Just did Eli's ECO Tour and Loved it!

[deborah grimes]

Zdecocruiser, Thanks for the pixs. They where like looking at postcards. You sold me on this tour! I have saved your pixs and will share them with the group. Thank you for letting me know they do not offer it on the ship. Did you like the Liberty? What other tours did you take? If you like to, e-mail me at travelnut43@bellsouth.net. I think we will be going the same places that you went. Any info on tours and places to see and not to bother with will be helpful. Thank you so much for the pixs and info. DEB

[zydecocruiser]

Zdecocruiser, Thanks for the pixs. They where like looking at postcards. You sold me on this tour! I have saved your pixs and will share them with the group. Thank you for letting me know they do not offer it on the ship. Did you like the Liberty? What other tours did you take? If you like to, e-mail me at travelnut43@bellsouth.net. I think we will be going the same places that you went. Any info on tours and places to see and not to bother with will be helpful. Thank you so much for the pixs and info. DEB

 

I thought the Liberty was great. This thread sort of summarizes..

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=324604

 

It's a start, anyhoo... :)

[cindi0511]

It is not offered through the ship, but if it was, would cost more than you booking on your own directly. I highly recommend the tour - it was one of the best I have done. I was on the April 1, 2005 Liberty sailing.

 

Some pictures I took:

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

 

Those pics were awesome! Thank you!

[Buffettfan 225]

I have no problem swimming, or getting wet (I plan on using Keen water sandals meant for kayaking as water shoes always fall off!)

Anyhow, my parents in mid 60's will be along.

Can anyone tell me at each stop what it was like-depth of water, amount of effort needed?

Snorkeling- they said they'd stay on board

Bird trail-how do you get to it? Depth?

Hell's gate- how do you get to it? Depth?

Lunch- when and where? On board or on beach?

I have used water cameras before, can I bring a digital camera safely?? I do have a waterproof sealed bag to protect from boat to shore.

[Sheffie]

I have no problem swimming, or getting wet (I plan on using Keen water sandals meant for kayaking as water shoes always fall off!)

Anyhow, my parents in mid 60's will be along.

Can anyone tell me at each stop what it was like-depth of water, amount of effort needed?

Snorkeling- they said they'd stay on board

Bird trail-how do you get to it? Depth?

Hell's gate- how do you get to it? Depth?

Lunch- when and where? On board or on beach?

I have used water cameras before, can I bring a digital camera safely?? I do have a waterproof sealed bag to protect from boat to shore.

 

Where they stop at Bird Island the water is about waist deep, maybe a little shallower. You can walk to the shore and then up the trail, or you can snorkel or hang out on the beach. The snorkeling at this stop is in really shallow water where you can stand up easily most of the time. This might be a good place for them to try it. This is also where you will eat lunch on the boat. (Great lunch, by the way.)

 

Hell's Gate. You have to go through deep water to get to the island. They do have life preservers if you want to use them to get from the boat to the island. There is a slight current between the boat and the island, but it isn't horrible.

 

Digital camera - I took ours and wasn't worried about anyone taking it at all. I left it on the boat when we went over to Hell's Gate. A waterproof bag is a good idea. Parts of the boat get wet when you are travelling out to the islands. We also brought disposables for underwater shots.

 

Here is a link to our pictures. They might help to show you some of the depths, etc.

[Buffettfan 225]

Michelle-

Thanks for description-it really helped. Any other details you recall, or photos?

Is there a spot on boat to sit up front and sun- we road on bow on last Capt Marvin tour and loved wind and salt water splashing on us (sunscreen of course.) :D

I wish there was a way to email people items like photos.

[Sheffie]

buffet fan - did you see my link to my photos in my post? If there is a problem getting to them, let me know.

 

Yes, there were many places on the boat to be in the sun, plus places w/ shade.

[judyf]

Great info and pictures, sounds like a great tour. Now I have to decide.

[erniesband]

Judy, I'd definitely encourage you to take Eli's tour. We've done it 3 times now, with a 4th scheduled for this coming January. And last January we did Eli's Xtreme Circumnav, another great excursion. We've encouraged a number of friends to do it, as well, and I don't know anyone who hasn't enjoyed it.

 

Jodi

[cindi0511]

Judy, I highly recommend it. We just got back on Sept. 28, and that was the highlight of our 11-day, six-port Disney cruise. I do have to say that when we stopped at Bird Island, we were only in knee-deep water, but I"m sure that depends on tides, etc. Hell's Gate was amazing, but it was definitely over your head depth for most of the fairly short swim. For us, I'd say we were 10-15 yards away from walking. The guys always had one of them go ahead and one stay to help in certain areas, including at Hell's Gate.

 

Phenomenally outstanding excursion. Thanks to all who recommended it and answered my questions!

[erniesband]

Cindi, glad to hear you enjoyed your day - Antigua is our favorite port, because of Eli's tours. I'd say your experience at Bird Island was typical. We've never been in deeper water there. We're looking forward to our return in January :D

 

Jodi

[GloriaF]

I've just started my research for our Nov 30th Sun Princess cruise - but this is definitely one to make note of! Thanks for all the info and fabulous pics, too!

[erniesband]

Gloria, if you're talking about 11/30/06, I'd contact Eli now to check on availability the date you're in Antigua. He tends to book up - for good reason! The website is http://www.adventureantigua.com

 

 

Jodi

[eznunzit]

Judy, I'd definitely encourage you to take Eli's tour. We've done it 3 times now, with a 4th scheduled for this coming January. And last January we did Eli's Xtreme Circumnav, another great excursion. We've encouraged a number of friends to do it, as well, and I don't know anyone who hasn't enjoyed it.

 

Jodi

 

I am trying to talk my husband into taking our 2 kids on the Xtreme tour next September when we go on the Liberty. They will be 5 & 9. We live in the Fl. Keys so they are used to being on boats and snorkeling (well their version of it). How long is that tour? Someone said the eco tour is about 6 hours but I couldn't find anything on the Xtreme. Also I saw on a website that the Xtreme goes to Stingray City (the marine park) they would love that! We went on a stingray tour in Nassau this year and everyone loved it. It looks like this tour will cost $612 and we have 5 ports on this trip so I see why he is stalling on me. Any info. that can help me convince him will help. After seeing the pictures of the lunch, I started making head way.

[erniesband]

I am trying to talk my husband into taking our 2 kids on the Xtreme tour next September when we go on the Liberty. They will be 5 & 9. We live in the Fl. Keys so they are used to being on boats and snorkeling (well their version of it). How long is that tour? Someone said the eco tour is about 6 hours but I couldn't find anything on the Xtreme. Also I saw on a website that the Xtreme goes to Stingray City (the marine park) they would love that! We went on a stingray tour in Nassau this year and everyone loved it. It looks like this tour will cost $612 and we have 5 ports on this trip so I see why he is stalling on me. Any info. that can help me convince him will help. After seeing the pictures of the lunch, I started making head way.

 

We really liked the Xtreme, and yes, it does go to Stingray City and is likely the best non-ship excursion way to get to Stingray City, from what I've read. It's about a 6 hour day, a lot of it spent zooming around the island in a very cool speed boat - very powerful, and very fast. That also can mean very wet. Granted, we were out on a day with the seas probably about as high as Eli goes out in, so it was pretty choppy in the Atlantic. He says it's rarely like that, but it was bumpy and wet. Kind of like a water-borne roller coaster ride. The snorkeling on this trip is one stop at the Pillar of Hercules, usually, and that's later in the trip. The first "stop" is at Stingray City, and both kids would get a kick out of that, probably. The second stop is at Green Island, where you have lunch and get some time to wander around. Then you head over to Nelson's Dockyard, which you "tour" from the harbor, in the boat. You don't dock, get out and walk around. You do get a good view, and get the history, and see the harbor and yacht area, as well as the historical area. Then it's on to the snorkeling, which is right outside of Nelson's Dockyard, or was the day we were there. Then you make a beach stop for some liquid refreshments, swim or walking time. It's not a real long stop. Then around the island the rest of the way (with comentary and off-shore sight seeing as you go, the whole day, and you do get stuff to drink on the boat the whole day). I'm not really sure your 5 year old will appreciate this tour. You might want to e-mail Adventure Antigua and ask what their experience with younger kids on this tour is. I'm ordinarily the first person to encourage people to do either of Eli's tours - we really like them, so I'm trying to be honest here. I also know that if you contact Adventure Antigua, they'll respond honestly and not try to sell you a tour they don't think will work well for you.

 

Jodi

[eznunzit]

Thank you so much for your honesty Jodi. I had emailed them about a different question so I will email them again. My kids are used to being on charter boats because my stepmom owns one, so they are used to spending the day sitting on a boat. I know they won't be just sitting there but just so ya get the jest. Whenever we have gone to the local sandbar they have oohed and owwed over the speed boats that often have races. Thank you again for your thoughts...

[cindi0511]

I am trying to talk my husband into taking our 2 kids on the Xtreme tour next September when we go on the Liberty. They will be 5 & 9. We live in the Fl. Keys so they are used to being on boats and snorkeling (well their version of it). How long is that tour? Someone said the eco tour is about 6 hours but I couldn't find anything on the Xtreme. Also I saw on a website that the Xtreme goes to Stingray City (the marine park) they would love that! We went on a stingray tour in Nassau this year and everyone loved it. It looks like this tour will cost $612 and we have 5 ports on this trip so I see why he is stalling on me. Any info. that can help me convince him will help. After seeing the pictures of the lunch, I started making head way.

 

Reasons to definitely go:

 

1.) Truly a professional outfit. I've never heard of them pawning you off on someone else. You really get what you pay for.

 

2.) You aren't badgered by people trying to make you pay to see a monkey or donkey or snake on the side of the road, like you often are in a taxi type land tour. And no one can get close enough to try to sell you anything like cheap jewelry!

 

3.) Awesome lunch.

 

4.) It's not just, "Here's a police station, here's a church, here's a ..." The commentary is well rehearsed, well written and very informative. We went on the Eco Tour, not the extreme, but the three guys who were our guides were out of this world. We had a total of 8 people: my mom, 61, my DH, 36, me 37, my DD 5, my DD 2, my sister, 31, my DBIL, 32, and my nephew, days away from turning 2. Those guys helped us climb Bird Island, Hells Gate and everything. They were unbelievable, and they knew their stuff.

 

5. Everything's included in that price: all park entrances for the xTreme tour, lunch, all the liquid you can drink (OK, this might be a little more limited as to when you can get a drink when you're moving as fast as this boat goes, but when it's available, there's tons). This is from their web page:

Should we tip?

We get this question by email often. Tipping is something that we do not encourage at all...unlike on other tours I have seen. If you really enjoy our tour and service and would like to tip the crew then it will be greatly appreciated, but it is not required.

The truth is, our guys were so great we ended up tipping them $100 -- and I can be a stingy person. But I don't necessarily think that anyone else on the same excursion tipped them, and it just didn't seem to be a big deal either way. (This is not a pat-myself-on-the-back, I'm-such-a-nice-person notation: they were really that good!)

 

6. Great lunch.

 

7. They're not a party excursion. No major drunks on board unless they were drunk to start with.

 

8. You will get wet (in September, this will be a huge plus), even if you stay on the boat, just from the spray. They don't let you wear shoes because it leaves marks on the boat, but they did allow Crocs. They even made an exception for my mom who has majorly special support nylons, and let her keep her shoes on. We were just extra careful not to mark up the boat.

 

9. Did I mention the fabulous lunch? ;)

 

We have a small, 21-foot Sailfish boat, and both my girls love being on that, especially when daddy can make it "jump" in someone else's wake. If your kids love being on the boat, it'll be the best excursion you take your whole cruise. I balked at the price, but we'll go again next time we're in Antigua, and we'll still add the tip!:D

 

Good luck!

[Buffettfan 225]

Great summary in previous post- Thank you for taking time to post. We are reserved for April and talked my parents into joining us (they are mid 60's) they said they won't be snorkeling...we'll see

Anyhow, I have non marking sandals but will be happy to take them off. 1.)My quesiton is what do you wear to Bird Island? Certainly can't climb barefoot. Is that where you carried shoes you didn't mind getting wet?

2.)What was the order you saw things-- and where was lunch eaten -on boat, beach etc?

3.)I plan on bringing my "cheaper" digital camera along, and have a waterproof bag to get it to land, will I be able to take it out while on the boat to take scenery photos, or will it be too wet?

Thanks again.

[cindi0511]

1.)My quesiton is what do you wear to Bird Island? Certainly can't climb barefoot. Is that where you carried shoes you didn't mind getting wet?

2.)What was the order you saw things-- and where was lunch eaten -on boat, beach etc?

3.)I plan on bringing my "cheaper" digital camera along, and have a waterproof bag to get it to land, will I be able to take it out while on the boat to take scenery photos, or will it be too wet?

Thanks again.

 

They have you take your shoes off as you board the boat, but they bring them with you and you get them to get on the island, Hell's Gate, etc. Do NOT wear flipflops or sandals that your feet can easily slip through or you will certainly get hurt. Get either watershoes like the kind they have at Walmart or even the rubber sandals that have velcro straps and stay firmly in place. It's a safety issue on the stops, esp. Hell's Gate, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Simply phenomenal.

 

The order we saw things was Bird Island, Hell's Gate, snorkeling. Don't know about the Extreme Tour, though, if you're looking at that one. Hopefully next time ... :p We ate on the boat, and then they just took a couple of buckets of sea water and washed down the deck. Kids and adults were a little messy. You eat off plastic plates, but there are no tables so ...

 

Your camera should be fine in the bag unless the boat is moving as fast as it goes or it's rough. Then you'll definitely get spray. HOWEVER, we brought our good digital camera and it was fine. We paid $10 for $40 underwater replaceable film cameras that were junk. Definitely buy/bring a Kodak underwater camera, too.

 

P.S. You didn't ask, but they wear these really cool t-shirts that have a pic of Hell's Gate and say, "I've been to Hell's Gate and back" and they will sell them to you for $20 each if you ask. They don't push them on you at all, and they ran out of the smaller sizes quickly, so we were glad we asked first.

 

Hope it helps!

 

Cindi

[syndyj]

Eli has a new blog!

 

I am quite jealous because his photos make me want to be Antigua right now.

Check it out ;)

[Buffettfan 225]

I can just feel the energy here...anxious to do the tour. Those that have been on Eli's I can tell love sharing info.

Cindi thanks for all wonderful info;

? They take shoes for you?

? Lunch, enough to go around

? Did you just ask about shirts, or were they wearing them

 

Love the blog, reassuring to read about weather being sunny when they predict rain.

[erniesband]

I can just feel the energy here...anxious to do the tour. Those that have been on Eli's I can tell love sharing info.

Cindi thanks for all wonderful info;

? They take shoes for you?

? Lunch, enough to go around

? Did you just ask about shirts, or were they wearing them

 

Love the blog, reassuring to read about weather being sunny when they predict rain.

 

We love Eli's tours! Yes, they take your shoes from you. I second the no flip flops (I've done it, but wouldn't do it again). I find sports sandles with straps work fine. Plenty of lunch to go around - a great barbequed chicken, salad, pasta salad, fried plantains and usually carrot or banana cake for dessert - enough of everything for seconds, and more. They wear the shirts, and carry extras to sell, if wanted. I take my expensive SLR on the boat, put it in a plastic bag when I'm not using it, and haven't ruined it yet. The order of "events" sometimes changes, but lunch is always in the middle :D

 

Syndyj, thanks for the link to the blog!

 

We're going back for our 4th time on the Eco Tour in January. We took a break last year to do the Xtreme instead - great time, too. And if Eli starts a new excursion, we might be the first to book that one!

 

Jodi

[zydecocruiser]

1.)My quesiton is what do you wear to Bird Island? Certainly can't climb barefoot. Is that where you carried shoes you didn't mind getting wet?

 

These are the sandals I wore and they worked fine.

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/grandPrincessDec2006/pics/DOsLOHcLeBS15YVYBeq0-5Bk9wr+ZvJT0300.jpg

 

You can carry or wear your shoes ashore:

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/antadv/1zWDjuh0AG6ZIgcGDjB1LTDmC1gAkCyU0300.jpg

 

I think they had water shoes available for Hell's Gate but I just used my sandals and they worked fine.

[Buffettfan 225]

zydecocruiser: thanks for photos, those are same type of shoes suggested for men in the family. Your photo is sort of oxymoron--sandals and sleeping bag and blanket? Where were you??

 

ernie cruiser: glad they put lunch in middle LOL. Although with it sounding so good twice would be fine.

 

How sharp is Hell's gate? I've climbed a waterfall rock area in San Juan, but if anyone is klutzy in family it is always me.

[cindi0511]

zydecocruiser: thanks for photos, those are same type of shoes suggested for men in the family. Your photo is sort of oxymoron--sandals and sleeping bag and blanket? Where were you??

ernie cruiser: glad they put lunch in middle LOL. Although with it sounding so good twice would be fine.

How sharp is Hell's gate? I've climbed a waterfall rock area in San Juan, but if anyone is klutzy in family it is always me.

 

LOL on the klutzy thing. I hear you. It IS very sharp, but the guys are very quick and good about helping you. My comments were more about kids who might want to adventure off on their own without knowing, for instance, that on Hell's Gate, you should NOT walk on the grassy areas because there is nothing under the grass but holes. The guides pointed this out, so as long as we minded what they said, we were fine.

 

Zydecocruiser, those sandals would be perfectly fine as you mentioned. I was envisioning more the ladies' slip-ons that are so popular as the ones to avoid.

 

I honestly can't remember if they had water shoes for anyone, although they did have fins and masks and snorkels.

 

The guys were wearing the t-shirts and didn't push them at all. We had to ask for them. What a nice change of pace from the constant "buy this, buy this, buy this" that is so prevalent in the islands. All of it makes for a total experience, though.

 

I WANT TO GO BAAAAAAACK!!!