Royal Caribbean excursion to the Baths

Hello,

We will be in Tortola in January and have some onboard credit with Royal Caribbean. We were thinking about taking the ferry over to the Baths on our own, but are now considering booking the excursion with the cruiseline. Can anyone who has done this excursion comment on your experience? Thanks so much!!

Nancy

I can't help you with the ship excursion but there are a ton of threads here on the subject. You can also look at the Tortola forum on TA as there are a bunch there too. basically you will want to get the earliest ferry available to you to give yourself enough time to hit a couple spots on VG.

Having said that we did take a ferry to VG on our own while staying on Tortola. I can give you some recommendations for an itinerary if you'd like that? When do you arrive/depart Road Town?

I can't help you with the ship excursion but there are a ton of threads here on the subject. You can also look at the Tortola forum on TA as there are a bunch there too. basically you will want to get the earliest ferry available to you to give yourself enough time to hit a couple spots on VG.

 

 

Having said that we did take a ferry to VG on our own while staying on Tortola. I can give you some recommendations for an itinerary if you'd like that? When do you arrive/depart Road Town?

Hi there,

Thanks for your response. I just realized that we will be in Tortola on Sunday (from 8:00 - 5:30) and the ferry service on Sunday is not the same as it is on other days. Since we have quite a bit of onboard credit, I am fairly certain that we are going to book it with the ship. We rarely book ship excursions, but in this case will probably go for it. I think it is still an "on your own" type thing, but have to look into it further. What would you suggest as not to miss? Thanks!!

Yes I would agree with you.

I don't know if the ship excursion includes transportation from the ferry terminal to the Top of the Baths or if you take care of that? Hopefully you take care of it, doesn't matter how you get to the Baths, but you want to make arrangements with a driver to return to pick you up (and any others you convince to join you).

Plan on spending a couple hours at the Baths and then having the driver take you to the Mineshaft, a restaurant/bar on a hill with a spectacular panoramic view of the islands. It's a great spot to grab a burger/sandwich and a drink while enjoying the view. They make a specialty drink called the Cave In - "It's all in the juice, mon!". Try that and watch how it's made. The driver will return to drop you in Spanish Town so you can do a little shopping before walking back to the ferry.

This is a perfect day for us in VG, there are many other spots to see such as North Sound but you don't have alot of time, and the Baths and Mineshaft are in close proximity.

Enjoy your day whatever you do, these are our favorite islands!

We booked this excursion for our December cruise. Like yourself, we're also there on a Sunday.

The ships excursion will provide all transportation from the ship to the Baths. It also includes a drink.

Normally we prefer to go on our own but when I compared the price of the ships excursion to doing it on our own, the difference in price was minimal.

Here is the desription from RCI's website:

Your ship is berthed/anchored at Road Harbor. An excursion launch picks you up shipside and takes you for a 30-minute cruise along the Sir Francis Drake Channel to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda. Open Safari Buses take you on a 15-minute drive through Spanish Town to The Baths for swimming in the unique atmosphere of mammoth boulders, palms, sand and sea caves. Roam through the intricate network of trails and boulders to discover hidden caves and sea pools. Make your way to the Top of the Baths where your buses await you and where souvenir shopping is available. A short drive will take you back to your launch for the return cruise to your ship. A complimentary drink will served before boarding the launch.

Note: It is recommended to wear comfortable walking shoes as the footpath to The Baths is rough and uneven. Persons participating in this tour should be energetic and physically able and must be able to walk down an inclined 300 yard trail over stones and wooden steps. Please bring swimwear, towels and sunscreen.

Too bad...

But you can have a beer at the poor man's bar at the bottom amd a lunch at the Top of The Baths. When you return to spend some time in the BVI you can see more of the islands.

We booked this excursion for our December cruise. Like yourself, we're also there on a Sunday.

 

The ships excursion will provide all transportation from the ship to the Baths. It also includes a drink.

 

Normally we prefer to go on our own but when I compared the price of the ships excursion to doing it on our own, the difference in price was minimal.

 

 

Here is the desription from RCI's website:

 

Your ship is berthed/anchored at Road Harbor. An excursion launch picks you up shipside and takes you for a 30-minute cruise along the Sir Francis Drake Channel to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda. Open Safari Buses take you on a 15-minute drive through Spanish Town to The Baths for swimming in the unique atmosphere of mammoth boulders, palms, sand and sea caves. Roam through the intricate network of trails and boulders to discover hidden caves and sea pools. Make your way to the Top of the Baths where your buses await you and where souvenir shopping is available. A short drive will take you back to your launch for the return cruise to your ship. A complimentary drink will served before boarding the launch.

Note: It is recommended to wear comfortable walking shoes as the footpath to The Baths is rough and uneven. Persons participating in this tour should be energetic and physically able and must be able to walk down an inclined 300 yard trail over stones and wooden steps. Please bring swimwear, towels and sunscreen.

Thanks....it seems like the way to go this time around. Would you post back here after your excursion with a mini review? :)

Thanks....it seems like the way to go this time around. Would you post back here after your excursion with a mini review? :)

Sure!

Sure!

lovemylab,

Did you do the excursion to Virgin Gorda Baths with Royal Caribbean? Just wondering what your thoughts were about it, how much time you had there, etc. Thanks!

Hope you enjoyed your cruise!! :D

lovemylab,

Did you do the excursion to Virgin Gorda Baths with Royal Caribbean? Just wondering what your thoughts were about it, how much time you had there, etc. Thanks!

 

Hope you enjoyed your cruise!! :D

will be on the serenade that day as well , not sure what to do there on sunday. baths sound nice, any other ideas?

ty

Hi guys! We're headed over to Smugglers Cove this year - it's supposed to be a really nice beach, with good snorkeling. You're welcome to join us.

Jodi

Hi guys! We're headed over to Smugglers Cove this year - it's supposed to be a really nice beach, with good snorkeling. You're welcome to join us.

 

Jodi

Hi Jodi!

Thanks! We haven't been to the Baths yet so are thinking about going over with another couple, but Smugglers is a second choice.

Can't wait! We are almost there!!! :D

Hi Jodi!

Thanks! We haven't been to the Baths yet so are thinking about going over with another couple, but Smugglers is a second choice.

Can't wait! We are almost there!!! :D

Nancy,

We are booked on the TT32 tour Jan 15 - Is that the same one that you are on?:cool: Got our water shoes all ready - Do we need a waterproof camera?

Hi David & Kathy -- Yes we are on that excursion with one of the other couples that we are travelling with! I am bringing my regular digital camera with me. I am hoping to get some good photos. Thinking about picking up a waterproof for snorkeling for other excursions. I don't have a waterproof digital camera....yet. ;)

We did this excursion in December and felt it was worth it. I priced doing it on our own and it wasn't that much cheaper so we did it through the ship for the convenience. Through the ship you board the ferry right at the pier which is nice.

I recommend taking water shoes or shoes that have a good grip. We saw several people wearing flip flops and they had problems getting through the caves.

As for a camera, I took a point and shoot. I also have an SLR but I left it on the ship (and am glad I did). Others did have SLRs but I didn't want to deal with mine possibly getting wet or being dropped.

We had around 1.5 to 2 hours of beach time which was fine for us.

We'd definitely book this excursion again.

We did this excursion in December and felt it was worth it. I priced doing it on our own and it wasn't that much cheaper so we did it through the ship for the convenience. Through the ship you board the ferry right at the pier which is nice.

 

I recommend taking water shoes or shoes that have a good grip. We saw several people wearing flip flops and they had problems getting through the caves.

 

As for a camera, I took a point and shoot. I also have an SLR but I left it on the ship (and am glad I did). Others did have SLRs but I didn't want to deal with mine possibly getting wet or being dropped.

 

We had around 1.5 to 2 hours of beach time which was fine for us.

 

We'd definitely book this excursion again.

Thanks for review! Glad to hear you had enough beach time. I was worried about that. :) I have a few questions.... How was the ferry ride over and how long did it take? Did you take a different path to get up the hill to get back to the bus? I have read that you don't have to go back through the way you went down and it is quicker. Where and what time was your meeting place at the end of the excursion?

Thank you! :)

Hi guys! We're headed over to Smugglers Cove this year - it's supposed to be a really nice beach, with good snorkeling. You're welcome to join us.

 

Jodi

Jodi,

Smuggler's Cove is our favorite spot to spend our days while staying on 'ilan for several reasons. Bur understand it is a more natural experience than CGB or White Bay, and there are onlt portapotties there. Great grill though!

We did an excursion to The Baths a couple years ago. We had a really short port day (7am-1pm) so the excursion wasn't very long (I believe we were the first people off the ship and we were definitely the last ones back on) but it was great. We stopped at Savannah Bay for a couple hours, absolutely beautiful beach which was completely empty when we got there. I actually posted a picture of Savannah Bay on my blog (the link in my signature) earlier tonight, brought back wonderful memories of that day. Anyway, after an hour or so at the beach we continued on to The Baths and had enough time to explore there, what a cool place.

Nancy,

We are booked on the TT32 tour Jan 15 - Is that the same one that you are on?:cool: Got our water shoes all ready - Do we need a waterproof camera?

You don't need a waterproof camera, but I would bring a plastic bag or shower cap to protect your SLR from the spray. Last year I had my waterproof olympus and I'm pretty sure Jodi brought the D60 with the Aqua Pak. She keeps the camera in the Aqua Pak to protect it from the sand & salt spray but usually takes it out to use it. There are some places that can be slippery and a couple of tight squeezes ( at least tight for me) in the caves.

Ernie

Thanks for review! Glad to hear you had enough beach time. I was worried about that. :) I have a few questions.... How was the ferry ride over and how long did it take? Did you take a different path to get up the hill to get back to the bus? I have read that you don't have to go back through the way you went down and it is quicker. Where and what time was your meeting place at the end of the excursion?

 

Thank you! :)

Ferry ride over took about 20-30 minutes. We sat on the top so we were able to enjoy the scenery on the way over.

We went to the Baths first and then went through the caves to get to Devils Beach. There is a path from there that will take you up to where the bus is. It is a different path then the one you take to get down. In my opinion, both took the same amount of time. By taking the path from the beach it just meant we didn't have to go back through the caves.

At the end of the excursion the bus will pick you up at the exact spot it dropped you off (at the Top of the Baths). I don't recall the exact time but your guide will go over all of that with you. The guide will also provide directions on where to find the path to get back to where the bus is.

We used this tour strictly for transportation. If you wanted, you could follow the guide through the caves as a group. We (along with several others) opted to just do it on our own and then met up with the rest of the tour group at the end when we caught the bus.

Ferry ride over took about 20-30 minutes. We sat on the top so we were able to enjoy the scenery on the way over.

 

We went to the Baths first and then went through the caves to get to Devils Beach. There is a path from there that will take you up to where the bus is. It is a different path then the one you take to get down. In my opinion, both took the same amount of time. By taking the path from the beach it just meant we didn't have to go back through the caves.

 

At the end of the excursion the bus will pick you up at the exact spot it dropped you off (at the Top of the Baths). I don't recall the exact time but your guide will go over all of that with you. The guide will also provide directions on where to find the path to get back to where the bus is.

 

We used this tour strictly for transportation. If you wanted, you could follow the guide through the caves as a group. We (along with several others) opted to just do it on our own and then met up with the rest of the tour group at the end when we caught the bus.

Thank you for the information! This is exactly what I needed to know. We plan to use the tour for transportation as well. We were hoping to do this on our own and not with the tour group. :)

Ferry ride over took about 20-30 minutes. We sat on the top so we were able to enjoy the scenery on the way over.

 

We went to the Baths first and then went through the caves to get to Devils Beach. There is a path from there that will take you up to where the bus is. It is a different path then the one you take to get down. In my opinion, both took the same amount of time. By taking the path from the beach it just meant we didn't have to go back through the caves.

 

At the end of the excursion the bus will pick you up at the exact spot it dropped you off (at the Top of the Baths). I don't recall the exact time but your guide will go over all of that with you. The guide will also provide directions on where to find the path to get back to where the bus is.

 

We used this tour strictly for transportation. If you wanted, you could follow the guide through the caves as a group. We (along with several others) opted to just do it on our own and then met up with the rest of the tour group at the end when we caught the bus.

Great thread and thanks for the details. We're considering the ships excursion too - but on Princess (so I'm hoping it is the same or similar).

Can you tell me if the Baths and Devils Beach are separated? Can you enjoy the baths without doing the cave portion of the beach. My SIL that is traveling with me had recent back surgery so we want to eliminate this portion of the excursion if possible.

Yes, you can just walk down to the baths and stay on that beach and walk back up the same path tothe Top of the Baths restaurant. Not sure if it was mentioned that the path down to the Baths is a bit rough or uneven...

Yes, you can just walk down to the baths and stay on that beach and walk back up the same path tothe Top of the Baths restaurant. Not sure if it was mentioned that the path down to the Baths is a bit rough or uneven...

Thanks bluewater! I think that will be okay and we can take it slow ;)

It was so hot one day that we just had to get off the beach and under cover and we walked back up the same path and had our driver return to take us to the Mineshaft restaurant which is on the way back to Spanishtown (or close enough). The panoramic views of the islands from that vantage point are breathtaking, and we had a great sandwich. You also have to order their signature drink the Cave In - "It's all in the Juice, mon!". Quite a sight to see one made! A short stop in Spanishtown for shopping and back to the ferry with a shortish walk.

Enjoy!