Day sail--Nightwind v. Morningstar v. Simplicity

[Greesh]

We (myself, husband, and 9 yo daughter) are interested in doing a day sail while in port at St. Thomas. Any thoughts on the above 3? I know Rumbaba seems to be the one most frequently mentioned on this site, but they are unavailable on the day we are in port. All 3 companies have good reviews on TripAdvisor. Opinions/experiences on any of the above?

 

Thanks!

[Gonzo13]

Greesh, Since you are not getting any opinions from Cruise Critic go with the reviews on trip advisor. I am going to St. Thomas in September and will take a day sale with Captain Max. Have a great time.

[Cattie]

Just used Simplicity this past week. Would defiantly recommend them. We had 5 in our group, it was a great day! Lunch was awesome, water was beautiful, was gorgeous.

[Statesideguy1]

My family and I have been to the islands yea after year and were always looking for the perfect day sail... We found it on Morningstar! This company is hands down better than any others. Believe us we tried them all! There boat are older but classic. Beautiful and nautical. Nothing cookie cutter about this view or the boats. The food, hospitality and drinks are amazing. We've been on Lou, Maxine is a very serious lady and her demeanor doesn't mesh well with vacationing. Simplicity is ok but they have a dog on board everyday and only take ?cash? Seems kinda shady... Nightwind is crowded and takes too many people. Go with morningstar! 100%

[endymion6942]

I took my DW and two teenage sons on the Nightwind. We had a wonderful time and have recommended it other friends. IMHO , this is a no brainier. :D

[kendon]

My family and I have been to the islands yea after year and were always looking for the perfect day sail... We found it on Morningstar! This company is hands down better than any others. Believe us we tried them all! There boat are older but classic. Beautiful and nautical. Nothing cookie cutter about this view or the boats. The food, hospitality and drinks are amazing. We've been on Lou, Maxine is a very serious lady and her demeanor doesn't mesh well with vacationing. Simplicity is ok but they have a dog on board everyday and only take ?cash? Seems kinda shady... Nightwind is crowded and takes too many people. Go with morningstar! 100%

 

Simplicity is not shady at all! The dog was a rescue from St. Thomas and is very friendly. Admiral Hinckley is a delight and knows just when to tug the lines. The captain and co-captain have multiple college degrees and are very knowledgable. We loved every minute of this tour. Check out the Simplicity Charters website for additional information. Highly rated on tripadvisor too.

[Statesideguy1]

It's important that I readdress this topic, hinkley (the dog) is awesome... It's just some people have issues with dogs. The captain Charlie is a class act and so are his mates. Great people! When I travel I typically use my credit cards (for obvious security, ease of payment and other benefits) in this day and age it seems shady to me that such a popular small business will not let you pay with a visa, MasterCard Amex etc. Don't get me wrong, I just have to wonder what the reasoning for only taking cash?

 

Simplicity is not shady at all! The dog was a rescue from St. Thomas and is very friendly. Admiral Hinckley is a delight and knows just when to tug the lines. The captain and co-captain have multiple college degrees and are very knowledgable. We loved every minute of this tour. Check out the Simplicity Charters website for additional information. Highly rated on tripadvisor too.

[endymion6942]

It's important that I readdress this topic, hinkley (the dog) is awesome... It's just some people have issues with dogs. The captain Charlie is a class act and so are his mates. Great people! When I travel I typically use my credit cards (for obvious security, ease of payment and other benefits) in this day and age it seems shady to me that such a popular small business will not let you pay with a visa, MasterCard Amex etc. Don't get me wrong, I just have to wonder what the reasoning for only taking cash?

 

Taxes!

[swigso]

The best day sail in St Thomas is with Captain Pat Stoeken on the

Independence44.

You will have a great day

Check out the web pageshe is also very highly recommended on

Tripadvisor.

http://www.independence44.us

If you go say hello from Steve & Pat

[laser110]

I can't speak of the other two, but Nightwind has been sailing from St. Thomas longer than I can remember. I think their web site says 1977. I mentioned in another post how attractions come and go on St. Thomas (in reference to the ice bar). Charters do the same and I have seen and sailed on many that no longer sail in St.Thomas waters. If anyone wants to play a game of "remember who" I am game to name yachts that I knew of that longer sail from St. Thomas :)

 

For a charter boat to be sailing that long, when many others have come and gone, says something.

 

Not to throw a monkey wrench into your choices, but we sailed on RumBaba in 2009 with my in-laws and they had a great day. I sailed competitively in college and still sail regularly, so I am not a good judge of a "good time" on the water, it's usually all business for me, but if they enjoyed it and they don't enjoy much, that says alot :)

 

Scott

[Johnny Thunder]

My family and I have been to the islands yea after year and were always looking for the perfect day sail... We found it on Morningstar! This company is hands down better than any others. Believe us we tried them all! There boat are older but classic. Beautiful and nautical. Nothing cookie cutter about this view or the boats. The food, hospitality and drinks are amazing. We've been on Lou, Maxine is a very serious lady and her demeanor doesn't mesh well with vacationing. Simplicity is ok but they have a dog on board everyday and only take ?cash? Seems kinda shady... Nightwind is crowded and takes too many people. Go with morningstar! 100%

 

We have booked the Morningstar for our family of 6 adults for August 29 when we will be in port on the Freedom. Did you take a taxi from the terminal to the ship? We are wondering about the cost, tip, etc. and how much cash to take for the day. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks:)

[Venusleo1]

We just returned from our cruise on the Allure and were in St. Thomas last Wednesday. We booked the day with Yacht Nightwind and I can not recommend them enough. Our ship ended up changing arrival times just a month or so out and Cathy from Yacht Nightwind was able to change their whole day to accommodate us!! She was so great re: communicating back and forth with me via e-mail. Capt. Rick and his first Mate, his son Wes were just great guys and so much fun to spend the day with.

They hooked us up with Island Taxi who provided round trip transport from cruise to Red Hook Marina where the sail boat is. We had NO problems using him. He was waiting for us as soon as we walked off the ship and again once we were back to Red Hook Marina.

Once at the boat there were just 9 of us on board so it was not crowded at all. It was myself, my husband, our two friends, and a family of 3 from our cruise critic roll call as well as a couple of young ladies that just moved to St. Thomas and were working at the Marriott.

We had the most spectacular amazing perfect beautiful day. Words just can not express. They had a nice breakfast of fresh pineapple, breads, pastries ect laid out and then we set sail and sail we did. Capt. Rick said we were up to 10 something or another’s. I guess that's fast and boy were we leaning! It was a little uncomfortable at first but once you got a good spot it was really nice.

Our first stop was Hawks Nest Bay and wow wow wow wow!!! We did a bit of snorkeling here and it was nice but the best part was just floating in the bay next to the boat in the crystal clear warm waters while Capt. Rick kept passing us drinks. What a magical relaxing time.

Once back on board we were served a delicious lunch of Mojo Chicken legs, pasta salad, pickles, and banana bread. Delicious!!! Drinks never stopped flowing. He had sodas, juice, water, beer, champagne, mimosas, and every type of alcohol gin, rum vodka, ect. Whatever you wanted he seriously had it! After lunch I laid out on the deck and took a wonderfully relaxing nap as we sailed to our next stop.

The next stop was in between Congo and Lovongo Cays and let me tell you this stop was just amazing!!! The Schools of fish were EVERYWHERE! I have never swam with so many fishies in my life. Wes also got into the water with us and was diving and showing us neat things. Capt. Rick took us to places away from all the other tourists and it was always just us or maybe 1 more small sail boat in the water with us.

Back on board we set sail for home, and where severed this amazing chocolate cake.

Capt. Rick, his son Wes and wife Cathy are just the most gracious hosts and sailing with them was the highlight of our cruise. We can not wait to get back to St. Thomas so we can spend another amazing day with the crew of Yacht Nightwind. If you are looking for a perfect day in paradise in and on the water and want to feel spoiled and pampered by a great crew, look no further than Yacht Nightwind.

[girlscruise2011]

It's important that I readdress this topic, hinkley (the dog) is awesome... It's just some people have issues with dogs. The captain Charlie is a class act and so are his mates. Great people! When I travel I typically use my credit cards (for obvious security, ease of payment and other benefits) in this day and age it seems shady to me that such a popular small business will not let you pay with a visa, MasterCard Amex etc. Don't get me wrong, I just have to wonder what the reasoning for only taking cash?

 

Taxes!

 

Along with taxes, the fees a company pays for credit card processing is outrageous. Hopefully by only accepting cash, they are passing the savings on to the customers.