Motorcycle cruises: take your motorcycle on a Caribbean cruise!

July 16, 7:49 AMBaltimore Motorcycle Travel ExaminerTom Bachur

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Motorcycles, Cruise Ships and Caribbean Islands. (Photo: John Tartufo)     Click Here To See Other Photos 

“You did what?  How did you get to do that?”

That was my reaction last week when Monica Tartufo told me about Entertainment & Travel Alternatives Inc.’s “Motorcycle Cruises.”  Monica and her husband John own the Countryside Café, in West Fenwick, Delaware.  Over the years, our family has come to treasure the friendly atmosphere at the Countryside Café.  We return every year, and look forward to being greeted by Monica and spending a few minutes catching-up on old conversations.

This year’s conversation turned to motorcycles.  I’d seen John’s Fire Department Harley-Davidson parked outside of the café and commented on it.  As motorcycles have a way of doing, a common passion was discovered and we were soon comparing “notes.”  That’s when Monica pulled out her riding “trump card” and told me about ETA’s motorcycle cruises, aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

I sat and listened in amazement as Monica described the basic idea.  Book a motorcycle cruise with ETA Travel and show up dock-side with your motorcycle.  You load your motorcycle on a cruise ship and enjoy a peaceful cruise to a selection of Caribbean islands.  Once in port in the Caribbean, you unload your motorcycle and take an ETA guided riding tour of the island!  At the end of your island tour, you load your bike back on the cruise ship and cruise to your next port-of-call.

Motorcycles, cruise ships and Caribbean islands!  I was in disbelief.  It sounded like the lyrics from a Jimmy Buffett song.  This was simply too good to be true!  Monica assured me that it is true and that a motorcycle cruise vacation was not much more expensive than a normal cruise vacation!

Monica could see that I was intrigued, and suggested that I talk to her husband, John and also to Steve Wallach, the President of ETA Travel to learn more details about motorcycle cruising.  I took Monica’s suggestion, and sat down for about an hour with John a few days later.  John is a firefighter, an avid rider with a huge heart, and an all around great guy.

Other articles in this series:

Motorcycle Cruising Through a Rider's Eyes

ETA Travel and the History of Motorcycle Cruises

Baltimore Motorcycle Cruise Dates Set for 2010

To whet your appetite, I’ve provided a slideshow below of a few pictures John provided from his most recent motorcycle cruise with ETA travel.

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