Tortola, St. John/ St. Thomas Adventures

[SpaceSquirrel]

I think we're going to do A Day at the Baths at Tortola (any reviews on this?) but what suggestions do you have for St. John/St. Thomas adventures? (we're a group of five adults and one five year old)

 

[squirk]

If you're looking to do something on a beach, I recommend DIY for St. John.

Get off the ship ASAP, cab it to Red Hook, grab the ferry to Cruz Bay, and then take a jitney to the beach of your choice (we do Trunk Bay). You will probably arrive at the beach a good hour before the cruise tours arrive.

It's been a while since I've done the math, but I am pretty sure this method is still a lot cheaper than a DCL port adventure.

 

[SpaceSquirrel]

Thank you for your reply, Sqirk!
We're really not wanting to do the beach at St. John/St. Thomas (since we're doing The Baths at Tortola and then spending a day at Castaway Cay too).
Is there a way to see both islands? I'd like to do a sightseeing trip that includes both islands but I can't find one.
Any suggestions?

 

[djallred09]

Being a Silver Castaway Club member my window for online check-in and booking activities is 1/8 for our April cruise. If I get on at midnight will I have a problem reserving A Day at the Baths excursion?

 

[WANNABE@WDW]

Has anyone done any of the scuba adventures on either Tortola or St. Thomas? My older dd is wanting to go diving and we were looking for reviews.

 

[DIS_Ag]

I recommend Patouche Charters to see the baths. We did it with our two little kids and it was an amazing day.

 

[SpaceSquirrel]

Thanks I'll check that out!

 

[swimfin]

If you're looking to do something on a beach, I recommend DIY for St. John.

Get off the ship ASAP, cab it to Red Hook, grab the ferry to Cruz Bay, and then take a jitney to the beach of your choice (we do Trunk Bay). You will probably arrive at the beach a good hour before the cruise tours arrive.

It's been a while since I've done the math, but I am pretty sure this method is still a lot cheaper than a DCL port adventure.

YES it is!!! It's a ton cheaper. OP can google ferry prices from St Thomas to St. John and price it out. It was extremely reasonable!! Just remember to price it BOTH ways! Squirt, I think you helped me last year for my June 2016 cruise and I agree about DIY for St. John!!! We had an amazing day with no stress, lines or crowds!! The ferry ride was quick, beautiful and calm too!!

 

[swimfin]

Thank you for your reply, Sqirk!
We're really not wanting to do the beach at St. John/St. Thomas (since we're doing The Baths at Tortola and then spending a day at Castaway Cay too).
Is there a way to see both islands? I'd like to do a sightseeing trip that includes both islands but I can't find one.
Any suggestions?

You can sightsee on your own. Very safe islands! Especially St John!! It might be pushing it to tour both islands. IMO, St John is the nicer island to tour.

 

[squirk]

Thank you for your reply, Sqirk!
We're really not wanting to do the beach at St. John/St. Thomas (since we're doing The Baths at Tortola and then spending a day at Castaway Cay too).
Is there a way to see both islands? I'd like to do a sightseeing trip that includes both islands but I can't find one.
Any suggestions?

I'd agree with @swimfin that doing both islands is maybe not a great idea. Getting to and from St. John involves some time. Even if you get off the ship as soon as possible at 8:00, you will probably not get to Cruz Bay until 9:30 at the earliest. Assuming you don't want to just wander Cruz Bay, you will have to wait for a jitney to take you someplace more removed. So let's just say you get to your desired destination on St. John at 10:00.

I think you need to spend at least two hours, probably more like three, on St. John to justify the time and expense of getting there. So if you do that, and grab the 1:00 ferry back to Red Hook for 1:30, that only leaves you 2.5 hours to do something on St. Thomas and get back to the ship for the 4:00-ish all-aboard time.

Maybe you could do lunch or something near the port, but you're taking a risk by going far afield. Charlotte Amalie is a real city with real-city afternoon traffic. It would suck if you missed the boat because of a traffic jam, and even if you do make it back in time, do you really want to be white-knuckling it all the way?

YES it is!!! It's a ton cheaper. OP can google ferry prices from St Thomas to St. John and price it out. It was extremely reasonable!! Just remember to price it BOTH ways! Squirt, I think you helped me last year for my June 2016 cruise and I agree about DIY for St. John!!! We had an amazing day with no stress, lines or crowds!! The ferry ride was quick, beautiful and calm too!!

Glad to have been of help. With two kids under 12 and one senior citizen (who each pay, like, a buck each way), the ferry cost wasn't the worst expense for us. It was the four cab rides + tips.

 

[jtba]

Being a Silver Castaway Club member my window for online check-in and booking activities is 1/8 for our April cruise. If I get on at midnight will I have a problem reserving A Day at the Baths excursion?

we must be on the same cruise! have you found our group yet?

http://www.disboards.com/threads/4-8-17-fantasy-eastern-caribbean.3496058/

 

[Djscarlette]

I recommend Patouche Charters to see the baths. We did it with our two little kids and it was an amazing day.

How little were your kids? My 2 youngest will be 6 and 1 at the time of our cruise.

 

[DIS_Ag]

How little were your kids? My 2 youngest will be 6 and 1 at the time of our cruise.

Mine were 5 and 3 and did great. We are going back this year with them being 6, 4 and adding our 18 month old.

The baths can be a bit tricky but the 3 year old handled it and when we told him we were doing another Disney Cruise, his first question was, "can we do the rock maze again?" There is a short swim from the boat to the beach, but they give everyone floation devices to help. We had no issues pulling the kids in. This year we are bring a sport ergo carrier to put the baby in and should be fine.

 

[wombat_5606]

St. John doesn't really have a lot to explore, except beaches and Cruz Bay shops.

Two thirds of the island is a National Park. Other than the beaches, the only tourist attraction I can think of is Annaberg Plantation. So, exploring St. John would mean just be driving around and looking at some of the vistas.

In my opinion, I wouldn't want to spend my time driving myself, either. Check out this article on driving in St. John.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g147409-c84315/St-John:Caribbean:Driving.On.St.John.Usvi.html

 

[Majik]

We were on the Disney Fantasy last week and the week before. While in St Thomas we took the ferry to St John. The sea looked calm as we left the harbour but soon got very rough. Luckily for us we were inside. The poor people outside and on the top of the ferry got soaked! The ride back was a little better.
We did a Disney Port Adventure around the island. Very pretty beaches and scenery.

 

[Djscarlette]

Mine were 5 and 3 and did great. We are going back this year with them being 6, 4 and adding our 18 month old.

The baths can be a bit tricky but the 3 year old handled it and when we told him we were doing another Disney Cruise, his first question was, "can we do the rock maze again?" There is a short swim from the boat to the beach, but they give everyone floation devices to help. We had no issues pulling the kids in. This year we are bring a sport ergo carrier to put the baby in and should be fine.

Do you book the baths through Disney? Or do you book elsewhere? Also, could you carry the baby in the baby carrier through the "short swim from the boat to the beach?"
Thank you so much for your help

 

[DIS_Ag]

Do you book the baths through Disney? Or do you book elsewhere? Also, could you carry the baby in the baby carrier through the "short swim from the boat to the beach?"
Thank you so much for your help

No we went through Patouche Charters. One of the big issues with DCL Port Adventures to the Baths is the min age of 8. That's why we looked elsewhere. We had no issues helping the little kids in last year but we aren't doing the baby until May. I don't think it will be an issue. I'll hold him and swim in with help from a flotation device. The sport ergo will be for hiking through the rocks. I could see it being too much for some families but my kids are adventurous and my wife and I are in decent shape to help them through. There was really nothing that felt too much for us last year.

 

[Djscarlette]

No we went through Patouche Charters. One of the big issues with DCL Port Adventures to the Baths is the min age of 8. That's why we looked elsewhere. We had no issues helping the little kids in last year but we aren't doing the baby until May. I don't think it will be an issue. I'll hold him and swim in with help from a flotation device. The sport ergo will be for hiking through the rocks. I could see it being too much for some families but my kids are adventurous and my wife and I are in decent shape to help them through. There was really nothing that felt too much for us last year.

Thank you for your help!

 

[ChrisMc]

We did the Baths afternoon excursion with DCL. I would recommend going to the Baths, just not with DCL. Most of the ship was closed during the morning (only one pool was open). The excursion is just too short and more expensive. I wish we had more time to enjoy it and explore.

 

[ShakeyShakey]

For anyone looking for something different in Tortola, my two sons and I did the RIB Boat and Jost Van Dyke - it was four hours of the most exhilarating excursion we've done...

Here is the quick video we made...