Just Back from Eli's Tour

[daneicy80]

We just returned from our Southern Caribbean Cruise on Serenade of the Seas and we toured with Eli on November 30. We had a blast. It was easily our most enjoyable day of the cruise. The weather was perfect, couldn't have asked for a better day. Eli picked us up from the end of the pier in Antigua and we were off for a relaxing and adventurous day. He pointed out all the landmarks along the way as we cruised away from the pier and toward the many smaller islands that make up Antigua. We saw turtles popping their heads out of the water all day long! As well as many species of birds, lizards, spiders and even a sting ray. We stopped at Bird Island where Eli's friend Evi took us on a short hike up to see a beautiful overlook. Some people stayed on the beach and others learned to snorkel. After that we had lunch on the boat, delicious. It consisted of barbequed chicken, salad, garlicky pasta salad, banana bread and plantains. Following lunch we sailed over to Hell's Gate, amazing! We chose to hike through the cave to walk on top of the rock formation. Some stayed on the boat and others sat in the jacuzzi below Hell's gate and still more went snorkelling. Evi took us through the rocks and helped us get to the top of Hell's Gate, very cool (a highlight of the entire cruise). After the climb we sailed back toward Bird Island for more snorkelling. I stayed on the boat and sunned myself while others swam. Lastly we had a relaxing cruise back to the pier with rum punch and other assorted local fruit drinks. It was a great time and I would highly recommend it. T-Shirts were $20. Let me know if you have any specific questions I would be happy to tell you even more about this great experience.

[micdee]

We have booked this tour and I would like to know how physical the hiking is? I have no problems with walking on flat surfaces, it's just that I'm kind of a klutz when it comes to climbing over rocks and things. Don't want to break my ankle while on a cruise:eek: . Do you think I should just stay behind and snorkle?

Thanks,

[daneicy80]

The hike up Bird Island was rocky and a little steep, best for young fit individuals. My mom was with us and she decided to stay on the boat and it was a good thing, I don't think she would have made it up. I suggest you get onto the island and check it out for yourself. There were plenty of people that turned around once they saw it. The same goes for Hell's Gate. You must bend over to make it through the cave; while the footing is more stable than Bird Island it is also challenging. Try it out, the worst that will happen is that you turn around and stay in the "jacuzzi". Warning, Evi will tell you that there are snakes on bird island and spiders in Hell's Gate, this was enough to scare some people!

[dna1990]

The hike to the top of Bird Island is abit trecherous. It is somewhat steep and there are some loose rocks. However, it is only a 5 minute kind of walk - and you will have great company to lend a reaching hand.

 

Go with the expectation you WILL climb it (the rewards of the view from atop are worth it). But for some reason, you get there and decide for yourself otherwise, then Eli makes a great host back on the beach or the boat.

 

Take some good shoes, no flipflops, etc.

 

 

 

Sidenote: this past week of decorating the house for the Holidays....we have replaced many of the pictures throughout the house with various decorations.....one picture that remains - is my wife and I sitting on the back seat of Eli's boat, brilliant sunshine and the deepest blue water wake in the background. Serenity.

[Robin G]

My husband, 8-yr old daughter and I have scheduled this tour for 2/15/05. Sounds like a wonderful way to spend the day. Did you feel like you missed out seeing the others spots of Antigua? Is the island loaded with mountains like St. Thomas or flat like Aruba or Grand Cayman? Just curious and can't wait. Is the hike something my daughter would want to do? Will she be bored? Thanks for all the info.

[daneicy80]

Robin-

 

It was a wonderful day with Eli. We were able to shop in the morning before the tour and a little more after the tour so if you are concerned about that don't worry. I did feel a little as though we missed out on the main island sightseeing in Antigua but it was still definitely worth it. I believe that Eli takes you to the Antigua he wants you to see and remember and tell all your friends about. It was breathtaking. He does point out places of interest on the mainland and tells you about them but if you want an island tour this is not it. Most of the day is spent on his boat, with stops at Bird Island and Hell's Gate. Your 8-year-old will love it, she may be bored for the first half, which is primarily a boat ride/tour but the second half she will love, especially caving through Hell's Gate, Eli said that he and Evi went there as kids and it was their playground, they would play hide and seek. She will really enjoy it as well.

[dna1990]

Yes Robin, the tour did take up our entire day in Antigua, only enough time for some simple shopping near the pier. But do I feel I missed Antigua? No way! In fact, Eli is likely to give you much more of 'Antigua' than most guides or tours.

 

Yes, it is only water-based and there are 365 beaches yet to be seen. But it is a great way to experience the island. I can 'assume' from your list of cruises, you know very well the garden variety snorkel trip always offered by RCI. This, will be something much more.

 

There are some hills to Antigua, my memory would place it in between Cayman and St.Thomas, in terms of terrain. You will get to see about 1/2 of the main island from the water.

 

There were two older teenagers (girls) and one 12 yo boy with our tour. All enjoyed the day very much. Of course, the girls spent most of it 'eyeing' Eli and his mate, and listening to their accent. The young boy did not care for the lunch that was provided (not exactly a Happy Meal, but delicious for the rest of us), I gave him some crackers and cookies we had brought. Since it is a long day (and for any excursion really), take some snacks for all, especially for after swimming and snorkeling. There is alot of animal life to see and to be looking for on this tour. I imagine your 8yo girl will enjoy that the most.

 

I think "hike" may be the wrong word here, I do not want anyone to think it is this long trek thru the jungle wilderness. At Bird Island, Eli beaches the boat, this is the one place on Eli's Tour that you will share the spot with other excursions. The beach we used was on the cove side and offers a very calm and shallow area to swim and practice snorkeling. For those interested in the hike, we walked about 100 yards thru the flat grassy area up to the rocky foothill. From there, you walk up a fairly steep trail to the top. 5-10 minutes max, if you stop for a rest. Atop the island, the view of the Atlantic-side and the main island on the Sea side - are great. There is also a natural bridge (or hole, depending on if your glass is half empty), take SHOES and a CAMERA! You can then spend as much or little time up top as you like, given whatever max limit Eli sets. Snakes? Ahh, nah. Birds? Oh yes. And butterflies by the thousands (January time).

 

If you don't like the looks of the "hike", you can easily rejoin the boat on your own, and will have not lost any time in checking it out.

 

At Hell's Gate, we chose to snorkel, so I can't comment directly on that "hike", but watched others do it. It is a little more involved, a water entrance from the boat and wade over to the rocky formation. From there, it is much more a "climb around the rock formation" than a hike. Again, you could change your mind and wade back over to the boat at your leisure. Water shoes and waterproof camera are the preferred equipment there.

 

Jodi (one of those to first discover Eli) will chime in here and correct me if I said anything wrong or outdated. Beyond that, email Eli (or Chantel) and ask directly from them.

 

Have a Happy Valentines Robin.

[micdee]

Thanks for the replies. I'll give it a try and if I don't feel sure footed I'll go back and snorkel.

 

Robin

Looks like we'll be on the same trip. We are sailing on the Serenade too! There is a post that I started on the Roll Call boards - Serenade 2/12/2005,If at First You Don't Succeed....... Please come join us:) . Another fellow cruiser, Wayne and his family will be on Eli's tour as well. I see that you are from Allentown, we're from Philly, small world. Hope to see you onboard,

Mickey

[daneicy80]

I've also got a couple pictures that we took on Eli's Tour last week. They are not on the web yet but if you are interested let me know your e-mail address and I will send them over. Most are scenic pics of the views and such.

[Baymeadowgirl]

We are booked on the Serenade on 2/26 and are taking Eli's tour in Antigua. We have heard great things and would love to have some photos of your trip. It sounds great and we have only 80 days until we sail. My e-mail is Lv2tvl550@aol.com

Thanks

[daneicy80]

Baymeadowgirl,

 

I just sent an e-mail to you with the attached images. I apologize if there were too many! Enjoy. I will have them all up on webshots later today. Will let you all know the link later

[1kycat]

I would love to see the pics as well....

 

creativeimagesinc@hotmail.com

 

Thanks

[daneicy80]

1kycat,

 

Just sent some images over, will post a link to webshots once I get home from work tonight, give it another 3-4 hours and it will be up there with all the pics from my cruise 242 of them!

[daneicy80]

Here is the link to see my Eli's Tour Pics on Webshots. Enjoy!

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/daneicy80

[1kycat]

Thanks so much

 

Great pics

[uromac]

Great Pictures - we're going on Eli's tour in 2 weeks! It's wonderful to know that you had a great time! BTW, Any shoe recommendations? I know that it was mentioned on an e-mail that we received somewhere, but now I can't find his recommendations for foot apparel for his tour.

 

Thanks!

 

Melissa

[Texed]

Great pictures!

 

As far as shoes, I would recommend the STRAP on sandals that are water proof.

 

We were with Eli for the 4th time at Thanksgiving, and we loved it, AGAIN.:)

[Tex_Jen]

Daneicy,

Those were really awesome pictures! Reminded me of our trip. Can't wait to go back again.

Jen

[dna1990]

For Bird Island, you need some decent shoes. My personal opinion would be closed water shoes or regular tennis shoes, versus an open sandal of some sort.

 

For Hell's Gate, water shoes seem the only logical choice. Like a good snorkel mask, "good" quality water shoes are a sound investment for the Caribbean Cruiser.

 

My actual reason to reply was to say, avoid 'black soled" shoes if at all possible. Eli's pristine white boat, can do without the rubber streaks left behind. Most men's sandals today have those thick black soles, you should remove these before boarding anyone's boat.

 

Enjoy!

 

Tex, we too are from Houston and will be aboard Jewel a little before you Mar 6th....we'll leave a good word.

[daneicy80]

dna makes a good point, about the shoes. Eli is very protective about his boat and it shows. When you first get on the boat he asks that you all remove your shoes, so in a sense it is like a barefoot cruise! They bring along two or three bins that you just drop your shoes into. Each time you get on and off of the boat you put your shoes into these bins so as not to mess up his boat. Just a word of warning, if you bring along socks and sneakers, they may get wet as people throw their wet shoes in the same bins as dry ones. But sneakers are great for Bird Island, I just did it in my strapped sandals and it definitely would have been better in sneaks, but it can be done in sandals too.

[Robin G]

Thanks everyone for the responses. The photos look fantastic. I think I'll love it -- as for my husband and daughter -- you can't please everyone all of the time. Besides, I've been put in charge of the "FUN"! Thanks again!!

[erniesband]

Hi, DNA! It's Jodi here, posting as Ernie (too lazy to change logins). Texed, I'm jealous - you're one ahead of us now, and the closest we're getting to Antigua this year is St. Barts. We leave on Empress in just over a month.

 

Eli's tour is by far the best we've ever done - 3 times. We're planning on going back to Antigua next year, we'll pick the cruise specifically to hit that port, and to see Eli again. When we first met him, he had a much smaller boat, one friend helping out on board, and his clientele was mostly from the land-based vacationer trade. Boy, how things change! The new boat, purchased to accomodate the increased demand, is great - beautiful, comfortable, and a very smooth ride. When we last saw him, 2 friends were helping him out on board, allowing more options at the various stops, and Chantal, his girlfriend, was an active part of the business. As of our latest e-mail from him, his siblings are involved now, too. Despite the growth, he still offers a "small group" tour - none of the large group lines and problems, none of the "group grope" snorkeling, and offers great peronalized narratives and stories throughout the day. His perspective and information on island history and political issues is fascinating.

 

Lunch is home made - fresh every day. Eli's neighbor makes the lunch each morning. Yum! And the beverages on board are unlike others on other tours - we've had guava juice and tamarind juice (as well as pop, water and Eli's special rum punch).

 

I would say that Hell's Gate is more challenging than Bird Island. Bird Island includes one relatively steep section, but it's a well-worn path, and short. Hell's Gate involves some rock climbing, and is limestone with some fairly sharp edges. Who ever guides you up will explain about being careful not to cut yourself. Most people, however, can do both hikes/climbs. By the way, I use sport sandals when I'm with Eli - the kind with straps, and they work very well.

 

An 8-year old will love this excursion! We've been on it with some younger kids, and I've never seen one bored on unhappy.

 

Have a great time!

[Texed]

Jodi,

 

Great to hear from you. Yeah, Eli is still a lot of fun.:)

[stebul]

We took Eli's tour on Dec 18, and it was one of the highlights of our cruise. We were the only cruise ship passengers that day but there were about 20 other passengers who were staying on Antigua. The boat was not crowded, and there was always room to sit in the sun or in the shade. Eli and Chantal picked us up at 10AM adjacent to the cruise ship pier, and we were back on our ship by 4:15PM. The food, drinks, boat, and tour narration are all first class -- Eli puts in the extra effort to exceed your expectations, and that's a great way to keep everyone happy! The hikes on Bird Island and Hell's Gate are fine for most kids and adults. There are no stairs or ladders on the hikes, but if you are uncomfortable with either you might want to stay on the boat (you will still have a good time). If you can climb stairs or a step ladder, you will do fine. Finally, do this trip now! One of the islands Eli uses to show visitors the mangrove habitat was recently bulldozed to build a private mansion, and another island is slated to be turned into luxury hotels/homes. Eli says Bird Island is protected from development, but everything else on the tour is threatened.

[missmissypie068]

We did Eli's tour in Dec and LOVED IT!! A real highlight! ALL the other great things written about him and his tour on these boards are true. His tour was the perfect combo of ecology and history and you could be as physical as you wanted. The only thing I would do differently and recommend to others is to wear tennis shoes for the hike up Bird Island. My Teva's were wet and I was slipping on the rocks.......was a bit of a challenge. But, ahhhhhhhh the views from the top of Bird Island are incredible!!!! Also, I wouldn't even try to do Hell's Gate in water socks. You really need Teva's or something like that because the rocks are sharp. Hell's Gate was another highlight. Very cool!Also, for the record, all the posts about Eli being sexy are true.......hehe.......so, enjoy the views! :)