My Freedom Cruise: Tortola Part 1

The last port on our itinerary was the island of Tortola. For this port we would visit yet another beach and do a bit of shopping for last minute trinkets for those back home. Today we would head out to Cane Garden Bay for a little bit of fun in the water.

After exciting the boat we loaded into buses for the short trip across the island. The ride to Cane Garden Bay was your typical Caribbean bus ride. Hair-pin turns, treacherous roads and two-way single lane roads kept us all on edge. I happen to be a roller coaster lover so in my opinion the trips are great but if you are a bit squeamish you may want to close your eyes for the trip.

There were a couple of opportunities for pictures on the way to the beach but the driver didn’t stop, but just kind of paused. I had been to the island a couple of times so for me it was no big deal but you may want to look into an actual tour if it pictures you want.

If you are looking for a quiet beach with power soft sand this is NOT the place you want. This is more of a family beach with lots of children, lots of noise and a very narrow strip of beach. The beach is long which is good for taking walks down by the water but the water will come up under your chair unless you place it at the very back of the beach. If you decide to walk away from your chair make sure you place any bags you are leaving behind onto your chair or they will get wet.

I was feeling a bit under the weather today due to over-indulging in the consumption of alcohol the night before, so I was only interested in playing in the cool water. I find that there is nothing better for a hangover than A. drinking water by the gallon and B. enjoying a day in the water. We brought sandwiches along for lunch since I couldn’t remember if Cane Garden Bay had adequate eating facilities. I always bring along a collapsible cooler along when I cruise, since packing your own lunch is a great way to save money while in port. To keep the items cool just use a ziploc bag to store store your ice (make sure to double bag the ice in case it leaks, unless you like soggy sandwiches).

The day was pretty uneventful, except that we did find our missing table mates. They told us how they enjoyed the convenience of dining at the buffet instead of the 1.5 hour services in the main dining room. Really, they owed me no explanation and I can definitely understand not wanting to allocate 1.5-2 hours of your vacation to dinner each night.

Our ship was due to set sail at 5pm so we decided to pack up at about 2:30. This would give us plenty of time to do some shopping at the tents by the ship. We also decided to stop in at the Freedom restaurant for a quick snack since we would be eating a bit later than normal tonight. We had 6:30 reservations for the Sun King.

Related posts:

1. My Freedom Cruise – St. Thomas part 1
2. My Carnival Freedom Cruise – San Juan, Puerto Rico
3. My Freedom Cruise – Nassau Part 1
4. My Freedom Cruise – Nassau part 2
5. My Freedom Cruise – St. Thomas part 2

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