Lord Sheffield Review - this is the BEST!!!

[kruz]

No problem. I wonder if they would wait on you as a cruise ship passanger? I have found this to be true of many tours......

I am so lucky becasue there will only be one other ship in port with us and I just wrote and got a response right away that he had a spot for us next Thursday! I'll let you know how it goes ..weather permitting!

[2VaCruzers]

Karen..how nice that only 2 ships will be in port the day you reach St. Maarten. We'll have 7 ships :eek: This would make it even doubly difficult to be somewhere by 8:15. I will be back from my cruise on Easter Sunday and I see you'll be leaving in April. I look forward to hearing about your day on the Lord Sheffield. Hope the weather cooperates!!

Robin

[woody73]

I have to agree with the prior posts that the Lord Sheffield is the best!

We were on the Lord Sheffield on January 11, and the whole experience exceeded all of our expectations. Captain Rob, Erica and Veronica were so friendly and helpful, the beverages were plentiful (choice of sodas, water, beer, and a terrific rum punch), and the food was delicious (baguettes, cheese, pickled herring, and barbecue ribs right off the grill).

Captain Rob picked the perfect spot to drop the anchor near a picturesque beach. We went snorkeling and, with the water so clear, the Angel Fish put on a dazzling show. On the journey back to the dock, we took turns standing at the bowsprit with the wind in our face. Exhilarating!

The time we spent on the Lord Sheffield was the highlight of our seven-day cruise. It was a fantastic experience that we hope to do again. We wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone visiting St. Maarten.

[shopp1]

CassieG2002....

I saw that your family will be on the Lord Sheffield on Feb 3rd. I take it you're cruising the Carnival Valor ? Our group of 20 will be cruising the Valor. I'm currently booked for February 3rd myself. I'm trying to get as many of our nutty bunch as possible to cruise the Lord Sheffield with me. :D

[Boatingmom]

Hey I thought the Lord Sheffield Pirate excursion was from 11:00am until 3:15 pm. Did they officially change the departure time until earlier. I too won't be able to make it if it leaves at 8:15am?

[2VaCruzers]

Boatingmom..the 8:15 time was for the Lambada, which Kruz was suggesting to me as an alternate to the Lord Sheffield since my reservation somehow got lost in the shuffle. I made it 5 months ahead of time, but the reservation never made it on to the calendar, and now the LS is booked solid for the day I'm in St. Maarten. As far as I know, the times for Lord Sheffield have not changed.

Robin

[dfgf]

Just back from the Lord Sheffield. We had three large ships in port that day (RC Navigator of the Seas, Carnival Triumph and Caribbean Princess.) There were only 5 couples total aboard the Lord Sheffield with us. The Lord Sheffield left at 11 AM island time, 10 AM Royal Caribbean time... make sure you know before hand whether or not your ship is on "island time". If it's not, you'll be too late to catch the boat!

Things that went wrong:
1. We were unable to sail the entire way to the beach, and had to use the LS's engine, because the winds were blowing the wrong direction.
2. The water was too rough to go to the beach that they normally go to, so we went to a small cove instead.
3. The water was too murky to see any fish while snorkeling.

[b]All that being the case, this excursion was THE highlight of our trip.[/b] [b][u]WE LOVED IT![/u][/b] Of course it was disappointing not to get the "full experience", but the weather certainly isn't in Captain Rob's hands. He and his wonderful crew did such a nice job taking care of us. Although he can't control the weather, he might able to read minds - I was just about to ask for some Jimmy Buffet music when he put in the CD! The food was delicious, the rum punch the best we've ever had, and the beer was limitless! We had never been on an actual ship with sails before, and what a beautiful ship it is.

One of other passengers (an airline pilot for Jet Blue, I believe) climbed the mast and jumped from the observation platform - probably 30 to 40 feet above the water!

We had an absolute blast, and will definitely go with them again the next time we're in St Maarten.

[JFIRE]

I happen to be the jetBlue Captain who made that jump. I'm still bragging to all my Family members about it!! Our time on the ship was pretty much what dfgf said. I may add that part of the reason that we had to motor some of the way is because I was actually sailing the vessel for about 20 minutes and the wind direction caused us to head further out to sea away from our destination. Tall ships are limited to which way the wind is blowing. They can't really change the direction of their sails to sail upwind. That part was probably my fault. The Crew was CONSTANTLY asking if we wanted drinks, and on our way to our stop we were fed BBQ Ribs!! Once we anchored, we did a little snorkeling. The water was fairly cloudy, and you couldn't really see anything. It had been a "wierd weather" week that week, so we didn't mind it much. Even though we had those afformentioned issues, the people we met (Crew included) were some of the nicest people we had met on our cruise. My Wife and I both agree that the next time we do this, we will bring along our 8 year old Boy; and I'm sure he will promptly jump right off the bow of the ship!! To Lord Sheffield.... Thanks for such a memorable experience. To dfgf.... I can't wait to see the video of my jump!! Now back to unpacking!!!:eek:

[2VaCruzers]

Sounds like everyone has had such wonderful experiences onboard the Lord Sheffield. We were set to go on the Lord Sheffield in March, but a snafu has made it impossible. I do, however, plan on going the next time we go back to St. Maarten. To the JetBlue Capt. that jumped off...BRAVO!! I am a 50 year mom of 2 grown children who was going to jump off as well. At least those were my intentions, who knows if my fear of heights would've taken over. At my age, I'm trying to do things that I've never done...push myself, in a sense. I want to take advantage and enjoy those special opportunities that don't often come our way. Kudos to you...and if you have any still photos of you jumping, or any photos of your time on the LS, we'd all love to see them!!

[QLOTP]

I just e-mailed the "Lord Sheffield" to try to reserve a space on April 20th. You all seemed to have such wonderful experiences that i'm praying he will be able to accommodate the 9 of us. How long did it take to hear back from him? Also, do we prepay with a credit card or pay when we get there? I am sooooo excited for our cruise, I seem to have alot of fun planning everything. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews.:)

[dfgf]

JFIRE - I'm opening up my PC later tonight to install my Firewire card. If all goes smoothly, I'll attempt a video capture of your jump and have it sent out to you later tonight!

QLOTP - No credit cards are accepted - cash only. He collects the money before we board. It's pretty much on the honor system. Not sure how he would handle your group, since it's 9 people. (He'd be out almost $500 if you just didn't show.) I believe he tries to check his e-mail every weekday. Each time I e-mailed him, I heard back within a day.

[QLOTP]

Thanks for your help. If he accepts our reservation, he need not worry about us showing up, WE'LL BE THERE!!!!!!!!:)

[Boatingmom]

Kudos to you JFIRE for jumping from the crows nest. How do you not hit the boat?

Also... Is ther always an hour difference between Island time and RCCL time? I don't want to be latebut I don't want to stand around either. We're booked for 4/24 on the Lord Sheffield. Maybe I'll walk the :rolleyes: plank

[L_T]

Thanks for all the postings on Lord Sheffield, sounds like a wonderful time. We'll be in St. Martin in two weeks, for a 16 day land vacation. Because of all the great feedback, we're going to see about a trip with them.

[JFIRE]

He will return your e-mails in VERY short order. To jump off the Crow's Nest, wait until the mast sways behind you, then when it sways to your side, over the water, JUMP! Easier said than done, but OH what a RUSH!! Your Captain will climb the mast ahead of you and show you where to step and when to jump.

Have Fun!!

jfire

[CassieG2002]

Shopp1,
Yes we will be on the lord sheffield on the 3rd. But we will be on the Radiance, rccl.
~Cassie

[devvt]

Wow - it's great to hear all of the wonderful reviews of the Lord Sheffield! We were looking for something new to experience in St. Maarten, so we booked this trip. Capt. Rob is excellent about replying promptly to emails (within a day), and he has us booked on April 21. I inquired about payment - they take cash or traveler's checks when you show up to board.

So now I'm confused about time - Capt. Rob said we leave at 11 am and return at 3:30 pm. Is that ship time or St. Maarten time, and isn't island time an hour behind us - when it's 11 am ship time, isn't it 10 am St. Maarten time? Or do I have it backwards? Can someone help me, please?! We don't want to miss sail away (either one - the Lord Sheffield or the Mariner!) and must make the obligatory trip to the Guavaberry Emporium, too!

[JFIRE]

It's 11 AM ISLAND Time. If you are on a Royal Carribbean ship, RC goes by SHIP'S time. Anyone else, then you will set your watch ahead 1 hr.

For instance,,,, 11AM ISLAND Time is 10AM New York time.


Hope this helps.

jfire

[QLOTP]

Just heard from Captain Rob and we are booked on the "Lord Sheffield" for April 20,2005! We are very excited to make this a part of our vacation. You all made it sound so wonderful. I'm so glad we have this "board" to help plan these wonderful excursions. Thanks for all your help and info:) :) .

[kal]

[quote name='devvt']So now I'm confused about time - Capt. Rob said we leave at 11 am and return at 3:30 pm. Is that ship time or St. Maarten time, and isn't island time an hour behind us - when it's 11 am ship time, isn't it 10 am St. Maarten time? Or do I have it backwards? Can someone help me, please?[/QUOTE]

Assuming the ship is on EDT, on April 21, the ship's time is the SAME as St. Maarten time. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE.

[michaelvpa]

Is snorkel equipment supplied or do you have to have your own? And if they have the equipment, is there a charge to use it? Thanks.

[dfgf]

Snorkel equipment is supplied if you want to use it - no extra charge. I believe about 5 of the 10 of us wanted snorkel equipment, and they enough for them. I'm not sure whether or not they would be able to supply 25 passengers with snorkel gear, however.

[dis2cruise]

how big is this ship does anyone know? does the ship just sail around and then anchor off somewhere or does it go to any beaches?
thanks
cheryl

[QLOTP]

I'm not too sure on the exact size, however it is a "tall ship." It anchors off and does not go to the beach. You can check out their website @ [url="http://www.lordsheffield.com"]www.lordsheffield.com[/url].

[devvt]

Since the Lord Sheffield is a "tall ship", how do people "re-board" her after swimming, snorkeling, etc.. I'm guessing there aren't steps that drop down like a catamaran has...so, rope ladder, what?

Anyone have the answer?