Is the second Tortola back?

[disnutz]

I think I saw that the second Tortola cruisers are back, or are they still sailing? Any word from you all?

 

[ibouncetoo]

I don't think they head out till about the 23rd of June.

Edited:

It's June 20. Here's a FAB pre-trip report:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2185447

 

[tripodjw]

I think I saw that the second Tortola cruisers are back, or are they still sailing? Any word from you all?

We are back. We sailed 23-30 May (1st Tortola was late April).

Had an awesome time. Personally i'm struggling with jet lag and lost baggage issues (all my baggage has gone awol) so can't think very straight to report back properly.

But, I did think Tortola was lovely, very unspoilt in comparison to St Thomas. We did the sail, snorkel and beach excursion which was very good. The sailing part was beautiful and the snorkel/beach parts were fun.

The port (roadtown) was quaint, but is undergoing quite a lot of development - lots of building and road improvements, so my guess is Tortola will change a lot over the next few years.

I'd definately go back. I, as well as many others, will be doing TR's in the coming days/weeks.

 

[ibouncetoo]

Somehow I lost a month! (Hadn't had my morning coffee)

And we shiver with anticipation on the trip reports!

 

[justmestace]

Yep, Number Two is back!!

We did a private catamaran, only 6 of us from the DIS and it was $110 per person, which we all thought was very comparable to ship excursions.

They sent a taxi van to the port for us, and we sailed from about 9:30 and returned to port at about 4:45. Sadly, the shops were all closing at 5:00, so my one regret is that although we saw a lot of the island on the taxi ride, we didn't have a lot of time for souvenir shopping.

We snorkeled, they fed us a great lunch onboard, and we went to White Bay at Jost Van **** (which will get edited out by the DIS censor). Got to go to the famous Soggy Dollar Bar....the beach there is awesome!

We had a dolphin follow the Cat for a long time, jumping and rolling and swimming alongside. So cool!

Tortola is beautiful, lush and green...hilly, and they drive on the "other" side and go pretty crazy behind the wheel of a car. But we survived it. Our driver seemed very used to it, and wasn't bothered in the least.

This is the website for the Cat we sailed on. HIGHLY recommended if you like doing things on your own!

www.kuralu.com

 

[disnutz]

Yea!! Glad to hear you are back. Anything unexpected happen this trip? Were the theme nights the same as the first tortola cruise?

Any otehr reviews from the excursions? Can't wait to read your reports!!

 

[WiscBill]

We had a great time also but with a few caveats. My wife did the two tank scuba dive. She enjoyed it, but felt rushed because the dive operators made a point to have everything done on time at DCL's request. Apparently on the first Tortolla cruise, someone had double booked an afternoon excursion, which they missed. Not sure how they did that, but as a result the dives were a little short on time. She stilled enjoyed it tremendously and would definitely do it again.

DD, 7 and I did the Island Drive and Beach Break. This was just OK. The weather was overcast that day, so on the drive up there was not a lot to see, but we did get some nice pictures of the Magic. At the top there is a restaurant which has an observation deck. Again, not much to see. There was a small shop. The restaurant also charges a $1 per person to use the facilities. However, Cane Garden Beach is only about 15 minutes away where the restrooms are free. Cane Garden Beach was beautiful. They gave us a full hour there. We were given a free drink (rum punch, with or without rum), but other drinks were available for purchase for around $2 each. We were also given a chaise lounge each, but umbrellas were extra (They weren't needed because of the overcast). The Island Drive, Beach Break, and Lunch is the same excursion with a buffet lunch (chicken and ribs, with rice and vegetables) at the restaurant (Myett's ?).

Coming back from the beach was not so good. I had asked the driver how long it was back to the ship and he said about 15 minutes. I was worried about getting a snack for my daughter, but I figured with that short of a drive we'd be back no later than 1230. The actual drive took about an hour and was very, very boring. Even worse, the driver stopped to take pictures at some beach bar that was famous for having women's underwear tacked to the walls. Not really appropriate for a DCL excursion. We finally made it back to the ship after 1PM, with a very tired and hungry DD. I filled out a feedback form and the excursions desk responded very well. They promised to fix the return time and stop for the next cruise and paid for our getaway packages on Castaway Cay as compensation. DCL makes every effort to make sure you have a good time, so I was very grateful. However, if I went back, I would just take a taxi to Cane Garden Bay on my own. There are lots of places to rent chairs and umbrellas and lots of restaurants (that are not decorated with underwear)

After feeding DD and meeting up with DW, we all left the ship (you are in port till 6 PM) to do some shopping. Quite frankly, there aren't a lot of shops in Roadtown. There is an open air market right outside the pier, but it consisted of about three dozen vendors all selling the same stuff either made in Mexico or China at a stiff markup (at least compared to Cozumel prices). There is another local market further on in Roadtown called Arts and Crafts Village (or something like that) which did have some items made locally, including a shop with crafts made by senior citizens. We bought DD a rag doll there, which she really liked. However, overall, there just isn't a lot in Roadtown. Our tablemates at dinner ate a the Pusser's in Roadtown and said it was quite good. They had booked a private sail to the Baths, which I think is the way to go. According to them, the boat anchors a short distance off shore and you swim/wade in. Then you sail back with snacks and drinks provided. We ran into them while shoppint at the Arts and Crafts Village.

Tortolla is beautiful and the other islands look gorgeous, but as I said before, if I went again, I would arrange a private excursion like Stacy (who heads up my entourage).

 

[justmestace]

Tortolla is beautiful and the other islands look gorgeous, but as I said before, if I went again, I would arrange a private excursion like Stacy (who heads up my entourage).

At least I was upgraded from "Stalker"!!

If we were to go to Tortola again, we'd do our Plan B....which was to take a taxi to the less crowded Brewer's Bay beach. You can snorkel there and they have facilities. But looking at the map, it looks and sounds (from what I've heard) that a drive across the island like that would be longer than our 20-30 minute ride to the West End and Soper's Hole...which is where we got on the Catamaran. On the map, that looks like a really long drive, but it wasn't bad at all. Once we got out of Roadtown proper, it was just easy and pretty scenery.

One of my funnier memories was at Kuralu's dock. My friends had walked up the road to a couple of small shops, and I was standing by the road watching for them to come back. There was an older man, a native islander, sitting on the deck of a tiny little building. He looked at me and said "You be standin' unda da coconut tree"....I looked up, and sure enough.....

 

[WiscBill]

At least I was upgraded from "Stalker"!!

If we were to go to Tortola again, we'd do our Plan B....which was to take a taxi to the less crowded Brewer's Bay beach. You can snorkel there and they have facilities. But looking at the map, it looks and sounds (from what I've heard) that a drive across the island like that would be longer than our 20-30 minute ride to the West End and Soper's Hole...which is where we got on the Catamaran. On the map, that looks like a really long drive, but it wasn't bad at all. Once we got out of Roadtown proper, it was just easy and pretty scenery.

One of my funnier memories was at Kuralu's dock. My friends had walked up the road to a couple of small shops, and I was standing by the road watching for them to come back. There was an older man, a native islander, sitting on the deck of a tiny little building. He looked at me and said "You be standin' unda da coconut tree"....I looked up, and sure enough.....

Stalker?? I just thought you wanted my autograph instead of Carl Fredrickson's.

Stacy makes a good point about Brewer's Bay. On this trip, the Magic was the only cruise ship in port. If there were more (and we heard that during high season, there have been 4-5 ships at one time), Cane Garden Bay would be very crowded. Here's a photo as we drove down to the beach.

 

[Evans Family]

We were on the 5/23 sailing. We had a wonderful time. The food was great along with the service. We had great entertainers and we saw lots of movies including the UP! premere.

We went on the trip to the Baths through Pantouche - they did a great job. It really was the highlight of our trip. Just 12 people on our sailboat (all from the Magic). They met us at the dock took us to their boat and we sailed to the Baths. It was a really, really cool place. We snorkeled and swam to shore had a guided tour and had time to explore/swim/jump off the boat etc before sailing back. The had beer/rum punch/snacks/sodas on the boat ride to and from the Baths. $80 per adult/ $50 per child. We picked it because we liked being able to boat directly to the baths and not have to hike down.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[gfolchick]

Evans Family,
We're booked with Patouche in August. What did they serve for snacks? Did you tip them after the sail? We will be doing an all day sail with 3 stops for snorkeling which is a little pricier-$125/adult, $75 child. Was Carlton waiting for you at the pier to take you to the dock? What time were you able to leave the Magic that morning? We are supposed to meet them at 8 am (outside the Magic), just wondering if that will be cutting it close.


TIA! Glad to hear from all of you that it was a nice stop. Looking forward to it.

 

[TiggersPal]

Yep, Number Two is back!!

We did a private catamaran, only 6 of us from the DIS and it was $110 per person, which we all thought was very comparable to ship excursions.

They sent a taxi van to the port for us, and we sailed from about 9:30 and returned to port at about 4:45. Sadly, the shops were all closing at 5:00, so my one regret is that although we saw a lot of the island on the taxi ride, we didn't have a lot of time for souvenir shopping.

We snorkeled, they fed us a great lunch onboard, and we went to White Bay at Jost Van **** (which will get edited out by the DIS censor). Got to go to the famous Soggy Dollar Bar....the beach there is awesome!

We had a dolphin follow the Cat for a long time, jumping and rolling and swimming alongside. So cool!

Tortola is beautiful, lush and green...hilly, and they drive on the "other" side and go pretty crazy behind the wheel of a car. But we survived it. Our driver seemed very used to it, and wasn't bothered in the least.

This is the website for the Cat we sailed on. HIGHLY recommended if you like doing things on your own!

www.kuralu.com

Thanks! Can you tell me how many people they'd "require" as a minimum? This sound PERFECT for our family celebration in 9/12

 

[bdtmoult]

Yep, Number Two is back!!

We did a private catamaran, only 6 of us from the DIS and it was $110 per person, which we all thought was very comparable to ship excursions.

They sent a taxi van to the port for us, and we sailed from about 9:30 and returned to port at about 4:45. Sadly, the shops were all closing at 5:00, so my one regret is that although we saw a lot of the island on the taxi ride, we didn't have a lot of time for souvenir shopping.

We snorkeled, they fed us a great lunch onboard, and we went to White Bay at Jost Van **** (which will get edited out by the DIS censor). Got to go to the famous Soggy Dollar Bar....the beach there is awesome!

We had a dolphin follow the Cat for a long time, jumping and rolling and swimming alongside. So cool!

Tortola is beautiful, lush and green...hilly, and they drive on the "other" side and go pretty crazy behind the wheel of a car. But we survived it. Our driver seemed very used to it, and wasn't bothered in the least.

This is the website for the Cat we sailed on. HIGHLY recommended if you like doing things on your own!

www.kuralu.com

Did you happen to see the ship excursion while there? It was also $110 and I was curious if anyone did it/enjoyed it.

 

[diznefamily]

Did anyone do Dolphin Discovery? We are booked for it in August but have not heard back from anyone about it.

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

My husband and I also did the Patouche catamaran sail to the Baths and we absolutely loved it. It was just a small group of us and it was so laid back and relaxing. The snacks were just granola bars and small bags of chips and snack mix - nothing substantial. The rum punch, beer, soda and water were flowing the whole trip though!

Carlton was very easy to find once we got off the ship, which was closer to 8:30 am. We did tip them after the sail as well.

I would highly recommend Patouche and this excursion! The shopping on Tortola did not look very impressive so this excursion was all we did at this port. Overall, this cruise was terrific. We had a great time - met so many wonderful people! - and just soaked in all the Disney magic. There is no better vacation

Kathryn

 

[SweetSpot]

I went to the website and the Patouche Baths tour is 9:00 - 4:00 much more than $80 for adults. Did you book it before you got there or get off the ship or is there a special for cruises?

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

Here is the link to the tour we booked:

http://www.patouche.com/destination1.htm

It was $80 a person and it went from 8:30 am when we were picked up by Carlton till about 2 pm because we took a leisurely sail back. We booked it directly with Julie from Patouche via email a few weeks before our cruise.

 

[msmith07101]

We were on the 5/23 sailing also. I thought Tortola was very beautiful. As others have said, not much there. But this is good, in my opinion. We did the Baths excursion on our own. Met up with some others from the Dis boards and walked to the ferry. After the 30 min (roughly) ferry ride, we boarded a taxi for a short trip to the Baths. The hike down as it's called, is not a hike at all...at least no one in my family thought so. It's a rather short walk down a path that takes you to a beach area. You can then walk through the caves to another beach area. This is a bit more challenging as there are some tight spots to get through...but a lot of fun. And it is so beautiful. I have lots of pictures, but don't have them pulled off the camera just yet. But really, pictures do not do it justice. So, anyone looking to do the Baths...I recommend doing this on your own and not through DCL...I spent less than half of what it would have cost do to through DCL.

 

[justmestace]

Thanks! Can you tell me how many people they'd "require" as a minimum? This sound PERFECT for our family celebration in 9/12

They said they'd do it with 5...two people booked first, then my group added 3 more and then another one joined us. I don't know what their maximum is, but it truly WAS private. Many times, I've booked what I thought was "private" only to find other people onboard, so that would be a good thing to ask. Their e-mail communication was excellent.

 

[justmestace]

Did you happen to see the ship excursion while there? It was also $110 and I was curious if anyone did it/enjoyed it.

There were several private catamarans, and several of the "barefoot" cruises there...and still not crowded. I did see a group down toward the end of the beach and they were using kayaks and the paddle bike/boats...can't remember what they're called. They looked like they were having a good time. I don't know if they had lunch included, but we had a catered lunch on Kuralu....quiche, french bread, cheeses, meats, a couple of salads.....drinks all day long.....and we were treated like Kings and Queens.