Tortola Excursion (Beach?)

[jrabbit]

Thanks for the info. Was this the half day or full day? I have read that the 'caves' take a while to get through, especially once the crowds arrive. How long did it take you? We are on the half day which actually is not much time out there. Trying to decide whether to take the path straight to Devils Bay and maybe just explore the caves on that end - or advise DH, DS to go all the way through.

Any info about the ferry ride out? (for example: did ferry have a restroom? Was it very bumpy, people sea sick?)
Thanks in advance!

• ours was from about 9:30 to 3:30. The Ferry came up along side the Fantasy and we use the Tender "doors/exits" - we did NOT go out onto the pier.
• The ride over was actually pretty smooth sailing. On the cruise down we had only 6 or 7 foot waves, but the wind across the deck was in the 35 to 50 mph range - all of the time. The ship was rocking and rolling.
• We were inside the cabin of the ferry, there was some (limited) outside seating on the upper deck. Inside you really could not see out that well. Our tour was full and the ferry was a constraint on the number of people - but there were a lot of us.
• The ferry probably had a rest room (none of my party needed it - used the potty on the ship before leaving and there were reasonable facilities at the Baths)
• The Caves took us a while to get through - many a wrong turn - at some point a park guide arrived and said if the water is knee deep you're going the wrong way. There are also very faint, lite gold/yellow arrows painted on the rocks pointing the way - you really could not see them until you were right upon them. And don't worry about getting lost in the "caves" - can't be done.
• If you are not that interested in going through the caves but DH / DS are, they can go one way and you can go the other. You should take your stuff, so that they don't have to deal with it. Maybe they only take a camera (waterproof and shock proof). If you do this you should ask where the path is / starts. The entrance to the main path down is clearly marked, the other is by the stand alone restrooms and is not marked.
• The water was a bit "cool" but the sooner you get in, the sooner you get acclimatized - even DW got in neck deep quickly and "warmed" right up. We were in the water over 45 minutes with no problem.

 

[JJsmama]

• ours was from about 9:30 to 3:30. The Ferry came up along side the Fantasy and we use the Tender "doors/exits" - we did NOT go out onto the pier.
• The ride over was actually pretty smooth sailing. On the cruise down we had only 6 or 7 foot waves, but the wind across the deck was in the 35 to 50 mph range - all of the time. The ship was rocking and rolling.
• We were inside the cabin of the ferry, there was some (limited) outside seating on the upper deck. Inside you really could not see out that well. Our tour was full and the ferry was a constraint on the number of people - but there were a lot of us.
• The ferry probably had a rest room (none of my party needed it - used the potty on the ship before leaving and there were reasonable facilities at the Baths)
• The Caves took us a while to get through - many a wrong turn - at some point a park guide arrived and said if the water is knee deep you're going the wrong way. There are also very faint, lite gold/yellow arrows painted on the rocks pointing the way - you really could not see them until you were right upon them. And don't worry about getting lost in the "caves" - can't be done.
• If you are not that interested in going through the caves but DH / DS are, they can go one way and you can go the other. You should take your stuff, so that they don't have to deal with it. Maybe they only take a camera (waterproof and shock proof). If you do this you should ask where the path is / starts. The entrance to the main path down is clearly marked, the other is by the stand alone restrooms and is not marked.
• The water was a bit "cool" but the sooner you get in, the sooner you get acclimatized - even DW got in neck deep quickly and "warmed" right up. We were in the water over 45 minutes with no problem.

Thank you SO much for that very informative post! Very helpful!

 

[jrabbit]

I am just full of surprises!!

 

[guacgirl]

We had "just" a pirate night on the Fantasy after leaving Tortola. It's only 20 miles from Tortola to Charlotte Amalie but the ship goes about 120nm - heads out east to shoot off the fireworks and then turns and coasts into St. Thomas

Pirates night started at 10:30 or 10:45 - quick 10 minute "show" starting Jack Sparrow then the fireworks then Club Pirate

I have a question about the port. If we finish an excursion at 4:45p and our dinner seating is 5:45p, is that enough time to get back on the ship and get ready for dinner? We don't want to miss out on Pirate themed dinner that night. Thanks.

 

[steves100]

Signed up for the Bath excursion for April. is it worth the $129?

 

[jrabbit]

Signed up for the Bath excursion for April. is it worth the $129?

We enjoyed the excursion. "Worth It" is pretty subjective. For us since it involved a boat ride, etc we thought that it was better to book through DCL vs. Independently. We have struck out on our own many times without any issues.

On this excursion you get boat and bus transportation, entry into the beach, a reasonable lunch with drink. 129 per person sounds a lot better than the almost 400 for the three of us

and yes I would do this again. But with less "luggage" - just a towel & some sunscreen - we took our snorkeling equipment with us - didn't even think about using it.

 

[jrabbit]

I have a question about the port. If we finish an excursion at 4:45p and our dinner seating is 5:45p, is that enough time to get back on the ship and get ready for dinner? We don't want to miss out on Pirate themed dinner that night. Thanks.

Is an hour enough to get cleaned up and ready for dinner? depends upon your family, We had Palo dinner that nights and it worked for us (mom, dad, one of our adult children) with a split bathroom. If you needed "more time" an adult can shower up in the Spa/Fitness center (or so I've heard).

 

[guacgirl]

Is an hour enough to get cleaned up and ready for dinner? depends upon your family, We had Palo dinner that nights and it worked for us (mom, dad, one of our adult children) with a split bathroom. If you needed "more time" an adult can shower up in the Spa/Fitness center (or so I've heard).

I think an hour should be enough time but I am not sure how long it actually takes to get back on board the ship and back to our stateroom (our first cruise). I'm assuming we get dropped off from the excursion at 4:45p at the port. Is it fairly quick to re-board the ship? Thanks.

 

[jennifermcb]

We rented a house on Cane Garden Bay in June and absolutely loved our stay there. The beaches were beautiful and quiet, except for the one 'cruise ship' day, and the crowds were very manageable. Myett's is a great place for lunch/dinner/drinks, and there are several other 'restaurants' there (which look almost vacant) but the served wonderful food as well. Very fresh and tasty.

We stayed in the white house at the very far right hand side of Cane Garden Bay, called Tortola Beach House. We found out from a local that is owned by Sandy Koufax and wife, Jane. Pretty cool

 

[guacgirl]

Has anyone been to Long Bay Beach? That is the other excursion we are deciding on (Cane Garden Bay vs. Long Bay Beach). Long Bay is further away but it gives us 2.5 hour beach time vs. just 1 hour beach time at Cane Garden Bay.

 

[jrabbit]

I think an hour should be enough time but I am not sure how long it actually takes to get back on board the ship and back to our stateroom (our first cruise). I'm assuming we get dropped off from the excursion at 4:45p at the port. Is it fairly quick to re-board the ship? Thanks.

time to reboard the ship is really dependent upon when other excursions are finished and when all of the independent travelers return. What WILL take a long time is waiting for the elevators. Simple advice is to take the stairs if possible. You will probably reach your deck quicker by walking.

Since this is a "longer" port stay (7:30ish to 5:45ish), people will be returning throughout the day and generally not have a huge long line for boarding.

Last year on the LONG Baltic cruises out of Dover (on the Magic), the Tallinn stop was for only about 4 or 5 hours and all of the tours returned at the same time and all of the independent travelers came back then (around all aboard time). With the two gangways (forward and aft) it still took us a long time to board. I think that people were still getting onboard about an hour after all aboard time - those issues were on DCL. You will NOT experience this in Tortola.

 

[JJsmama]

Has anyone been to Long Bay Beach? That is the other excursion we are deciding on (Cane Garden Bay vs. Long Bay Beach). Long Bay is further away but it gives us 2.5 hour beach time vs. just 1 hour beach time at Cane Garden Bay.

Yes. That is why i didnt do that as well. WHY would they make it so short? 1 hour would not make the trip out there worth it to me, much less the price. I guess the tour operators are trying to run several tours a day...?

 

[hanscarlet]

We are doing a day pass at Fort Recovery Villas because my kids are too young for DCL excursions and we like beach days. We are doing a private half day charter with Island Wilson Charters in St. Thomas.

 

[JJsmama]

We are doing a day pass at Fort Recovery Villas because my kids are too young for DCL excursions and we like beach days. We are doing a private half day charter with Island Wilson Charters in St. Thomas.

Interesting... First i have heard about that. Would like to know more

 

[hanscarlet]

The island wilson charters I found from Trip advisor, Seems like that is going to be pretty straight forward and he has rave reviews... we'll see about Fort Recovery, it's on the West End side of Tortola and has a great view of St. John... the hotel is supposed to be a little bit "rustic" and island laid back but seems like this is the case with most hotels on that island so we'll see....

We paid $200 for a day pass in Grand Cayman at the Westin and it was one of the best days on the cruise, we had a 3 year old and 6 year old and it was so laid back and relaxing in paradise... then we were able to wash up in our room and return to the boat all clean and ready to go for dinner

I booked it far enough in advance at Fort Recovery that I was able to get the room close to the beach (where the red arrow is) and so I figure if the sun gets too hot, the kids will have some place to cool off from the sun. Soper's hole is a quick cab ride and we are going to try and have lunch at Pussers (another reason I picked this palce, because of being close to Soper's Hole, supposed to be a nice marina). We will see how it is, I'll be sure to give a trip report because I am doing two non Disney excursions to a relatively new cruise itinerary for Disney.

 

[JJsmama]

The island wilson charters I found from Trip advisor, Seems like that is going to be pretty straight forward and he has rave reviews... we'll see about Fort Recovery, it's on the West End side of Tortola and has a great view of St. John... the hotel is supposed to be a little bit "rustic" and island laid back but seems like this is the case with most hotels on that island so we'll see....

We paid $200 for a day pass in Grand Cayman at the Westin and it was one of the best days on the cruise, we had a 3 year old and 6 year old and it was so laid back and relaxing in paradise... then we were able to wash up in our room and return to the boat all clean and ready to go for dinner

I booked it far enough in advance at Fort Recovery that I was able to get the room close to the beach (where the red arrow is) and so I figure if the sun gets too hot, the kids will have some place to cool off from the sun. Soper's hole is a quick cab ride and we are going to try and have lunch at Pussers (another reason I picked this palce, because of being close to Soper's Hole, supposed to be a nice marina). We will see how it is, I'll be sure to give a trip report because I am doing two non Disney excursions to a relatively new cruise itinerary for Disney.

Great! Look forward to reading about it

 

[Funky Chicken]

Thank you!!. It is so tempting!!!!!
Without hijacking my own thread -
Question - I see there is a Princess & Pirate night (Wed./St.Thomas night?) - I know it's new for us. This is more or less for the kids, yes? Different completely than the "usual" Pirate night - yes? Sometimes when something does not apply to me, it goes right over my head. Thank you.

Pirate night is Tortola day (Tuesday). I think what you are referring to is the "Princess and Pirate" MENU at dinner on Wednesday (St. Thomas). That is the menu theme for the night-really nothing more.

 

[steves100]

We enjoyed the excursion. "Worth It" is pretty subjective. For us since it involved a boat ride, etc we thought that it was better to book through DCL vs. Independently. We have struck out on our own many times without any issues.

On this excursion you get boat and bus transportation, entry into the beach, a reasonable lunch with drink. 129 per person sounds a lot better than the almost 400 for the three of us

and yes I would do this again. But with less "luggage" - just a towel & some sunscreen - we took our snorkeling equipment with us - didn't even think about using it.

Thanks it will be my wife and Daughter so it will be $387.

 

[marlinrj]

We are doing a day pass at Fort Recovery Villas because my kids are too young for DCL excursions and we like beach days. We are doing a private half day charter with Island Wilson Charters in St. Thomas.

Can you please tell me more about the day pass and how you booked it. I tried looking at the website but didn't see anything

 

[the5wills]

Can you please tell me more about the day pass and how you booked it. I tried looking at the website but didn't see anything

Also interested in details. Such as transportation to the villas. How long of taxi ride to and from the port?
Thanks