Every three or four years Mrs Afterguard and I go cruising the Virgin Islands both US and British. We usually do it for 7 nights and have an absolutely wonderful time! We go to all the places we want to go and stay as long as we want. Of course the “ships” we cruise on are usually less than 50 ft long and are sail powered. We buy our own provisions and cook our own food and the sunrises, days, and sunsets are spectacular. No crowds onboard. It is paradise! It’s expensive so we can’t do every year, but it’s worth it. I cannot imagine cruising with 2000 or 3000 stinky people. Lol.
My wife and I used to do that regularly with friends, in between cruise ship cruising, when we found by cruising an area we wanted to spend more time in.
Offhand I can remember some of the boats we chartered, a C&C 42 sail-an Oday 37 sail, a 42' Trawler Yacht, a CSY44 sail.
IN those days the Morgan 41 and the Gulfstar 50 were the most popular sailboats to charter in the Caribbean.
We cruised the British and American Virgin Islands and the Grenadines.
Those were the days my friend , we thought they would never end.-Tom