Tortola, St Kitts, St Lucia..questions
 

We will be on the QM2 and these are some of the ports we will visit. We hate ship's tours. Has anyone got any contacts for 'island tours' for four people?
Also, how is the snorkelling, and are there any independents who offer snorkelling?
Which is the best island for snorkelling? We will also be going to Barbados and St. Thomas.
Thanks for any advice!!

St Lucia and St Kitts, no for snorkeling. Best way to see St Lucia is a boat tour along the shore. Beautiful place, not muuch fun by road.We usually take the ferry from St Thomas to St John for snorkeling, although they've been really monitoring people in the water who feed the fish. In Tortola, there are a few spots where the snorkeling is good, but I'd try to arrange a boat trip which takes you to the Caves and Indians. A lot of the people on your ship will go to the Baths, which is pretty neat but will be packed. Here is the charter company we used:
http://www.patouche.com/
Great folks and they'll make sure you are back in time. Another great side trip is to taxi to the West End and take the ferry over to Jost Van Dyke. Check the ferry times. It's an incredible stretch of beach with a couple FUN bars. The Soggy Dollar Bar where the island's drink , the Painkiller, originated is always hopping!

Thanks for the info. LLindaC!!
Could an elderly person do the trip to the Baths or is there walking after the 'bus' or 'taxi' drops you off?

I would not recommend the Baths to anyone with mobility issues. It's a lot of walking and climbimg and some slippery areas. You can skip the rock walk and go to the restaurant at the top of the baths, or visit the very pretty beach there, but there still is some walking involved getting down there.An elderly person might enjoy the aforementioned Jost van Dyke or Cane Garden bay....pretty beach, lots of nice beach bars/restaurants with shade. Road Town is nothing much.

Thanks for the expanded info!
Are the Botanical Gardens interesting, or just average?
I see the ship is taking a tour there. I was thinking that there may be time at the end of the day if they are worth seeing.

Also: would the Baths be enjoyable for a non-snorkeller? Can one climb around and explore part of the area?
I emailed Patouche and they do seem to have a state of the art snorkelling tour, but also mentioned a 'guided walking tour'as part of their excursion.
Thanks!

The Baths are something not to be missed. We took the ferry there from Tortola. Tere is a reff right off the beach. If you are snorklers (we are) than consider snorkling with the turtles in Barbados. We use Stephen Tyrane who has a speed boat with 3 engines so he can get you there faster and also has other snorkling spots. One spot has two sunken ships 75' apart. And aside from being 1/2 the ship's tour price to the turtles, we only had 8 people on out tour instead of the 30-40 you find on a ahip's tour.Highly reccomnend him!
In St. thomas Coki Beach is the snorkling spot but it is crowded. Or, you can take the ferry from town or Red Hook to St. Johns where they have a snorkling trail. Email me if you want info on snorkling with turtles via Stephen at [email protected], subject turtles.

I have got Baths info from 3 companies. I will certainly look into the turtles...thanks!

bonnie, he specifically said "elderly person". We spent a 10 day honeymoon in the BVIs, not just a cruise stop...while I agree that the Baths are really cool, the only way to experience them is to walk through them. At times it calm knee high water, other times we were climbing up slick steps and climbing over craggy rocks. At one end, the water was up to our neck and we were on really slippery rocks. Do you think an elderly person with mobility issues could do this? I remember when we took the ferry over there, it was a pretty long walk down the hill from the Top of the baths restaurant to the beach and rocks. I wish someone else would chime in here. Why don't you go over to www.cruisecritic.com and ask this question.

Thanks for the elaboration LLindaC.
We do have two snorkellers who could do this plus the elderly person and ME (non water person).
I really thought that your description was so vivid and it has really helped. Everyone has different understandings of easy and difficult, so the descriptors of up to your neck, slippery rocks etc. were perfect information. Thank you.
A tour operator emailed me:
"It's set like long steps
and has a few large boulders that you can rest at, so it would all depend on how fit you are - many elderly do it." However, I think your description is much more explicit. My mother could not go in the water but long steps okay. However, I am thinking that this is a little bit of an underestimation!!
I really appreciate all who take the time to share any pieces of info. as eventually it all fits together.
My thoughts had been to go there, the 2 snorkel and explore, the other two stay at the top with the one mobile person venturing down to explore a little.
The fact that there are such raves about the '8th Wonder of the World' make the baths seem like a 'not to be missed'!
You are both much appreciated Bonniejns and LLinda!!

Philbill, the restaurant at "the top" is really fun. They usually have some pleasant island kind of music, good food, yummy rum drinks and the view is GREAT! There are a couple shops there as well. So, while the others explore the water, your Mother would not be bored a the top. perhaps she could encourage other cruisers to join her for lunch there? Have a great time!

Philbill, I answered you earlier but didn't think to say I'd be happy to email you pictures of the Baths on Virgin Gorda, including some taken on the walk to the beach. Just let me know, [email protected], subject The baths.

Hi Bonnie,
I just emailed your Barbados recommendation (for the two snorkellers. Thanks!