hey jose,
it depends on what you want. limnos is a double decker slower boat, they serve you lunch, and dock in spanishtown on virgin gorda. so you can do a little shopping also.
and new horizons / breakaway is a speed boat, faster, but you swim in from the boat to the baths and you don't get lunch i don't think. you buy it there. both have open bar.

hope this helps, scooby

I don't think this will end the debate, but from personal experience....we've been on the Limnos and New Horizons II, both offer different experiences. I really enjoyed the fact that the Limnos docked in Spanishtown as you get a mini-tour of Virgin Gorda and going to the Baths from the top was preferably as the view from the top is beautiful and there is a restaurant, pool and shop - you can swim in the pool if you buy a drink! HOWEVER, we took the NHII last June and loved it - it went to several different snorkeling areas than the Limnos goes to and we had lunch at Marina Cay - which was delicious and is a beautiful little island (so beautiful,in fact, we went back and spent five days there the first of this month!)... the only negative (if you would call it that) was that when NH visits the baths the boat moors and you swim in and they didn't tell anyone about the amenities at the top. I understand that the Breakaway schedule is very similar to the NH - I know they lunch at Marina Cay. You should visit each ones website and carefully read their itineraries... one more thing, the NH only takes 18 people - the Limnos, I am not positive, but I know when we took it there were at least 25 or 30 (the Limnos has an upper deck) - we weren't crowded at all, there were just a lot more people. Have a fabulous trip !!!! C. <')))<

There is no definitive answer. Depends what you are looking for. If you take a look at my trip report posted Dec. 24 I talk about both NHII and Limnos. I liked them both for different reasons. After doing NHII this summer, which we liked, I decided I really wanted to see Norman Island and that area of the BVI, which NHII doesn't go to. The advantages for us with Limnos was the big boat (my daughter gets seasick), the upper deck (being able to move around more), cheaper, it wasn't nearly full because still off season, and being able to see some of Vigin Gorda on taxi ride. I honestly didn't notice that it was slower, although I assume it was. NHII was a more "intimate," "adult" experience, which I didn't need with my two adult children. You still only snorkel in one place - Guana Island (although we took our own snorkel gear and snorkeled at The Baths too). And we really had no interest in drinking more at Soggy Dollar after having an open bar on boat all day. There was definitely more emphasis on the drinking on NHII, although Limnos has an open bar. Both are good. Crew was great on both - a bit more entertaining on NHII. More entertainment than we needed. The restaurant at Marina Cay is a really cool atmosphere and we really liked it - but it means spending more money (and more time on land instead of on boat - same with Soggy Dollar).

As you can see from the other posts, there really is no debate. It just depends on the experience you want. How do you define best? Best to me was space to breathe, not spending a bloody fortune, opportunity to snorkle in a very cool place that I probably woudn't find on my own without multiple trips to the VIs (hmm... good idea once I win the lottery), a chance to visit the Baths in some detail, and not being surrounded by "opportunities" to drink myself silly. Limnos was our choice and they did have an open bar but we didn't boat over to any other bars so we got to focus on snorkling and sightseeing. I can drink at home or at a bar in the evening on vacation, don't want to spend the day doing it too. The NHII boat we saw leave from Cruz Bay was packed to the gills, which would have annoyed me no end. Plus at the Baths, you can only be at the Baths and don't get to see any other part of Virgin Gorda. Hey, if my visits aren't frequent, I want to take advantage of every opp I can to see some of the other islands.
You just have to decide who you are, what social experience you want versus what sightseeing/snorkling etc experience you want. Maybe we all are really asking- who might rip us off, who might say they offer such and such then don't deliver at all or present with an unsafe boat, or food that goes bad, that kind of thing. From what I gather, all the charters reviewed throughout this message board are fine for what they offer. Enjoy whatever you decide but I vote for Limnos as does my husband based on a terrific day with them. They even let me steer the boat for several minutes (hovering by my side) which was a thrill for this Buzzards Bay boater!

We just returned home from 10 days on St. John and I read all the posts about the BVI trips before going as well. We had originally reserved NHII, but I changed my mind after talking with someone from a booking company. We decided on Stormy Petrol/Pirates Penny. We were actually picked up in St. John on Pirates Penny as Stormy Petrol was on a private trip that day. Our Captain Andy and his mate Laura were fantastic. There were only 9 passengers plus crew. We went to the Baths and Andy and Lauren gave us a guided trip through there,snorkeld around the Baths then we went to Copper Island for lunch-great, would like to return, then we went to the Indians to snorkel but swell was too much so we went to one end of Norman Island. The reef was very alive there. I am not a strong swimmer and Andy helped me in to the Baths from the boat and stayed by me when we snorkeled the area around the Baths until I felt comfortable. Andy and Laura were a wealth of information about the area as well as entertaining. There was an open bar on the boat but it was not the focus for any of us. Although I heard that Jost was fun, I knew my family would not be interested hanging on the beach there while others were at Soggy Dollar Bar. While we were waiting to be picked up at the dock, NHII stopped to pick up passengers and it is a great looking boat. It was also full of teenage boys that day, so it might have been a wild trip as drinking age is 16 in BVI so as soon as the boat is in that area, it is legal.

I think any trip would be good, the north side of Tortola is breathtaking. We did stop in Spanishtown on VG for a little visit while they were checking in with Customs. There are a few shops and a marina full of very nice private yachts. Have fun.

ditto on lopezlady's comments. buddy & I took stormy petrel excursion on 12/13, andy and laura couldn't do enough for you. LL, did your group get the guided tour to top of rocks at edge of water and do the jump into water to get back to beach area? water was calmer and we got to do the indians, best snorkle of probably 100 i've done!

while more expensive than limnos and other big boats, we thought well worth it. can't say enough for treatment. we were also alerted to beware of crowds at baths due to cruise ships in bvis not stt. while there where quite a few on 14th, 15th & 16th,no big ships in bvi tuesday 13th, not crowded at all but add 100 cruise shippers and you have a crowd!

papabou

Yes, my 16 year old daughter took Andy's way and jumped from the rock, but I took Laura's "saner" route. The Baths were very busy that day and some people just standing on the rocks looking confused as if they were on their own and didn't know where to go. Unfortunately, they were often standing in an area that the rest of us need to use to get from one area to the next. It was comicable to see some people trying to hold their expensive cameras over their heads! I appreciated the guide through the Baths, but would have liked to be there when it wasn't so crowded. We were in STJ 12/19-12/29, a very busy time, so I guess we have to expect crowds that time of the year, however, we all agreed that we wouldn't visit there at the holidays again. With that said, The Baths were amazing anyway.