St. John Champagne catarmaran sailaway

[sarah727anne]

We have this excursion booked through carnival and I was wondering if anyone has done this before and what they thought?

[Texarribean Chick]

Hi Sarah. Yes - my husband and I did this excursion last year via Carnival.

It was enjoyable - especially if you snorkel. My husband got sick; but the weather was rainy and windy that day and the seas were rough. The captain was very nice and knowlegeable about the St. Thomas area and folklore. We were dissappointed because the "open bar" didn't open until the return sail home. I understand the reasoning - not wanting to deal with a bunch of drunks during snorkeling. The catamaran held about 20 people (if I remember correctly). The ride to the marina was longer than I expected and the head (toilet)is very difficult to get to.......you must negociate very steep downstairs in order to reach it. I must say all in all - we had an okay time; but won't do it again. As a matter of fact - we will be on a Carnival ship in St. Thomas two weeks from today and this year we chose a private half day sail instead of sharing with others. They did serve a snack - breads, cheeses, etc along with the "mind eraser" drinks on the way back to St. Thomas. Good Luck. Chick.

[sarah727anne]

We can still change our minds on this one. so you suggest that we try something else? We are young and like to drink, we are sort of party people! I know that we will snorkel but we are snorkeling in other ports as well so we wouldn't be missing out on that.

[Lisa0719]

we did the Carnival champagne sail & snorkle and don't believe they promised an open bar ---- but the champagne was good. we had a great time. we actually booked direct with Atlantic Submarine and saved some bucks but were on the exact same sailing as the Carnival excursion.

 

Texarribean --- we will be in St. Thomas in Sept and haven't make plans yet. What 1/2 day sail are you doing? I'm looking into half and full day sails but haven't decided yet.

[lindanick]

There are six of us who will be on the Valor in Sept. We have a private sail for the day that will take us to several beaches in St. John. The cost is $115 per person. Includes lunch and drinks and all snorkling equip. I am not a snorkler, I am more interested in those beautiful beaches. I have done the half day sail thru the cruise lines, but I thought it was too short. This one is about 2 hours longer.

 

Our ship does not depart St. Thomas until 800pm so we have plenty of time. We can shop right there at Havensight mall. The only thing we really shop for is liquor.:D

 

Linda

[love2vacation]

There are six of us who will be on the Valor in Sept. We have a private sail for the day that will take us to several beaches in St. John. The cost is $115 per person. Includes lunch and drinks and all snorkling equip. I am not a snorkler, I am more interested in those beautiful beaches. I have done the half day sail thru the cruise lines, but I thought it was too short. This one is about 2 hours longer.

 

Our ship does not depart St. Thomas until 800pm so we have plenty of time. We can shop right there at Havensight mall. The only thing we really shop for is liquor.:D

 

Linda

 

What is the name of the private company?

[Texarribean Chick]

We can still change our minds on this one. so you suggest that we try something else? We are young and like to drink, we are sort of party people! I know that we will snorkel but we are snorkeling in other ports as well so we wouldn't be missing out on that.

 

If you are looking for a "booz cruise" you can always try Kon Tiki. It's fun and offered through the cruise lines and cheap - only around $35.00 pp; but it typically books up really quickly.

 

I am trying the half day sail with Jester Sailing next week. I was impressed with his website and the information he emailed me about what he offers. He is a private sail for half or full days. Check out his sight at http://www.sailjester.com

 

There is also another excursion offered directly from the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort. They are larger catamarans that hold about 39 people with "very open" bar as they describe it and they also take you snorkeling.

Go to http://www.st-thomas.com and scroll down to "Day sails" - the catamarans are called Dreamer and Coconut. See what they have to offer. I would think they would be very reputable - considering they marina at a Wyndham Resort. Good Luck.

 

When we return - I will try and let you know how the Jester turned out.

 

Crystal.

[sarah727anne]

Thanks!

[Texarribean Chick]

Hi Sarah. We are back from our cruise and I thought I would post a little review of the half day sail we took with Jester. IT WAS FABULOUS!

 

We started early (10:00 am) and we were picked up from a bar at Point Pleasant Resort. The bar wasn't open just yet, so things seemed a little confusing; but Captain Jim saw us and immediately picked us up in the dinghy. We boarded the boat and all was neat and clean and in order and Jim immediately went over all safety procedures. There was plenty of beer and soft drinks and he even started the day off with AWESOME bloody mary's for all. Jim was very pleasant and knowledgeable about the local landscape and full of information as a tour guide. The tunes that were played were great and we sailed away to St. John, Honeymoon Beach for swimming, snorkeling, etc. All of the accomodations - including the "head" were easily accessible and moving about the boat was easy. As we continued our sail - Jim either joined in on the conversation or he stopped the tour guide and just let us sit back and relax with the sun and the music.

He served a snack of cheese, crackers and fruit and it was just a super fantastic day! I HIGHLY recommend the tour! Good Luck and have a great time.

Crystal.

[ciship]

Hi Sarah. We are back from our cruise and I thought I would post a little review of the half day sail we took with Jester. IT WAS FABULOUS!

 

We started early (10:00 am) and we were picked up from a bar at Point Pleasant Resort. The bar wasn't open just yet, so things seemed a little confusing; but Captain Jim saw us and immediately picked us up in the dinghy. We boarded the boat and all was neat and clean and in order and Jim immediately went over all safety procedures. There was plenty of beer and soft drinks and he even started the day off with AWESOME bloody mary's for all. Jim was very pleasant and knowledgeable about the local landscape and full of information as a tour guide. The tunes that were played were great and we sailed away to St. John, Honeymoon Beach for swimming, snorkeling, etc. All of the accomodations - including the "head" were easily accessible and moving about the boat was easy. As we continued our sail - Jim either joined in on the conversation or he stopped the tour guide and just let us sit back and relax with the sun and the music.

He served a snack of cheese, crackers and fruit and it was just a super fantastic day! I HIGHLY recommend the tour! Good Luck and have a great time.

Crystal.

 

Thanks for the info and the review. Where is Point Pleasant Resort? Could you walk there for your "pick up" or did you have to take a cab? Were you coming off a Carnival ship or other?? Did you feel queezy on the excursion or did the boat handle the water smoothly?

[ciship]

Hi Sarah. We are back from our cruise and I thought I would post a little review of the half day sail we took with Jester. IT WAS FABULOUS!

 

We started early (10:00 am) and we were picked up from a bar at Point Pleasant Resort. The bar wasn't open just yet, so things seemed a little confusing; but Captain Jim saw us and immediately picked us up in the dinghy. We boarded the boat and all was neat and clean and in order and Jim immediately went over all safety procedures. There was plenty of beer and soft drinks and he even started the day off with AWESOME bloody mary's for all. Jim was very pleasant and knowledgeable about the local landscape and full of information as a tour guide. The tunes that were played were great and we sailed away to St. John, Honeymoon Beach for swimming, snorkeling, etc. All of the accomodations - including the "head" were easily accessible and moving about the boat was easy. As we continued our sail - Jim either joined in on the conversation or he stopped the tour guide and just let us sit back and relax with the sun and the music.

He served a snack of cheese, crackers and fruit and it was just a super fantastic day! I HIGHLY recommend the tour! Good Luck and have a great time.

Crystal.

 

Did you do a whole day or half day sail? Did they get you back when they said they would? We will have children with us. Is this suitable for them?

[Texarribean Chick]

Thanks for the info and the review. Where is Point Pleasant Resort? Could you walk there for your "pick up" or did you have to take a cab? Were you coming off a Carnival ship or other?? Did you feel queezy on the excursion or did the boat handle the water smoothly?

 

Point Pleasant is located near the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort and they are both in the Sapphire Beach area or Northeast section of the island. No - you cannot walk from the Cruise ship pier; but it is an easy 20 minute cab ride.

You actually leave from Funji's bar which is at the Point Pleasant Resort.

Yes - I was on the Carnival Valor and our half day sail started at 10:00 am and Captain Jim promptly returned us to Funji's at 2:00 pm as promised. The Valor was in port until 8:00 pm - so time was really not an issue for us. Yes - the boat handled the water well and although it is "roomy" - moving about the boat for children might be a bit scary. You might double check with him about providing constant life vests for the children. The sail to Honeymoon beach is about an hour or so - although very relaxing for adults - it might get a little boring for children. Check out the website http://www.sailjester.com. We were wearing transderm scop sea sickness patches - so no one got queasy. Good Luck. C.