Antigua and Tortola on the Freedom...

[MamaParrotHead]

Anyone care to share what they chose to do? Studying my options...

[kammerer3209]

In Antigua we did the mini boats. It was ok. It was nice to go to a secluded beach and just relax. And the boat was fun. But where it starts and the area you drive the boats through wasn't very pretty to look at. It does get better when you get further out. I don't think I would do it again

 

Tortola....we didn't book an excursion. Wish we would have. There wasn't a lot to do off the pier. So I recommend booking something =)

[agavin]

My two favorite ports on that itin... we did a tour in Antigua with Luxury Safari tours... and in Tortula we used Tortola Charters to get to Jost van Dyke. Lots of details in my blog (see sig)

[zstell]

We walked to the ferry and went to the Virgin Baths on Virgin Gorda. That was one of the most beautiful, relaxing days I have ever experienced (and very reasonable). This is exactly what I would do if I went back.

[farmgirl65]

On Antigua we went to Jolly Beach via cab.....it was beautiful and not crowded at all...food, drink, loungers, umbrellas and other rentals available...would definitely go there again.

On Tortola we took an island tour at the pier...not the greatest but alright...stopped at Cane Garden Beach for about an hour and that was enough..CROWDED to the max....not impressed at all.

Of course shopping was done at both ports.

[skittl1321]

These two ports were amazing.

 

We did the Adventure Antigua Eco Tour in Antigua, and it was fantastic.

(I have a long blog about it here: skittl1321.blogspot.com need to write up Tortola still)

 

In Tortola we took a taxi to Cane Garden Bay. Go early- it gets crowded, and you need a chair unless you want to be at the very very end of the beach. But it was BEAUTIFUL! Taxi is $8pp. Lots of food and drinks on the beach. Water was not clear, but many were snorkeling, we just played in the waves and enjoyed the view.

[spenc]

Antigua we did the Black Swan. Lots of fun, you could snorkle or go to a beach. Tortola we did the Baths at Virgin Gorda which was amazing. Saw whales on the way back to the ship. Loved both of them. We did have two 12 year old girls with us, which is why we chose those. Definitely kid friendly.

[spenc]

SORRY!!! Black Pearl, not Black Swan.

[MindTheGap1918]

 

In Tortola we took a taxi to Cane Garden Bay. Go early- it gets crowded, and you need a chair unless you want to be at the very very end of the beach. But it was BEAUTIFUL! Taxi is $8pp. Lots of food and drinks on the beach. Water was not clear, but many were snorkeling, we just played in the waves and enjoyed the view.

 

I also visited Cane Garden Bay in Tortola on a previous cruise. Probably one of the prettiest beaches I've ever been to. Plenty of little beach bars to rent chairs and get food.

[philfam5]

We had a wonderful excursion in Tortola aboard the Whitesquall II!! A beautiful sailboat from the 1930's. Depending on the day of the week you arrive you will either go to The Baths or Norman Island. We went to Norman Island and most of the group went snorkeling while a few of us went to the island. We opted for lunch on the floating restaurant "The Willie T". A beautiful day!!!!!!

[Sargent_Schultz]

Been a while, but in Antigua

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/antigua_adventures.htm

 

Tortola:

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/patouche__extreme_machine.htm

[zstell]

WOW!!! Thanks for posting the pics, I have very few from our excursion and your's brought back some amazing memories. I really want to get back there soon!

[golfadj]

Tortola we took the ferry and went to the baths.

 

Did it on our own and as long as you pay attention to the schedules of the ferry and take the first one you can you can spend more time on your own than with the cruise ship.

[zqvol]

No real comment about Antigua. If you have not been to Tortola, or virgin Gorda, the must do thing is to go to the Baths. Marvelous is all that can be said. If you have done that, then one of, if not the nicest beaches in the Caribbean is White Bay on Jost van Dyke. Tortola also has some nice beaches but those two places are not to be missed.

[tor548]

We took a private tour in Antigua with Gordon. He's great! You'll find lots of reviews and recommendations for him on the ports of call board here. His full day tour was excellent and he really loves his country! He even provides a light lunch (chicken wings and sweet rolls for us). He includes 2-3 hrs at a beach at the end of the tour, but if you didn't want to stay, he'd take you right back to the ship.

 

 

In Tortola, we went to the Baths in Virgin Gorda. I'd definitely recommend this if you haven't seen them before. I read alot about doing it on your own on the ports of call board. Yes, it is definitely do-able. Honestly, the costs for us (just 2 people) didn't seem bad to do the ship tour, so we did that. We're not huge beach people so the time at the Baths was not a problem for us either. Yes, it was the carnival ship tour and I won't lie -- there were ALOT of people on it.... but we got off the ship as early as possible, got in line for the tour first (so we got our choice of seats on the ferry-- def. recommened the open deck. I get nauseous easily and I would have been very unhappy inside! the ride was fine though, even with a little drizzle and clouds) Then we got off the ferry and immediately got onto a safari-- most people were kinda just standing around. we bypassed the crowds and went to a safari vehicle that was basically full and ready to leave. Our vehicle was first! So we got to the Baths first-- we just avoided the 'intro" by the guides and went on our own. I'm not sure where the rest of the people were, but we made our way through the caves basically alone. At the other end (we didn't stop at the first beach at all, which I think alot of people do), we set up under a tree and it was a great place to enjoy the beach and even people watch a bit! Within 20 minutes of us sitting down, masses of people started coming out. I wouldn't have liked going through the caves rushed. We also started walking back up the path to the parking lot before the guide told us to -- so we avoided the crowds again.

I know ship tours get a pretty negative attitude on this board, but I wanted to share our experience. I think if we were more interested in swimming or snorkeling AT the Baths (rather than just going through the caves, sunbathing, and taking a short dip), then we definitely would have used the excellent directions from the port boards about how to do it on our own. It's nice to have such a resource to be able to plan your day.

[Dallen*]

Just got back last month ...

 

Antigua (my fav) - we did Eli's Xtreme Circumnav tour. We absolutely loved it! Lots of stops, lots of information, and lots of fun. Highly recommend.

 

Tortola - we booked with Tortola Charters to go to Virgin Gorda to see The Baths; however, due to windy weather over there, they moved our excursion to Norman Island for snorkeling and beach time. It was a nice alternative and we had fun, however we were disappointed that we missed seeing The Baths.

 

Posts 21 - 35 (with pics if you're interested)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1325058

[oncruisecontrol]

We were in Antigua way back in Sept 2009. We hired a cab to take us to Dickenson Bay Beach. It's where the Sandals Antigua Resort is. Since we are "beach bums" this suited us very well. The sand was like powdered sugar; the water was calm. We were there in the off season (hurricane season), so the beach was not crowded. We paid a very reasonable price for lounge chairs and umbrella from a vendor. But, we ran into some people from our ship who had used the resort's chairs at no charge (presumably because it was the off season). In any case, we still talk about our fun day at this beach, as it was one of our best beach days ever in the Caribbean.

[nybumpkin]

When we visited Tortola on another Carnival ship, we did Carnival's Virgin Islands Sailaway" excursion. It's a sail across the Drake Channel to Norman Island, where you can hang out on the beach or snorkel. It was my oldest son's first try at snorkeling, and he was hooked - he just got his 60-foot scuba certification this past summer.

 

Our port time was pretty limited (back on board at 1:30, so we opted for the ship's tour. Good thing, too - on the way back to Tortola a line became fouled in one of the boat's propellers (we were under both sail and power), so we made our way back to port more slowly than planned. I think we made it back on board right at 1:30.

[mckenna]

Anyone care to share what they chose to do? Studying my options...

In Antiqua we took the Eco Kayak Snorkel Tour. It was so amazing and the Guides were awesome. The Water was crystal clear and all those beautiful colored fish it was the best Excursion we have ever done. We loved Antiqua.

 

I would definitely check it out but make sure it is the one with the Kayak Eco Tour. Happy Cruising and enjoy your Excursions.

 

By the way, I am sure that your Kids would love to Kayak and Snorkel. It was easy!!

[MamaParrotHead]

WOW! Thanks for all the great replies. Is there a written "how to" on how to get to the Bath's on my own somewhere (like the extensive thread on how to get to St. John's over on the St. Thomas board)? How long do you get there if you do it on your own and how much does it cost per person?

 

Looking for a beach on Antigua that has atleast some OK snorkeling from the beach...any ideas?

[Caribbeandancer]

The Baths at Virgin Gorda is a must see. Great fun there, even if we did come back all skinned up from riding the waves into the bolder caverns. Awesome sight to see...

[livestocruisetoo]

We've been to the Baths twice. first time we took the ferry on out own with friends on-board and got the package from Speedy's which included lunch before returning. It included the ferry, taxi to and from The Bath's and lunch at a restaurant within walking distance of the pier to return. The only thing is you have to keep close watch on the return time depending on when you have to be back on-board the Freedom. The second trip we were going to do the same thing but Egbert talked to us right as we got to the flea market. He has a boat across the street. I think we had about a dozen or so passengers, some of the men stood during the ride. The advantage is that he beaches the boat at The Bath's which saves a lot of time. We were one of the first groups on the beach at the cove after the second caves about 9:30 or so. He came back to pick us up at 1 pm. Getting off his boat, we got off from the bow. We helped anyone that needed assistance. Getting back on there was a short ladder climb at the stern. On the way to and from The Baths he stopped and pointed out different landmarks and history. If you like to snorkel, there is a wall at the end of the beach that had a good number of different fish that were foraging. It's about 40 ft deep at the point. Most of the time the water out from the beach was maybe 4 to 10 ft deep out from the beach. Someone mentioned that the rocks are sharp. They are. lol It was great having so much beach time compared to the ship's tour. one note. Some people were concerned that there was a couple of 'locals' hanging around. they are with the park. Not lifeguards, i think more for security and in case there was an accident. I think there are several mentions of Egbert over on the ports section. If you need his number, let me know. :)

[gaylensgigi]

In Antigua, we took a cab to Jolly Beach,just gorgeous and not crowded.It was funny, we saw The CD of the ship and several of the entertainment staff there as well, and while we saw 14 rainbows that day,we were always in the sun.

Tortola,my favorite place ever.We chartered The Kuralu.Gary was great,we had open bar with the best rum punch ever,lunch and we went where we wanted to,When Gary,the Captain asked where we wanted to go we told him The Soggy Dollar on Jost Van Dyke,He laughed,said no one had ever chartered him to go to a bar,but Jost Van Dyke is awesome. Just google Kuralu if you are interested and have a great time

[jtmalt]

For Antigua, I'm a big fan of Antigua Paddles. Conrad & Jennie are great, and the excursion is a little bit of everything. There's a snorkel stop as well, but the reef near Bird Island isn't in great shape...it's suffered a lot of bleaching. My full Antigua album is at http://travel.webshots.com/album/563258460KgyZHx

 

 

 

 

You can check them out at AntiguaPaddles.com

[jtmalt]

If you're into snorkeling, there's a really good reef right of the beach on Tortola at Brewer's Beach. Just have a cab bring you up, and arrange for a pickup. There's a beach bar/snack shack there (Nicole's) that also has some limited snorkel gear for rent...they're also the ones that put out the beach chairs, and charge $5 for them.

 

It's not as nice as Cane Garden Bay, but it does have great snorkeling, as long as there isn't a swell the day you're there.