OCruisers ~ Did you do Sailaway tour on Tortola?

[HeatherInFlorida]

Dare I ask, OCruisers? After I touted the Sailaway tour so much, I was wondering if you did it and whether you liked it. Have you done a review of your cruise and I missed it? Love to hear. I know your ship had virus outbreak problems, but I'm wondering how the cruise was for you.

[777steve]

Heather,

 

Sorry to butt in on your private question (no offense intended) but did want to share that your exuberance about your own experience made our group (13 out of 17 of us anyway) choose that particular excursion. It was, hands down, the highlight of our Westerdam cruise. The most fun I personally have had in 20+ years.

 

Just wanted to share that ..... again, my apologies for interrupting your question.

 

Cheers!

[heyabbott]

Would this be the Sailaway?

Board a yacht dockside in Road Town and enjoy an exhilarating sail across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to one of the surrounding islands. You'll visit Norman Island, the setting of the novel Treasure Island, Salt Island or Peter Island, depending on weather conditions. Snorkel and swim from the catamaran into the caves, or from the beach when the boat relocates to the beach at the Bight. On the return sail, enjoy the history and geography of this historic waterway as you retrace the routes of Columbus, Drake, Kid and other historical notables.

 

 

If so, we're signed up for it for our 3/20 Westerdam trip.

 

How was the snorkling? What kind of boat was it? Which Island? I would love to hear about it.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Steve ... fantastic!!! I'm so glad about that! I rarely recommend something to people I don't know. But I just didn't see how anyone could go wrong with it. I hope they hoisted the sails for you . You can "butt in" anytime ... keeps the thread on top so OCruisers will see it.

 

Heyabbot, yes that's the one. It is amazing. It's a catamaran. Here's a link to some pics of the boat and the tour in general: Webshots Community - heatherinflorida's Photo Home Page. Click on "Oosterdam Cruise" and I think the pics of that tour are on page 4, 5, and 6. You will love it!

 

I was not able to snorkel that day but my husband and friends loved it in and around the caves. We didn't snorkel at the beach.

 

If you want more info, here's my review of the tour ... it's Post #3: Cruise Critic Message Boards - OCruisers ... I didn't forget!

[OCruisers]

Heather .... Thanks for asking! Yes, in Tortola we did "The Island Sailaway" again. It was as nice as the first time. Really, appreciated your confirming (after your cruise) that it was the way we remembered it. What a nice day!!! :)

 

I plan to do a review on our ports of call next week which, for sure, were the best parts of the cruise. The Norovirus was a huge problem. We never book HAL expecting a "FUN/PARTY SHIP" ... but we do expect a Happy Ship.

The Veendam 1/15 sailing was NOT a Happy Ship! :(

 

Thanks again so much for taking the time to ask!

 

777steve .... In NO way were you "butting-in"! It was really nice of you to add to this thread. People reading need to hear as many opinions as possible.

 

heyabbott .... Think you'll be happy with this excursion! It's a sailing catamaran. Both times we've been everyone was very happy with the snorkel stop at the caves -- lots of interesting fish and very clear water. Priates Bight is a beach stop with a fun beach bar. You can snorkel from the beach there. Next week, I'll do a better review. If you have any other questions in the meantime, please feel free to ask. Heather and Steve, feel sure, will help with answers.

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

OCruisers, brain freeze ... I'd forgotten you were the one who had done the tour before! But I'm so glad it was as good as you remembered. If I could have tours like that at every port, I'd be very happy. Sadly, many of them don't measure up so well.

 

Looking forward to your review of your ports!

[mjmagee]

Well I have questions about this excursion too. We are signed up for it on the 2/12 sailing of the Zuiderdam. I am looking forward to the snorkeling, but DH likes to float around with his noodle, no snorkeling. Will he feel comfortable? Thanks. Marilyn

[HeatherInFlorida]

As long as DH doesn't mind being the only guy with a noodle:) , he should feel comfortable doing whatever he wants! My back was bad that day so I couldn't snorkel so I just stayed on the boat and took pictures of everyone! And he can enjoy his noodle when you head over to the beach as well. The water there is superb. In fact the water is so buoyant you don't really need a noodle at all. I barely tread water and stayed afloat.

 

I can honestly say that this was really one of the best excursions ever. We've been on many a ship's tour and often I've laughed at the description compared to what we got, but this one does not disappoint. And sailing across those crystal blue waters after the beach is just exhilerating if the winds are right. You can't miss.

[mjmagee]

Thanks Heather. DH NEVER feels shy about his noodle. He loves it. And everything you have said encourages me that this will be a great choice. Hope the water is not too cold! Thanks again for the feedback. Marilyn

[maddie404]

Marilyn,

 

How is your DH planning to get his noodle on board? Suitcase? Garmet bag? Reason I am curious is I do a water workout & thought I would have to miss mine for the cruise week. You've given me hope! We are driving to the port so getting it there isn't an issue. Is he planning to just carry it on?

 

Thanks!

Maddie

[OCruisers]

Maddie ... For sure, take the Noodle! It would be perfect at both of the stops on the "Virgin Island Sailaway"! The water at the snorkel stop is very calm and there are no waves at the beach stop!

 

Our thread on the Ports Board has a more complete description of the excursion:

 

Virgin Island Sailaway (Click Here)

 

Hope this helps! Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[yliu88]

I just have a question for ocruisers or heather, when you took sailaway tour, did you purchase with cruise line or somewhere else, also , how lond did your tour last??thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ziggy7]

We went on the Virgin Sail Away snorkeling excursion thru the ship in Aug'04. The waters were clear blue and snorkeling was good. We went to Norman Island to the caves to snorkel, there were lots of jellyfish and luckily they were not the stinging kind. Back onto the catamaran to a private beach with one bar on it and a closet sized gift shop. The beach was pleasant but very rocky and sharp coral hurt your bare feet getting in and out of the water, we did wear water shoes however before we were able to get on the catamaran we had to take off our shoes and put them in a container, no shoes allowed on the catamaran, we would have protested had we known about the beach area.

 

Still it was very beautiful and worth the money!

[mjmagee]

We just did the Virgin Island Sailaway on the 2/12 sailing of the Zuiderdam. Booked through HAL. Catamarran Ppalau. All great. Snorkeled around the bend from the bight as they said it was too rough at the Caves. But snorkeling was great. Went in to the beach at the Bight to swim. Also had surf shoes in the box but did not use them. Beach was fine. Water was pretty cold at about 75 degrees but you could get used to it.

 

DH has rigged a way to pack up noodles. He got the ones with the hollow center and cut them in about 4 or 5 pieces. Then he strung them on some clothes line, about a foot longer than the noodle and put knots at each end, large enough to keep the noodle pieces from coming off. When packing we leave the rope knotted at the ends and there is enough play in the rope to basically fold the noodles all up. When we go in to swim we unknot and push the pieces together and knot again close to the noodle so it nearly approximates the shape of the original noodle! I told him he shoud patent the idea. We take a bus to the cruise ship now but we have packed them this way in a suitcase to fly. Have fun! Marilyn

[OCruisers]

Marilyn .... Thanks for reporting back after your cruise! :)

 

Glad you enjoyed The Virgin Island Sailaway as much as we did ... and that your DH took his noodle!!!! :D

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)