Tortola
Here is a tale of two families who choose two outings. Half of the family, a party of five, awoke early and were off the ship just after 8 am. Their aim was to catch one of the ferries to the Bath's. Walking off of the pier, both Speedy's and Smith’s Ferry companies had representatives selling packages. The party of five, basically ended up going with Speedy’s after the reps from each company fought back and forth over who was going to charge what. Speedy’s finally won the competition. By this time, it was going to be cutting time short for them to walk from the pier over to Speedy’s ferry departure point. The Speedy’s rep was kind enough to throw in a free taxi ride for the five of them so they could make the ferry in time. The family had a terrific time exploring the Baths and then a late lunch at the “Top of the Baths” before taking the ferry back to Road Town.
The rest of us got off the ship after lunch and “tried” to hire a taxi. All the drivers were absolutely insisting that we had to go to Cane Garden Bay. We politely declined asking for a ride to either Brewer’s Bay or Sapphire Beach. They continued to refuse to take us to Brewer's Bay and to them Sapphire was just way too far and out of the question. After seeing some threads regarding the water conditions, we told them that we thought the water may be unsafe due to discharge from the boats anchoring here. Of course they stated this was not correct. Our vacation, and health, so we did not want to take a chance, especially knowing there were other places we could visit. As a side note, HAL no longer offers their Cane Garden Bay excursion.
Interestingly enough, it was only when the six of us turned away to re-board the ship, where we would not have to pay a taxi to get to the ship’s swimming pool, and thus taking our money with us, that one of the drivers came forward. He was more than happy to take us to our destination of Brewer's Bay. He was even fortunate enough to fill up his taxi with six additional people. Evidently after agreeing to a return time in two and a half hours it was worth his time since he parked and hung out at the snack bar.
We paid $10 pp roundtrip from the ship to Brewer's Bay. It was a great place to hangout even if you have only a few hours, much cheaper than any three-hour beach excursion the ship could offer. You can rent chaise lounges for $5 each. There is a bar with liquor and snacks. The ride over and back was a good way to see the beautiful vistas and the driver was kind enough to stop for photo opportunities without even being asked.
Snorkeling is off to the west side of the beach along the rock cliff. The water is fairly shallow and clear. There are a few rocks on this west end of the beach, but water shoes are not required. Walk/swim a short ways out and the bottom becomes ALL sand. The further you walk east down the beach, the sandier it gets.
When in Tortola, if you do not want to venture to the Bath's this is a great alternative! In our case the Baths were not doable for my 90+ yo grandmother. She went to Brewer's with us and loved watching her granddaughter swimming and playing in the sand.
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St. Martin
Mom and Dad did what they do best here, spending 4 hours making a sizable donation to their friends at Ballerina Jewelers.
The ship’s “Discover Scuba” excursion was sold out way in advance of sailing. I found out through this board about Shore Trips® so for an additional $12 per person over the ship’s excursion price, my brother, niece and sister-in-law booked a trip through them to try out scuba. As had happened with my husband and I after our first dive, once you do it, you are hooked! They had a fine experience with Shore Trips® and would not hesitate to use them again.
The rest of the family enjoyed the Aft swimming pool which, as you can imagine was very peaceful.
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Martinique
Been there had already done that. Brother and SIL paid $25 each for a taxi tour with another couple and now they too can say, “been there done that”. DH and I spent a quiet relaxing day lounging by the aft swimming pool.
Daughter spent the morning in Club HAL and then returned for the afternoon session after a dip in the pool and her luncheon feast. Please see “Club Hal” in this report for information on what this day.
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Barbados
Wow is all I can say! This day was by far one of the highlights of our Christmas cruise aboard the Zaandam. We sailed aboard the Silver Moon II on Christmas Eve for their 5 hour Lunch Cruise. The new 45' catamaran is sister to the original 44' Silver Moon. SM II sails this lunch cruise with a maximum of 18 people aboard. Cost was $80 per adult and $50 per child and well worth the expense. The cat does hold up to 40 persons for private charters, so it is obvious that there is plenty of room for 18 people to comfortable sail, drink, eat and swim or snorkel.
Our family made up 11, out of a total of 18 people aboard. There was plenty of space for everyone to spread out. Never did we feel crowded. There was shade for my Grandmother and anyone else who wanted it and plenty of spots for sunning and relaxing. Captain Nick, the owner, and his crew, the kind of young men which every parent would like their daughter to marry, treated spoiled us from the first moment we stepped on board and we could not have been more pleased with this excursion.
Our excursion this day was 10 am to 3 pm. We were met outside of the cruise terminal and transported via mini-bus the few minute ride to the marina. The boat is new, and kept clean as a whistle. You must remove your shoes to even step aboard. We were a little concerned about my grandmother being able to walk on board, but the crew very very carefully and skillfully cajoled and assisted her. Once we were all aboard drink orders were taken and we began our 5 hours of bliss. First off we were told that there was a very strong swell out of the north and the waves were just too big to get in with the turtles. A snorkel above a couple of wrecks would be substituted instead. After a 45-minute sail, the first snorkel stop was to a reef. The crew passed out high quality and well kept, snorkel gear. At each stop one of the crewmembers snorkeled with the group and acted as guide.
Following this snorkel, everyone re-boarded, rinsed off with the fresh water hose and ate a delicious bountiful lunch of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, fish, garlic bread and Caesar salad. All the while, we were offered unlimited soda, beer, wine, pina coladas, rum punch or strawberry daiquiris. Lunch was even followed by Rum Cake and coffee or tea.
Seeing some of the other passing catamaran excursions packed to the gills, we knew no matter how much others had paid for their excursions, we had the best value for our money and it was the absolute best decision to go with Silver Moon. Don’t’ believe me, check out this thread… Silver Moon Catamaran - Great !!!!!
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Half Moon Cay
This is a beautiful island for sure. It is very similar to Princess Cay, but with much more in the way of facilities. Our half day, 8 am to 1:30 pm, on the island was shared with the passengers from the Zaandam’s sister ship, the Volendam. The island’s weather this day was mostly cloudy, cool and extremely windy, but nonetheless, the beach was crowded. If you are unable to walk a distance down the beach, the advice is to make sure you get to the island early.
The new children's water play area was nice, however was not officially open? A water slide is just not a water slide without running water. On a Christmas cruise with a lot of kids (well for HAL right?), there was enough disappointment to go around. But they made the best of it, using the floating platforms. Most, if not all, of the excursions this day were cancelled due to high winds. To avoid the children’s water park area, head north, the further the better.
Food was typical out island BBQ: Baby back Ribs- to die for, the usual hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, salads, fruit, brownies, cookies. There was also steak albeit under cooked.
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