Winnair to Saba question

[diverrex]

My wife and I are going to Saba for 9 days in November. I'm trying to figure out how to manage all my gear on Winnair or whether to take the ferry over and back instead. Two bags of dive gear and bag of clothes and misc stuff already puts us into paying for one extra checked bag which is okay. The problem is my dslr camea gear which I usually take in a Pelican 1510 hard case and a decent sized backpack. I'd really like to not have to check it on Winnair and figure I can get it into 2 soft backpacks each though fairly decent size and probably weighing 30+ lbs each.

I've heard that some people have been successful at carrying on backpacks and holding them on the laps and without them being weighed by Winnair. For anybody that has flown Winnair from Saint Martin to Saba what was your experience with carryons?

 

[slingshot]

That airport isn't one you want to land at with the plane heavier than the pilot expected.

 

[ScubaMarc]

just because you pay for extra luggage, do not expect winair to bring it on the same plane as you. Take the ferry, much less to worry about, plus it docks next to the dive boats.

 

[diverrex]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm leaning towards taking the ferry. It's just that if the baggage would work out (a big if!), then Winnair would be much more conveinent. I could actually get an extra day of diving on Saba returning on Winnair instead of the ferry and an overnight in Saint Martin.

 

[DeputyDan]

We used the ferry both ways - The Edge is a better ride than the Dawn II especially if there are motion sickness issues.
We wanted to dive on both St Marteen and Saba so using the ferry eliminated the don't fly day

Advice for the ferry - print out all of the documentation and keep it with you. The Dawn II ferry only keeps reservations, etc. in their computer system for something like 90 days ( keep the paper work to prove your payment and your reservation) Just the way it is in the islands.

 

[diverrex]

We used the ferry both ways - The Edge is a better ride than the Dawn II especially if there are motion sickness issues.
We wanted to dive on both St Marteen and Saba so using the ferry eliminated the don't fly day

Advice for the ferry - print out all of the documentation and keep it with you. The Dawn II ferry only keeps reservations, etc. in their computer system for something like 90 days ( keep the paper work to prove your payment and your reservation) Just the way it is in the islands.

Thanks for the input. Did you ahve any issues with the Edge and luggage? Officially their website says:
EDGE FERRY DOES NOT OPERATE AS A CARGO VESSEL. LUGGAGE HAS TO BE RESTRICTED IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE SEATING FOR PASSENGERS. PLEASE DO NOT TRAVEL WITH EXCESS LUGGAGE. ONE SMALL BAG AND ONE HANDBAG IS ACCEPTABLE.

But in an email they told me my luggage should be fine.

The way our schedule is lining up, unless we chance our luggage with Winnair, it looks like we would go over to Saba on the Dawn II and return from Saba on The Edge.

I know the ferries sometimes cancel due to sea conditions and Winnair sometimes cancels because of wind. Does anyone have any idea which may be more reliable, sea or air, in other words cancel less often?

 

[ScubaMarc]

when i and 2 buddies where on the ferry we all had 2 large bags and a backpack each. (And a complementary six pack each on the way home from the dive trip)

winair canceled me due to a foul up on there side. The evening before the flight i went to the main office in sxm, they said my payment status is fine, next morning they said i did not pay. I can not get on and there are no more seats to pay at the terminal. I found out the plane was empty with only 4 passengers. Cancellations happens for any reason on winair.

 

[DeputyDan]

Thanks for the input. Did you ahve any issues with the Edge and luggage? Officially their website says:
EDGE FERRY DOES NOT OPERATE AS A CARGO VESSEL. LUGGAGE HAS TO BE RESTRICTED IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE SEATING FOR PASSENGERS. PLEASE DO NOT TRAVEL WITH EXCESS LUGGAGE. ONE SMALL BAG AND ONE HANDBAG IS ACCEPTABLE.

But in an email they told me my luggage should be fine.

The way our schedule is lining up, unless we chance our luggage with Winnair, it looks like we would go over to Saba on the Dawn II and return from Saba on The Edge.

I know the ferries sometimes cancel due to sea conditions and Winnair sometimes cancels because of wind. Does anyone have any idea which may be more reliable, sea or air, in other words cancel less often?

Yes - the Edge ferry charged me $5.00 US a bag - said they were too heavy.
I think the guy just pocketed the money. No issues with the Dawn II

 

[DeputyDan]

One other item - we took the ferry because we did four dives with Octopus Diving (on the French side) the day before we went to Saba.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

There really isn't room for carry on on Win-air. The seats are small. There is no over head storage. There is no under seat storage. It's a short flight, but I really wouldn't want a bag that big in my lap.

Max altitude on the flight is 2700 feet (I looked... really) and we really weren't at that altitude all that long. 5 min maybe. I would take the flight again, but then I wasn't carrying as much as you will be.