Tortola Charters

[mytime53]

When you return from Jost Van Dyke, let me know how they handled beach bags and things like that. We can swim over without any problem, but I am curious how they handle the extras.

 

Thanks

 

Just went with them last Tuesday.

 

They have large rubbermaid containers that they fill and float to shore...they make as many trips as necessary. All our stuff was nice and dry.

[mytime53]

I am planning to spend our time at White Bay (Soogy Dollar). Do you suggest I book ahead of time or wait until we are there and do it. Is the only option to get there through Tortola Charters? I don't mind just don't want to waste precious time.

Thanks

 

I would book something ahead of time. Our ship tour was full.

 

Tortola charters was right outside of the gate waiting for us. I'm not sure there were other operators going from the cruise pier that day, as I didn't see any other signs. There would have been room for more on our trip with them, but you wouldn't know when and where to meet them, or even if they were going that day.

[workit]

I have my reservations with Tortola Charters in BVI to go to White Bay (Soggey Dollar).

Does anyone know what gate to be looking for when coming off the cruise ship?

I am soo excited for this cruise, as it is my 1st cruise.:D

 

I am planning to take a taxi to Magen's Beach in St. Thomas also but I see Carnival is offering an excursion to go there but i think you will only get 2 hrs. on the beach going that route and I really want to take in the beach.

 

The beginning of my week in ON was brutally cold, so I am looking for the heat, lol.

[mytime53]

I have my reservations with Tortola Charters in BVI to go to White Bay (Soggey Dollar).

Does anyone know what gate to be looking for when coming off the cruise ship?

I am soo excited for this cruise, as it is my 1st cruise.:D

 

I am planning to take a taxi to Magen's Beach in St. Thomas also but I see Carnival is offering an excursion to go there but i think you will only get 2 hrs. on the beach going that route and I really want to take in the beach.

 

The beginning of my week in ON was brutally cold, so I am looking for the heat, lol.

 

I assume you'll be at the same pier as Princess, with the same set-up...in that case, go outside of the fenced in area (there's only one gate). Do not stop at the little shade canopy.

[dst]

I have my reservations with Tortola Charters in BVI to go to White Bay (Soggey Dollar).

Does anyone know what gate to be looking for when coming off the cruise ship?

I am soo excited for this cruise, as it is my 1st cruise.:D

 

I am planning to take a taxi to Magen's Beach in St. Thomas also but I see Carnival is offering an excursion to go there but i think you will only get 2 hrs. on the beach going that route and I really want to take in the beach.

 

The beginning of my week in ON was brutally cold, so I am looking for the heat, lol.

 

We were told they would be just outside the gate area with a sign.....should be very easy to find them.

 

I would do the beach on your own and try to go early, once the ships excursions get there it is going to be packed. I believe there are 5 ships in St Thomas with us that day :(

 

Stay warm and safe travels

[seahunters2000]

It seems this is an all-day excursion ( 5 - 7 hours) and apparently there is rum involved.........:D

 

However, I don't see any reference to lunch?? Did you 'brown bag' it from the ship??? :eek:

 

Thanks for any & all responses from those who have been there / done that......;)

 

Yes Rum was involved. We ate at the Soggy Dollar. The Jerk chicken salad was the best.

[allentownahoy]

In Tortola last week my son went on an independent tour to the Baths thru Tortola Charters. This was a mistake. Seas were rough and red flags were posted but when my son asked what the red flags meant he was told it just meant there were some swells. Wrong. The morning cruise line excursion did not end up at the Baths because of the rough conditions and the afternoon excursion was cancelled because the Baths were closed. My son's trip was a swim from the boat into the Baths and the currents were very strong and hard to overcome. Many people got scraped and bruised on the rocks. By the time he made it onto "land" at the Baths he could not enjoy it because he was worried about the swim back.

 

This may be a great excursion under ideal conditions but clearly poor judgement, perhaps motivated by the desire to make money, was displayed on this day.

[Elcruzer]

This fortifies my decision to take the ship's tour to the Baths, although we usually opt for independent tours. We are only going to be in port a short time and the ship leaves at 1PM so I was leaning towards the ship's tour to make sure we get back on time or at least the ship will wait for us. But after reading the above post, definitely taking the ship's tour for safety reasons.

[allentownahoy]

I just have to provide an update. Last night I e mailed Bill at Tortola Charters regarding my son's experience. By this morning I had a very gracious response. He was not on this trip and does not understand why it went out. He offered me a full refund as well as a comped trip for my family if we return to Tortola.

 

This was way more than I was expecting and I feel it is important to be fair and also let CC know that no excuses were made and he is trying to make it right.

[mytime53]

I just have to provide an update. Last night I e mailed Bill at Tortola Charters regarding my son's experience. By this morning I had a very gracious response. He was not on this trip and does not understand why it went out. He offered me a full refund as well as a comped trip for my family if we return to Tortola.

 

This was way more than I was expecting and I feel it is important to be fair and also let CC know that no excuses were made and he is trying to make it right.

 

I'm glad you emailed him and gave him a chance to make things right. I often wonder why, when there is a money back guarantee, people don't avail themselves of it when they have legitimate complaints (I'm not talking about the "ran out of rum punch" type of complaint-LOL). I enjoyed his excursion last month, and was disappointed in myself that I wasn't a better judge of character than to like someone who would put money above safety. Thanks for posting!

[ike97756]

That is why I don't post a negative review unless I have tried to resolve the issue and been unsuccessful. Once it is out there you cant take it back. There are so many things that cant be controlled. I am glad you were taken care of in the end.

Israel

[sunlover's]

just back on Monday and took a tour with Tortola charters on Jan 25 to Jost Van Dyke (white sands beach). We did not realize at first that we needed to walk past the end of the dock and all the tours meeting there, as the "fenced" secure area was still a few hundred yards up. The other tour guides were helpful to point Tortola Charters guides out to us, and once we went thru security, there was a young man with a "blue" Tortola charters shirt and sign to help direct us to the boat. We both had an awesome day, and would totally recommend them. They are very careful to get "everyone" back to the ship on time and we even had an hour to spare doing a little "local" shopping

[Mrs.C05]

just back on Monday and took a tour with Tortola charters on Jan 25 to Jost Van Dyke (white sands beach). We did not realize at first that we needed to walk past the end of the dock and all the tours meeting there' date=' as the "fenced" secure area was still a few hundred yards up. The other tour guides were helpful to point Tortola Charters guides out to us, and once we went thru security, there was a young man with a "blue" Tortola charters shirt and sign to help direct us to the boat. We both had an awesome day, and would totally recommend them. They are very careful to get "everyone" back to the ship on time and we even had an hour to spare doing a little "local" shopping[/quote']

 

THANK YOU!!!! We are booked with them and will be leaving in 23 days! Can't wait!! Can you tell me more about your time while on JVD? How was the beach? Restaurants? I have heard there is more than one?

[acstall]

They've cancelled our sailing to JVD on 2/5 because they don't have enough people signed up. This is the one I've looked forward to most. Anyone know another way to get two people to White Bay Beach other than the ferry?

[KY Deb]

just back on Monday and took a tour with Tortola charters on Jan 25 to Jost Van Dyke (white sands beach). We did not realize at first that we needed to walk past the end of the dock and all the tours meeting there' date=' as the "fenced" secure area was still a few hundred yards up. The other tour guides were helpful to point Tortola Charters guides out to us, and once we went thru security, there was a young man with a "blue" Tortola charters shirt and sign to help direct us to the boat. We both had an awesome day, and would totally recommend them. They are very careful to get "everyone" back to the ship on time and we even had an hour to spare doing a little "local" shopping[/quote']

Thanks for the info. My group of 20 is going on 2/27. This will keep us from milling around not knowing where to go! Can't wait to get my toes in the sand!

[ledris2]

We just got a confirmation for our tour on Feb. 27 also. so it looks like we will be joining your group of 20 unless he has several boats that go to Jost Van Dyke. We are looking forward to it.

 

Last time there we took the ship tour to the Baths ONLY because of time constraints. It was really great. But this time we needed to do something else.

 

Have friends that have gone to Jost for years on Easter Break and absolutely love it. So this is a good thing.

 

Lynda and Pete

[Cinder Again]

They've cancelled our sailing to JVD on 2/5 because they don't have enough people signed up. This is the one I've looked forward to most. Anyone know another way to get two people to White Bay Beach other than the ferry?

Be glad they let you know before you left! He just left us wondering where they were on Jan 31! We wasted an hour and a half, waiting for them and trying to call them, because we had never had a private excursion not show up, after a reservation and a confirmation before we set sail!

You could try the guy who rescued us after Tortola Charters bailed on his. He has a small speedboat that he used to take us to the Baths. We paid him at the end of the day, in case you were worried about being left somewhere. I am not familiar with the beach you want to go to, but I found Egbert to be kind and reliable. His number is 284-443-5288 if you want to see what he can do for you. He's employed by H & H Freelance Captain services.

[KY Deb]

We just got a confirmation for our tour on Feb. 27 also. so it looks like we will be joining your group of 20 unless he has several boats that go to Jost Van Dyke. We are looking forward to it.

 

Last time there we took the ship tour to the Baths ONLY because of time constraints. It was really great. But this time we needed to do something else.

 

Have friends that have gone to Jost for years on Easter Break and absolutely love it. So this is a good thing.

 

Lynda and Pete

It sounds like a lot of people from our roll call are going to JVD. I'm looking forward to a great day. So glad your friends recommend it. We all need some sun and island time after this winter!

[nabby]

It sounds like a lot of people from our roll call are going to JVD. I'm looking forward to a great day. So glad your friends recommend it. We all need some sun and island time after this winter!

 

So jealous! Have a painkiller at Soggy Dollar for me, as well as a Bushwacker at One Love. Also visit Foxy's if you can. Jost is one of my favorite places.

[iflyrc5]

My personal experience with Tortola Charters was not good.:mad: I made a reservation with them on Sept 28, 2010 for a tour for 3 of us on Jan 31, 2011. I reconfirmed with them on Jan 9, 2011 and they said everything was fine and we were a go. We left home on Jan 15 and did not have email available to us after that. On Jan 24th they emailed me (remember I did not have email available at that time) and they cancelled our tour because they had gotten a larger group from the NCL ship that was arriving earlier than ours and did not want to wait until 1130 for us. Since we did not get the email - we arrived at the meeting point at 1115 and waited and waited and waited. We borrowed a cell phone from a very nice group of guys renting scooters just outside the entrance and called Tortola Charters - no answer. We waited another 30 minutes and no return call. We ended up going to the Baths with another Captain (Egbert). He rescued us and we had a nice day at the Baths for $5 less than Tortola Charters. Oh yes - the free rum punch flowed all the back from the Baths. We ended up having a good time but only because we were rescued by Egbert:D.

 

So - just be aware - Tortola Charters may cancel your tour on you to get a bigger group and you won't know it if you don't have email connection(I am not willing to pay $100 for 250 minutes of terrible connection service on the ship).

[Spanky My]

I will be going on Tortola charters and give my assesment when we return. They have been nothing but Proffesional with their responses to my concerns and questions.

 

We will be going on the February 26th trip to Jost van Dyke and I will give an Honest assesment of our trip! Stay Tuned!!

[cruisinleelee]

great tour- great time. Ship canceled JVD tours due to rough Seas- we went and all was good:D Lunch and drinks at Soggy Dollar!!

[Trinity327]

My personal experience with Tortola Charters was not good.:mad: I made a reservation with them on Sept 28, 2010 for a tour for 3 of us on Jan 31, 2011. I reconfirmed with them on Jan 9, 2011 and they said everything was fine and we were a go. We left home on Jan 15 and did not have email available to us after that. On Jan 24th they emailed me (remember I did not have email available at that time) and they cancelled our tour because they had gotten a larger group from the NCL ship that was arriving earlier than ours and did not want to wait until 1130 for us. Since we did not get the email - we arrived at the meeting point at 1115 and waited and waited and waited. We borrowed a cell phone from a very nice group of guys renting scooters just outside the entrance and called Tortola Charters - no answer. We waited another 30 minutes and no return call. We ended up going to the Baths with another Captain (Egbert). He rescued us and we had a nice day at the Baths for $5 less than Tortola Charters. Oh yes - the free rum punch flowed all the back from the Baths. We ended up having a good time but only because we were rescued by Egbert:D.

 

So - just be aware - Tortola Charters may cancel your tour on you to get a bigger group and you won't know it if you don't have email connection(I am not willing to pay $100 for 250 minutes of terrible connection service on the ship).

 

Tortola Charters just cancelled on us. We were to go on the Baths tour on March 14th. Can you provide me with contact information for Captain Egbert? I googled it but my work computers block more than they let through so I can't find any info! Thanks so much!

[Cinder Again]

Tortola Charters just cancelled on us. We were to go on the Baths tour on March 14th. Can you provide me with contact information for Captain Egbert? I googled it but my work computers block more than they let through so I can't find any info! Thanks so much!

 

Read my post #92. Egbert's name and contact number is there. It's not a fancy boat, but it (the relatively small speedboat) got us to the Baths and salvaged what could have been a lost day... Mention to him that TC stranded us on January 31, and we appreciated his help greatly!

For those still booked with Tortola Charters, I think you are safe if you booked in a large group. If your group was/is smaller, there's a distinct chance that they will decide to scuttle you as well. Not a great way to do business, IMHO.

[Crepmen]

Hey, they cancelled our booked tour too.

We can not check every day our emails and we don?t know what happend when we stand outside of the ship to meet the people from the ship.

If you are will be sure that you come to the baths, book a tour with your cruiseship. It is not so more expensive as Tortola charter and you can be sure that you see the baths.

Greatings from Germany Thommy