Tranquilo Sailing Yacht

Anyone ever taken this excursion? It's an independent that was recommended to me. Looks good..... Here's the link:

http://www.visitaruba.com/tranquilo/

Let me know if you have any feedback on them. Thanks.

Went on the tranquillo a year ago.

It was just "ok"...

That's the top rated one for people who return to Aruba each year.

personal opinion, I guess

We've sailed w/Anthony twice

last time for the full day sail

went to Mike's lagoon ... .very poor snorkeling

then took the dingy over to another spot, didn't realize that that was the second snorkel.

then they served ham & cheese sandwiches and pea soup.

They did have balashis and "jet fuel" (spiked punch that was popular).

Personally we enjoyed our day w/Jolly Pirates much better.

I think calling Tranquillo a yacht was also "streching" it a bit, wasn't a yacht in the sense of Safir on Grand Cayman... Tranquillo is bare bones, not a luxury sail.

But then again, JMHO.

Jaffe,

Thank you for your response. Just wondering if "Jolly Pirates" has a website that I could go look? What kind of tours do they provide?

yes they do have a website..

think it's jollypirates.com

they offer a full day excursion and also I believe on certain afternoons and a sunset sail.

It's not the typical "party boat" atmosphere.. was really impressed and in addition found the price "easy" on the purse with the quality of service and product offered. When we did the Tranquillo, it was "nice" but felt that something was "missing"

but then again it's JMHO

Carolyn

The tranquillo is a small vessel, but very nice. I enjoyed it immensely. I did not want a party boat for my sunset sail. I will be back on it in November.

check out the jolly roger website, its also a good cruise, just different from the Tranquillo

<LI class=first>www.jollypirates.com<LI class=first>http://www.jollypirates.com

jolly pirate is NOT a jolly rogers experience.

Lots of space on deck and in shade... for everyone

JMHO

Carolyn

We sailed with Anthony on the Tranquilo last Tuesday. I would agree with most of the comments here.

1. The Tranquilo is not a yacht, it is a 43 foot sailboat.
   
2. The condition of Mike's Reef is pitiful only due mainly to the depreciation of the coral. In the 10 years we have been diving Aruba we have seen the coral go from being pretty excellent shape to now alarming.
   
3. The snorkel inside Mike's Reef is a spot named Spanish Lagoon. This was basically just to get you to the dock to hop over the reef, Anthony was more than willing to take you to the dock by dingy.
   
4. There were 2 snorkel trips on Mike's Reef, one shallow on your own in 4 - 12 feet of water closest to the coral outcropping and then a drift snorkel further out where the waters are on up towards 40 feet, where Anthony follows in the dingy and picks you up after about 20 - 25 minutes.
   
5. Dispite the poor condition of the coral there were PLENTY of fish and we were even fortunate enough to see a HUGE Green Moray Eel during our drift snorkel. In our years of diving we have NEVER seen a fellow THAT huge.
   
6. Food, beverage and service was fine, not gourmet, pea soup definitely a novelty and delicious. Dd had 2 cups and she does not like pea soup so I have that to go by :rolleyes:
   
7. Many excursions in Aruba charge extra for beer. The Balashi beer (delicious local beer brewed a mile or so from Mike's Reef) was free flowing on Tranquilo.
   
8. The sail back to Palm Beach is most relaxing and for me one of the highlights of the day.
   
9. Anthony had 9 of us aboard the Tranquilo the day we sailed with him. Lucky us, but there was room for more people. When he sailed on Friday we could see the Tranquilo from where we were sitting on the beach and it appeared that there were about the same number of people on the day's sail.
   
10. Anthony and his 1st mate Gregory were more than happy to answer everyone's questions about Aruba without getting an attitude that you were bugging them. At one point during lunch Anthony pulled out a sailing magazine for his own enjoyment, but I was not paying him to be entertained.

I would not say that our family would have to do it again. If you do not feel the day is a good value for your money and you wish to see Aruba's undersea world, for about $10 more, less time and a very short boat ride, you could take a "Discover Scuba" course. We dove the Pedernales wreck with my 10 yo dd who took her first scuba course and saw the same amount of fish as we did on the reef. There was a 30 minute bottom time and lots of colorful sponges and other interesting creatures :)

IF you want to do a boat snorkel excursion AND your ship also stops in Barbados, it is pricey, but I HIGHLY recommend the Silvermoon. See this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=350140 If you are looking for a Yacht experience this may be more to your liking.

Just found out that he Captain will not be sailing the 4th of October through the 16th of October. He and his team are entered in the Bonaire International Sailing Regatta.

We just went on the Tranquilo yesterday and had a fabulous time. Anthony was very friendly and even though he did not have enough bookings to meet his minimum he still took us out for the whole day excursion. The snorkeling itself was just ok, but we have snorkeled many other places including aruba in the past and we knew that aruba doesn't have the best snorkeling. The boat was very nice and we had a beautiful sail both ways. The trip back is quite exciting because the winds really pick up in the afternoon there. The last snorkeling excursion we did in Aruba was booked thru the cruise ship and this one was so much better for about the same price, maybe less. We would not hesitate to book with him again either on a land trip or if coming by cruise ship. Also I agree the pea soup was delicious and I don't even like peas!

I have to agree about the Silver Moon. If you are in Barbados, don't miss it . They only take 12, so plan ahead. The very best excursion we ever took.

Has anybody taken the Tranquilo excursion lately? If so, how did you like it? We did the Silvermoon in Barbados also and I am hoping this is somewhat like that.

When we did Aruba, we went on the Mi Dushi sail. We had a wonderful time. We felt like we got very personal attention. The rope swing was tons of fun and the lunch was marvelous. I think it was $54pp, which I felt was a terrific bargain considering what we got.

Alanna

Alanna,

Thanks for the Mi Dushi update. I was looking into that also. Were there a lot of people onboard? How was the snorkeling?

It seems we wind up following you around. On our first cruise we followed your advice for Rumbaba in St. Thomas. That still goes down as one of the best days of my life. And I think we used the same tour guide in St. Lucia, but his name is escaping me at the moment.

I think I can safely follow your advice about Leo in Curacro. I'll let him know you sent me.

Thanks for all your help. :)

Fritz

Okay....now that's funny! We actually met some people on our last cruise who went on the Mi Dushi with us and loved it so much that she said she was only doing tours that I recommend from now on!! They loved our tour with Leo, too, by the way.

The day we took the Mi Dushi, there were 17 people aboard. There was plenty of room. There was shade available. They have this great hammock area in the bow of the ship that you can lay on and be right over the water. And my husband was thrilled with the rope swing. I actually picked them based on reviews of the food! That's also why I picked Rumbaba. As you can see, I like to eat!

If you would like to send me your e-mail address, I'll send you a link to some pictures from that day. alanna.farnsworth@comcast.net

Still looking for an update on Tranquillo. Has anybody been with them lately? :confused: