Our day in Antigua on the Xtreme

[nikita]

We had booked the Xtreme with Eli and were told to meet them in front of a shop right off the dock area at 8:35. We got there a bit early and no one was around so we just sat down and waited a bit. Still no one came. I was getting a bit nervous because I noticed on my email correspondence with them that I should have emailed them before we left to verify our reservation. Well, I hadn't noticed that before so hadn't emailed them. But I did leave a deposit with them so I figured they would show up anyways. After a while another couple from our ship showed up for the same tour and this made us relax - sure enough a few minutes later the Xtreme speedboat arrived and picked us up right there. We got on and were told that the seats in front would be a bit bouncy and the seats in back would be smooth but you would get wet...so make your decision where you want to sit. The boat holds 18 and there were only 6 at that time so we had the choice. He also informed us if we had bad backs we should sit in the back. Well now, this made my decision a bit harder since I have a bit of a bad back but not chronic - but I don't like cold water...the front of the boat is where we sat and I think I regretted that decision later on - it got bouncy and one really bad bounce we experienced would've done my back in but I saw it coming and stood up - as you would on a horse (they told us to straddle the seat) to avoid the shock. No one else did and there were a few curse words I heard as we crashed back down. I'm thankful I had braced myself for that one. Well enough about that but I do think I would've enjoyed it more had I not been paranoid about my back the whole time - although if I sat in the back I might have been too cold...I could not win in this situation I guess.

 

We went to a few more hotels to pick up other passengers and they also pointed out points of interest here and there. Our first stop was to swim with the stingrays - which we have done twice already in grand Cayman but wanted to try the speedboat so here we were again. The water was cold (in my defense, others said so too) and there really weren't all that many stingrays there. They took photos of everyone holding a stingray and since my DH had his underwater camera we didn't have to buy one ($15 for 5/7) I was talking to one of the guides and he said that since Steve Irwin died they are really hurting for buisness at stingray city. Both DH and I thought that would happen after we heard that bad news about the crocodile hunter. The guide said that there are only 8 recorded deaths from stingrays and so it really is a safe thing to do. We really enjoyed it in Grand Cayman - probably one of the more fun things I've ever done. I enjoyed it more then swimming with the dolphins. But since the water was cold of course I didn't stay in long. There was also some decent snorkeling there as well.

 

As we were sitting on the dock there waiting for the snorkelers to get done a funny thing happened. The dock workers (there were 2) had a little boat there that they came in on and there was a rat in it. It was walking on this rope and so one of them threw the rope into the ocean - but it just stayed attached to the rope and started walking back to the boat so the guy picked it up by the tail and swung it out into the deep blue sea...it looked funny flying in the air like that but also I felt kind of sorry for the little (well not that little actually...) guy. Just glad it wasn't found on our boat!

 

After stingray city we continued our tour of Antigua. The neat thing about this tour is it goes all the way around the Island in one day. We stopped off at a an Island to have lunch and explored a bit before hand. This is where you will need some good shoes. There were stickers all over and if your feet weren't covered you would most likely get one. DH had teva sandals which worked well even though they didn't cover his whole feet - I had water shoes and they worked but were uncomfortable. The people with flip flops just tried to stay out of the brush and bushes. Some were successful, some weren't. There was a gorgeous area of beach on the other side where we all hung out until lunch was ready. Lunch was delicious barbeque chicken, salad, pasta salad, and plantains which they ran out of early on. For dessert very tasty banana bread with a glaze on top. There just wasn't a comfortable place to sit though which put a damper on it. After lunch we got back on board and continued on our way. They took us through Nelsons Dockyard which was very interesting - amazing yachts were being worked on - incredible in size - one had a helicopter on it. We really enjoyed this part of the excursion. Then they took us snorkeling - again I asked DH to tell me if it was worth the cold water - it wasn't. He said there wasn't much to see there. AFter that we stopped at rendezvue (spelling?) beach. This was a gorgeous beach and if you wanted to get off the boat you had to get wet because they could not get close to the shore...so off I jumped. There were cows on this beach which made it a funny experience. They served rum punch and another non-alcoholic drink and then we had to swim back to the boat. After that they took us back to the ship (Crown Princess).

 

This was an all day affair - from around 8:45am-3:30am. The cost was $170 per person. Although I enjoyed most of it - I was uncomfortable for some of it because I was afraid my back was gonna get hurt (my own fault for not listening and sitting in the back). I thought it was too expensive - but it was all day and took you the whole way around the Island. The crew was very nice but not quite as accomadating as the Silvermoon - but really how could they be when we were on a speedboat ya know? Also no restroom aboard - so one would have to go in the water at least once or twice - come-on we all know we all do that. There was no other choice on this excursion. Also with 18 people onboard it was a bit crowded at times. I think for the most part most of the people that came enjoyed it and didn't regret spending the money. You can kind of tell by peoples reactions. I guess it just wasn't for me - although I'm glad I did it, just wouldn't do it again. DH said it was a good day but pricey but he thinks that it must take a lot of gas to power that thing all day which adds to the price. By the way - he really enjoyed his seat in the front.

[midlife]

Nikita, thank you for the post, which is very helpful. A speedboat is probably not my thing, neither are the stingrays!