Just booked our daysail on the Winifred!

[ETyndall]

I wanted to thank everyone who has posted their daysail expreiences with Capt. Sharon. We booked this morning and are very excited about our trip. I have a few questions. I understand we have to go through customs in St. Thomas before getting off the ship. Can we still make Red Hook Marina by 9:30? Do you dock at a beach or snorkel from the boat? I would like to do a little shopping before returning to the ship. Where is a good place to shop? How far to Red Hook from the dock? What is the cost of a taxi? Someone asked the cost. Sharon said for us to send a cc# and she would hold our reservation. We will pay with cash when we get there and get it for $115. per adult. Can anyone tell me the kinds of soda and beer she had. Also did she have bottle water?

Thanks to all for the great reviews and answers to my questions.

Emily

[shopp1]

Stt is a U.S. territory. You will only need your drivers license to enter and since you're a U.S. citizen coming off of a cruise ship, it will be just a walk-thru. You won't lose much time... if any at all.

[love2sub]

Hi Emily,

 

We just did the Alaunt daysail at Christmas and I can answer a few of your questions. Is your ship stopping in the Bahamas before getting to St. Thomas? If so, that is why you are doing immigration. We were on the Sun Princess and they have the immigration process down to a science. The line was huge and I got really scared that we would be late, but once it started moving it took no time. We weren't even there when the line first started forming - might be good to get there early. Anyway, the immigration officers just look at your birth cert. or passport. We ran back up to the room and put ours back in the safe because they give you a card that shows that you passed immigration to get off the ship and you don't need anything but your room card to get back on.

 

Redhook is about 20-30 min. taxi ride from the pier. The taxis usually wait until they're full before leaving so you might pick a small one - but the same taxi that goes to the St. John Ferry passes right by Redhook - usually doesn't take long at all before you leave. It costs $8/pp each way.

 

The yachts dock offshore at buoys in the water - not at a beach, but usually they will take you to at least one place that is near a beach if you want. They don't anchor very far from the shore so you swim over to your snorkeling place. They can also zoom you closer if needed in their dinghys. They are soooo accomodating!

 

Can't tell you about Sharon's drinks, but on the Alaunt they had everything we could dream of, and lots of bottled water as well.

 

You are going to have a great time. It was the best day of our cruise!

 

Lisa

[shopp1]

Lisa's right about hitting a foreign port prior to landing in STT. I should have mentioned it. It's still a walk-thru though, you just need to have the proper documentation to enter the U.S. territory.

 

We found out yesterday that Carnival has changed our Valor schedule to hit Nassau after STT and STM on the way back instead of first, to avoid having to go thru immigration in STT.

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

As mentioned you will dock just off beaches and can swim in or the captain can take you in on a dinghy (small rubber boat).

 

Let the captain know you want to get back to do some shopping as to allow you enough time to get a taxi back to Havensight (most ships dock there) and there you can shop... if you are docked in the harbor/tendered in or at the dock in Crown Bay you can shop downtown instead.

 

--Islander

*****

[new york rose]

Lisa I Left You A Post Bach A Few Threads. Were Sailing On The Alaunt In 3 Weeks Can You Tell Me About It?was It Worth The Money?was The Food Good? Can My Husband Fish?were They Nice? Thanks Amy From Ny