Ship Features
2 Pools ( outdoor plus indoor)
6 Whirlpools (they had wimpy jets)
8 Bars / Lounges
Ship Facts
Maiden Voyage: July 13, 1997
Passenger Capacity: 2,446
Godmother: Colleen Fain
Gross Tonnage: 74,000
Length: 916'
Beam: 106'
Draft: 25'
Cruising Speed: 22 knots (Sankaty can do 6.5 knots)
On the 16th we drove by car to Chicago's Midway airport and flew to Ft. Lauderdale at 7:20PM. We arrived at the Waterfront Inn right across the street from the beach called the Beach Resort at midnight. Click here for a view of the beach from the motel.
Click on all the red stuff for the fun of it.
Sunday afternoon we boarded in Ft. Lauderdale (25 miles north of Miami at Port Everglades). We Motored all day Monday and arrived in San Juan on Tuesday noon. Here we took a guided tour by car of the old town and parts of the new city. We left San Juan on Tuesday evening and arrived in St. Maarten on Wednesday morning.
In St. Maarten we took a tour of the shopping area in Philipsburg in the morning. I watched three 12 meter boats race off in the distance they had considerable spray going over the bow as they made their way up wind. In 1997 I got to ride on one, but the wind was not even half as strong, so I was envious. In the afternoon we went to the Butterfly Farm on the French side of the island just a mile south of Orient Beach. That evening the ship left for a short (45 mile) trip to St. Thomas. Thursday we arrived very early in St. Thomas and we left immediately for our morning submarine excursion aboard one of the Atlantis Passenger Submarines in the afternoon we wanted to go up the mountain next to the dock on the gondolas, but we thought that they charged too much so we just did a short walking tour to see other attractions. The ship left in early evening. Motored all day Friday and arrived in Nassau on Saturday just before noon. In Nassau, we saw two America's Cup class boats, but they had a mechanical problem and would not let us sail them. That was a big disappointment for me. We left Nassau on Saturday evening and arrived in Ft. Lauderdale early Sunday.
Sunday night after the cruise we stayed at the Isle of Venice Waterfront Inn about ten blocks inland from the shore with boat slips on both sides of the road.
