Thinking of booking a crewed cat in the USVI later this year. It's expensive (this was NOT my idea,...) with steep cancellation fees so I want to get some comfort of what I'm getting.

There's a few reviews out there but not many. Anyone here know anything or have experience?

I have done the catamaran trip in the BVI twice. (I realize you said USVI l) Once with Moorings and once with Tradewinds. Both trips were phenomenal. I believe Moorings boats are always newer and everything from the cabins to the kitchen to food/drinks exceeded every expectation. Whatever you plan to pack, cut it in half. Take a couple swimsuits and a few shirts and flip flops. We have our next booked for July this year to a different location. There is no vacation that offers that level of relaxation in my opinion.

Great to hear! Thanks.

We've done Moorings in French Polynesia and Croatia and would recommend.

Are Croatian wines any good? That's all I see on their website.

Oh yea!!

Used DreamYachtCharter a couple of times - one of those was to St. Maartin/St. Barts. Price point was a little lower than Moorings. That said, a little more hit or miss on the service. Our crew for St. Maarten/St. Barts was phenomenal.

Our other bookings in the Bahamas weren't as great. One involved a broken prop that wasn't able to get replaced on our trip. Led to us doing maybe half of our original itinerary...we did get comped for the difference and were able to book our St. Maarten trip for half the price. So take that for what it's worth.

Either way, I'd at least give DreamYacht a look.

Thanks. Will do.

Croatian wines are incredible. <33333

If you get the chance, make sure you go to the Rizman Winery. The scenery is incredible but the wine is even better.

We did a chartered cat for our honeymoon in croatia and booked a greek one in 2019 canceled it again this year.

Agreed on packing light.

I wore swim trunks all day (bring 2) - columbia taimimi (spelling?) the lightweight fishing shirts.

They don't allow you to wear shoes on board usually. Brought 2 pairs of linen shorts and 2 shirts for dinner. For a week.

That's about it.

Best vacation we've ever done. Waking up in a Mediterranean cove, having breakfast made for you, take a dip, make a cocktail, and sit on the front while you sail. Do dinner at some off the beaten path places each night, relax on the boat with a cigar, rinse/repeat.

I've worked with and booked with The Moorings before and they are absolutely a dream to work with.

We booked two yacht charters through the BVIs - they now offer USVI so that is awesome. They also have Mediterranean itineraries and exotic islands like Seychelles.

The captains and crew for each charter are amazing...full of knowledge and the personal treatment is the best.

You can captain your own vessel if you want too, they have different levels of booking. I would personally choose the captain and crew along with meals included.

If you want any more info feel free to send me a message or email. I'd be happy to help!

Thanks, Lauren.

This trip wasn't my originally my idea and admittedly the cost has me a bit overwhelmed, even though it sounds amazing. I'm excited but just want to make sure the expectations + deliverables will = expense.

how much could one family expect to drop on a week in the carib, chartered

Totally depends on time of year, crewed or self-skippered. $5k-$20k.

We're spending about $13k for 5 nights, crewed, over July 4. Will have cat to ourselves. WAS NOT my idea,... Sure it'll be awesome.

Never done a captained charter before - we sail ourselves. But we've chartered with Moorings several times in the BVIs and they have always been outstanding to work with.

My only advice for chartering a captain would be to find a nice balance between a few things/places you absolutely want to do, and then let him build the rest of the itinerary around that - you want to have some control so you can feel like you got what you wanted out of the trip, and at the same time have a few surprises along the way that a local points you to.

make sure to include crew tip in your budget

Following.

Gotta ask, is this like the series Below Deck? I have always thought chartering would be a fun adventure just was sure just how pricey this would be.

matthopp said:

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Gotta ask, is this like the series Below Deck? I have always thought chartering would be a fun adventure just was sure just how pricey this would be.

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Not even close. These are 50ish foot catamarans. Wife and I did one in French Polynesia with two other couples plus the skipper and chef. We did one in Croatia, just the two of us, plus the skipper and chef. It's much more low key and casual, at least for us. As mentioned previously, before you leave the port you will go over the itinerary with the skipper.

We watch Below Deck and and those guests are either the biggest d-bags in the world or just playing a part.

I've always wanted to do this, but worried sea sickness could ruin a trip. I've been sea sick on an offshore fishing charter and that was miserable.

Anybody experienced sea sickness on the catamarans?

Dramamine is your friend! We took some friends sailing - and this guy grew up on a lake so he was shocked when he started puking off the boat before we even motored out of the marina. One Dramamine patch behind the ear and he was golden.

Different people will tell you different things about what they like and don't like ... anchored monohulls rock back and forth, but cats have more of a rolling motion. I love them both - nothing like sleeping on the water!

CaptnCarl said:

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I've always wanted to do this, but worried sea sickness could ruin a trip. I've been sea sick on an offshore fishing charter and that was miserable.

Anybody experienced sea sickness on the catamarans?

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Good skippers know to avoid that. In our 7 day trip we had 1 rough day at sea. We sat on the front in the nets and held on for dear life. It was fun for about an hour and half. After 4, we were ready to pull into a cove and relax.

WhoHe said:

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Dramamine is your friend! We took some friends sailing - and this guy grew up on a lake so he was shocked when he started puking off the boat before we even motored out of the marina. One Dramamine patch behind the ear and he was golden.

Different people will tell you different things about what they like and don't like ... anchored monohulls rock back and forth, but cats have more of a rolling motion. I love them both - nothing like sleeping on the water!

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Add Bonine to that list as well. Took one pill/day and didn't have any issues.

We're set to go next week. Starting in St. Thomas, and going wherever we want around the USVI.

That being said, where should we tell them we want to go, as far as an itinerary?

I have nothing to add here, other than I'm jealous and I now have a new goal for a future trip.

Not very familiar with STT, we just transit through there. You're definitely going to want to circle STJ so you can see Coral Bay, north shore beaches, Cruz Bay (maybe moor in the harbor and walk around town). I would bet you probably don't go to STX due to the distance. Buck Island and the Frederiksted pier would be good choices there.

Any restaurant recs in STT?