Tribal VI Day Sails

[girlscruise2011]

I have posted so much on this Forum trying to figure out what to do in St. Thomas. I think I may have found something finally :D so I'm looking for some good reviews.

 

Has anybody used Tribal VI Day Sails recently? I've done a search and haven't been able to come up with anything on Cruise Critic but tripadvisor does have some great reviews.

 

This outfit will give me 3.5 hr private tour for just my group of 7. Pick me up at the port, saving us $140 alone in taxi fare and will do what we choose to do, i.e. snorkel, sail, fish. The cost comes with snacks and drinks. It sounds perfect except, they require a 40% down payment which I don't mind but I'd like to hear from someone here that has used them recently.

 

The owner Matthias has been very good at corresponding back and forth and even called me to see if I had any questions.

 

I guess I'm just concerned that if they are as good as the reviews on tripadvisor say, then why aren't they used more often or the biggest question is why are they still available when we are less then 60 days out???

 

Anybody have anything to share?

Edited November 16, 2013 by girlscruise2011

[girlscruise2011]

bump

[Ms411]

I've never used them, but I do know there are so many day sails in the Caribbean and they come and go, it's hard to keep up with them all. I know the hotel concierges recommend them, and it's not unusual for any of the boats to not have a booking that far in advance. Many people like to wait until they're here so they can see what's available.

[The Islander]

Tribal Daysails is newish... maybe 2 years. Captain Mattias grew up in the Virgin Islands and knows it well.

 

--Islander

[girlscruise2011]

Tribal Daysails is newish... maybe 2 years. Captain Mattias grew up in the Virgin Islands and knows it well.

 

--Islander

 

Thank you for the info. He's been very easy to talk to and responsive to my emails. I have him booked for a private charter sail and being our first stop, I just want to make sure everything goes right. :)

[pambud96]

I have them booked for my cruise in two weeks. Dec 14-21.

I will come back to this thread and post a review for you when I get back. So excited!!!

[girlscruise2011]

I have them booked for my cruise in two weeks. Dec 14-21.

I will come back to this thread and post a review for you when I get back. So excited!!!

 

pambud96, thank you. That would be great.

 

Have a great cruise and especially a great time with TribalVI. I am so looking forward to this excursion so I want it to be great :)

[pambud96]

Just got home but wanted to let you know how much fun we had with Tribal. I am sure they have contacted you about the broken mast on there boat, if not they may be planning on it being fixed by your trip. Anyway....Their trimaran was unavailable because of a groken mast, but they contacted me before we arrived and ask if another sailboat would be ok, I had two options a single hull or a catamaran. I said fine and left it up to them which one. We had a great time!!!!!!!! Carl picked us up in a dingy, all 6 of us in a dingy and we are 2 xlarge and 2 large and 2 medium people.I so wish we had a picture of that. We only had to go about 100 yards to the single hull, Stephan was on board with cold drinks ready for us. We had not communicated about the time difference, So he was there an hour earlier than I expected but not a big deal he waited for us. I called him as soon as I got off the ship when I realized the time difference.

I will try and post some pictures tomorrow, but I know how anxious I was before my cruise and wanted to let you know how great it was. Any questions and I will be glad to answer.

[girlscruise2011]

Just got home but wanted to let you know how much fun we had with Tribal. I am sure they have contacted you about the broken mast on there boat, if not they may be planning on it being fixed by your trip. Anyway....Their trimaran was unavailable because of a groken mast, but they contacted me before we arrived and ask if another sailboat would be ok, I had two options a single hull or a catamaran. I said fine and left it up to them which one. We had a great time!!!!!!!! Carl picked us up in a dingy, all 6 of us in a dingy and we are 2 xlarge and 2 large and 2 medium people.I so wish we had a picture of that. We only had to go about 100 yards to the single hull, Stephan was on board with cold drinks ready for us. We had not communicated about the time difference, So he was there an hour earlier than I expected but not a big deal he waited for us. I called him as soon as I got off the ship when I realized the time difference.

I will try and post some pictures tomorrow, but I know how anxious I was before my cruise and wanted to let you know how great it was. Any questions and I will be glad to answer.

 

Thank you for getting back to me. I actually had emails with Mathias earlier this week and he didn't say anything about the broken mast. I'll email back to confirm with him that it will be fixed for our trip.

 

I have lots of questions but I'll try to keep them limited. I'm more curious as to what you did during your excursion? Where you went? How long did you go out for? We are doing the 1/2 day sailing and it says 3.5-4 hrs so I'm curious if the excursion seemed "rushed" to you? How was the snacks & Drinks? Plentiful?

 

I'd love to see pictures especially of the single hull in case thats what I end up using. We are 7 people so I'm hoping we can survive the dingy ride over :D

 

Thank you again for getting back to me so quickly. I feel so much better now knowing somebody who has used them and had a great time.

Edited December 22, 2013 by girlscruise2011

[pambud96]

Here is a link to my pictures on my FB page.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pam.c.collins/media_set?set=a.10153640340355265&type=1

 

 

We also took the 1/2 day tour and we were out from about 12:45 till 4:15-4:30.

That was the best time because we also saw the sunset.

Our intentions were to snorkel and sail, Really sail. We had been on catamerans before and a lot of the time you are under motor instead of sail.

We started out motoring to the island that we snorkeled too, but got under sail as soon as we were away from the cruise ships. Stephan was awesome with us, He had plenty of sodas and water ready for us as soon as we got on and was a great bartender after we snorkeled.

We had a large cheese and cracker tray, it was enough for all of us. We had eaten lunch before we got off the ship. After snorkeling for about an hour, and we could have snorkeled longer but we were ready to ride. The snorkeling was good we saw lots of turtles and several pretty fish and the coral was beautiful. They had rain the prior 2 days and Stephan said the water was not at it's clearest. Yes we had snorkeled in clearer water but it was still very nice.

 

If you have a choice I would go with the single hull, it was a real sailing adventure. If anyone is the least bit sea sick prone though, be sure and take something.

 

Any more questions and I will be happy to answer.

 

A man named Carl was the owner of the boat we were on but Mattais son Stephan was aboard and as I said he was great, Carl is a little rough around the edges but he is very knowledgeable of the islands and has great stories to listen too.

[mizLORInj]

Hmm, I don't care for the 40% deposit. Is that negotiable?

Full day sails require $0 deposit, but charge your credit card for the full amount if you are a no show.

[girlscruise2011]

Here is a link to my pictures on my FB page.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pam.c.collins/media_set?set=a.10153640340355265&type=1

 

 

We also took the 1/2 day tour and we were out from about 12:45 till 4:15-4:30.

That was the best time because we also saw the sunset.

Our intentions were to snorkel and sail, Really sail. We had been on catamerans before and a lot of the time you are under motor instead of sail.

We started out motoring to the island that we snorkeled too, but got under sail as soon as we were away from the cruise ships. Stephan was awesome with us, He had plenty of sodas and water ready for us as soon as we got on and was a great bartender after we snorkeled.

We had a large cheese and cracker tray, it was enough for all of us. We had eaten lunch before we got off the ship. After snorkeling for about an hour, and we could have snorkeled longer but we were ready to ride. The snorkeling was good we saw lots of turtles and several pretty fish and the coral was beautiful. They had rain the prior 2 days and Stephan said the water was not at it's clearest. Yes we had snorkeled in clearer water but it was still very nice.

 

If you have a choice I would go with the single hull, it was a real sailing adventure. If anyone is the least bit sea sick prone though, be sure and take something.

 

Any more questions and I will be happy to answer.

 

A man named Carl was the owner of the boat we were on but Mattais son Stephan was aboard and as I said he was great, Carl is a little rough around the edges but he is very knowledgeable of the islands and has great stories to listen too.

 

Thank you for the link to the pictures. Its nice to see the excursion. I did email Matthias and he said that he's not sure if the mast will be fixed but he will make sure that we have a great time on the Cat or Single Hull. His concern is we are 7 people and said if we have to, we can ride side by side on both boats :eek:. I really don't want that but I'm going to see what happens.

 

I was actually thinking of fishing. Its something different to do but one of my sons want to snorkel so maybe we can do both. Me, I just want to relax.

 

We have to be back to our ship for 4:30pm so we are doing the excursion at 11am so we have time to shop before and have time to do something after. I bet the sunset was gorgeous.

 

Thank you again. Its great to hear of others experiences. 3 weeks from today will be my turn.

 

Have a Happy Holiday and a Wonderful New Year :)

[girlscruise2011]

Hmm, I don't care for the 40% deposit. Is that negotiable?

Full day sails require $0 deposit, but charge your credit card for the full amount if you are a no show.

 

I really didn't ask. He said they had a 100% refund policy if I cancelled prior to my booking so I was happy with that. To me, its just less money to bring with me on the excursion.

[O2B@Cagain]

His concern is we are 7 people and said if we have to, we can ride side by side on both boats :eek:. I really don't want that but I'm going to see what happens.

 

The trimaran is probably an "inspected" vessel, which allows for 10 passengers. The majority of day boats are licensed for six passengers. The Coast Guard takes this quite seriously. ;)

[girlscruise2011]

The trimaran is probably an "inspected" vessel, which allows for 10 passengers. The majority of day boats are licensed for six passengers. The Coast Guard takes this quite seriously. ;)

 

I can understand that if they are licensed for 6 people the importance of that but if that is the case, then we should have the option of cancelling. I prefer we be together on one boat. I don't want to have to yell over to whoever is on the other boat. Definately not how I envisioned my day :(

[2 cruzen]

We have Capt. Matthias at Tribal Sailing booked for April. I am really looking forward to this excursion. We are doing a private 5 hr excursion and really hope this mast is fixed. Guess I will have to email him. Thanks for asking about Tribal. I did a lot of research before deciding on them, mostly booked because of the option to fish (for DH) and the fact they pick you up right by the cruise ship.

 

Please come back and tell us how it was for you.

[girlscruise2011]

We have Capt. Matthias at Tribal Sailing booked for April. I am really looking forward to this excursion. We are doing a private 5 hr excursion and really hope this mast is fixed. Guess I will have to email him. Thanks for asking about Tribal. I did a lot of research before deciding on them, mostly booked because of the option to fish (for DH) and the fact they pick you up right by the cruise ship.

 

Please come back and tell us how it was for you.

 

well unfortunately I emailed him last night and told him that if the mast isn't fixed for us and we need to sail on 2 different boats then I'm going to cancel our excursion. Hopefully he can get this resolved for us. I was looking to this excursion also. :(

[2 cruzen]

well unfortunately I emailed him last night and told him that if the mast isn't fixed for us and we need to sail on 2 different boats then I'm going to cancel our excursion. Hopefully he can get this resolved for us. I was looking to this excursion also. :(

 

I emailed Capt. Matthias about the repair of the mast and he replied he hoped to have it fixed by mid-March. Sorry if that doesn't fit your timeline. I'm just hoping it is done by then so we don't have to go to plan B.

[girlscruise2011]

I emailed Capt. Matthias about the repair of the mast and he replied he hoped to have it fixed by mid-March. Sorry if that doesn't fit your timeline. I'm just hoping it is done by then so we don't have to go to plan B.

 

He emailed me back and said that he is working with the Coast Guard to get the Catamaran considered a "demise charter". By doing that, he can have up to 12 people on the Cat. He feels confident that it will be all set for our sailing. I hope so because my Plan B is Fury Charters but I really didn't want to swim with Turtles since I am doing that in Barbados with Calabaza.

 

My only other option is to take him up on the 2 boats and put the kids on one and the adults on the other and do the tandem sailing. The kids may enjoy that.

[2 cruzen]

Hope it works out for you and you have fun.

[2 cruzen]

I googled what a demise charter is and this is what I found: Demise charter is a contract whereby the ship owner leases its vessel to the charterer for a period of time during which the whole use and management of the vessel passes to the charterer. In such a situation, the charterer pays all expenses for the operation and maintenance of the vessel. Officers and crew become servants of the charterer. A demise charter whereby the charterer has the right to place its own master and crew on board of the vessel is called a bareboat charter.

 

I'm not sure I would want the responsibility of chartering a boat under a demise charter contract.

Maybe somebody with more legal understanding could elaborate,

[girlscruise2011]

I googled what a demise charter is and this is what I found: Demise charter is a contract whereby the ship owner leases its vessel to the charterer for a period of time during which the whole use and management of the vessel passes to the charterer. In such a situation, the charterer pays all expenses for the operation and maintenance of the vessel. Officers and crew become servants of the charterer. A demise charter whereby the charterer has the right to place its own master and crew on board of the vessel is called a bareboat charter.

 

I'm not sure I would want the responsibility of chartering a boat under a demise charter contract.

Maybe somebody with more legal understanding could elaborate,

 

Yes, I googled the defination also and found the same thing. I would think with Tribal being a business chartering the cat isn't any different then his own boat. I would think its just he's leasing the boat until his boat is fixed. Like us normal people renting a car. He has liabilities and I would think his insurance will cover it. If his boat isn't fixed until March and he has bookings, he has lots of money to lose.

 

He made it sound like this is done often and as long as the Coast Guard is ok with it, I would think its safe.

 

At this point, I'm giving him another week or so to figure things out. I was really looking forward to this excursion but worse case, we'll figure out something to do. Its our first stop on the cruise and I wanted something special but if we can't there is lots of other things books at the other ports.

 

I'll keep you updated.

[2 cruzen]

Are you doing the So. Caribbean out of OSJ? That looks like an amazing itinerary. We are on an Eastern and the only other time we were in STT we walked to town and found a bar serving Bushwackers. Not much else happened after that :eek:

But we had fun! :D:D

[girlscruise2011]

Are you doing the So. Caribbean out of OSJ? That looks like an amazing itinerary. We are on an Eastern and the only other time we were in STT we walked to town and found a bar serving Bushwackers. Not much else happened after that :eek:

But we had fun! :D:D

 

Yes, I am on the Carnival Valor out of OSJ. Friends of mine have done this itinerary several times and I had to try it out for myself. They are actually sailing the Valor on Feb 2, 14 but with the kids in school then, I couldn't join them.

 

It is a crowded itinerary with 5 stops (and expensive) and I love my sea days but I'm sure I'll survive :rolleyes:

[azkcruizers]

Hi,

I was just curious what they were charging for half day sails?

Thanks:)