New Horizons

For anyone who has done the daysail on New Horizons, how crowded was the boat on your day. It is certified for 37, but according to their website they generally go out with around 15. I have read reviews where it was full and people felt crowded. There are 5 large ships in port that day, I'm a little nervous

Thanks

We had 7 or 8 with 1 couple cancelling. We wanched her sail out of the marina on other days while staying at Sapphire and never saw a big crowd so I think they are pretty good about limiting the crowd. Excellent Italian lunch and drinks, the Painkillers and Nooners work! :p

We used New Horizons in Dec of 2012. I think we probably had around 15 people on board.

The food was really good, and the crew was great.

Many of the reviews listed under New Horizons are actually for the Breakaway so it can ge confusing reading them. Same company I believe, Breakaway II is a motorboat that does the BVI itinerary while New Horizons is a sloop that hits St John and Great St James.

You can also contact them before you sail and ask how many they have booked if you want to.

I have been on the New Horizons sailboat about 25 times over the years.

Rarely was there less then 15 on the boat with the average closer to 20-22. It gets crowded at over 25.

.......but you will not go thirsty or hungry.......and there is rarely a better day.

I have been on the New Horizons sailboat about 25 times over the years.

 

Rarely was there less then 15 on the boat with the average closer to 20-22. It gets crowded at over 25.

 

.......but you will not go thirsty or hungry.......and there is rarely a better day.

25 times - wow! Same itinerary each time? Were you a crew member? That boat would be crowded at 15

I'm FB friends with them and they post pics of their group every day. There are times when there are a small group and some days really large. For instance, on 12/18/13 I counted 28 and on 2/19/14 I count 24 but on 2/15/14 I count about 18. I would think it depends on how many ships are on the island with you.

Yes there are many variables, same with the beaches, you never know how crowded one will be that day...

Our sail with New Horizons had 36 passengers and it was overcrowded to say the least. I would NOT sail them again due to this problem. Here is the review I posted to TripAdvisor of our sail with them in February 2014.:(

We were traveling with a group of 8 friends and family. We chose this sail for our port stop on a cruise due to the great reviews I read on Tripadvisor and Cruise Critic. We however, did not enjoy the great sail that others have written about.

We had a couple of problems that contributed greatly to our dissatisfaction. It started before we boarded, with Captain Mark being very short and grouchy with us for showing up early. We were arriving by taxi from the cruise dock, and were advised to leave plenty of time for the transfer as traffic could be bad, so we were there about 9:10 when we were supposed to board at 9:30. After getting a snippy remark from the captain, we walked down the dock to wait until 9:30. When we came back to the boat at the appropriate time, there was a huge line of passengers waiting to board. At about 9:40 Captain Mark passed around a clipboard with paperwork for us to pass down the line of people. This took a good while due to the size of the crowd. We then began to board and look for a place to sit and were crammed in like sardines.

We ended up leaving late due to the time it took for paperwork and instructions from the captain. With the advance in technology, why is this not done online, or at least provide a print out online to fill out and bring with you? The least he could have done, was to give us the paperwork when we arrived to cut down on the wait time.

Our biggest problem was with the overcrowding of 36 passengers. I know the exact count, because when we saw the line to board, I asked Captain Mark how many passengers the boat could hold and he said was coast guard approved for 37 passengers. I then asked him how many were sailing today and he said 36. Due to this, we were sitting without anywhere to hold on, and as the boat tipped to the side we were all sliding around holding on for dear life.

Their website list the average passenger load at 15, and sailing with as little as 6 at times. That is not what we experienced.

The lunch was very good, probably the best on a snorkel cruise we have ever had. The drinks were plentiful, and the two girls gave us great service but it was not pleasant with this many people. I

I advise you, if you decide to take this sail, to call before cancellation time and get a head count. It would have been a nice day had it not been for the grouchy captain and the severe overcrowding.

I just got a message from Jodi at New Horizons asking me to take down my Tripadvisor review of their company. I took offense to this, as I only told MY group's experience with them and told her so.

She then told me that the information I was given by Capt Mark about the load of the boat was wrong and that she didn't know where he got that information. I informed her that her own website listed the capacity at 38 with a typical day at 15. Her return reply was that they had been re-certified for a load of 49 last summer and had forgotten to change the website.

That may be true, but she also told me that a typical day was a load of 38, but the website clearly states a typical load of 15. That in my opinion is just down right misleading and should not be tolerated.

I wonder how many other negative reviews have been posted on TA and pulled down because she asked them to? Who knows, but I refuse to give them a forum for ONLY glowing remarks. Customers need to know what they are in for when they book an excursion they know nothing about.

As I said in my original review, this would have been a nice day sail if it had not been over-crowded, but, according to the information she gave me in her message to me, it seems to be the norm, not the exception.

This boat was NOT COMFORTABLE with 36. I can not even imagine going out with more than that.

The only thing I can add further, is that given her response, of ours being a typical sail, I could not recommend them to anyone.

Jan

We booked them for next Wednesday and I'll come back to let you know how it was.

I read Jan's TripAdvisor review about crowding and it was my #1 concern. I should have inquired of that before I booked.

Majority of the reviews were excellent and it sounds like a great return for our excursion dollar.

It is a great value and a fun day, as Jan said it wasn't as enjoyable with that crowd on board. You could inquire with Jodi about the number of people booked that day before you embark on the cruise and make a snap decision to stay or contact another operator that you have on tap. I can't remember what the cancellation policy is?

In summary we had a great day on New Horizons.

However, we were first to board and got primo seats (mat on deck, but up front). I'm not so sure I would have enjoyed it as much if we were further back.

The boat WAS fairly crowded. I'm not sure how many guests were on board or how many the boat would accommodate. Again, because we were up front, it had less effect on our experience. I did not hear anyone complain about it and everyone seemed to have a good day.

It rained in St Thomas, but we had only a brief sprinkle! Weather was somewhat overcast much of the day. But sun was out and water was beautiful for our second snorkel stop. Many folks reported seeing a variety of fish and at least one turtle. I just swam as some others did. The water was beautiful.

Soda (and juice?) was served along with delicious blueberry bread and some other options upon boarding. After sailing, the beer cooler was made available. Crew prepared a couple frozen drinks, but both had coconut something in them and we just did not like them. But they were great about fixing me Cape Cods! Lunch was very tasty, but not quite what we expected. They served two large crock pots (?) with wonderful meatballs in marinara topped with mozzarella, along with an amazing green bean salad (green beans, feta, dill, creamy Italian dressing), a cold cut platter (ham, turkey, provolone, tomatoes), sliced Italian bread and some dessert-type platter that we did not try.

The sail boat gliding through the water was amazing and we loved that experience. At the first stop (I think), they put up the shade canopy which kept the main sail from opening. I'm a big shade fan, but was happy to be up front with our view, so just kept applying SPF 70. Given our weather, I would have preferred no canopy and using the big sail.

The crew was very pleasant and accommodating. I would definitely recommend this excursion with one note about seating & crowds. Even so, we had a really nice experience and felt it was an excellent value.

I'm happy to answer any questions.

In summary we had a great day on New Horizons.

 

However, we were first to board and got primo seats (mat on deck, but up front). I'm not so sure I would have enjoyed it as much if we were further back.

 

The boat WAS fairly crowded. I'm not sure how many guests were on board or how many the boat would accommodate. Again, because we were up front, it had less effect on our experience. I did not hear anyone complain about it and everyone seemed to have a good day.

 

It rained in St Thomas, but we had only a brief sprinkle! Weather was somewhat overcast much of the day. But sun was out and water was beautiful for our second snorkel stop. Many folks reported seeing a variety of fish and at least one turtle. I just swam as some others did. The water was beautiful.

 

Soda (and juice?) was served along with delicious blueberry bread and some other options upon boarding. After sailing, the beer cooler was made available. Crew prepared a couple frozen drinks, but both had coconut something in them and we just did not like them. But they were great about fixing me Cape Cods! Lunch was very tasty, but not quite what we expected. They served two large crock pots (?) with wonderful meatballs in marinara topped with mozzarella, along with an amazing green bean salad (green beans, feta, dill, creamy Italian dressing), a cold cut platter (ham, turkey, provolone, tomatoes), sliced Italian bread and some dessert-type platter that we did not try.

 

The sail boat gliding through the water was amazing and we loved that experience. At the first stop (I think), they put up the shade canopy which kept the main sail from opening. I'm a big shade fan, but was happy to be up front with our view, so just kept applying SPF 70. Given our weather, I would have preferred no canopy and using the big sail.

 

The crew was very pleasant and accommodating. I would definitely recommend this excursion with one note about seating & crowds. Even so, we had a really nice experience and felt it was an excellent value.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thanks for your report - sounds like a great day!

We too sat on the front and shared that spot with another couple, just enough room for the 4 of us and everyone else was in the back nder cover. The 4 of us survived a nasty storm on the way to Caneel Bay with no cover except for my hat that I covered my wife's face with (we now carry light rain jackets). She also had to hold on to us as we zagged because of the steep angle of the deck and her mat slipped and almost went off the boat. Not fun for her but she is a trooper! A monohull is a much different experience than a multi-hull. Once we got close to the mooring field the sky turned a beautiful blue for the rest of the day. We became friends with the other couple as we were both staying at the Sapphire Resort. They also took the NH dinner sail and loved that too.

The Italian lunch was indeed the best we've had on a daysail anywhere, and we thought the Painkillers and Nooners were excellenrt. We got the Nooners recipe as well as the green bean salad and make that at home.

The stop at Great St James was o, got a glimpse of thecoadtal area before returning to Sapphire. As fae as beach time that others ask about, there really wasn't an opportunity for anyone to dinghy or swim into Honeymoon Beach while moored in Caneel because we're we're there in January and most of the beach was covered by the water. Did anyone go to the beach on your visit?

Did anyone go to the beach on your visit?

One family went to the beach at Great St James; I don't think anyone did at Caneel Bay / Honeymoon Beach. About half of our passengers were, like us, off a cruise ship. The other half were, like you, enjoying a land-based stay - several of them had likewise taken the dinner sail and came back for the snorkel tour. Good to hear that our lunch experience was better than others! I wish they offered just one frozen drink without coconut as I have no use for that flavor, but was very happy to enjoy my favorite Cape Cod!

I'm not a coconut drinker either and enjoyed the Nooners, these are Midori-based drinks and if they had coconut I didn't notice (they were strong :p)

Thanks again for your report!