Tom.B
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2009
- Messages
- 5,839
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Skinny Dippin'
- Vessel Make
- Navigator 4200 Classic
As most of you know, Bess and I are still... "between boats", however, our 25th wedding anniversary is this year (September) and e are CONSIDERING bare-boating as an option for a memorable trip.
We are very experienced in Caribbean travel with well over 30 visits since 1990, so we are good there. We visited many of the islands and understand the general culture. Not sure if this matters or not, but I think it's worth mentioning. That said, we aren't married to one island over another. The BVIs are the most used by charters, so that is certainly on the list by default. Although, if you haven't noticed, our anniversary falls on the statistical PEAK of the Atlantic hurricane season. Something else worthy of noting.
What are our options and what should we look for in a good charter company? We are considering using The Moorings, but I know there has to be a less "mass market" solution that could give us more boat or amenities for the same money. However, if that is the best option for getting good customer service and a well-maintained vessel, we are still okay using them. Speaking of which, we (well, ME really) are not afraid to shell out a little coin for this. It is, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime celebration that, good or bad, we would like to be memorable.
Finally, while we have very little experience in blow boats, we aren't ruling it out as we may become sailors in the not-to-distant future. Worst case, we can always just use it as a swizzle-stick power boat and leave the sails down. I wonder if spending a week on a sailboat might give us a real idea if the different accommodations from Skinny Dippin' are truly something we could live with.
Thanks in advance for you guysezez input and looking forward to learninz me sumptin'.
Tom-
We are very experienced in Caribbean travel with well over 30 visits since 1990, so we are good there. We visited many of the islands and understand the general culture. Not sure if this matters or not, but I think it's worth mentioning. That said, we aren't married to one island over another. The BVIs are the most used by charters, so that is certainly on the list by default. Although, if you haven't noticed, our anniversary falls on the statistical PEAK of the Atlantic hurricane season. Something else worthy of noting.
What are our options and what should we look for in a good charter company? We are considering using The Moorings, but I know there has to be a less "mass market" solution that could give us more boat or amenities for the same money. However, if that is the best option for getting good customer service and a well-maintained vessel, we are still okay using them. Speaking of which, we (well, ME really) are not afraid to shell out a little coin for this. It is, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime celebration that, good or bad, we would like to be memorable.
Finally, while we have very little experience in blow boats, we aren't ruling it out as we may become sailors in the not-to-distant future. Worst case, we can always just use it as a swizzle-stick power boat and leave the sails down. I wonder if spending a week on a sailboat might give us a real idea if the different accommodations from Skinny Dippin' are truly something we could live with.
Thanks in advance for you guysezez input and looking forward to learninz me sumptin'.
Tom-