll try and answer them.

 

Kathy

[Lastmv]

We took this excursion on 3/31 and I echo everything everyone else has said - it was the best we have ever taken and will do it again. Our 12 year old said it was like sailing with family. The crew was great and the others in our party were very nice.

Rob said he likes the folks he draws through word of mouth (and this board) and feels he would draw a different type if he went through the cruise ship industry - and he would also have to raise his fee. Tip them well on your way off the boat, you won't get a better experience for half the price on the cruise ship list!

Bethanne

[snwarf]

Tip them well on your way off the boat, you won't get a better experience for half the price on the cruise ship list!

Bethanne

 

I would like to know how much most people tip for an excursion such as this - 10 - 20 %? We will definitely tip but I was not sure what the appropriate amount would be.

[maier]

has anyone on the victory made the ship by 11. we booked this ship but the victory does not let us off till 11. any thoughts? ideas?

[jerrymac]

We just got off the Victory 04/03/05 cruise and arrived at 10:45 and our family and Tammy's family walked about 15 minutes and made the excursion, tell them that you will show for sure and they will wait!

 

It was great, you got kids, they will let them steer the ship!