Never had this set, but the nostalgia is real with this one.

I cannot say that I recall seeing this as a kid let alone knowing about it later on. I kind of noticed it within the last few years and just recently picked it up as I am trying to collect all the Pirate sets. It’s a neat little set!

I remember seeing this set on store shelves. It came in a neat, treasure chest-shaped box with artwork adorning it. To see the set clearly from the instruction manual shows it was really just something of a mish-mash; an all-in-one sampler of what the Pirates line in 1995 had to offer. If I wasn't so in love with Aquazone at the time, I might have picked this one up!

This was one of several limited-release sets from the 90s with unusual packaging (see also 1906-1 , 1822-1, 1737-1, 1821-1, 6599-1, 6799-1). It's funny this set should come up now given that the other day I compiled a BrickList (https://brickset.com/sets/list-24826) of these sets, as well as other limited-release sets that came with bonus items.

I wish you didn't exclude newer sets from these. my lego-buying days began in 2005 so I have none of these sets from the 70's, 80's and 90's and can't join in with people who are talking about enjoying the sets.

^^ Strange this wasn't released in Australia. Set 1788. First Fleet! Quite appropriate for pirates theme, which was that era too.

@Speed champions fan - I don't know if there is such an exclusion, but we've definitely seen random sets more recent than 2005. See for example:

https://brickset.com/article/36798/random-set-of-the-day-dwarves-mine
https://brickset.com/article/36697/random-set-of-the-day-mobile-command-center

Boat, building, villains, heroes, trees, animals, treasure... There is a lot to like in this set!