If you remember, Tortola was slammed by Hurricane Irma last year and was actually supposed to be one of the stops on our canceled cruise. Ironically enough, our itinerary for this cruise included a stop at Tortola and we were the first ship back to that port since last year's hurricane!
When we woke up that morning, we were greeted with sights of the beautiful port of Tortola!
Our excursion for the day included a stop at Tortola's famous "Baths" and Devil's Bay!
There was a slight hiccup that morning with the excursion, so we had to wait an extra hour in Enchanted Garden before being let off of the Fantasy. Apparently the boat that was supposed to take us out to Virgin Gorda was having engine trouble and they had to find a replacement.
Anyway, once we stepped off the ship, we were met with pure excitement. The steel drummers were there, a group was handing out fruit/rum punch at the gate, and you could literally feel the gratitude in the air. These islands rely so heavily on tourism and to go without that for an entire year was rough, I know. Although the island isn't back to 100% yet, it was neat to be there and literally be on the first ship back after such a devastating storm.
After walking in the gate, we were directed to a smaller boat that took us over to the island of Virgin Gorda. It was about a 45 minute ride which included a neat "tour" from one of the workers. He told us all about the storm and life since the hurricane.
Off we go!
After arriving in Virgin Gorda, we then hopped on an open air bus for a quick ride to The Baths and Devil's Bay.
Sadly, you could still see the aftermath of the hurricane all throughout the island.
It was a fairly quick ride and before we knew it, we were there!
When we initially booked this excursion, we read that proper foot attire was required as the "path" to the Baths was not smooth terrain. Boy were they right. If you plan on taking this excursion, please know that the trail you take to get there includes lots of rocks, steps, dirt, caves, areas where you have to duck to walk through, and slippery patches. It's definitely not meant for everyone and was a pretty decent hike.
Our first stop was at one of the beaches where we had a chance to swim and explore a few caves! It was simply breathtaking!
After leaving the beach, we then headed over to the area known as "The Baths" which was filled with caves and areas to swim. It really was beautiful and I really enjoyed exploring it all!
Our time at The Baths seemed very very short (I think it was maybe 45 minutes to an hour) and just like that, we were asked to pack up our bags and move on to the next location.
The excursion we booked included lunch at the Top of the Baths. I was looking forward to having a meal that included traditional island fare!
It really was delicious!
We had slaw, jerk chicken, mac and cheese, ribs, fish, and rice with beans!
The area at the Top of the Baths was completely redone and included a swimming pool as well as a few shopping locations.
I do feel as if we spent too much time up here and not enough time at the actual Baths themselves. In all though, it was a good excursion.
Before heading back to the boat, we were taken to a lookout where you could see the ocean on both sides of Tortola! It was a breathtaking view to say the least!
The port was an area I wasn't incredibly thrilled about, although we didn't really have that much shopping to do and was still being built back up. There weren't many stores in the area, although you could tell that this section had a complete overhaul, too (it did look really nice).
We will be back! :)
That evening was pirate night and I wasn't a fan of the changes with this on Disney's side. Apparently our sailing was a "testing" phase for Disney with several areas. Pirate night was one of those areas - instead of fireworks and the pirate show after dinner, they moved it BETWEEN dinner settings. They also completely nixed the after fireworks buffet. The pirate show was new from what we remembered as well and we didn't like it.
The fireworks were very cool as always, but honestly we weren't thrilled with the changes.
One cool perk for us was that our dinner that evening was in Animator's Palate! All of the screens changed to include glimpses of anything Disney has done that included pirates from movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan to preliminary art from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride! It was so neat to see!
Arrrgh!
Also, we did a thing that night! We officially signed on the dotted lines to purchase into Disney Vacation Club!! It was so exciting and I loved being able to add the "Welcome Home" magnet to our door! (Insert happy dance!)
It was a fun day and we enjoyed seeing Tortola and exploring the area! Up next: St. Thomas, my new favorite island, ever!! Stay tuned for more! :)
How fun to be the first cruise ship back after the hurricane! The Baths look really nice and yeah, that's where I'd want to spend the majority of the excursion, too.
ReplyDeleteThe Baths were so nice! It really was a neat experience being the first ship back!
DeleteWe did a very similar tour (probably parts were the same) of the Baths and Devils Bay. We just did not do the lunch portion. I loved going through the caves and the Baths were beautiful! I kept thinking about that area last year when the hurricane hit. So sad that they still have destruction. Congrats on becoming a DVC member!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! We really enjoyed the excursion, just wish it lasted a bit longer!
DeleteI would've loved to have seen the drawing for the Pirates ride. Have you seen Blackbeard's Ghost from Disney? I include it every year for my Halloween viewing.
ReplyDeleteOooh no I haven't....I'm going to have to add that one! Thank you!
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