Question on excursions - Eastern Caribbean cruise

[suz0319]

Going on a Disney Eastern Caribbean Cruise in April, which stops at Tortola, St Thomas and Castaway Cay. Wondering about excursions - what are the "must do's" and what should we skip?

Kids are 11 and 7.

Thanks!

 

[KashasMom]

We just did the Baths on Tortola (the shorter one without lunch) and really enjoyed it. Daughter was 8. We had been to Tortola a few times before and never had the chance to do it. Glad we finally got to do it.

Castaway Cay we did the Stingray excursion and I would NOT recommend that! Crowded and little time/interaction with the stingrays.

In St. Thomas we did the St. John Trunk Bay snorkeling excursion and daughter really loved that. Trunk Bay is part of the Virgin Islands National Park and we saw so many fish and colorful coral. There's a marked "trail" underwater. You don't have to go into deep water but you can.

 

[Chokky]

The Secret Sands Beach Getaway excursion on St. Thomas was excellent!
The beach and water were lovely (January, 2018).

We did the morning time slot and were back on ship with enough time to still catch lunch at Cabanas.
I swam for the full two hours at the beach it was so nice.

There were free chairs, cold drinks (coke, water, rum punch).you just tipped the guy at the end.
He also had water noodles and such.

The beach is quiet and not over run with people.
You can be in the sun on the beach or shade of the trees with your chair which is nice too.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I will warn you that DCL is still listing Tortola excursions that no way will occur. Eastern itineraries through the end of March are skipping Tortola; allegedly, the islands will have their electricity back in full (with a few minor exceptions) this month, so it is possible a few things that are just damaged and closed will be fine (like the dolphin swims). But even so, there are excursions that just can't exist any more - the zip line was actually destroyed, Pusser's was destroyed. Neither was "let's get some power and some lumber and it'll be fine sometime in 2018!"

The beach excursions and Baths on Tortola should be fine, or book non-DCL and book with Aristocat Charters, who are well-reviewed and are back up and running.

 

[Shanti]

Going on a Disney Eastern Caribbean Cruise in April, which stops at Tortola, St Thomas and Castaway Cay. Wondering about excursions - what are the "must do's" and what should we skip?

Kids are 11 and 7.

Thanks!

I recommend skipping any excursion that involves an island tour.

 

[Beth D]

The Secret Sands Beach Getaway excursion on St. Thomas was excellent!
The beach and water were lovely (January, 2018).

We did the morning time slot and were back on ship with enough time to still catch lunch at Cabanas.
I swam for the full two hours at the beach it was so nice.

There were free chairs, cold drinks (coke, water, rum punch).you just tipped the guy at the end.
He also had water noodles and such.

The beach is quiet and not over run with people.
You can be in the sun on the beach or shade of the trees with your chair which is nice too.

What other amenities are here? Restrooms, snack bar, etc...

 

[kkayluvsdis]

The Secret Sands Beach Getaway excursion on St. Thomas was excellent!
The beach and water were lovely (January, 2018).

We did the morning time slot and were back on ship with enough time to still catch lunch at Cabanas.
I swam for the full two hours at the beach it was so nice.

There were free chairs, cold drinks (coke, water, rum punch).you just tipped the guy at the end.
He also had water noodles and such.

The beach is quiet and not over run with people.
You can be in the sun on the beach or shade of the trees with your chair which is nice too.

I'm so happy to hear this! We have this "port adventure" booked for our upcoming cruise next month.

 

[Chokky]

What other amenities are here? Restrooms, snack bar, etc...

There are restrooms but no snack bar. There is also a lifeguard.
We chose this beach specifically because we didn’t want to go to a busy beach.

It was quiet and relaxing.

 

[LglBlonde]

Trunk Bay in St. John is AMAZING! We did Baths at Tortola and the next day Trunk Bay. While the cave were cool, Trunk Bay is not to be missed. Only regret is not having more time there. If it wasn't such a PITA, boat ride plus taxi ride, I'd probably consider doing it on my own to have more time.

 

[DoubleDown7]

Going on a Disney Eastern Caribbean Cruise in April, which stops at Tortola, St Thomas and Castaway Cay. Wondering about excursions - what are the "must do's" and what should we skip?

Kids are 11 and 7.

Thanks!

What sailing are you going on? We're with the Fantasy on April 21. If you are on that ship I'm coordinating an excursion to the Baths. It'll be TONS cheaper than DCL's excursion.

 

[dvcgirl1]

We did a trip to the Baths back in June, and it was great. Reading reviews and tips on the boards made it easy for us to understand and coordinate the travel there, and to know what to expect. My boys are 18 and 20, and they loved it, but we saw many kids there of all ages. It only took 1/2 of the day, so we were back on the boat with time to enjoy that also. If you are looking for something different than just a regular beach day, then that is a neat option. Plus, you can still take a taxi to a beach for a few hours when you finish at the Baths if you want to.