Shangri La 52 ft Catamaran

Dear TC & Julia,

Thank you for the most amazing charter! Our whole family had the best time and each one of us has our own special reasons. TC – thank you for being such a capable and smart and safe captain. Your seaworthiness combined with your ability to crack nonstop 12 year old humor made for nonstop laughs. Julia – thank you for providing the most delicious meals! The food and service was out of this world and beyond my wildest expectations. Thank you also for your wildlife knowledge. You are an amazing woman and it was a pleasure to be with you this week.

Dear Julia & TC and your Beautiful Vessel

Thank you for showing us such an unbelievable time in our first visit to these majestic islands. Your hospitality was over the top and allowed us to relax and unwind quickly. The meals were spot on and catered to our family’s likes so well. We never went hungry yet always waited for the next feeding time with anticipation! Of particular note were the crab bites, banana bread, shrimp pasta, s’mores pie and can’t forget the looney Leprechauns. We prioritize experiences for our family and seek out adventure as a way to teach our kids about the world, other cultures, and ways of life. This week met all of those criteria and we thank you for taking the time to teach, explain, and tell your stories. It was impactful for the kids to observe the simpler life and gain a healthy respect for the seas! And it in fact inspired Jake to come down and become a Christmas Cove Pizza delivery guy! You may bump into him here in a few years!Thanks again for an amazing week full of many lasting memories. Truly grateful!

Captain TC & Chef Julia,

Shangri La…”A remote, beautiful, imaginary place where life approaches perfection, Utopia!” But you guys brought Utopia to life for us. And we followed a boat “Memory Makes” – you truly created lifetime memories for us that we will always smile warmly as we recall. And another boat “Chillax” – you created an environment where we could renew our batteries for life’s next big adventure. Julia’s meals were superb but it was more the care and love she put into their detailed preparation that showed. TC – you made us feel safe and not awkward. Nothing was too much trouble as you accommodated every wish and you’re a funny whoa. We couldn’t wish for a better time and crew. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Capt. TC & Julia

Thank you for sharing your boat with us and treating us to the most incredible Virgin Islands sailing vacation. You truly showed us the main of the islands while treating us like queens. Julia, your cooking was beyond amazing. Every meal was beyond delicious. We are in awe and you both treated us to a vacation of our dreams. Thank you for sharing with us your incredible knowledge, style, grace, incredible organization and your beautiful home. We are honored and so grateful to know this special part of the world and hope to come back again one day!

Our 3 day trip on Shangri La was wonderful. We had nice weather, pretty sunsets, sea turtle sightings, fun boat rides and we even traveled with the sails up once. Julia is an amazing chef – awesome meals and desserts. – certainly 5-star! TC knows the history of the islands and has a great sense of humor. They both have so much experience – this boat runs like a well oiled machine. TC and Julia wait on you hand and foot and will do anything they can to make your trip more enjoyable. Bless her heart, even made me different meat options with dinners. We had a fabulous time. I’ll highly recommend TC & Julia to our friends. Best of luck!

Love,

Gannon & Amanda

To sunsets and Painkillers…to Chicken Hasselhoff and Cocoa Lopez…to guitar solos, and Rock & Roll Saxophone! Thank you Julia & TC for the trip of a lifetime! The Shangri La and the Islands are a nice canvas, but you guys paint the masterpiece. I’m starting ’23 fat and spoiled. I’ll report back whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Happy New Year and Many Thanks,

I could tell you the last time I felt this peaceful. I loved our activities – the snorkeling spots and beach bars. More than anything, though, I was just happy being. For the 5 of us to get to just enjoy the beauty of the islands had to offer is truly so special. TC & Julia, you made this trip so wonderful and relaxing! Thank you!

Love,

Millie

TC & Julia – Wow…what an incredible adventure!!! Thank you for the exciting trip, far exceeding our expectations. Great food, great conversation, great excursions, …mixed with a few beautiful “medium” hikes. Julia, thank you fo your 5 star fare, wonderful drink creations & morning coffee!! We couldn’t be around here longer, spoiled by your incredible cooking, and still fit through those passageways. TC, thank-you for your attention to every detail, great story telling, and guidance to beautiful bays and exciting bars. We are leaving this beautiful place with our hearts, souls and stomachs overflowing with gratitude for making this the trip of a lifetime.

With Our Best,
Marci Pressley & Jack Herr

What can we say – you saved our vacation! We are so thankful for your willingness to scoop us up last minute and show us such a wonderful time – we are truly grateful to have the opportunity to sail with you and are so happy we were able to experience such a lovely time. The food was excellent, the ride comfortable and peaceful, and the experience phenomenal. It was just what we needed and we couldn’t feel more relieved, gracious, and at peace having spent the last week with you! Thank you!!

Danielle & Michah

TC & Julia – It’s so hard to put into words how wonderful this trip was! From the food, the laughs, swimming with turtles, beautiful sunsets, shooting stars and top class hospitality…our trip would not have been what it was without the two of you!! Thank you for caring as much as you do! And next time, we’ll bring Alicia’s sippy cup. 🙂

Ben & Alicia
Joey & Tiffany

To Captain TC & Julia – Sometimes it’s not about the journey or the destination…but about the people you meet along the way. Six friends came together to escape the stress of life in a truly beautiful place; but we quickly realized that it wasn’t the beauty of the islands or the sea that made this trip so completely amazing. It was both of you!! TC, your concern for our group’s safety and comfort was always always your number one concern! You are an amazing captain and I think we’ll all be laughing at your “character voices” and funny jokes for years to come. You started as our captain and quickly turned into a friend. Julia, Julia, Julia…your cooking is out of this world! Absolutely everything you made us was something you’d expect at a 5-Star restaurant. Your passion and love for cooking is displayed in every meal you make. The offer still stands to come to Michigan. :-). Thank you for your hospitality, your friendship and for 7 days on the water that none of us will ever forget! You guys are the best!!

The Michigan Crew
The Ross’, The Miller’s, The Irwins

To Captain TC and Julia we’d like to say thank-you for allowing us a glimpse of your life aboard the Shangri La. We had a fabulous time and enjoyed seeing things above and below the water that were fascinating and memorable to us. By the amount of work that you both put into our cruise, we realize that this is more than a job for you and Al and I will remember this trip for a long time. We consider you friends and we thank you so much for the experience.

Sincerely,
Al & Betty Damiani

Rise – Breakfast – Play – Read – Lunch – Play – Appetizer – Play – Dinner – Rest – Repeat

God was I in need of a vacation – and you guys delivered. The food, the sights, the accents were all just so amazing! There is really nothing like beautiful scenery and good company! Thank you!

The Crew, Capt TC and Chef Julia were fabulous, very friendly and welcoming. Both of them were very knowledgeable in their areas. We had an issue with the generator and it was handled well. The crew quickly devised an alternate plan to keep us entertained during the repair. I felt the the quality of the accommodations and food were wonderful. The Shangri La is beautiful and very comfortable and Julia’s food and presentation were fabulous. Both Capt TC and Chef Julia were very professional, but also very approachable and friendly. I felt very comfortable and confident with both of them. Since I was lucky enough to be a guest on the cruise I can not comment on the value of the cost of the trip. I do feel very lucky to have been included in Cathy’s birthday celebration though ?. I don’t think I can say enough about Chef Julia’s cuisine. It was not only delicious, but absolutely beautifully presented. She worked tirelessly and everything she did was wonderful. Coming from the snowy Midwest it would not take much of a change of climate to make me happy, but the beautiful Virgin Islands never fail to impress with it’s beauty. I think everyone was happy with the water sport options on the boat. Snorkeling was very popular. The floating pad was used and the paddle board was tried. Overall it was a great experience.

TC and Julia really helped make the trip very enjoyable. They both worked so hard, but were so friendly and attentive to all of our desires and needs. I can’t think of one most memorable highlight. The entire trip was such a gift. TC was so entertaining and yet very in tune with his duties on the boat. He handled the day to day running of it with knowledge and handled the problems without causing any stress to us who did know know about the workings of a boat. Julia is just wonderful. She is an artist in the kitchen, but also helped with the boat without missing a beat. Both of them worked constantly to make us have a fabulous trip. They are both great assets to your company.

One other note. We caused a delay to the start of the trip. Because of an airline delay, we missed our connection to St Thomas. This meant that we could not get there until the next day. Capt TC and Julia altered their planned schedule to allow for our delay and still entertained the group that had arrived on time. We appreciated their efforts and their ability to switch up their plans to allow for the change.

We have all had a fabulous time with you both. TC you are a great captain. You make sailing look so easy and you managed the boat so well. You were also beyond entertaining. I think you have moved from second to the best captain in the islands. Julia you are so talented in the kitchen. Not only in your delicious food, but it is all so beautiful. You are an artist in the kitchen. We will all remember our time with you both, but wish it could have been longer. Thank you for all your efforts in making it a wonderful time.

The Rheiner Family

What a week. A sizably round of applause to our two hosts – Julia and TC – who created a sublime environment for our family to disconnect, and reconnect with ourselves, each-other, and the beauty around us. Julia and TC – your hospitality was unending, and our trip wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here’s to the next journey together.

Sam Polito

Julia and TC,

Beautiful, amazing, relaxing, stunning and delicious don’t seem to cover it! As you have read in the prior few pages – this has been a perfect experience for our family! A better birthday present could not be had. Indeed, these are lifetime experiences that will forever be remembered! I thank you!!

Mark Leiss

We have all had a fabulous time with you both. TC you are a great captain. You make sailing look so easy and you managed the boat so well. You were also beyond entertaining. I think you have moved from second to the next captain in the islands.

Julia you are so talented in the kitchen. Not only is your food delicious, but it is all so beautiful. You are an artist in the kitchen. We will all remember our time with you both, but wish it could have been longer. Thank you for all your efforts making it a wonderful time.

I guess my whole family is going to take up this book now and I already wrote one for the family, but decided I needed to write one from just me too. As a busy college student who stares at her computer all day and night as a computer science student, I never really get the chance to unplug. I don’t think I’ve ever read as much as I have this week, and it’s been amazing. I really do love to read, and I just never have the time. Three books in one week is a new record! I can’t say I’m looking forward to the 4 degree weather that awaits me in Boston, but I will forever remember this amazing trip. Thank you for everything.

Avery Leiss

It is hard to find the right collection of words to describe our stay on the Shangri La. It has truly been an unforgettable experience that will go down as the best vacation I have ever been on. Beautiful scenery, ample family time, peak relaxation, unbelievable food, laughs, new friends…the list goes on. TC and Julia were a pleasure to be around and by the end of the week it felt as if we were on big family. Cheers to a remarkable week and experience

Ted Polito
(aka 1-6)

Julia and TC.

Beautiful, amazing, relaxing, stunning and delicious don’t seem to convey. As you have read in a few pages, this has been a perfect experience for our family! A better birthday present could not be had.

Julia’s culinary skills are off-the-charts…each meal is perfect.
And she is such a lovely person…warm and inviting.

TC is a great Captain.
Safely getting us to the perfect place each day…sharing the history and stories of those places…and making sure we are safe and well-cared for.

In the hospitality business, it’s difficult  to be nice to everyone…let alone being nice 24 hours a day for a week…but Julia and TC made it look effortless.

A GREAT experience.
We WILL be back!