Amazing 5* review for EPIC

New 5.0-star Review: "We booked our boat charter through Epic Yacht Charters based on a recommendation from a friend and took our family of five (3 teenage boys) down to the USVI for a week vacation during spring break. Working with Michelle was excellent, and she quickly responded when coordinating and answering questions. We felt the whole process from start to finish was very smooth and well organized. The arrival through the airport and to the boat and getting underway was easy and clearly communicated to us by Michelle and the crew before we left home. We sailed on a relatively new 46' Lagoon, Rendez-Vous, for a full week. Because the BVI‘s remained closed for the pandemic, we sailed around St.Thomas and St.John for the week. We had to scrub our sail to St.Croix because of the winds, but we hope to return to do that next time. We were able to explore a different cove every night and had some nice side trips to St. James, Buck, and Water Islands. The boat was a great size for our family plus the crew was spotless and had all of the components and amenities that we needed to be able to relax and be comfortable while on board. The head/bathroom was fine, the shower was better than expected and the bed was comfortable. We used the AC at night simply because the bedrooms got hot with the windows closed and we discovered that a rain shower in the middle of the night was likely and we couldn’t keep the windows open. The boys sometimes slept on the deck in the open air. Other than doing some land hikes and a little bit of shopping, we spent the entire week on the boat since there was really no need to have to get off the boat – other than to check out the beach or snorkel or to go into town for a few hours. Our crew of Captain Darrin and Chef Isla were fantastic. Captain Darrin was an experienced sailor, and because he grew up locally, had great knowledge of the islands (he runs his own day boats too at viwatersports.com). Every night, we had a meeting with Captain Darrin and Isla to make sure that we knew what the plan was and could provide input into what we were going to do for the next day. Isla is a private chef on St.Thomas (facebook.com/chefislabertrand ), and she cooked amazing food for us every day – which is no small feat with three large boys. There was plenty of food on board, plenty of snacks, and plenty of drinks and alcohol. The only thing we had to stop for was gas and ice a couple of times. There’s also pretty much everything on board for water sports. There were paddle boards, snorkeling gear, and floats. We felt safe in the water the whole week, and the water and snorkeling were incredible as expected. Overall, we had a blast and a perfect vacation. Epic Charters, Michelle, Captain D, and Isla, and Rendez-Vous were amazing. We will be recommending our friends and will be back again. Specific recommendations on what to bring… Bring high SPF sunscreen if you need it. There is typically some on board, but we were glad we had extra. We did not get seasick and didn’t use any Dramamine, but sea bands seem to do the trick for the gentle rolling in the coves. We only packed t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops, swimsuits, sneakers for hiking, and a sweatshirt for the trip home. We were able to carry on and avoid long lines at the airport and be able to breeze through customs by not checking baggage. We found that saved a couple of hours in all directions. Specific recommendations on where to go… We have been to the BVI’s before and expected to miss the snorkeling and beach bars there. We did not. The places around the USVI’s are so beautiful and awesome, we were in a different, amazing spot each day. Just spending time on the boat, swimming, chilling, or reading was a perfect way to spend the day. The Eastern side of St.John is mostly a national park and quiet. There are some great hikes to break up the time on the boat. The hikes to the old sugarcane factory and to Rams Head are fun. The snorkeling off of Little St.James next to the Epstein compound is fantastic. Snorkeling (or diving) over the wreck at Buck Island is cool. We ate one meal off the boat at Greengo’s on St.John and it was great. Fortunately for us, we had Isla’s great cooking on board. Check out Honeymoon Beach on Water Island (Honeymoon Beach on St. John is nice too) and make sure you eat at Dingy’s (dinghysbeachbar.com/)."