St Kitts/Nevis Sail-Away

[cruzfiend]

Has anyone done the Nevis Sail-Away and if so, did you like it?

[Mac Pete]

Ask me in a week, I'll give you a first hand review :) .

 

If anyone has done this excursion, I'd be greatful if you'd post a review.

Leaving in 12 sleeps.

Pete

[OCruisers]

Note: We've been on BOTH "St.Kitts-Nevis Sailaway" on Princess AND on "FanTaSea" on Celebrity(RCI calls it that as well) -- they are both EXACTLY the SAME (even same catamaran used). :p

 

DON'T MISS THIS ONE! The beach in Nevis (Pinney's Beach) is what comes to mind when thinking of a Caribbean paradise -- tall palm trees, white sand, and blue water! You will feel as if you are walking around on a Post Card! :)

 

It's a 7-Hour tour so you spend about 4 hours at the beach. When we were there both times, no one was around except people from our catamaran. Lots of room to either be under the palms in the shade or in the sun.

 

Even the lunch served was EXCELLENT -- grilled chicken! (OK ... so you are thinking what we did ... no way you would eat chicken grilled in a pit on some island!) Gee, we were wrong! The chicken was VERY well done ... yet moist inside and crusty on the outside. We also noticed that the pasta salads, etc. were carefully packed in ice. Very good and no one was sick later! :cool:

 

BAR ... No Problem!!! :D They set up a bar on the beach -- rum punch, beer, and cokes/soft drinks.

 

The catamaran ride was good (bit bumpy on the way out so sit toward the back if you don't want to get wet). Great crew -- always very helpful! We danced on the deck on the way BACK to Caribbean tunes. Don't get the wrong idea -- NOT a "Party Boat" -- just lots of fun in a relaxing sort of way!

 

Wonderful way to spend the day!!! We've done it twice so you know we liked it! Don't hesitate to ask if you have any other questions!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Mac Pete]

Great review, I'm glad we have this confirmed on Princess. The beach sounds terrific, is there any decent snorkelling at the beach? We have our own gear and if there is, I'd like to take advantage of it, seeing as we have ample time to swim in Nevis.

Thanks

[OCruisers]

Mac Pete .... On the way over to Nevis there is a snorkel stop at a cove (about 45 minutes) which was so-so. All snorkel gear is provided so we only took our own snorkel masks and used their fins. Vests were available as well. You'll see a variety of fish and coral at the stop. (Not bad at all ... just not awesome.) Lots of folks stayed on the catamaran and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

 

The beach in Nevis is a beach-beach!!! It's "post card pretty" BUT not a place to snorkel!

 

We loved this excursion! Going back to the ship there are always so many people saying how much they enjoyed it! :)

 

Please let us hear from you when you return! There can never be too many opinions!

 

If you have any other questions, we'll do our best to answer.

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[llarsen]

OCruisers-

Do you know which company runs this tour? I believe we took the same tour on Norwegian a couple years ago and loved it! I think the company was Endless Summer, but couldn't find them independently listed on the internet. We will be in St. Kitts again this Jan. on RCCL Empress, which we've never sailed with before. We were thinking of doing this tour again, but it was 100.00pp on Norwegian. Do you recall what you paid and can you book on your own?

Also is there any great beaches on St. Kitts?

Thanks!

[OCruisers]

llarsen .... :o So sorry BUT we have no clue about the operator of this excursion. Think this question came up on the Old Board. It seems this catamaran is charted for shore excursions when cruise ships are in port. Probably true! We paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $90-$100 pp.

 

The only other thing we have done in St.Kitts is to walk around in town when we have been there for a "short day" (6 hours or less). That gets old in a hurry! It's one of those ports that looks lots prettier from the ship than when you are actually there. :rolleyes:

 

As you know, The St.Kitts-Nevis Sailaway is called Fan-Ta-Sea on RCCL.

 

Maybe someone else can be more helpful!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[cruzfiend]

llarsen; we just paid $119.00 through princess.

[llarsen]

Thanks! We decided to do this one in January. It was very relaxing when we were on it with NCL.

Linda

[cruzfiend]

MAC PETE; Still waiting for your review ;)

[Mac Pete]

Here it is - as promised.

 

Docked in St. Kitts and had a very short walk to another section of the pier where we boarded the S/V Spirit of St. Kitts. Oh. My. Goodness.

 

I've seen a lot of catamarans - folks, they are not in the same league as this ship. 78 feet long, and gorgeous. I'll post a photo once uploaded from the camera.

 

Motored out of the harbour after a brief orientation on how the heads (washrooms) work, then up with the sails. Motorsailed about 30 - 45 minutes to ****ten Bay (I'm not kidding) where we snorkeled for almost an hour. Two ways to exit the ship, they drop the stairs on the front right into the water, or take the elevator as they call it. One step and you're wet over the side. Onboard gear was pretty good, lots to go around (we'd brought our own but I borrowed a mask to rescue mine - dropped it twice in about 20ft of water). Snorkelling probably 7.5 out of 10, lots of fish, not a lot of coral, the crew pointed out a couple of more interesting areas where we saw schools of squid, parrot fish, an eel, and the usual assortment of smaller tropical fish.

(Aruba wreck snorkel was a lot better, another review coming...)

 

Back on board, and a short motor to Nevis, and the beach. They'll pull the ship right up to the beach, you're maybe waistdeep as you exit the stairs. Water very warm and crystal clear.

 

Lunch was grilled chicken, grilled hotdogs, a coconut salad (very tasty), a bean salad, mixed pasta salad and there was lots of it. For those of you with sensitive tummies, I checked out the 'kitchen' (I know a few things about grillin') and the chicken is well cooked and comes to the grill on ice. No worries.

 

The bar is always open, lots of cold Carib beer, local rum and juices. Recommend the Ting, a local grapefruit soda, very refreshing. If some vodka spills in it, not too bad either. Ask about the 'pantyripper'.

 

A word about the bar. We had a large group travelling together, having a great time, and well, lets say Carlos the bartender made more than a few trips out into the surf for them with bevvies. (Here comes the lecture - skip ahead if you like) Folks, you're in the sun, the surf, having a great time. Please enjoy responsibly. The local rum is very potent, and its easy to over-endulge. I didnt need to see they hosing off a guest who had lost her lunch on the way back.

 

Lecture over.

 

The beach at Nevis is fantastic, black sand, so its a bit hot, there is a lot of shade if you like to stay sheltered. We saw 2 vendors there, nice guys, nice crafts, a polite no thank you, they were on their way. Spend about 2-1/2 hours there then back on board for the motor-sail back to the ship.

 

We paid $109 pp, and was worth every penny. The crew is great, Capt Todd looks 25 we heard he's 40, and the deck hands/bartenders looked after us very well. The ship is spotless, facilities very clean, lots of room to move around. We were 62 that day, didnt feel like it at all. Highly recommended this excursion.

 

We were back to the dock in time for about an hour walk around looking at the shops - remember, we did the itinerary in reverse order (thanks Frances) so your timings may be a bit different.

 

Two big thumbs up for the Nevis sailaway. Happy to answer any specific questions I may have missed.

 

Pete

[cruzfiend]

Thanks, Mac, for the review. It looks like we made the right choice for our excursion. I'll ask if anyone in my group has any questions. Thanks, again.

[cruzfiend]

Just got back from our cruise and the highlight of the trip was this excursion. We had the best time. The crew goes overboard keeping everyone happy and they were sooo friendly. Any questions, just ask!!

[screagan]

Having never been anywhere tropical (yet), I'm curious about the black-sand beaches. Is it a site to see? How common are they? I'd like to see at least one on my cruise coming up this spring.

 

Also, about the "Catamaran Fan-Ta-Sea," are there strict vegetarian options on this excursion?

 

And the beach really is*that* perfect? How does it compare to the likes of aruba beachs or st. maarten's orient beach?

 

Oh, and about the snorkling, how deep is the water where you dive off the boat? The deeper, the better!!! I'm curious how deep I can actually dive in two minutes :)

[ambiz]

I have some photos of black sand beaches on my website at http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com. There are quite a few of these black sand beaches on St Kitts. Most of the tours that go to beaches will take you to the white/golden sand beaches though.

 

Amicia Mussenden

http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com

Great St Kitts Nevis Photos, Travel Forum, Free E-cards and Newsletter

[screagan]

I have some photos of black sand beaches on my website at http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com. There are quite a few of these black sand beaches on St Kitts. Most of the tours that go to beaches will take you to the white/golden sand beaches though.

 

Amicia Mussenden

http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com

Great St Kitts Nevis Photos, Travel Forum, Free E-cards and Newsletter

Thanks, I'll scan through the site now.

 

BTW, after re-reading the thread, someone said that the beach we are taken to on this excursion goes to a black-sand beach, and another person said that it was a white-sand beach; which one is it?

 

Also, are drinks free at the open bar on the beach during the BBQ?

[ambiz]

The cruise on Spirit of St Kitts goes to Pinneys Beach in Nevis. We refer to Pinneys Beach as a whilte sand beach, but golden sand may be more appropriate. The sand is not powdery white like that in Anguilla.

 

The drinks on the beach during the BBQ are free.

 

Amicia Mussenden

http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com

Great St Kitts Nevis Photos, Travel Forum, Free E-cards and Newsletter

[nu2cruz]

I'm also interested in going to Nevis, probably through our ships' tour. I've heard a lot about a bar on Phinney's beach called Sunshines. Would we be able to go there even on our ship tour?

 

 

Thanks!

[screagan]

I've already booked the fan-ta-sea excursion simply because of the reviews. Otherwise, I would have most likely over-looked it and not thought twice. I'll give a review after my trip in february/march.

 

Mac Pete: you wrote:

>The beach at Nevis is fantastic, black sand, so its a bit hot, there is a lot of >shade if you like to stay sheltered.

 

This confuses me as everyone says it is white/golden sand; were you taken somewhere else?

[OCruisers]

I've already booked the fan-ta-sea excursion simply because of the reviews. Otherwise, I would have most likely over-looked it and not thought twice. I'll give a review after my trip in february/march.

 

Mac Pete: you wrote:

>The beach at Nevis is fantastic, black sand, so its a bit hot, there is a lot of >shade if you like to stay sheltered.

 

This confuses me as everyone says it is white/golden sand; were you taken somewhere else?

 

screagan .... We didn't understand this statement about "black sand" either. :confused: All we can say is that we have been on both "FanTaSea" and "St.Kitts to Nevis Sailaway" and the sand at the beach was "golden/white"! I even checked my cruise photo albums and have pictures from both times... it's golden/white! Mac Pete must have gone to a different beach?

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[cruzfiend]

We didn't think the sand was black either. Comparable to the sand of the Great Lakes if you've been there.

 

I would also like to warn people that the Rum Punch is very strong. If you don't eat on the island, you are going to probably be sick if you drink the punch. :(

[TupeloHoney]

I would love to do this excursion, and my husband I probably will. But we are traveling with a group of people, not all of whom are as good on their feet.

 

The one I'm most concerned about is my father-in-law, he has MS and although he walks, he's not as steady on his feet as most people. What is the boat like? I've only ever been on a tiny catamaran where you sit on the netting. Does this boat has hard surfaces and normal chairs as well?

 

How about boarding the ship or getting off the ship? Steps? Or do you have to use a ladder? Would he be able to get off the boat in Nevis? Or is it necessary to go through the water?

 

I'm just wondering if we should suggest the others come with us, or if we should do this one alone. The family keeps teasing me that I tried to kill him last year when we took the ferry from Tortola to Virgin Gorda and then he took the path down to the Baths. That was very tough on him - but he did survive!

[Snowblind]

TupeloHoney,

 

We did this excursion in 2002, and it was very tricky to get off the catamaran. It just drives up as close to shore as it can, then you hop off stairs into water and wade up to beach. One woman in our group twisted her ankle doing it. With the boat moving from the waves and a quick drop-off under the water, very tricky. There was a senior couple on the boat, mid-seventies I believe, who remained on the boat. The crew brought them the lunch so they didn't have to get off the boat.

 

It is a very beautiful beach, the best I have ever been on. The food and drinks were great, the crew very entertaining. My avatar is a picture of that beach.

 

Happy Cruising:)

[TupeloHoney]

Snowblind,

Thanks so much! It sounds to me like it's probably something we should do on our own then. But I will run it past him - but with the idea that he would stay on the boat. But the boat itself he should be able to to navigate? He can get in and out of the life boats to tender - so he's okay on his feet. I'm just making sure it's not all netting.

Thanks!

[Snowblind]

TupeloHoney,

 

The boat is quite large, with plenty of seating, I believe there was maybe thirty people on board. It has a washroom, bar, and the netting at the front.

 

On the trip to the beach, we stopped in a cove to snorkel. In the cove it was very easy to climb down the ladder into the water. We cruised on the boats motor to the beach, and returned by sail.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Happy Cruising:)