A lot has changed in the last year…
That includes things in the BVI too, so there are some things we have to get used to or get back to doing for our BVI Charters. In the last year we’ve gone from recovery mode to planning for a very busy season in 2019 and that’s evident pretty much everywhere you look.
Cruise Ships are Back!
After a quiet year last year, the BVI Tourism board has done a great job promoting the territory and their cruise ships are back in full force. What does this mean for your BVI Charters? This means crowds at The Baths. Big crowds. So if you are planning a charter and the baths are on your list, make sure you check the 2019 cruise ship schedule before choosing your day. Keep in mind that these are port schedules and are liable to change, but the link above is the best resource we’ve found for planning around the cruise ships in the BVI.
The Willy T has Moved!
The Willy T has had a hard year! First they suffered major damage from the hurricane, then they got moved from their original location on Norman Island and now we’re hearing rumblings that they may have to move AGAIN! While we haven’t heard anything concrete, we do know they plan to find a final spot, and they may end up over near Jost Van Dyke. The good news is that the new boat is open near Peter Island right now for drinks and lunch during your charter!
It’s going to be busy again…..
Last year was a bit of an anomaly for us, things were quiet, there were no lines at customs, there was parking in Cruz Bay etc. Well, we’re about to head into the peak weeks of our season and we are planning for things to be a bit busier than last year. For BVI Charters this means that there will most likely be lines at customs again, so we’re going back to 8:30 start times for all of our BVI Charters because of this. If you’ve reserved a day at the 9:30 start time, we won’t change the time on you unless you request us to do so, but keep in mind that customs can be VERY busy, so one way you can help is to send your customs paperwork to us ahead of time and we’ll do all the paperwork so you just hop on the boat and go in the morning without hanging around doing paperwork.
Some places are still closed or are renovating!
As of right now, Saba Rock, Bitter End Yacht Club, and Foxy’s Taboo are all trying to renovate and get done in a timely manner. For Saba Rock and Foxy’s Taboo that means trying to be open by Christmas Week, which makes our biggest week of the year, but I don’t know how realistic that is. One thing is for sure, We can not wait to have Taboo as a lunch option again! As for other lunch places and bars, pretty much everything else is open and ready for business, so come down ready for a great time and get ready for a great time on your BVI Charters!
We have two boats!
This one most of you may know about at this point, but we officially have CatZilla 2 here and she’s just about ready to go. Joe installed new speakers last week and put the new graphics on as well, so she’s ready for the busy weeks ahead. What does this change for you? It means a bit more availability to move your charter around if we have any weather related issues and it also means we can take groups as large as 24. Both boats are inspected and legally rated to take 12 passengers, which makes us one of the only companies able to take out the larger groups!