Just got off the Fantasy and since I have learned so many great tips on this site, I wanted to give back. One thing I have noticed is the lack of great info on Tortola.
At first, disney only gave one option for the Day at the Baths. This was early in the morning. Very close to the cruise, I noticed an afternoon slot became an option. I switched to the afternoon. There are pros and cons to this decision (at least during this cruise).
1. I assumed wrongly that my kids would have free reign of the ship (pools) during the morning. Wrong. Disney is basically shut down until noon (Donald pool and Aquaduck closed). No characters until mid-afternoon. Basically it is similar to going to a mall when all of the stores are closed (except more sun). First time I have ever complained to Guest Services. I would have stuck with the morning session if I was aware of this issue.
2. People I spoke to said that they could not even complete the Baths excursion in the morning due to the number of people. People enter the Baths in both directions which causes an issue. In the afternoon session, this was not an issue.
3. I saw a number of older people that really struggled with the walk back. How it works: you take a short walk down to the first beach. You enter the baths and end up at a second beach. You must then take a longer walk up a different trail back to the meeting spot. I did not struggle with the walk, but I saw several people complaining about the difficulty of the hike. I know I was the only one in the group who would want to return to the Baths.
4. At least from the people I spoke to: the Disney Tortola excursions are just too short. You need to go with an independent company. Even with the Jost Van Dyke beach excursion (which I heard is beautiful), you leave very early in the morning and are back by noon. And it takes a long time to get to and come back from the excursions.
5. As the cruise director mentioned, there is not much to see on foot.
It was a great trip (first Fantasy trip after three Dream trips), any questions, just ask.
At first, disney only gave one option for the Day at the Baths. This was early in the morning. Very close to the cruise, I noticed an afternoon slot became an option. I switched to the afternoon. There are pros and cons to this decision (at least during this cruise).
1. I assumed wrongly that my kids would have free reign of the ship (pools) during the morning. Wrong. Disney is basically shut down until noon (Donald pool and Aquaduck closed). No characters until mid-afternoon. Basically it is similar to going to a mall when all of the stores are closed (except more sun). First time I have ever complained to Guest Services. I would have stuck with the morning session if I was aware of this issue.
2. People I spoke to said that they could not even complete the Baths excursion in the morning due to the number of people. People enter the Baths in both directions which causes an issue. In the afternoon session, this was not an issue.
3. I saw a number of older people that really struggled with the walk back. How it works: you take a short walk down to the first beach. You enter the baths and end up at a second beach. You must then take a longer walk up a different trail back to the meeting spot. I did not struggle with the walk, but I saw several people complaining about the difficulty of the hike. I know I was the only one in the group who would want to return to the Baths.
4. At least from the people I spoke to: the Disney Tortola excursions are just too short. You need to go with an independent company. Even with the Jost Van Dyke beach excursion (which I heard is beautiful), you leave very early in the morning and are back by noon. And it takes a long time to get to and come back from the excursions.
5. As the cruise director mentioned, there is not much to see on foot.
It was a great trip (first Fantasy trip after three Dream trips), any questions, just ask.
