Captain Morgan's

Has anyone done the Captain Morgan's excursion through RC?

It looks nice. We have done the Golden Eagle many times and love it. We have done the America's Cup several times and love it. Mr. Ski wants to do America's Cup again and that is fine. We can do it one week but I want to do something different the other week.

It looks like Captain Morgan's and Lord Sheffield are similiar except Captain Morgan's can be booked through RC. We used to only do excursions through the ship but have "stepped out" recently and done some on our own but typically book through the ship if it offers what we are looking to do.

So I am curious if anyone has done Captain Morgan's through RC can you tell me about it please? Thanks so much.

Six of us took the Captain Morgan excursion about 3 weeks ago. I'd say there were about 18-20 people total on the boat. Captain Morgan is a beautiful Schooner - just a little bigger than one of the America's Cup yachts. If you enjoy the sailing experience this is for you. The crew of 3 works very hard the entire time making sure everyone has what they need: water, snacks, rum punch, etc. You get a good look at the southern coast of St. Martin: see the "shore trip" itinerary at http://www.captainmorgan-daycharters.com/html/cruises.html . One of the crew kept up a running commentary of what we were seeing on shore, which kept it pretty interesting.

Snorkling was just ok, and was at the same beach as the one Capt. Sheffield visits. We were only there for about 45 minutes or so. There is a nice looking beach you can swim to, but I didn't make it over there. They cook a very nice barbecue lunch with delicious ribs and chicken, and plenty of rum punch, if you want it. They also have soft drinks.

We all had a nice time. I'm not much of a sailer, though, and spent some of the return trip just focusing on keeping everything where it belonged ;).

Let me know if you have any questions.

Last post didn't update the posting count for some reason.

Jerick....Thanks so much for the info. We both really enjoy the GE catamaran trip but have done it many times. We have done the AC about 3 or 4 ? times. It is fun but Mr. Ski enjoys it more than I do. I'd like to try something new. On the boards it seems like more people recommend Lord Sheffield's but Mr. Ski prefers to book excursions through the ship if they offer something along the lines of what we are looking for. But if Lord Sheffield is much better, then I might could talk him in to booking it. But if Captain Morgan's is fun then that would probably work. I like being in the sun and he does some but he also likes to be in the shade. Were there any "shady" spots or how was the "downstairs" area?

Thanks so much for your info.

Anyone else have any comments?

There was not a lot of shade on the boat. I never went below. Sorry, I can't compare it with Lord Sheffield.

I posted this in response to your post on the RCCL board, but thought I should post it here as well.

Yes, we did the Captain Morgan excursion in early July.

It's a LOOONG story, but to boil it down:

- The boat itself is very nice, the crew (I forget their names, the woman is something like Tiki, forget the other one's name) was very friendly...but the CAPTAIN I had issues with.

- Nice sail to Baie Longue; you pass that beach where it looks like the planes land directly OVER you at St. Maarten's airport. That was very cool.

- The food was average for this type of excursion. In Baie Longue, you are able to snorkel or swim to shore and hang on the beach. Unlike other snorkeling excursions I've been on, on this one, they are POURING rum drinks for the snorkelers while they snorkel. :cool:

That all leads to the HUGE problem we had with this excursion.

Aside from the fact that the CAPTAIN himself was pounding back the brewskis while he made the BBQ lunch (I've done countless catamaran and snorkeling excursions and have NEVER, EVER seen the person in command of the boat drinking while working) it led to an ever bigger issue.

As we left Baie Longue, it became obvious as we rounded the bend that the weather had turned VERY quickly. The wind was whipping, the seas were HUGE for a 65-foot schooner (8 feet), and we were faced with a LONG, VERY VERY rocky trip back. On this excursion we had some children, including my 13-year-old, and another family had even younger children.

I ended up in the cockpit with my daughter, trying to shield her from the huge waves that were crashing over the boat. And there was the CAPTAIN, still pounding back the brewskis, with his back TURNED from the wheel, trying to explain to the people behind us that he THOUGHT it might be bad weather that day, but he decided it would be okay after all. :rolleyes: Hello, Captain, can you please STEER the damn boat? I have sailed many times, and there ARE ways to minimize the effects of waves and heavy seas while sailing...he barely ever held the wheel.

Long story short, we ended up having to ABORT the trip back (we never would have made it to the ship in time), so instead of sailing back we had to land in Simpson Bay (this was still a good 45-minute white knuckle ride), and they then had to take us on the little inflatable dinghy to shore and get a bus to take us back. From the dinghy we had to hoist up about 5 feet to get to the dock; my little and very spry 72-year-old mother ended up getting a nasty gash on her foot from it...she's only 5 feet tall and it was just too high a jump for her.

Okay, I said I would make this short and I didn't. :p To summarize, NO, I would not take this excursion again. I do think the crew, ship and excursion itself are fine, and I know the weather was a fluke...but I have NO tolerance for someone in charge of an excursion boat DRINKING while in command, especially in what turned out to be an emergency situation. We were all very calm during the whole thing, but it EASILY could have been a disastrous situation. I have never felt unsafe on a boat excursion (and I've done MANY) but I did in this instance.

And no, I didn't report them to RCCL...I probably shoud have, in hindisght.

I posted this in response to your post on the RCCL board, but thought I should post it here as well.

 

Yes, we did the Captain Morgan excursion in early July.

 

It's a LOOONG story, but to boil it down:

 

- The boat itself is very nice, the crew (I forget their names, the woman is something like Tiki, forget the other one's name) was very friendly...but the CAPTAIN I had issues with.

 

- Nice sail to Baie Longue; you pass that beach where it looks like the planes land directly OVER you at St. Maarten's airport. That was very cool.

 

- The food was average for this type of excursion. In Baie Longue, you are able to snorkel or swim to shore and hang on the beach. Unlike other snorkeling excursions I've been on, on this one, they are POURING rum drinks for the snorkelers while they snorkel. :cool:

 

That all leads to the HUGE problem we had with this excursion.

 

Aside from the fact that the CAPTAIN himself was pounding back the brewskis while he made the BBQ lunch (I've done countless catamaran and snorkeling excursions and have NEVER, EVER seen the person in command of the boat drinking while working) it led to an ever bigger issue.

 

As we left Baie Longue, it became obvious as we rounded the bend that the weather had turned VERY quickly. The wind was whipping, the seas were HUGE for a 65-foot schooner (8 feet), and we were faced with a LONG, VERY VERY rocky trip back. On this excursion we had some children, including my 13-year-old, and another family had even younger children.

 

I ended up in the cockpit with my daughter, trying to shield her from the huge waves that were crashing over the boat. And there was the CAPTAIN, still pounding back the brewskis, with his back TURNED from the wheel, trying to explain to the people behind us that he THOUGHT it might be bad weather that day, but he decided it would be okay after all. :rolleyes: Hello, Captain, can you please STEER the damn boat? I have sailed many times, and there ARE ways to minimize the effects of waves and heavy seas while sailing...he barely ever held the wheel.

 

Long story short, we ended up having to ABORT the trip back (we never would have made it to the ship in time), so instead of sailing back we had to land in Simpson Bay (this was still a good 45-minute white knuckle ride), and they then had to take us on the little inflatable dinghy to shore and get a bus to take us back. From the dinghy we had to hoist up about 5 feet to get to the dock; my little and very spry 72-year-old mother ended up getting a nasty gash on her foot from it...she's only 5 feet tall and it was just too high a jump for her.

 

Okay, I said I would make this short and I didn't. :p To summarize, NO, I would not take this excursion again. I do think the crew, ship and excursion itself are fine, and I know the weather was a fluke...but I have NO tolerance for someone in charge of an excursion boat DRINKING while in command, especially in what turned out to be an emergency situation. We were all very calm during the whole thing, but it EASILY could have been a disastrous situation. I have never felt unsafe on a boat excursion (and I've done MANY) but I did in this instance.

 

And no, I didn't report them to RCCL...I probably shoud have, in hindisght.

Thank you so much for your information. I don't think it is too long. You had to give us the full details for us to understand the situation. Yes, I was going to ask if you reported it or not. Even though it is a little after the fact, I think you should still report it to RC since they are still showing it as a shore ex and this could happen again.

Thanks again.

The captain on our excursion was Serge. Naturally, I wasn't watching him the entire time, but I never saw him drinking, and he seemed to be all business as far as I could tell.

In addition to Serge, a lady named Dominique did most of the cooking and serving. There was a 3rd gentleman providing most of the information about the island and points of interest. I didn't catch his name.

Just back from Empress and we booked this excursion for St. Martin. Most of what has been said above pretty much covers it, but I will quickly run down what I remember of the day.

Our tour was pushed back to 1145 instead of 1045 and there was some confusion on where to meet the tour. Our letters from RCI stated that we were to meet in the Terminal Building at the port, but the tickets stated to meet on the pier itself. Those of us waiting at the Terminal Building were eventually picked up by Tiki, along with the group from the pier. I think we had 16 in this tour group, which left plenty of room to stretch out on the boat. The captain's name is Serge, and yes he will drink a few beers while cooking the BBQ, but I never saw him drinking while he was sailing.

Anyway, we had a nice sail out from the harbor, up along the coast, past Maho beach (planes overhead) and landed in Baie Longue (sp?). We opted to swim, not snorkel, and I hear the snorkeling was not that great anyway. The beach seems far away if you aren't a good swimmer, but you can take a "noodle" with you for floatation assistance. They DID NOT serve alcohol to anyone snorkeling prior to the snorkeling taking place. They would only serve you AFTER you returned the snorkel gear. Since I was just swimming/floating I was the first customer at Tiki's swim-up rum punch bar! :)

After 45 minutes of hanging out, Serge announced it was bbq time and we started eating our ribs, chicken, and salad. We had a few dark and stormy clouds above which turned into a few small showers lasting approximately 1-2 minutes a piece. Enough to make you put your camera away, but not enough to put a damper on the day. There is a covered area in the center of the schooner and a area below deck where you can escape to and also where the restroom is located.

We motored back to ship and enjoyed a tropical fruit salad (and more rum punch & beer) along the way. It was very relaxing and Tiki and Serge were a great crew, although it was Tiki doing all of the "hard work"!! Oh, and they had souvenir t-shirts available for purchase for $20 a piece in sizes small - 3XL. They also take tips, if you feel so inclined.

All in all, not a bad excursion, IMO!!

Just back from Empress and we booked this excursion for St. Martin. Most of what has been said above pretty much covers it, but I will quickly run down what I remember of the day.

 

Our tour was pushed back to 1145 instead of 1045 and there was some confusion on where to meet the tour. Our letters from RCI stated that we were to meet in the Terminal Building at the port, but the tickets stated to meet on the pier itself. Those of us waiting at the Terminal Building were eventually picked up by Tiki, along with the group from the pier. I think we had 16 in this tour group, which left plenty of room to stretch out on the boat. The captain's name is Serge, and yes he will drink a few beers while cooking the BBQ, but I never saw him drinking while he was sailing.

 

Anyway, we had a nice sail out from the harbor, up along the coast, past Maho beach (planes overhead) and landed in Baie Longue (sp?). We opted to swim, not snorkel, and I hear the snorkeling was not that great anyway. The beach seems far away if you aren't a good swimmer, but you can take a "noodle" with you for floatation assistance. They DID NOT serve alcohol to anyone snorkeling prior to the snorkeling taking place. They would only serve you AFTER you returned the snorkel gear. Since I was just swimming/floating I was the first customer at Tiki's swim-up rum punch bar! :)

 

After 45 minutes of hanging out, Serge announced it was bbq time and we started eating our ribs, chicken, and salad. We had a few dark and stormy clouds above which turned into a few small showers lasting approximately 1-2 minutes a piece. Enough to make you put your camera away, but not enough to put a damper on the day. There is a covered area in the center of the schooner and a area below deck where you can escape to and also where the restroom is located.

 

We motored back to ship and enjoyed a tropical fruit salad (and more rum punch & beer) along the way. It was very relaxing and Tiki and Serge were a great crew, although it was Tiki doing all of the "hard work"!! Oh, and they had souvenir t-shirts available for purchase for $20 a piece in sizes small - 3XL. They also take tips, if you feel so inclined.

 

All in all, not a bad excursion, IMO!!

Thanks for your input. Based upon the previous information received we decided not to try it on our two weeks in Dec. Maybe next time.