Tortola Excursion Reviews

[BethA]

any chance they will replace Cozumel with Tortola and not just Nassau

 

[dizneykids]

I believe the baths are on Virgin Gorda and you catch a ferry and a taxi to get to the baths. DCL offer a trip, but I understand you can do it cheaper by yourself.

-Kay

You are correct. There are two ferries that go to Virgin Gorda, and once there, you need to take a taxi to the top of the Baths. My understanding is that it is not in walking distance.

We are scheduled to go to the Baths when on our 6/20 cruise, but we have booked with Patouche which approaches the Baths from the water. I've read nothing but good things about them on Cruise Critic, so we opted for them rather than the DCL excursion.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

any chance they will replace Cozumel with Tortola and not just Nassau

To far apart, would have to drop Grand Cayman as well.

 

[princessh]

I would love to see the navigators! Any chance you would post them????

 

[Ourtwoprincesses]

Just back from our first DCL cruise and DCL's first cruise to Tortola. Our family of four was unanimous that Tortola was our favorite stop. We are beach people so we went to Brewers Bay to snorkel & play in the surf. It was gorgeous and had nice snorkeling. At the most there were 8 families on the beach. There were lounge chairs to rent for $5 and plenty of shade under the palm trees.

We had a great driver with a nice new van that even had seatbelts. When i find his card i will post his name. It was $7 p/p each way. We told him when we wanted to be picked back up and he actually showed up an hour ahead of time and told us to take our time. We finished up and then had a drink with the locals at the little outdoor bar/restaurant. All of the locals were very friendly. No one ever harrassed us to buy anything. On the drive back he stopped to let us take pictures - beautiful views. The drive over the island of course is harrowing. Some people we met didn't like Tortola because of the drive but i didn't think it was any worse than St. Thomas or St. John.

To go shopping you can either pay $4 for a cab or walk it. We walked it with our 2 kids, no problem, but there is a lot of traffic and you have to cross a street, but drivers do stop for you. Don't miss the spice shop, Sunny Caribbee.

I'll answer any questions anyone has.

Tracy

Are the roads curvy? Shouldn't bother us as we have curvy roads where we live, LOL! Also what other type of stores do they have? Any good deals? I want to shop there a little after our excursion and lunch. We are doing the dolphin swim there. Did people like that excursion? We booked it thru Disney.

 

[JamiT]

Tortola was great! We spent the day at Cane Garden Bay Beach. The beach had plenty of chairs, umbrellas and the rum punch was great - all the rum you could add!! Plus you could rent floaties etc which was great for my 3 year old. Our driver was Donald and he took us on a little tour of the island as well. We saw the dolphin encounter from the outside and it wasn't that crowded. When my son is a bit older I would love to do that with him!

As for shopping DCL only recommended 3 shops - Diamonds International, The Spice Shoppe and Tourneau (sp?). There are also marketplaces in between the boat and the main stores. We got some great t-shirts and beach coverups really cheap. Once I figure out my scanner and finish unpacking I will post the Tortola info sheets DCL provided!

As for the Baths - we heard great things and the DCL tour for it was sold out.

 

[TiszBear]

I was on the cruise as well. We did the dolphin excursion in Tortola. That was fun, had the first one of the day, 9:45am. After your time in the water they will direct your group to a room, to view the video. If you want to purchase a video of your group it is $35, pictures are another story. I bought 2 pictures of me and one of my mom with our dolphin, 3 pictures came to $35. The video shows each person with there time with the dolphin and the whole group. Our group really liked the video taken and we all ended up buying the video.

 

[3princessMommy]

I was on the cruise as well. We did the dolphin excursion in Tortola. That was fun, had the first one of the day, 9:45am. After your time in the water they will direct your group to a room, to view the video. If you want to purchase a video of your group it is $35, pictures are another story. I bought 2 pictures of me and one of my mom with our dolphin, 3 pictures came to $35. The video shows each person with there time with the dolphin and the whole group. Our group really liked the video taken and we all ended up buying the video.

hmmm, that's interesting, the 9:45 time isn't available for our cruise. Wish it were! We're cutting it really close with Flounders.

 

[justmestace]

Thanks TORTOLA cruisers!!! Been dying to hear some feedback!

 

[Bracy]

Are the roads curvy? Shouldn't bother us as we have curvy roads where we live, LOL! Also what other type of stores do they have? Any good deals? I want to shop there a little after our excursion and lunch. We are doing the dolphin swim there. Did people like that excursion? We booked it thru Disney.

Curvy (and hilly) is an understatement and apparently just like the other islands, they don't believe in guard rails. It was a memorable adventure though. We're not shoppers so we only hit the spice shop with the family's requests. There aren't a lot of shops like in st. thomas. It might be easier to get deals in Tortola because they don't have a lot of tourists. There were stalls set up along the road outside of the dock. I was sorry i didn't get to explore those, but everyone was anxious to get to the beach.

Friends of ours did the dolphin swim through DCL and loved it. Have a great trip.

 

[BubblesNH]

We also were on 4/25.We took an Island tour. We had made no plans and DH and I have both been to Tortola twice before. We walked off the ship and there was an open air bus. $20 per person. $10 for kids 5 and under. It was 2 & 1/2 hours. We went to Skyworld where you can see all the Islands around Tortola and then over to Cane Garden Bay. It gave you a nice taste of the island. Our tour guide gave us some history. It was nice for our kids 10 and 5 to get to see the island. They pride themselves on not being like St. Thomas. No fast food. Very little development. Not much shopping. I would wait and do the shopping at St. Thomas. Some people on our tour were upset because they were told could spend 1 hour at the beach and because he took the long way to the beach only wanted us to stay for 1/2 hour. The Taxi back from Cane Garden Bay was $6. Kind of the rainy season now in Tortola. Our tour guide says rains almost every afternoon. Just short Showers. It was very cloudy on Tues but still could see all the islands around Tortola. It was beautiful. Having been there 3 times, I would go to the Baths on Virgin Gorda on your own if you are adventurous. It is beautiful. We didn't go this time because we wanted to come back and sail there with our kids.

 

[Tony94]

Are the dining rotations the same like the other eastern cruises?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Are the dining rotations the same like the other eastern cruises?

There is a previous post on another thread today, confirming that they are the same


http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31641978&postcount=11

 

[Tony94]

There is a previous post on another thread today, confirming that they are the same


http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...8&postcount=11

Thanks!

 

[goofygal1975]

I was on the cruise as well. We did the dolphin excursion in Tortola. That was fun, had the first one of the day, 9:45am. After your time in the water they will direct your group to a room, to view the video. If you want to purchase a video of your group it is $35, pictures are another story. I bought 2 pictures of me and one of my mom with our dolphin, 3 pictures came to $35. The video shows each person with there time with the dolphin and the whole group. Our group really liked the video taken and we all ended up buying the video.

Oh, this is great to hear. We (me, dh and ds) are going to do the Dolphin Encounter. I'd love to hear what you actually did during the encounter and how long it was. I'm sure we'll buy the video and some pictures as well!!

 

[justmestace]

Did anyone happen to find The Coral Studio? I've heard that it's a neat place to shop.

 

[ibouncetoo]

I was on the cruise as well. We did the dolphin excursion in Tortola. That was fun, had the first one of the day, 9:45am. After your time in the water they will direct your group to a room, to view the video. If you want to purchase a video of your group it is $35, pictures are another story. I bought 2 pictures of me and one of my mom with our dolphin, 3 pictures came to $35. The video shows each person with there time with the dolphin and the whole group. Our group really liked the video taken and we all ended up buying the video.

Oh yeah....someone I can ask about my sister's concern. When you enter the water, I assume you are going down some stairs from the dock to the platform. Sister, who has wobbly knees, wants to know if there is a rail or something to hold on to as you decend onto the platform. I offered to just toss her in, but she wasn't excited about that option either.

We will be looking at the Dolphin Adventure.

Thanks!
.

 

[Beamish]

Tortola was our favourite stop. We were one of those few other families at Brewers Bay and loved it. A perfect beach for young kids. And the snorkelling on the left side of the bay was fantastic.

We just walked off the dock and got a taxi for $6 pp each way and the driver returned for pickup at the time we had requested. The kids enjoyed the rollercoaster road ride but Grandma and Great-Gram were white-knuckling a little on some of the steeper sections.

 

[justmestace]

Oh yeah....someone I can ask about my sister's concern. When you enter the water, I assume you are going down some stairs from the dock to the platform. Sister, who has wobbly knees, wants to know if there is a rail or something to hold on to as you decend onto the platform. I offered to just toss her in, but she wasn't excited about that option either.

We will be looking at the Dolphin Adventure.

Thanks!
.

 

[disnutz]

There is a previous post on another thread today, confirming that they are the same


http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...8&postcount=11

Sorry this link isn't working for me. What are the rotations?

And thanks all returners for letting us know a little info.