For those on this week's first cruise back, how is Tortola?

[fredandkell]

Love to hear reports from people on the first DCL cruise back there! Thanks!

 

[southerngirl528]

Love to hear reports from people on the first DCL cruise back there! Thanks!

I'm with you, fredandkell! We sail in a matter of days on the Fantasy, so I'd also love to hear.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I saw pictures elsewhere. Some of the excursions were a little rough. And on the way back they had a medical diversion to near Turks and Caicos.

Still a lot of mess in Road Town.

 

[VTNuke]

Virgin Gorda was in rough shape, really rough, but the Baths were fine. Just depressing heading there. Lots of rebuilding happening and still a lot to go.

Didn't see much of Tortola except the port itself and it didn't look too bad.

Everyone was happy we were there.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Virgin Gorda was in rough shape, really rough, but the Baths were fine. Just depressing heading there. Lots of rebuilding happening and still a lot to go.

Didn't see much of Tortola except the port itself and it didn't look too bad.

Everyone was happy we were there.

Virgin Gorda. More rough than pre-storm? What I’d seen to/from The Baths from the ferry & marina on previous trips was mostly pretty rough already. Although, the marina where we docked on VG before I saw in post-storm videos was completely leveled. Like there was a slab left. It was wild to see it that way.

I’m anxious to see it all myself in a few weeks. Not that it’s even comparable, really, but my house that was flooded in Harvey a year ago is still a work in progress. We’re still walking on plywood stairs. Working on trim. LOL! The houses around us don’t even have flooring down. Or cabinets. And that’s just flood damage. There wasn’t wind damage around us. Rebuilding & recovery takes a long time. That’s why I’m curious to see it all (soon). I’ve always lived near the Gulf & have weathered several hurricanes. A couple big ones. It blows my mind what those people in the islands went through and continue to go through.

 

[VTNuke]

I would say VG was probably pretty rough before the storm, but you can definitely tell there's still a lot of storm damage. We didn't head directly to the Baths. They took us on a quick tour of the island and stopped at a few overlooks to get pictures. The driver told us some stories about the recovery and how they survived the storm in their bathroom. Everyone we saw was very happy we were there.

The Bath's themselves looked like it had recovered. I didn't see any damage to the buildings at the top of the hill or down at the beach.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I would say VG was probably pretty rough before the storm, but you can definitely tell there's still a lot of storm damage. We didn't head directly to the Baths. They took us on a quick tour of the island and stopped at a few overlooks to get pictures. The driver told us some stories about the recovery and how they survived the storm in their bathroom. Everyone we saw was very happy we were there.

The Bath's themselves looked like it had recovered. I didn't see any damage to the buildings at the top of the hill or down at the beach.

I’m really glad tourists are going back. I know that helps rebuild an industry that many depend on. But, any little step towards normalcy for them helps their spirits, too.

 

[Terri2007]

Just off Fantasy. Yes, rough shape both in Road Town and VG. Baths were beautiful, but reefs are all dying. Suspect this has little to do with hurricane and much more to do with loss of reefs world wide. We were very glad to have made the trip. I thought people would be very happy to see (any) cruise ship return (I think we were the first), but I didn't get that impression. Was very happy to spend money there and hope that things improve for them.

 

[Sytrace]

In case you are interested, there are volunteer excursions available for Tortola AND St. Thomas to help them with recovery. I found them on Shoretrips and they are not that long. I am sure they also appreciate tourist dollars in their stores.

 

[mcd2745]

It was still in pretty rough shape. It was our first visit to Tortola, so can't compare it to pr-hurricane(s). Virgin Gorda was re ally bad. Obviously, the Baths were okay (hard to damage huge boulders). But the drive from the pier to the Baths was sad to see. You could see how that island just got shredded.

 

[jtkboston]

Our tour operator (Snorkel at Norman Island) confirmed we were the first big cruise ship to visit in 2018. All the vendors were glad to see us!
Snorkeling was fun, we stopped first along the island where there was no beach, just sheer cliffs along the water and some sea caves. Then we went to a cove with a beach and some docks, and a few repaired buildings but lots more repair needed even for a simple beach club.

 

[southerngirl528]

Big thanks to all that have reported their Tortola experiences thus far!

 

[britinva]

We are going on the 'Forest Hike and Beach' trip ..... Would really like to know if anyone has done that on the recent cruise.

 

[britinva]

bump for those that went to Tortola

 

[britinva]

OK, just back and we did the 'Forest Hike and Beach' port adventure.

Not something would recommend...….. was hoping that on hike we would see some good scenic views but was not any along the hike and the one at the top was not the best...… far better views on the ride to the hike.

Also, you really need to be fairly fit to do this and have appropriate footwear...… has some rocky and steep inclines and obviously gets rather warm and if rained recently muddy. There were a few in the group who were not able to do the final climb and many had inappropriate footwear.

 

[Mikamarii]

We were in Tortola on the Sep 22 sailing. It looked nice but you could still see the devastation it caused. Many buildings were repaired but many still being worked on and lots of damaged cars. When we got to the beach they said many of the shaded areas were gone due to the loss of so many trees.

We spent the day at Cane Garden Bay beach. The beach was beautiful but only one place to get food on the beach and one sit down restaurant on the road behind the beach. Looked like most buildings being worked on.

On our cab ride back we were in an suv and not the open air taxis. The lady was amazing. So friendly. She was sharing stories of her experiences of the hurricane. She also said the govt was working on a 300 million dollar grant to help with repairs.

We did a private boat tour in St. John’s/St. Thomas. Our captain was also amazing. He said the US islands recovered much quicker than the BVI because the americans provided a lot of relief very quickly. To us it didn’t look like much damage ( that it had mostly been repaired) but he said if you had been here before you would notice the difference.

He took us to a beach where we had lunch. The restaurant was called high tide. Food was great. Our captain showed us a restaurant on the beach that was still being constructed. He was saying many business owners were getting govt grants for ‘loss of revenue’ and dragging their heels getting the repairs done as they were pulling in the govt money anyway.

 

[phinz]

Our tour operator (Snorkel at Norman Island) confirmed we were the first big cruise ship to visit in 2018. All the vendors were glad to see us!
Snorkeling was fun, we stopped first along the island where there was no beach, just sheer cliffs along the water and some sea caves. Then we went to a cove with a beach and some docks, and a few repaired buildings but lots more repair needed even for a simple beach club.

I love Norman Island. Legend has it that it's the island that was the inspiration for Treasure Island. Those caves are amazing.

 

[VFL]

Just back from the Fantasy on Saturday. Tortola still has damage but is nonetheless beautiful. We booked with a local tour company - karalu charters and had an amazing trip snorkeling. Highly recommend them. Also bough hubby a swim shirt and beer and wine to take back on board in town.