Calypso Charters Day Sail

[AZPam]

Has anyone ever used them? Can you give me the good, bad and the ugly if possible? Thanks!

[njoyndride]

Pam - We chartered a catamaran named Calypso for a day sail last April, is this the one you're looking at?

[AZPam]

I think so. How was your day and did you have a good time?

[njoyndride]

It was fantastic! The catamaran was very comfortable, clean, had sufficient shade and space. There were 10 of us on it. They were very safety conscious, the snack and drinks were great as well. They took us to a great snorkel spot off of St. John, we were the only boat there and there was abundant fish and coral, along with a sunken plane. We had a couple of people that didn't get in the water to snorkel, they just hung out and enjoyed the boat. After we were done snorkeling we went to Honeymoon Beach (my choice) and swam to shore and beached if for an hour or so. They had mats and floating noodles to play with. They also have a dinghy and were willing to take my MIL to shore in that. They then hoisted the sails and we had a wonderful sail back to St. Thomas. I would book them again in a heartbeat. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[AZPam]

Sound like you did a full day sail, is that right? Can you give me an idea of the times they picked you up, dropped you off and where? We were quoted a price of $110 per person plus 20% service charge and that would include muffins and such in the am, lunch and open bar. Sound about right? What did they serve for lunch? We will have some teens with us too that might be picky eaters. How was their snorkel equipment?

 

I am sure I'll come up with more questions! Thanks for helping answer them all!

 

Pam

[lgt]

I am looking for something like this. How big is the cat and what is their email address or website, please. We did the Silver Moon cat in Barbados last year and it was fantastic and are hoping to find something similar in St. Thomas or St. Johns. Thanks.

[AZPam]

Here is the email they sent to me:

 

Thanks for your interest in Calypso charters. Please provide your date in

March so we can see if we are available for you.

A full day snorkel/sail is $110 per person with a minimum of 15 to charter a

boat privately. a 20% service charge is added to the total.

This includes continental breakfast which includes breakfast breads and

fresh fruit, open bar, deli-style lunch, snorkel gear, captain and crew. We

have a fresh water shower, electric marine head and a hard cover to provide

shade.

We do sail out of St. John. We can pick you up at the National Park Dock in

Red Hook on St. Thomas.

We'll need to know your times that you leave your boat and when you have to

return too, please. If you need to arrange a private taxi to Red Hook, we

can provide you a contact for that also.

 

Thank you!

Look forward to seeing you soon!

 

Sheree York & the Calypso Crew

340-777-7245/340-998-5564

sheree@calypsovi.com

[njoyndride]

Pam - This is the same one. We had a private sail 9:30-1:00 as we had some in our group that wanted to squeeze in some shopping in Charlotte Amalie before we embarked. They charged us $750 so it ended up $75pp. Since it was more of an a.m. thing, they served us fruit, pastries, muffins, breads etc. plus the open bar, which we took full advantage of after snorkeling. The snorkel equipment was in great shape with snorkels sealed in plastic. The captain is very meticulous about his boat and equipment. They were waiting for us in Red Hook but since they pick up and return to the Nat'l Park pier you need to arrange for the driver to come back as it's on the opposite side of the bay (marina) from the ferry. I booked it through Trevor at bestofusvi dot com since I was having trouble finding a catamaran out of St. Thomas.

 

lgt - I believe the cat was 40', using the bestofusvi site look at the sailing vessels, multi hull page. The picture doesn't do it justice, I'll see if I have a pic I can post or email.

[AZPam]

Okay, not so sure we will book with this group after all. Their cancelation policy is 14 days out. That's fine, but if our boat doesn't dock for some reason, we would be out of a lot of money. That doesn't work very well for me. Any other suggestions?

[njoyndride]

Interesting....we never had this policy when we booked through bestofvi, you'd think booking direct would be more flexible than through an agent. There's alot of sailboats so if you don't mind a regular sailboat as opposed to a catamaran you have many options. Check cruisecal dot com and see how many ships are in port that day to determine if you can book once you get into port.

[AZPam]

The problem with a regular sail boat is that we have about 30 who want to do this. The sail boats all seem to only take 6. Another problem I am running into is that the cruise ship is offering a catamaran sail for $99. The cheapest I've found would be about $140 per person. Big difference. Some of our group are starting to balk at the price, so I just don't know what to do any more!

[njoyndride]

I understand your problem with the sailboats, we had the same thing with just 10 people. Try emailing or calling Trevor at the bestofvi and see what he comes up with. He can do the legwork for you. You may even need 2 cats to accommodate that many. The one thing with a private booking is you call the shots when to leave, come back, where you go etc. That makes it really nice and in my book is worth the extra bucks. Maybe you should do a 1/2 day to reduce the price. Over the years I've been the lead for shore excursions for groups from this board as well as friends and family cruises. I know how stressful it can be and how hard it is to create something that appeals to a large group. In the end though it is really fun to do things with a bunch of people you know.

[countercast]

I am also looking at daysails and found this site very useful:

http://www.*****/stthomas/SandL/charters.php

 

There were several boats that took more than 6, one was certified for 37.

Good luck!

[AZPam]

I am also looking at daysails and found this site very useful:

http://www.*****/stthomas/SandL/charters.php

 

There were several boats that took more than 6, one was certified for 37.

Good luck!

 

That is a great site! Actually, I had already found it and used that info to email about 10 different charter groups. I've had about 6 respond to me. Unfortunately, the group has decided to stick with the Princess offered excursion. We will be taking over the boat with 24 confirmed and about 4-6 on the wait list. I am a little disappointed that we won't be "doing our own thing", but at least the pressure is off me! I am just glad that we were able to get as many on as we did. A few that are waitlisted didn't really mind they didn't get on and a few are very disappointed. I will keep my fingers crossed that others cancel and the rest who want to go get to.

 

Thanks everyone for all your great ideas and help! These boards and all who use them are just great!