Have you done the "America's Cup Regatta" excursion?

[DocF]

I am trying to find some answers about this before we book it. I've sailed (many years ago) quite a bit, including a couple of races on old 12 meter yachts. I'm wondering how suitable this would be for my wife who has never sailed anything. As information we are both recently retired, we do ride bikes, not as much as we want to, but we ride. We also walk quite a bit.

 

Thanks in advance,

Doc

[JackieB]

My wife and I did this excursion last summer. My wife was a "winch wench " and I was a "rear stay grinder." Each of those jobs were active about 50% of the sail.

 

You can tell the sailboat personnel that you would like to do "nothing." They will give you a job like "bartender" or "lookout."

 

The sail was exciting and well worth the time.

 

We wondered about two things in advance: 1) What kind of shoes to wear?

Sneakers were fine. 2) Is there really no bathroom on the boat? True. You must be able to hold things for about 2 hours.

 

Hope you enjoy your trip.

 

Jack

[katbid10]

At which port do they offer this excursion? Sounds fun!

[Sea Girls]

Back in 1996 we did this in St. Maartin. It was the best excursion ever...of course we love to sail!

[DocF]

At which port do they offer this excursion? Sounds fun!

 

It is at St. Maarten (St. Martin). I suspect we will do this. My wife can deal with something more than being ballast and I have always sailed as a deck ape, even when I owned the boat. It should be a good experience.

 

Doc

[kyrisong1]

My husband did it in St Martin a year ago last Feb, he loved it. I went horseback riding which was ok too, but next time I'd go with him, I had an evil horse that kept trying to bite me and they didn't adjust the straps to my feet (I'm short) I've been riding before (i'm a nebraska girl, even been chased by buffalo in Custer State Park in the Black Hills while on horseback) but this was kinda scary cause my feet kept coming out of the stirrups. My hubby gave the regatta race two thumbs up and he got a tshirt out of the deal.

[katbid10]

Unfortunately neither of my next two itineraries take me to St. Martin, but I will definitley keep this in mind. Thanks.

[KelliKevin]

we did this excursion in St. Maarten and loved it. Neither of us sail or do much exercise either and still we "helped" sail. I was also a "wench"

It was very fun and one of the few excursions I have done thru Carnival.

 

The Company has a $30.00+ photo and a little shop they have after it for souveniers.

[DocF]

Thanks one and all for helping us decide. This does sound like a don't miss opportunity. It has been over 20 years since I've done any sailing and over 30 since I've sailed a big boat, but I can still contribute. DW should be an excellent timekeeper as she taught school for 27 years and timed tests a whole lot.:p

 

Doc

[lindanick]

Thats what I was "A timekeeper" the other time I went I was in the jacuzzi (LOL) watching out for icebergs. I must have done a good job, because I did not see any LOL.

 

Don't miss this excursion. I liked it so much I did it twice!!:D :D

 

Linda

[BillnBobbi]

I am trying to find some answers about this before we book it. I've sailed (many years ago) quite a bit, including a couple of races on old 12 meter yachts. I'm wondering how suitable this would be for my wife who has never sailed anything. As information we are both recently retired, we do ride bikes, not as much as we want to, but we ride. We also walk quite a bit.

 

Thanks in advance,

Doc

 

I loved that. Best half day I had in a long time. What a ride. Now if your wife has never sailed, she might get a little queasy. If she dosen't swim, I'd say skip it. The crew has the passengers helping out in working the boat, but if she'd rather just sit there and watch things, that's ok too.

 

My wife didn't go with me, she went with my younger son and d.i.l. to one of the beaches on St. Maarten. When I told her how great it was, she was a little disappointed, but she is not the sailor I am.

 

BnB

[thelland]

This is the best excursion of all times. My husband and I have been on it twice and next time we are in St. Maarten we will do it again. They get an awesome picture of you sailing and it's worht every penny. Even my CPA husband bought the pic both times. -- It is an active excursion and you are really sailing. If you don't do it you are missing an opportunity of a lifetime :)

[Wennfred]

If you guys ever cruise out of San Diego and fly in a day in advance, you can sail the Stars and Strips here.

 

http://www.sailusa11.com/

 

 

 

Fred

[DocF]

I loved that. Best half day I had in a long time. What a ride. Now if your wife has never sailed, she might get a little queasy. If she dosen't swim, I'd say skip it. The crew has the passengers helping out in working the boat, but if she'd rather just sit there and watch things, that's ok too.

 

My wife didn't go with me, she went with my younger son and d.i.l. to one of the beaches on St. Maarten. When I told her how great it was, she was a little disappointed, but she is not the sailor I am.

 

BnB

 

Hey, I can't swim and it has never stopped me from sailing. I've never fallen overboard from a sailboat. The same can't be said for power boats, however ;).

 

We're going, I think

 

Doc

[ssomerville]

Without a doubt...the BEST excursion we have been on! My wife and I did the race about 3 cruises ago and you cannot go wrong here. Weather is a factor but competing against another crew was fantastic (of course the picture on our wall shows we won!)

 

Do it and enjoy.

[cruizinwoman's man]

I waited a year to go on this excursion and enjoyed it completely.

 

They offer three levels of activity. None, Moderate and active. I choose active and ended up a primary grinder. Although we were more active then others I did not feel overworked or worn out doing this job.

 

On our excursion those that had chosen None were the time keeper, Bar tender, iceberg lookout, and officer of abuse.

 

Everyone on board had a great time.

 

Heres some pictures - http://travel.webshots.com/album/558872390aAWJhB?vhost=travel

[cruisin' again]

we also LOVED this excursion!!! We competed against two other sailboats (stars and stripes and true north - we were on Canada II). We won!!! I chose light to no activity, and was the bartender - warning to those who are short...not the best job...I needed help with every drink. Nice though, they had beer and water available for free!

 

My husband was a "winch wench". He loved it! He also has psoriatic arthritis and was able to do that job without difficulty.

 

I would say it is a "not to miss" excursion!! And from what I remember, it is a ship sponsored xcursion only - no booking on your own. I could be wrong on that though.

[Twaincruisers]

We did this a few years ago and it was great fun even though there wasn't much wind that day. Of course, we did win on the Stars & Stripes at the very last second so that may have been part of the fun!

[Coolmama_1]

This sounds like so much fun! I think we will book it on our next cruise.:)

[YoPhilly]

It's definitely the best shore excursion in St. Maarten. We had a blast on the Stars & Stripes, even though we lost to True North by mere inches!!

[billrco90278]

How many people are usually on each boat? Is there a range? Does they get overcrowded sometimes?

[DocF]

It seems to me that the proper racing crew is about 17 bodies. We are talking about yachts that are about 75 feet long. They should be able to handle 20-22 folks with little problem. The operators have 5 12 meter yachts; they should not have a problem with overcrowding, I would think.

 

Doc

[gtaylor]

The 12 Metre people sail a maximum of 4 boats at a time, and limit the guests to between 9 and 12 per boat. Add crew, typically 3 people.

 

gary

[celebrity]

I can't wait to experience the challenge. Did anyone get sick on the boat? I'm taking Bonine just in case.

[funfamilyfun]

Do you book this directly with the company? If so, does anyone have the email? OR do all of you recommend booking thru the ship? We will be on the mariner. Thanks