Schooner sailaway and airport sightseeing

[Seaworthy01]

Royal Caribbean has an excursion "Schooner sail-away and airport sightseeing" $79 for 3.5 hours.

Is anyone familiar with this excursion, is it worth the time and money?

[WackyWayne]

I suspect that is on the tall ship Mercedes. Googling your excursion name didn't get any useful hits, but it sounds right. The Mercedes had just recently started spending some seasonal time in St Martin as this was the first time we saw her sitting in the harbor.

 

We took a sunset cruise on the Mercedes back in February 2016. It was a ship excursion, but on Celebrity. They also offered a daytime trip called "Tall Ship Experience and Aircraft Spotting".

 

We loved the excursion, the ship, & the crew. We were under full sail for 2 legs of the triangle and motored back the 3rd leg. I believe that they do the same basic route for both the daytime and sunset trips as we were down by the airport at one point. They made jokes about they couldn't get too close to the airport due to their mast height, so I do not know if it is the best choice for plane-spotting, but maybe you do get a good view. You can help hoist sails or you can just relax. I spent most of my time on my feet as you are welcome to explore the ship and move about. My wife spent more time seated. The ship will be heeled (tilted) a bit when under sail, so be careful moving around. The crew gladly lets you take the wheel and steer for a bit.

 

Highly recommended, as it is quite different than a catamaran sailing.

 

http://www.sailingship-mercedes.com/tall-ship-experience-st-maarten.html