FAQ
WHEN SHOULD WE ARRIVE?
We recommend that you arrive to the Marina parking lot 25 minutes before departure. It takes about ten minutes or so to walk down to the boat, and we try to get everyone on board about 15 minutes before departure for the safety briefing.
WHAT TIME DO WE DEPART AND RETURN?
Check your reservation confirmation for exact departure times. For Private Charters, we depart at the time you specify.
For the Noon Cruise, we depart at noon.
For the Sunset Cruise, we depart around 1 1/2 hours before sunset and return just after sunset.
In the summertime, that means we depart at 7:00 pm and get back around 8:30 PM. This changes in the Spring, Fall, and Winter to earlier in the day as the sun sets earlier in the day. Check your confirmation for the exact time we are leaving. Remember… the sunset does not wait on anyone!!!
HOW DO WE FIND THE BOAT?
We are located at Golden Isles Marina - 206 Marina Drive, St. Simons, Ga 31522. Please note… we have had reports of some different Map programs taking people to Blythe Island when they put in 206 Marina Drive. We are located on Saint Simons Island (Lanier Island if you want to be exact, but the address is Saint Simons Island). If you are staying on Saint Simons Island, it only takes 10 minutes to get to us, not 25 minutes. From Jekyll Island, you go over the Jeckyll Causway to Highway 17, over the Sidney Lanier Bridge to the F.J.Torres Causeway to Saint Simons, and then into Morningstar Golden Isles Marina at the address above.
Once you park in the Morningstar Marina parking lot, head up the stairs and walk past the Coastal Kitchen restaurant. You will then walk down the dock until you see a gate. The gate code sometimes changes - please check your confirmation email for the current code. Then head straight ahead down the dock. We are the last boat on the left!
CAN WE BRING OUR OWN FOOD?
Depending on what you want to bring, we welcome food/snacks aboard String of Pearls. On the Public Sunset Cruise just please remember that there will most likely be other people on board as well, and space around the main table on the quarterdeck is somewhat limited (12 people or so). Also keep in mind that it is usually breezy on the water and things can blow around. Sometimes, it is better on the Sunset Cruise to just have cocktails and go right to dinner afterwards.
For Private Charters, feel free to do whatever you want to… it is your boat for the day!!! We have several caterers that we work with that really know how the boat works, or feel free to bring your own items. We just ask that you bring things that don’t stain our decks (strawberries, blueberries, orange chips, and greasy items are a real challenge for us). Remember the wind, so all of your things don’t blow all over… chips in bags are notorious for blowing overboard. Please call Captain Matt with questions about specific items.
CAN WE BRING OUR OWN BEVERAGES?
ABSOLUTELY! You are welcome to bring non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. We have large coolers and Yeti Tubs on board and can help with cooler ice and drink ice. Just let us know what you need.
Wine bottles are welcome, but please bring other beverages in cans if at all possible. Glass beer bottles have a tendancy to break in the cooler, which is less than ideal, and they also make the trash very heavy.
WHAT ABOUT ICE?
We can have both cooler ice & drink ice on board as needed. Make sure to let us know if you will need ice so we can get it ahead of time.
DO YOU HAVE A STEWARD ON BOARD?
We have an excellent First Mate on board. While the First Mate will help you bring items on board and can offer some assistance with catering needs, he or she is not a Steward. The Mate has to be available to the Captain at all times for the safety of all onboard. For Private Charters, we strongly suggest that a Steward be engaged if your party is over 10 people and we require one for groups over 20. We can help you find a Steward who is familiar with String of Pearls. Your caterer can also provide a Steward.
The First Mate has primary responsibility for the safety of the passengers and the vessel and must be available to take care of those items first. To make sure the trip is enjoyable and that all guest needs are accommodated, a Steward can help with Beverage Service, food and catering needs, and clean up after the cruise (which is probably the most critical. The cleanup fee if we have to do it is $500.00).
Having a Steward also makes your cruise more enjoyable as you can relax and not have to worry about being a “host”. Feel free to ask us more about getting a Steward on board for your cruise.
DO YOU HAVE A BARTENDER ON BOARD?
We do not have a bartender on board, but we can help you hire one. If you have a large group and are having a full bar, a bartender is a must-have addition to the crew. Many times, your caterer can help you with this person as well.
CAN WE PROVISION THE BOAT FOR YOU?
YES! Just give us a detailed list of everything you want on board, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and we will shop for you. We charge a $250 fee to shop for your beverages, deliver them to the. boat, and get them on ice and ready to go. We then invoice you for the beverages and other items at our cost (receipt provided) plus the provisioning fee.
ANYTHING I SHOULD TELL MY CATERER?
If your caterer is delivering, we ask that the caterer arrive to the boat at least 1 hour before departure in order to not delay departure.
Fried foods do not do well on the boat - they tend to get soggy.
If you would like any sort of special serving trays, please let your caterer know. Caterers typically send food in aluminum or other disposable containers.
Typically, if the caterer has not worked on String of Pearls before, Captain Matt will just want to have a quick chat with them to help them get a feel for how the boat works.
DO YOU RECOMMEND CERTAIN CATERERS?
You are welcome to use any caterer or restaurant nearby, but the partners listed below are familiar with the boat and the Marina.
ANYTHING I SHOULD KNOW FOR MY PRIVATE CHARTER?
Private charters are a blast! We are excited to help you coordinate your event. Please call Captain Matt to discuss all of your options.
SERVICE
With a Steward onboard, you can relax and enjoy your cruise without having to spend the time making and serving drinks and cleaning up along the way. If you are having 20 or more guests with catering, a Steward is required unless you are only putting out some finger food and only have beer and wine.If you are planning on a full bar, a bartender will help avoid bottlenecks and too many people gathering in one place. For groups of 20 or more with a full bar, a bartender is required. We can help you secure a Steward and or a Bartender. Additionally, your caterer can be a good source of stewards/bartenders. A Steward is $250 for a 3-hour or less trip. Many times the caterer will be willing to come along and serve. The real value of the Steward will become evident when it is clean up time. Often the guests will have dinner reservations not long after the end of the cruise. Without a Steward, the guests will have a time scramble as they rush to get the boat clean, get items off, walk to the parking lot, and try to make their dinner reservation. Not too relaxing!!! With a Steward on board, the clean-up and post-trip items can be left to them so you can get your group to the next thing with no drama or rush. Unless your trip is super simple without many moving parts, a Steward is a valuable addition to the Cruise.
The server will help set up, serve during the charter, check on the food during the charter, and clean up. We can help you secure a server and/or bartender for your cruise.
Keep in mind that we do not have refrigeration on the boat. We have some coolers, but no refrigeration. Your cake with icing will melt in the summer, so we probably need to plan something else.
Also, while cake is just generally a bad idea on the boat, if you bring cake, make sure someone in your group knows how to cut it. We don’t know how to cut cake. Glad to tell you that story when you are on board!!!
SETTING UP
Set-up should begin at least 1 hour before the charter is scheduled to leave the dock. If you have a 7:00 charter, that means that we leave the dock promptly at 7:00 to ensure that guests don’t lose any cruise time. Depending on the route of the cruise, leaving late might cause us to cut into the cruise time. We are happy to offer access to the boat before the departure time for set up. Please let us know what time you plan to arrive, and we will meet you at the boat. Often, caterers show up and have no idea how/where guests would like the food to be set up, so we ask that you not ask the caterer to just drop off food unless someone from your party will be there to set up to your specifications. For this reason, we ask that you be present for food and drink set up unless your caterer/server has very detailed instructions and can fully handle the set up, so that your expectations are met fully.
Carts are available in the parking lot to help you bring items down to the boat.
If you need to drop off items early, that is fine, but please let us know exactly what time you will arrive so that we make sure the boat is there for you. Please schedule with Captain Matt as we may have other events earlier in the day.
ALCOHOL
If you are serving beer and wine on your private charter, please have alcoholic drinks on board at least an hour prior to departure in order to allow for ample time to chill the beer and wine. If there will be a lot of beer and wine, please let us know so that we can have multiple iced coolers ready for the charter. If you are serving mixed drinks, please remember mixers, lemons, and limes. Remember, if you want to have it on board, bring it. Please don’t assume we have anything.
What we try to avoid is guests, catering, coolers, and set up all arriveing at the same time. It makes an uncomfortable bottleneck situation and it is hard to get things done. It also cuts into your cruise time. Getting items to the boat and set up ahead of time makes it easier when the guests arrive.
CLEANING UP
Upon return, we ask that guests remove all leftover food, beverages, and serving pieces. It is the responsibility of the guests to leave the boat clean with no trash or spills or other refuse items lying about. If you don’t have a Steward and we have to clean, there will be an excess cleaning fee of $500.00. Please instruct your server to begin wrapping up food and organizing other items brought on board about 20 minutes before your return. This helps make your departure go smoothly.
decorating
We have worked hard to have the boat look like a vintage 1957 motor yacht. Because of that, we are not allowing decorations without a specific plan and absolute veto power.
If after reading that statement you still want to have decorations, please keep in mind the following: Because we love our wildlife, please: No balloons, straws, wispy things that will get blown away, confetti, or similar.
Please, no glitter. Glitter is forever. No glitter. No sequins. No sparkly things that break off and are impossible to clean. No shoes with glitter on them that comes off on the boat.
No rice thrown or rose petals thrown or other things that get thrown that have to be cleaned later and go in the ocean. Everything on the boat that is not tied down will go in the ocean.
Remember, the boat is a windy place. If you use garland or flowery things, please try to make sure there are not parts that are likely to break off. We have scuppers on the boat that drain rainwater overboard, and little leaves are really good at clogging these scuppers.
We ask that guests take all of the decorations home with them after the event. If your decorations end up falling apart and leaving remnants or little pieces, it will be the guest's responsibility to return to the boat later on and make sure all items are completely removed.
We love for you to have fun and add your own touches, but decorations are hard on the boat. If we have to clean decorations, there is a clean-up fee of $500 that will be charged.
Good ideas for decorations are Custom Flags or Pennants, Banners, and flower arrangements with wide bases so they don’t blow over.
Children
We love having children on board! Though we have ample emergency children’s life vests as required by The Coast Guard (and wise moms everywhere), the Class One PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices) are not comfortable for children to wear during the cruise. We do have a limited number of children’s life vests (like you would wear on a lake) available during the charter. We encourage guests to bring their own children’s life vests for proper sizing. If there are many children, we will run out of these and not have enough for everyone.
We ask that you keep your eyes on your children at all times. This is important. Because we are a Coast Guard Guard Inspected vessel, children (12 and under) are not required to wear PFDs (life jackets) while the boat is underway, as with other boats. As the parent, it is completely up to you to decide what is right for your child. If you want them to wear a life vest, that is great with us. If you don’t, that is great too. It is completely up to you.
If a child is acting in a manner that the Captain thinks puts the child at risk of falling overboard, the Captain can/will require the child to wear a PFD for his/her safety.
Some things we ask of children/parents:
● Please no running
● No jumping
● No horseplay
● Please do not open any door, locker, or bench without direction from the crew
● Did I mention no jumping?
● Please ask children not to go on the bridge when we are docking. They are welcome at all other times.
This section really sounds kind of harsh, but we have had some challenges in this area in the past. The boat is fun and super safe, but with children unattended and running around, it can get unsafe in a hurry.
LOCAL PARTNERS
Three Little Birds Catering *** 912-771-8787 www.threelittlebirdsssi.com
The Half Shell 912-268-4241 www.thehalfshellssi.com
Golden Isles Olive Oil Donna 912-602-7936 www.goldenislesoliveoil.com
Del Sur Hernan Stutzer 912-638-1223 delsureats@gmail.com www.delsursaintsimons.com
Seaboard Charcuterie Ariel 912-230-4176 seaboardcharcuterie@gmail.com
Southern Soul BBQ 912-357-3533 events@southernsoulbbq.com www.southernsoulbbq.com
Redfern Events Amy is the contact redfernevents@fg2ssi.com 912-333-9488
