Do this while in St. Thomas!!!!

[bunduo]

This is for everyone who has been to St. Thomas a million times and is looking for something unique to do.

My wife, two sisters and I chartered a sailboat for a day. It was GREAT!!! We sailed on the 43-foot Winifred which was captained by Sharon Allen (sailwinifred.com). Captain Sharon has a first mate and tour guide by the name of Tommy.

We got picked up by Sharon at the American Yacht Harbor Marina in Red Hook at 930am. She gave us our safety briefing and we set sail. It was only our group of four. The Winifred can accomodate up to six. We sailed for over an hour to St. John and tied up off the Caneel Bay resort. It was SOOO peaceful and relaxing. The best part about was getting away from the hordes of people. There wasn't hardly anyone on the beach. It was GREAT.

Anyway....once tied up, we donned the provided snorkeling gear and Tommy gave us a guided snorkeling tour. We saw five turtles and a stingray without a tail...I guess his name is Stumpy. There is also a turtle without a fin who is called Lefty but we didn't see him.

After snorkeling, we hung out on the beach for awhile before heading back to the sailboat for lunch. Tommy cooked up some chicken and rice that was really tasty. After lunch, we sailed along the coast of St. John before heading back to Red Hook. It was an absolutely beautiful and picture perfect day. We got back to the ship in time to shop around Havensight Mall for a little while. It was awesome.

[samben]

We sailed with her too......Very good.

[buzzzz]

Wow..

We are neighbors!! I am just up the road in Fairfield.

What would your suggestion be for someone who HASN'T done it all. We are going to Nassau, St Thomas, San Juan, and who knows exactly where since Labadee is off the list for now.

If you prefer, you can email me directly at [email]buzzzz@yahoo.com[/email].

Thanks,
Mike

[travelerdi]

bunduo & sanben, Nice review of great trip! I did check out their website, the only thing is they don't give pricing on it. About how much are we talking for 4 people to do the day sailing? Any info would be appreciated.

RCL Sun Viking 4/83
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RCI Voyager 3/02
Enchantment 1/03

Not soon enough!
A.O.S. 5/04

[Desertbelle]

Thanks for the review! We have the Winifred booked for our St. Thomas visit in November. I wish we could get a similiar recommendation for day sails on our other ports of Curacao, Barbados, Dominica, and Isla Margarita.

Margie

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[bab]

Did the 'Winifred' a couple of years ago and it was a GREAT way to spend the day - very relaxing and off the beaten track.

[photonut4]

We also have Winifred booked for our June trip. The prices that she quoted me are, "$120.00 per person or with the cash discount $110.00 and includes all beverages (sodas, juices, beer, and their famous Rum Punch) plus a delicious tropical lunch which is served in the shade of the cockpit." When I emailed her, she responded immediately.

Liz
A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't.
-Rhonda Hansome-

[bunduo]

FYI- If you take this excursion, make sure you bring enough cash to give Tommy, the first mate, a 15% percent gratuity. It comes out to approximately $18. We gave $20 because it was easier. For us, he worked his butt off and deserved the tip.

Mike, I bet you won't be far from your neighbors while on board. On our cruise, it seemed like everyone was from Cincinnati. I swear...even the guest band, The VanDelles were from here. We shared a cab with a family and stood in line at the art auction with another couple from the Queen City. It was surreal.

Here are some suggestions for the ports...
San Juan- take a walking tour of Old San Juan. Here is the link to the walking tour we took [url="http://www.puertoricowow.com"]www.puertoricowow.com[/url] Just print it off and follow the directions. It is the same tour offered by the ship but it's free (except for admission to El Morro Fort which was $3).

St. Thomas- Grab a cab over to Red Hook and take the ferry over to St. John. From the ferry dock in St. John, grab a taxi over Trunk Bay. St. John and Trunk Bay are spectacularly beautiful. Leave enough time to shop at Havensight mall which right next to where the ship docks.

Nassau- Hike over to Paradise Island and check out the Atlantis Resort. They facility is incredible. They have a world class aquarium that contains a manta-ray that is as big a car. Awesome.

Labadee- Rent the jet skis. They hold two people and are complete blast.

No matter what you do, you're on a cruise. Life doesn't get much better. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]
-Matt

[London, Canada]

Deserbelle - We were on Dawn Princess in Feb/04 and well, we have our reasons as to why we are returning to RCI in Feb/05. We found that Princess did not promote Isla Margarita at all. Most of the people we spoke to were nervous to get off the ship as they kept repeating...their first language is Spanish. If you cannot speak Spanish we recommend you NOT go into town. We got off the ship and found Tourism Venezuela there and took a taxi, with others, and went to the nearest city. Where the ship ports there are about 75 kiosks and a beautiful beach, very shallow though. The nearest populated area is about 30 minutes from the pier. The stay there is short but very sweet. A 26 oz of their rum - $2.50...can't go wrong...but we did find that there were few locals that could speak English. Thank goodness the tour guide does not go far and we had a couple from San Juan with us. Have a good time.

[texfinn]

Matt,

You mention hiking to Atlantis from the boat. Can you really walk there? Everything I have seen involves a boat or a taxi. Is it safe to go alone? (DH is going scuba diving)

Thanks!
Mati

[Diane&4girls]

We just sailed the Winifred last week!!! What a great time we had!! I agree, it's something very unique and should be done at least 10 times!!!

The price she quoted us was $100 per person for the for of us, but she only charged me for 3 since I also brought along 2 of my clients.

Our group of 6 tipped Tommy $150. He earned every penny of it.

The next time we're in St Thomas... I think it's August, we're definitely sailing with Capt Sharon and Tommy again.

Diane
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[Desertbelle]

London, Canada, thanks for the advice. It sounds very similiar to when we went to Roatan a couple years ago. There were people who never got off the ship....which was a pity since Roatan was a diamond in the rough and we had a wonderful time there. We are adventurerers and I have no doubt we will find something fun to do in Isla Margarita. Since we are going to so many other ports, I feel like Isla Margarita is a "bonus island", if we are too tired from a port intensive cruise we may just kick back at a beach all day.

As for going with Princess on this, it has almost everything to do with itinerary and cost. We are paying $1100 pp for a balcony with a $400 shipboard credit for a 10 day cruise to So. Caribbean from Florida. This is an incredible bargain.....the savings on airfare to FLL compared to San Juan alone is a great deal of money for 5 people. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Margie

Celebrating Our Parents 60th Anniversary - Legend of the Seas to Mexico 9/5/04!!
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[Connie bee]

We were on the Winifred last year and it was a great way to spend the day. We really enjoyed it.

[bunduo]

Mati- hiking to Atlantis is definitely doable. The islands are flat so it's pretty easy. The only challenging part of the walk is going over the bridge to Paradise island. In all, it's about a 45 minute walk (2-3 miles). I'm a guy and I would be little hesitant to do it alone the first time. Maybe take a taxi over to Atlantis to check out the distance, etc. and hike back. You see a whole lot more when you walk. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Diane, we were onboard after your group. Tommy said your group were calling him your b****. He was laughing about it. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]
-Matt

[Seaside2358]

Sounds nice, are you able to do any snorkeling stops?

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Until Jewel of The Seas<BR


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Majesty of The Seas 12/03

[Deets]

Captain Sharon, Tommy, and the Winifred were the icing on the cake of our Adventure cruise last January. It is so nice to hear that you all enjoyed your sailing day also. We are intending to book her again for the same cruise next January. It was just a delightful, relaxing, fun day in the Caribbean!

Big Blue Basketball Fan

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'til we sail away again on the Majesty of the Seas!


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'til we sail away again on the Adventure of the Seas!