USVI-On-Line

Decided to do something different this year. We are St John obsessive fans and have been lucky enough to be going to St. John on and off for 12 years! We chartered a Catamaran for a week and then spent 5 days on St. John. It was the best vacation we ever had.

It was myself, my husband, my brother-in-law and another couple. We rented the Catamaran "TomCat" through Sailing Paradise. We left from St Thomas, went to Leinster Bay - St John, Norman Island, Peter Island, Cooper Islandl, Virgin Gorda, Marina Cay, back to Norman Island and spent the last night off of Honeymoon Beach, St. John. We had a captain and a chef. It was perfect. We sailed, snorkeled and swam the islands for 8 wonderful days. I can't say enough good things about the boat and the crew. The weather was perfect which definitely helped.
When the trip was over, we were dropped off in cruz bay. We rented Villa Bougainvilla through Donald Schnell. Very accomodating and so friendly to deal with. We had a problem renting a car and they got us one.

The Villa was great. Much nicer than I expected. The web site does not do it justice. A great open living area with a view of Frank Bay. Two large bedrooms and two bathrooms. A complete kitchen with a great view also. Bedrooms are air-conditioned and they actually work great. This place is a great value. So nice to be able to walk into town.

We found St. John to be much more crowded this year. It was l l/2 hour wait to be seated for dinner at Morgan's Mango. We didn't wait, went to the Lime Inn.Dinner was o.k. Had a great dinner at SoGo's and Margharita Phil's and as usual enjoyed Cafe Roma.St. John was as wonderful as usual. Never get tired of the beaches. I never tire of the colors of the water - so perfect.

Did some great snorkeling at Honeymoon Beach heading towards Solomon. Saw a 4 foot nurse shark go right by me in a hurry. they usually don't bother me, but this guy was traveling so fast I figured he was on a mission and it kind of scared me. Got to trunk bay one morning my 8. We were two of 6 people. It was wonderful. When the life guard got there I made some small talk and told him how beautiful the beach was. He actually apologized to me about it not being perfectly clear that day due to the dust coming over from Africa. It was so clear to me, my eyes hurt!Took the ferry over to St Thomas the next day and watched St. John get smaller and smaller. Can't wait to go back and I am only home 5 days! Starting to plan the next trip, definitely helps.....

The crewed cat trip is something we have talked about off and on for years (not happening in the short-term due to our son's age) I am sure it was wonderful to see all those places by water.

Finishing up on land sounds perfect.

Did you pick your meals/drinks or did the charter company?

That sounds like a great time! Thanks for sharing.

That's great to hear! We've been tossing around that idea as well for the last year or so. Decided the trip after the one coming up next will be a cat charter just as you described. Thanks for sharing!

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Bill, would you share the website & phone number for the catamaran you used? We have done this on occations (one on a monohull and once on a catamaran) serveral years ago and really enjoyed the experience. The catamaran we sailed on is no longer in business and would love to charter one again. We loved the comination of the boat and then some time on STJ. It's the best of both worlds .

Hello everyone

This has been a dream trip for us as well. Had to wait until the kids grew up!

We booked through Sailing Paradise.com. spoke to Mike who was ever so helpful. We booked two years in advance. the phone number is 888-864-7245. On the web you will find the TomCat. the pictures are old, she has been redone. Not a fancy catamaran, but very clean and comfortable with a fabulous crew. She is 55' which made her very roomy, especially outside. Let me know if you have any further questions. We went with 5 people, so when you split the price, its not too bad.

We were fed breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and appetizers. It was pretty easy to get used too!! Everything was based on our schedule. what we wanted to do, when we wanted to eat etc.....

I've been dreaming for years to do sail/land trip. I think my girl and I are going to end up doing a captained charter ourselves. The friends get too worried about the size of the beds and lack of air conditioning.

Cheers, RickG

You are singing my tune, Bill...as I want to do this exact trip. Thanks for all of the info. I am going to start checking it out!!

Bill, would you mind addressing sleeping arrangements? Crowded? AC? This is something we would like to do also, but I am really concerned about sleeping arrangements. Thanks for posting. SRT

Hello SRT

there are 4 cabins on the TomCat. 3 of the cabins have queen size beds. very comfortable. the fourth cabin has an upper and lower bunk bed. the smaller of the cabins. We only needed the 3 cabins for the five of us ( 2 couples and l single)so we used the extra cabin to store all our luggage. We each had our own bathroom and a/c. We had 3 port holes in our cabin. I could have gone without a/c but most of us wanted it. Its not individual a/c. Either everyone has it or no one. of course, I'm not complaining, the a/c was great. Plenty of storage room. Two small closets and a few nice size drawers. Storage in the bathroom too. Enough to put all your personal items in. A small bookcase in each cabin, full of books. Fresh towels every day, and a change of sheets mid week.

Two tables outside in the back for meals. Plenty of space. this is covered which you need from the sun. Trampolines in the front are big as well. Saw several smaller catamarans, but this one is 55 feet and spacious. Ladder in the back, making is easy to get on and off for snorkeling and swimming. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any further questions.