DCL not ready to return to Tortola yet...

[RRB]

Found a good article on what's open and what's not. Looks like allot is open

https://www.moorings.com/blog/bvi-whats-open-after-hurricane-irma

take a look at the recommendations at the bottom of the article.

Tortola, here we come!

 

[britinva]

Thanks for posting..... encouraging!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

So the charter you picked is not a DCL charter? How many people can they take at a time?

No, not an excursion through the cruise line. I typically avoid those as much as possible. I’m always happier to be moving at my speed vs. a group of 100+ moving at the speed of the slowest in the group.

The 35’ Contender can hold up to 12 people. That’s the boat I’ve been on before & have booked for September. We are doing a half day charter that will take us to The Baths then a lunch stop at another island.

http://www.sunshinepowerboatsvi.com/cruise-ship-passengers/

 

[hubbard53]

No, not an excursion through the cruise line. I typically avoid those as much as possible. I’m always happier to be moving at my speed vs. a group of 100+ moving at the speed of the slowest in the group.

The 35’ Contender can hold up to 12 people. That’s the boat I’ve been on before & have booked for September. We are doing a half day charter that will take us to The Baths then a lunch stop at another island.

http://www.sunshinepowerboatsvi.com/cruise-ship-passengers/

that sounds cool. Do you plan the trip down to where you go to lunch or is it part of their chartered service? I wouldnt know where to go so would look to them to guide me...

 

[sweetpee_1993]

that sounds cool. Do you plan the trip down to where you go to lunch or is it part of their chartered service? I wouldnt know where to go so would look to them to guide me...

Malcolm knows good places to take us. I 100% trust him. Our last charter with him we told him we like to snorkel & see beautiful beaches/water. We told him we wanted him to show us HIS BVI. He took us to like 5 different places all his choosing. Ended up being an absolutely incredible day, best snorkeling we’ve ever done, & most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen. The sand was white and so soft & powdery. It was like walking on pillows...the water was crystal clear. I’ll see if I can find a pic when I get home. Just an amazing day. Nice fellow, too. I specifically wanted to book someone I’m familiar with because I’ll be traveling with a group of all lady friends. As a woman I tend to be more alert, cautious, etc. when it comes to safety particularly if I’m not with my husband or one of my (grown) sons. Ya know?

 

[RedSox68]

was looking into St. Martin in case we go there instead of Tortola. . . ran across this article about the zoo we thought was awesome http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...eal-rare-animals-zoo-destroyed-hurricane.html

View attachment 330841

Just tragic that so many were stolen by looters. Sad article, and they can't rebuild. A great loss to their area.

 

[hubbard53]

Just tragic that so many were stolen by looters. Sad article, and they can't rebuild. A great loss to their area.

Yep. That little zoo was interesting. My son LOVED to feeding the monkeys - my wife was stalked by a peacock

It truly is sad reading that animals were killed by the storm and other animals and how sadly, many were stolen. I can't understand how people can do that to their OWN resource. . .

 

[RRB]

No, not an excursion through the cruise line. I typically avoid those as much as possible. I’m always happier to be moving at my speed vs. a group of 100+ moving at the speed of the slowest in the group.

The 35’ Contender can hold up to 12 people. That’s the boat I’ve been on before & have booked for September. We are doing a half day charter that will take us to The Baths then a lunch stop at another island.

http://www.sunshinepowerboatsvi.com/cruise-ship-passengers/

So you are doing the 35' Contender half day? Is a half day enough time for the baths and something else? Why not a full day?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

So you are doing the 35' Contender half day? Is a half day enough time for the baths and something else? Why not a full day?

They also offer a full day which we do have time for but elected to go half. It allows time to shop around near the port. It’s plenty of time to get to The Baths and spend like 3 hours there. It’s faster! Smaller vessel than the ferries the ships use & not moving at the slow herd speed means we will already be there a good while before the the cruise ship masses arrive. We will finish ahead of them, get back on the boat, and move on to our lunch spot. If doing the full day charter it adds a snorkel stop. Since not everyone is as into snorkeling as I am we chose time back at the port for additional exploring instead. I looked at the excursion times for the ship. Earliest I saw was 9:45. All-ashore is 7:30. We will be meeting Malcolm at 8:30 and already be at The Baths before the excursion group even leaves the ship. Their transit time will be at least 30-45 minutes (I’ve taken the same boat they use from Road Town to Virgin Gorda before). It’s about use of time and efficiency.

 

[RRB]

They also offer a full day which we do have time for but elected to go half. It allows time to shop around near the port. It’s plenty of time to get to The Baths and spend like 3 hours there. It’s faster! Smaller vessel than the ferries the ships use & not moving at the slow herd speed means we will already be there a good while before the the cruise ship masses arrive. We will finish ahead of them, get back on the boat, and move on to our lunch spot. If doing the full day charter it adds a snorkel stop. Since not everyone is as into snorkeling as I am we chose time back at the port for additional exploring instead. I looked at the excursion times for the ship. Earliest I saw was 9:45. All-ashore is 7:30. We will be meeting Malcolm at 8:30 and already be at The Baths before the excursion group even leaves the ship. Their transit time will be at least 30-45 minutes (I’ve taken the same boat they use from Road Town to Virgin Gorda before). It’s about use of time and efficiency.

Sounds great. The rate on that half day excursion is for the boat, not PP, correct?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sounds great. The rate on that half day excursion is for the boat, not PP, correct?

Right. That’s for the boat. Can be 4 people or 12. Same price.

 

[iamporch]

They also offer a full day which we do have time for but elected to go half. It allows time to shop around near the port. It’s plenty of time to get to The Baths and spend like 3 hours there. It’s faster! Smaller vessel than the ferries the ships use & not moving at the slow herd speed means we will already be there a good while before the the cruise ship masses arrive. We will finish ahead of them, get back on the boat, and move on to our lunch spot. If doing the full day charter it adds a snorkel stop. Since not everyone is as into snorkeling as I am we chose time back at the port for additional exploring instead. I looked at the excursion times for the ship. Earliest I saw was 9:45. All-ashore is 7:30. We will be meeting Malcolm at 8:30 and already be at The Baths before the excursion group even leaves the ship. Their transit time will be at least 30-45 minutes (I’ve taken the same boat they use from Road Town to Virgin Gorda before). It’s about use of time and efficiency.

When you get to the Baths this way does the boat stop in the middle of the water and you have to swim to shore? That is what I had heard of the private charters and makes me hesitant to go this way.
Thanks

 

[sweetpee_1993]

When you get to the Baths this way does the boat stop in the middle of the water and you have to swim to shore? That is what I had heard of the private charters and makes me hesitant to go this way.
Thanks

Some of them do but this is NOT what we did when we went toThe Baths with Malcolm. My inlaws never could’ve done that! We docked at a marina & Malcolm got one of the taxi trucks (same ones the cruise line use) to stop for us. He made the ride arrangements for us. We didn’t pay extra (though we did tip the driver). When we were finished we went to the top of The Baths & met the same driver at a specific time. He took us back to the marina and Malcolm was waiting for us. We boarded the boat and off we went back towards Tortola.

 

[iamporch]

Some of them do but this is NOT what we did when we went toThe Baths with Malcolm. My inlaws never could’ve done that! We docked at a marina & Malcolm got one of the taxi trucks (same ones the cruise line use) to stop for us. He made the ride arrangements for us. We didn’t pay extra (though we did tip the driver). When we were finished we went to the top of The Baths & met the same driver at a specific time. He took us back to the marina and Malcolm was waiting for us. We boarded the boat and off we went back towards Tortola.

Thank you!

 

[RRB]

Right. That’s for the boat. Can be 4 people or 12. Same price.

How many in your party (you may have told me but I forgot)

 

[hubbard53]

Sounds great! I didnt consider going to the baths but after this thread and doing some reading online we'll probably visits. No sure if we'll do DCL or private excursion - with an 7 yr old, we might need/appreciate the 'slow herd speed'

 

[sweetpee_1993]

How many in your party (you may have told me but I forgot)

I haven’t heard back from everyone just yet. So I’ll assume for now 10.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sounds great! I didnt consider going to the baths but after this thread and doing some reading online we'll probably visits. No sure if we'll do DCL or private excursion - with an 7 yr old, we might need/appreciate the 'slow herd speed'

Definitely with kids the slower pace & larger group could be advantageous. My boys are 20 & 22 so it’s been a LOT of years since we had to wrangle the smaller humans. The Baths is a pretty amazing place and worth a visit at least once.

 

[iamporch]

Some of them do but this is NOT what we did when we went toThe Baths with Malcolm. My inlaws never could’ve done that! We docked at a marina & Malcolm got one of the taxi trucks (same ones the cruise line use) to stop for us. He made the ride arrangements for us. We didn’t pay extra (though we did tip the driver). When we were finished we went to the top of The Baths & met the same driver at a specific time. He took us back to the marina and Malcolm was waiting for us. We boarded the boat and off we went back towards Tortola.

Sorry I have one more question. Are there any hidden costs or is the cost listed by the boat what it is? There are other places that charge additional for fuel, customs, etc.

 

[RRB]

I haven’t heard back from everyone just yet. So I’ll assume for now 10.

Let me know if you need a couple to reach the 12. We're going to the Baths and you're description sounds better than Disney's