Samana, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay???

[NASA138]

The DW and I were invited to cruise with a group of friends and family planning on sailing on the Norwegian Dawn on March 28th 2009. Can anyone tell us about the Islands of Samana, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay. We are not familiar with them and could use some help.

Thanks,

[terrymtex01]

To get the most information your best bet is to go back to the main page and check out the links to the posts for ports of call.

 

I will tell you we loved all three of those stops. Samana we did the Cavo Laventado beach break and it was FANTASTIC .. A great beach. For Tortola we did Virgin Gorda Baths and loved it.

[lambs2]

Samana is a section of the Dominican Republic. A fairly new port (actually NCL tenders there). We joined a private excusrsion from our roll call to go to Playa Rincon beach for the day. It is one of the top beaches in the Caribbean and absolutely gorgeous.

 

On Tortola we went on our own and took the ferry to Virgin Gorda to explore the Baths. (Many other cruisers from our ship did the same.) These are amazing rock formations - with exotic pools and grottos formed by giant boulders strewn across sand beaches and caves that you can walk - or crouch - through. We wore water shoes, but not everyone does. The beaches and water there are amazing as well. There were several women bathing topless at one of the beaches right by the baths,so if you have children you might want to be advised about that.

[Salsera718]

Can you tell me where your group got their private excursuon to Playa Rincon each from? I would greatly appreciate it...am going on the NCL Spirit 8/23 and would love to check it out...thanks again..

[kat89447]

We just got back from Samana and Tortola a couple of weeks ago. In Tortola we did the dolphin discovery and it was a blast. We did book directly with them and not thru NCL, it was way cheaper and we could do the Royal Swim. We had a 4,6, and 10 yr old and the 4yr old was free with a paid parent. The prices were about 50 bux cheaper and we just caught a taxi at the pier. They also have a straw market that my mother loved.

In Samana, I have only heard great things about Cayo L. I do know that it fills up fast, but found out they had more openings once on board. You can also go to the island and get over from there. We did Grand Paradise Beach Resort. We tendered,then took a bus for about 45 mins to the resort. We also had a 2yr old with us and my siblings and parents so this was a nice combo of beach with pool. We also had a buffet lunch. It was nice, but I think next time I would just do Cayo. Not much else in Samana, but the people were very nice. Plan on at least an hour to tender though. We docked at 8 am and we didn't get to shore till about 9:30 am.

[Salsera718]

thanks so much..the shore excursion form on NCL's website says to pick a time 9:30 or 11:30...does that mean that if we pick the 9:30 slot we have to return earlier or can we stay as late as possible at the beach?

[terrymtex01]

thanks so much..the shore excursion form on NCL's website says to pick a time 9:30 or 11:30...does that mean that if we pick the 9:30 slot we have to return earlier or can we stay as late as possible at the beach?

 

I really think, more than anything.. that just puts you at the buffet lunch at a certain time. I honestly do not remember having a choice of times, but I would pick the 9:30 one if it is still available so you can get the best place on the beach. My memory is that we could come back when we wanted. So I guess they had some tenders going back and forth through out the day. I have slept since then.. but I do remember coming back to the ship before most of the others..

[jollycruise]

Samana: We loved Samana. We did the NCL ATV Excursion and had a blast. We also went into town and did a small amount of shopping. There's not a whole lot but a little. Samana is beautiful if you go and explore and the people are wonderful and will take a little piece of your heart when you leave. I know mushy mushy but true, especially the children. The tenders run back and forth all day so you can head back when you are ready.

 

Tortola: We hit the little shopping market right after we got off the ship then we rented a car. We drove all over that island. It's beautiful and the roads are crazy fun! We saw dolphins and crabs as we were driving with many pull off's for photos. We ended up at Brewers Bay. Brewers Bay is very pretty and not crowded at all (at least when we were there). We loved our time on Tortola and hope to get back some day to do more exploring.

 

Great Stirrup Cay:

Once we got off the tender we walked to the other side of the island which had zero people! There's a nice trail you follow and you can see hermit crabs, a lighthouse and many WWII buildings. It was nice and relaxing. After we walked back to the crowds we got a large raft to float on and ate at the BBQ. We had fun.....it was my first time in the ocean so it was entertaining to say the least.

[coondogg97]

I cant speak for the other islands, but Tortola is one of our favorite islands. We haven’t checked out the baths, but that sounds fantastic. The few times we were in Tortola we did the catamaran snorkel tour. The snorkeling has always been crystal clear and beautiful. I found a barracuda taking in the views from under our catamaran the last time we snorkeled. AMAZING experience, they are much more intimidating when they aren’t behind glass!

 

 

Im sure you will really enjoy Tortola, it is a gorgeous island!

[sing2sas]

I agree about Tortola. It is a dazzling little piece of paradise, the most beautiful aqua blue water you'll ever see. We took a 2-hour tour for about $10-15, which gave us a feel for the island. We went to the other side and stopped at Sugar Cane Beach (or a name something like that) and that was my favorite stop. Then we took a ship tour to Virgin Gorda and went to the Baths. They are truly amazing and I would recommend them.