Dec 29, 2011 - Road Town, British Virgin Islands

 Tortola, British Virgin Isles: Our stop is in Road Town, the capital of the British Virgin Isles. It is a delight to stroll through the narrow streets and along the clear, beautiful water and to move in and out of the numerous street and market shops (a mainstay in any port of call). It certainly appears to be a vibrant, thriving community and a great place to spend some time off the ship.

May 20, 2011 - BVI - Cane Garden Bay and Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke

Our next destination? Cane Garden Bay on the island of Tortola. Viewed by some as one of the more beautiful areas of the BVI, the bay has beautiful white beaches rimmed with palm trees and colorful hillside homes. There are several shops and bars on the bay, but because it is so close to Road Town, the capital of the British Virgin Islands, its touristy and more commercialized. We spent a quiet afternoon walking the beach, had refreshments at a beachside bar, and then returned to the boat for dinner. I think we were starting to wind down...

May 17, 2011 - BVI - Anegada and Trellis Bay

Up until now, we had only been sailing a few hours a day and visiting mountainous, volcanic islands, but today our destination was Anegada, a small coral and limestone island where the highest point is only 28 feet above sea level (the height of the tallest tree). All the other islands, too, were easy to spot because of their high peaks, but Anagada can’t be seen until you are almost there. First it’s just a ripple on the horizon, then you can finally make out the tree tops, and as you get closer you begin to see the gorgeous, white sandy...

May 16, 2011 - BVI - Cooper Island, Saba Rock, and Leverick Bay

Rising early to overcast skies, we set sail to our next destination - Machioneel Bay on Cooper Island. It was a relatively calm day sailing with Dee at the wheel, but, of course, there had to be some excitement. Not too long after raising the sails and cruising at a reasonable speed, Dee hit a weird combination of water current, shore current, and a gusting wind which caused the wheel to spin uncontrollably. Amid shouts of “what’s it doing, what’s it doing, what’s it doing?” the boat spun around while we waited for Gary to calmly tell us...

May 11, 2011 - Beauty,Views, and Isles in the British Virgin Islands

Our sailing adventure was finally here! On Wednesday, May 11, we flew to St. Thomas, arriving about 3:00 p.m. where we met Gary and Blanche in the airport bar for our first rum punch of the week. Our hotel was a short distance from the airport, so we walked over to wait at the hotel bar for Dan and Dee who arrived a little after 6:00 p.m. Dinner followed and then because we had all been travelling since early morning, we called it a night. On Thursday we were up early to catch the ferry that would take us to the British Virgin Island (BVI)...

Apr 5, 2010 - Tortola

Tortola was one of the best islands of our cruise. It was also a new one for us. We hired a taxi for $10.00 each was the best $20.00 we have spent. It was a tour of the ENTIRE island. The taxi driver was born and raised on the island and knew all the good locations. We went to beaches had something to eat. At one of the beaches we visited we enjoyed homemade ice cream and saw a native chop a coconut and serve it as a drink. Talk about mountains we went up some extremely STEEP mountains and to top it off they drive on the wrong side of the...

Jun 2, 2009 - British Virgin Islands.

Well i think that the BVI's are the nicest place that i have visited so far. the islands are large green volcanic hills surrounded by the most beautiful turquoise water i have ever seen. the scenery is amazing and its surprising how different the caribbean can look from island to island. We arrived in Road Harbour for a couple of days and then to Peter Island Resort then onto Bitterend yacht club at Virgin Gorda. Bitterend Yacht Club and Virgin Gorda is the island next to Necker Island (Sir Richard Branson's Island) the water here was...

Jan 8, 2009 - Tortola, BVI

Weather: Slight chance of showers (none), 77 degrees We loved our few hours on Tortola. The harbor is small, only two cruise ships can dock at one time. We were next to Carnival Freedom and Celebrity's Galaxy had to tender their passengers in. But when we left at 1 PM, Galaxy took our spot. The only ship's tour we booked was here-a sail boat, snorkeling and beach tour. It was spectacular as you can see from the pictures! Tonight was the Captain's Club cocktail party. Drinking at a reasonable hour.

Dec 1, 2008 - Tortola - Land of Turtle Doves

We were tied up at the pier just about as we were coming awake. To everyone’s relief, yesterday marked the end of the current hurricane season; yet, the tropic skies were much duller and, as the sun came up, a haze hung over everything and rain certainly looked very possible; but, hey can’t let that stop us. Mother Nature doesn't always work on our calendar. So, we went off for breakfast and headed down to the dock to pick up our tour. Tortola is a mere 36 sq. mile island; yet it is the largest of the British Virgin Islands. Surprisingly,...

Nov 29, 2007 - Tortola, BVI

The whole of our stay in the BVI is described here (long entry!) Miami airport is chaotic with enormous queues, but we are luckily directed through the "passengers who need assistance" gate at security where Heidi again has her broken arm and sling swabbed and the pad put into a machine that decides she isn't hiding anything explosive in her sling. The journey to the BVI is remarkably smooth and easy, via San Juan in Puerto Rico where we had a little over an hour to wait for our onward flight to the Beef Island in BVI. This last flight was...

Jan 24, 2007 - Road Town, Tortola

1/24 The next stop was Road Town, Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. Here we went ashore and took an open vehicle tour of the island. The tour took us up in the mountains and along the ridge that provided stunning views of the island and surrounding ocean. We stopped at a small village where we visited a 400 year old rum distillery. We sampled a delicious spicy rum.

Dec 29, 2006 - Lunch on the Beach

Thursday was an idyllic day. Our ship is cruising through the British Virgin Islands. The sun is shining. There are a few passing clouds. The seas are slight. Can it get any better? The crew was prepared to give it a try! We anchored off Prickly Pear Island at about 10 AM. With anticipation we watch the tenders shuttling crew and equipment a short distance to the beach. Today we were having a beach BBQ. About an hour later it was announced they were ready to escort guests ashore. We decided to wait until the initial "rush" subsided, but as...