Day 4: Tortola, BVI
(you can start this trip report from the beginning by clicking here)
Today we woke up in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. All cruise lines stopped coming to this port last fall after hurricanes Irma and Maria, and only began returning again in August. I was glad because this was a new port for us, and we have already been to St. Maarten (the port that was replacing Tortola).
Our plan for the day was a private charter to visit the Baths and do some snorkeling. We needed to leave the ship about 9:00 (all ashore was 7:30) so we were all up and ready to go to Cabanas about 8:30. The weather looked great!
After a quick breakfast at Cabanas, we left the ship. We were supposed to walk to a marina a few blocks away. When you first leave the ship, you walk through a very nice area with shops, bathrooms, and green space.
After this area, it was just about a block to get to the marina. I reviewed our excursion in a separate post that you can read here, so right now I’m just going to show you a few of my favorite photos from our day. We had a FANTASTIC day on our private charter and we made some great memories!
All aboard was 5:45, and I think we boarded the ship about 4:45-5:00. Because we had late dining at 8:15, and the evening show was a movie (The Nutcracker and the Four Realms) that we didn’t mind missing, we took our time in the room while all 5 of us rotated through the shower. Side note: on the Magic and Wonder, we typically book 2 rooms because it is almost always cheaper than booking the verandah room that sleeps 5 (there are no ocean views that sleep 5 on these ships). Having 2 rooms (and thus 2 bathrooms) comes in very handy on beach days when everyone needs to shower right after returning to the ship (by the way, adults can shower in the spa to alleviate the demand for the shower in the room). But, the Dream and Fantasy have ocean view rooms that sleep 5, and it is typically cheaper for us to book 1 ocean view room rather than 2 interior rooms, so that is what we did for this cruise.
Tonight was pirate night, so we got all decked out in our gear. Two of the girls just wore their LuLaRoe Captain Hook Leggings. The rest of us recycled outfits from previous cruises.
Dinner tonight was in Enchanted Garden. We have a tradition that we always take a picture of this one wearing the children’s menu pirate hat:
The Smoked Saucisson, Baked Brie, Brioche and Honey (my husband loved it, I thought it was okay):
The Vegetable Samosa (good):
The “Pint of Shrimp” Cocktail – this one’s a little weird, but I poured the dressing in and ate it like a salad. The dressing was tangy and delicious!
The Crab Cake (just okay):
The Cilantro-Marinated Caribbean Grouper Filet (good):
The Jerk Chicken (very good):
The dessert menu:
The Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake Tart (very good):
The Rum-Soaked Chocolate Cake (good):
Bananas in Paradise (very good):
During dinner we made the executive decision to skip the pirate deck party/fireworks from 10:15-11:00. We were all tired from a long day on the water, and we knew that it would be crazy crowded up there (I walked up later for a quick peak and confirmed this). We also skipped karaoke this night, which is practically unheard of, because it didn’t start until 10:45 and we were TIRED! We were, however, able to see the fireworks from our porthole so we didn’t have to miss out completely!
Up next: Day 5 – St. Thomas, USVI
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