NCL Escape 3/25-4/1 Family Trip Report

[CRBauer4]

Thank you so much for your post! We are cruising with our DD(6) and DS(3) as well as my parents May 20-27. We are first timers except for my parents who cruise twice a year. My Dad aka Popo has been begging to take the kids cruising. After reading your post I feel much more prepared! #prostatuscruisers #thankstoyou

 

 

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[cookie*]

Looking forward to hearing about St. John's on your own. We are thinking of the same thing for our St. T excursion (we've done Coki/Ocean World in the past). Post some photos of the loveliness if you can :)

 

I will post this tomorrow with pics!

 

Thank you so much for your post! We are cruising with our DD(6) and DS(3) as well as my parents May 20-27. We are first timers except for my parents who cruise twice a year. My Dad aka Popo has been begging to take the kids cruising. After reading your post I feel much more prepared! #prostatuscruisers #thankstoyou

 

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You are very welcome! You will have a great trip!

 

 

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[cincicruisers]

Great review, looking forward to the rest.

[lindsdb]

Following! I'm going on the Escape on May 6th. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

 

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[cookie*]

Day 4-St Thomas

Our plan for today included going to St John on our own and 7:30 dinner at Manhattan Room, early to bed before Tortola

 

Our first port day!!! So exciting! Watched from our balcony as we caught sight of St Thomas around 7AM.

How do we get a trip on one of those?

Ate our continental breakfast on the balcony then made our way to deck 4 at about 8:15. You have to go to deck 5 forward and then one flight down. We noticed a rope blocking the stairs going down and a crew member stood guard to keep the area clear. DH and kids held back towards the hallway to Splash Academy and I went up and asked how long to expect. She said it was hard to say, could still be 20 minutes before the ship cleared and we could wait one floor up in the lounge, but not in the elevator bank. They do not allow people to wait in the hallway, elevator banks or on the stairs. I turned around and went back towards the family to tell them we needed to go up and then before we could even head up the ship had been cleared and the rope removed, so we went down the stairs and ended up being one of the first families off the ship right around 8:30. We could hear people swooshing down the stairs behind us, so were glad we were already on the 5th deck when the ship cleared.

 

A security guard scanned our cards and off we went. There was a pirate and parrot to take pictures with on the pier, but we were on a mission to get a cab to Red Hook. There are plenty of people around if you have questions and we were guided to a taxi van-a regular van with air conditioning-and we had no wait at all. It was us and a family of 6 and we had a comfortable 15 minute ride to the Red Hook ferry dock. We were charged $10 per person including the kids, so it was $40 each way. We bought our tickets (Round trip $14/adult, $2/kid) and got the kids smoothies at the bar to drink while we waited in line for the ferry. We only had about a 10 minute wait. I was glad we were focused getting off the ship because the next ferry wasn't until 10:00.

 

By the way, as we were walking to the taxi stand we noticed a family entering the dock with their luggage-they must have missed the ship in Miami?! I wonder what the story was? How awful-hard to imagine missing out on those two sea days.

 

The ferry ride was smooth and pleasant and quickly (20 min ride) we approached Cruz Bay in St John.

On one visit I stayed with my family in those buildings to the far right with the purple roofs-Lavender Hill.

Once off there were open air taxis waiting and we told someone where we wanted to go and they brought us to the appropriate taxi. We had decided while on the ferry boat to go to Caneel Bay and Honeymoon Beach. There were so many options it was hard to choose, but we liked the idea of going someplace where we could have a nice lunch with a resort atmosphere. The taxi to Caneel Bay cost $5 per person each way. Our driver said when we were ready to go back there would be a cab waiting. We were at Caneel Bay right at 9:30.

 

Caneel Bay resort is gorgeous, like out of a postcard!

In fact I still have the brochure from my trip here 20 years ago!

There are sugar plantation ruins to explore here as well. I suggest doing that first if you are interested because once you get to the beach you won't want to leave!

 

Our first stop was the gift shop because DH forgot to pack flip flops. This gift shop is lovely-I wanted everything. DH got his flip flops and DD got a cute stuffed turtle with the Caneel symbol on its shell.

 

We had a choice to take a $5 per adult (kids ride free) golf cart to Honeymoon Beach or a 10 minute walk along a path. We chose to walk and it was an easy walk with pretty foliage. Once at the beach there are a couple huts-one is a little shop where you can rent water sports equipment and chairs and one hut is a bar with snacks. I didn't pay attention to the bar menu/prices because we planned to eat at the resort's restaurant. There are restrooms and a place to wash off your feet. For $50 per person you get a chair and unlimited use of water sports equipment: paddle board, snorkel, kayaks etc. OR you could rent various items individually. We were mostly interested in snorkel and this was $10per person and includes use of a vest. We decided to find a spot on the beach before making rental decisions. We had our toes in the water by 10.

I still can't get over how clear and beautiful the water is.

 

 

 

 

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[cookie*]

I had forgotten just how soft and silky the sand feels here. St John sand is incredible and hard to describe. You might think sand is just sand-nope. You can't get this sand in Florida, California, the Northeast, certainly not at any lakes, Mexico and not even in Hawaii. We decided to skip chairs and lay our towels on the soft sand.

Clearly, the Supper Club Frankie Valli show made an impression because DD5 named this turtle "Sherry" after the song. [emoji23]

No need for umbrellas because there is plenty of shade under the low lying trees. The beach is long and narrow and very much what you would expect from Swiss Family Robinson or Treasure Island. We used tree branches to hang our cover ups.

This is a pic of our spot we had set up in the shade.

Our kids were thrilled with the crystal clear water and soft sand-it is almost the texture of powdered sugar and feels the same as you walk into the water as well.

We realized pretty quickly we wouldn't need any rentals other than snorkel equipment-we were happy floating around this gorgeous water and sitting on the silky sand. The beach only had a few people at first, but we could see the "cattlemarans" in the near distance. People from the boats were snorkeling the reef to the far right and far left of the beach.

Around 11:00 dinghies from the boats brought people to shore and it felt a little more crowded, but not too bad at all. Actually, the picture above of our beach set up was taken at the peak of the crowds, so obviously it wasn't very crowded.

 

Unfortunately an older gentleman from one of the boats had trouble with his heart and whatever boat he had been on brought oxygen to him and they called an ambulance. We quietly said a little prayer for him right there in the water and he turned out to be Ok thankfully and didn't go in the ambulance. After a little more than an hour and a half playing in the water and sand we decided to head up to lunch. We brought our stuff with us and took the golf cart back up to the resort for a total of $10.

We happened to follow the ambulance up the road and I snapped a photo because it reminded us of the show "Death in Paradise."

 

 

 

 

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[cookie*]

We very much enjoyed the outdoor beach restaurant. The menu is pricey ($18 hamburgers) but the food was delicious and had a relaxing tropical atmosphere.

There was nobody on the Caneel Bay beach, but the snorkel equipment there is only for resort guests and not for rent.

We still hadn't snorkeled yet. We finished lunch at 12:40 and thought about trying out a different beach, but we were set on taking the 3:00 ferry back and figured by the time we got settled on the next beach (figuring 15 minutes for cab and 15 minutes to settle at next beach) we might only have about 45 minutes to an hour before we needed to pack up and head to the ferry. We decided to walk back to Honeymoon which would give us about an hour and a half more of beach time and rented the snorkel equipment. The snorkeling wasn't all that great but it was our kids first time so they thought it was amazing and that's all that mattered!

We had such a tough time getting out of the water to leave the beach. We just loved it here so much we didn't want the day to end. We got out of the water at about 20 after 2, returned the snorkel equipment and hopped back on the golf cart for another $10 to head back to the taxi stand. Sure enough there was a taxi waiting plus another pulling up.

 

We passed by Mongoose Junction where I had gotten some souvenirs I still have with my family growing up. We also passed the little Catholic Church where I remember attending Mass with a group of colorfully dressed Island ladies singing out of tune yet so beautifully. I have so many memories from this place! We were to the Cruz Bay ferry boat with 10 minutes to spare until the 3:00 ferry. We probably could have done the 4:00 ferry, but all aboard was at 5:30 and we didn't want to risk it. I am telling you, leaving St John was painful-it is just that beautiful and relaxing you don't want to leave.

 

We were pretty exhausted from the sun and water. The sun is much hotter here than we are used to. DD5 fell asleep before the ferry left the dock. We had no trouble getting a taxi back to Havensight-we again, very thankfully, had an air conditioned van. We were dropped off near the port shops at about 4:00 so the ride back was definitely longer because of traffic. I imagine traffic only gets heavier so keep that in mind if you do take the 4:00 ferry. We browsed through a few shops and picked up some liquor to bring back as a gift. We were at the ship dock at 4:30. We loved the energy as we walked down the dock-we changed in our towels for fresh towels, had a choice of water or flavored water, and also were given a eucalyptus scented cool washcloth for our faces which felt heavenly! Of course we were also greeted by the washy washy team ;). There are cushioned chairs under a tent if you need to rest before boarding the ship. We checked back in, went through security and checked our liquor (received a claim ticket). From the time we stepped on the dock to the time we got to our room was no more than 15 minutes, and this includes a stop at the Atrium bar for Bushwhackers to go, so this whole process was easy peasy!

 

Bushwhackers turned out to be our post-port drink of choice-it is almost like a chocolate milkshake and definitely re-energized us so we could keep the fun going. The bartender made virgin mudslides for the kids.

 

Cost breakdown:

RT taxi for 4 dock to Red Hook $80

RT ferry 2 kids/2 adults $32

RT taxi Cruz Bay to Caneel Bay $40

Golf cart rides x2 $20

Snorkel equipment rental for 4 $40

Total cost (not including lunch) $212

Total time (not counting port shopping) 7 1/2 hours with 5 of those hours being at Caneel Bay.

 

NCL tours of St John are all 4 1/2 hours, so significantly less time. The Trunk Bay snorkel is probably the most similar to what we did and would have cost $316 and you only have until 1:00 (or are you back at 1:00?) We were very happy with how our day turned out and going to St John on your own is very easy to do.

 

We were pretty wiped out and the thought of getting dressed for dinner didn't appeal to us, so we canceled our 7:30 Manhattan Room reservation and went to the Garden Cafe instead. We were psyched to find the crepe station. We managed to find somewhat healthier food to eat first and then made our dessert crepes. We have a crepe place walking distance from our house and we LOVE crepes (I should probably learn to make them myself) and these Garden Cafe crepes did not disappoint. I only wish they also had savory options in addition to sweet. During dinner we heard an announcement from Andre searching for two passengers. I wonder if they made it back to the ship?

 

We started to sail away while we were eating and then we finished up and went to the sundeck over Spice H20 to catch the view.

The kids told us at some point they wanted to visit Spice and try out the grotto feature after 7 when kids were allowed. At this point it was 6:30-Splash Academy wasn't open yet, which turned out to be a great thing because we kept our family fun going. The kids said they wanted to play mini golf. We headed to mini golf and noticed there was no line for the ropes course. DH and the kids played mini golf and I went to our room and changed into appropriate clothing and brought a bag with everyone's closed toed shoes and a short sleeved shirt for DD5. We hit the ropes by 7PM and they were open until 8. DD5 absolutely LOVED the mini course. DH and I took turns with her while the other went with DS9 on the big course. They told DS he didn't even need to get off the course and could go around again but he wanted to stop and watch his sister for a little bit and then he went back up with me. We could still see St Thomas with its glittering lights and the moon shimmering on the water.

 

DH thought it was less scary at night, but I'm not so sure! It was definitely fun to experience this both ways-daytime and nighttime! We were on the ropes until 7:45 and then headed back to the room.

 

We had a very early morning the next day with Tortola being such a short port day and docking at 7AM-yikes! We wanted the kids to go straight to bed at 8, but they had been staying up so late they weren't tired. On the other hand, DH was wiped out, so he got ready for bed and I brought the kids to O'Sheehans and we played air hockey. We headed back to the room and we were all in bed by 9PM. If we have to have such a short port day it sure would be nice if we could have a few hours to relax in the morning and dock in the afternoon instead of the other way around!

 

The plans for tomorrow included Virgin Gorda Baths on our own, lunch at Pusser's, visit to Spice Caribbe and 5:30 dinner at Cagney's. I visited the Baths with my family 20 years ago on a private day sail from St John. We swam in to the Baths and our captain gave us a complete tour, showing us where we could swim under boulders and where we could climb and jump into the deep ocean. In the weeks before our cruise I tried to find a company that did something similar from Tortola, but I never found anything. Once on board we noticed there was a Virgin Gorda Baths & Snorkel tour, but by the time I found it it was fully booked. When I checked again tonight through the app it looked like I could book it, but it was going to be $270 more expensive than going to the Baths on our own and I just wasn't sure it would be worth the added expense? I was sure it wouldn't have the same feel as the private tour I had done previously. DH had already fallen asleep so I couldn't ask him his thoughts-do I go for it or leave things as they are?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[WAHMto5]

Thanks for the great review so far! We loved the Escape so much, we booked two more trips as soon as we got off;)

[TSUmom]

I am really enjoying your review. It is so detailed and full of information. I am learning so much about cruising with children. My DH and I are planning on taking our grand-ones when they get a little older. Looking forward to more...

[appfan99]

Great review....we sail in less than 2 weeks and your day on St. John is what we have planned now thanks to this!!

[cookie*]

Great review....we sail in less than 2 weeks and your day on St. John is what we have planned now thanks to this!!

 

 

You will have a great day! All four of us agree that was our absolute favorite day of the whole trip. If I were to do things differently I would have rented the snorkel equipment right away so we could have had more time snorkeling. Also, the rental guy said it was easy to snorkel around the bend to another beach, Solomon Bay which would be empty. I would be curious to see if it would be OK to bring the rental snorkels up to lunch and then use them at the empty Caneel Bay beach for a bit before returning them. I don't see why not.

 

 

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[LSKC]

So enjoying this - will be watching for your VG part of the report as I'd like to do it on our own but am unsure whether I can handle the rushing with the port times... my family is very difficult to get up that early in the morning. :)

[appfan99]

You will have a great day! All four of us agree that was our absolute favorite day of the whole trip. If I were to do things differently I would have rented the snorkel equipment right away so we could have had more time snorkeling. Also, the rental guy said it was easy to snorkel around the bend to another beach, Solomon Bay which would be empty. I would be curious to see if it would be OK to bring the rental snorkels up to lunch and then use them at the empty Caneel Bay beach for a bit before returning them. I don't see why not.

 

 

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Thanks for the info. I am seeing where you can buy a day pass. Do you HAVE to have the day pass? We are planning on bringing our own snorkel gear. Can we just plop down on the beach for a few hours? TIA

[cookie*]

Thanks for the info. I am seeing where you can buy a day pass. Do you HAVE to have the day pass? We are planning on bringing our own snorkel gear. Can we just plop down on the beach for a few hours? TIA

 

 

No, you do not need a day pass. There is no fee to use this beach.

 

 

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[cookie*]

Day 5-Tortola

 

Before going to bed I decided we would stick to our original plan of going to the Baths on our own. We had been very successful with St John on our own and it sounded like this should be doable as well. The only thing was that I didn't feel as prepared. I had meant to look up the tips and route pictures I had found here on CC and show DH while we had phone service in St Thomas, but I had completely forgotten to do this. I didn't even remember what time the ferry was leaving, but I knew that we needed to get off the ship right away to catch it, so it must be early.

 

Our alarm went off at 6:30, the food came right then as well...but wait...oh NO! I forgot to check off coffee on our order?! We thought about calling to get some but we were supposed to dock at 7 so we pushed through without coffee. Ugh!

 

 

It looked like we had another beautiful day ahead of us. We could hear roosters crowing and dogs barking on the island. We packed very light for today-wore swimsuits and cover ups and brought a small drawstring bag with a water wallet and my phone in a waterproof phone pouch and carried our towels and that was it. I knew we would be carrying our stuff through the Baths and we needed to keep it light and easy.

 

We were just leaving the room at 7 but the announcement that came said we had not yet been cleared. We tried doing what we had done yesterday-going down to 5, then forward to the stairs but we were still too early and DH decided to use the restroom. We went up to 6 and heard another announcement that we hadn't been cleared so the kids and I got in line for coffee at the Atrium cafe. The line was S-L-O-W moving and sure enough the announcement came that we had been cleared, so skipped the coffee and went to the restrooms near the stairs to check on DH. He came out and we joined the pack shuffling down the stairs and got in line to check out. I noticed a woman next to me with a stack of her cards to check out her family-she looked very serious-this woman was on a mission. Understandable too, because her kids were young. My guess is the youngest was under two.

 

I liked how it went yesterday better, but within a couple minutes we were off the ship at 7:20. I noticed people walking to the left along the water and I assumed that might be a short cut to the ferry dock, but I stopped at the info desk to confirm and was told yes, to go that way, about a 10 minute walk and the ferry leaves at 7:45. Eeek! We briskly walked along a boardwalk, then through an odd empty lot made of dirt and sea shells in front of a hotel (No, DD5 we are not stopping to look at the shells! We have to catch a boat!!!), then through an opening in a chain link fence and then through a parking lot, around a corner and voila-the ferry boat dock. Who was in the Speedy's line a couple people ahead of me, but that woman and her husband I had seen with the young children.

 

We purchased our tickets-I didn't even see a sign with the ferry rates, I just said 2 adults, one 5 yr old, one 9yr old and it came to $132 round trip. I didn't realize at the time that included the taxi service as well-I don't think that came up in my research? We were given 8 laminated generic, 4 red and 4 peach colored "tickets." 4 for our way there and 4 for the way back.

 

We waited on the dock as people wandered about mostly to the right of the boat and then they opened a section of the gate and seemingly out of nowhere a large group of locals had lined up to the left and started boarding. All of the Escape people including us were to the right and it turned into a sort of mob of tourists pushing our way and filing in with the locals. It felt awkward and uncomfortable-these are people on their way to work and I could see they were taken aback by this crowd of people fighting their way onto the boat. Once on, I wasn't sure if we should sit up on top in the sun or underneath in the shade. We have sensitive skin and the sun was already HOT this early in the morning. We sat below, then changed our minds because it felt too warm and got up to go up, but it was already full up top. When we turned around to sit back down most of the seats were taken so the kids and I sat next to a local woman and DH sat behind us. One family couldn't find seats so they had no choice but to stand.

 

Next thing we know, there is some commotion and there on the dock was that woman with the young kids-the youngest child in her husband's arms beside her, the other child not in sight, and they weren't letting them on the boat! How did this happen? They had gotten their tickets before us? Then get this, apparently they were part of a large family group and their YOUNG son was ON THE BOAT up on top with relatives, but then the boat became too full and they were CUT OFF. Can you imagine?! All of a sudden the locals on the lower level with us squeezed in to their seats and the standing family then had a place to sit but the boat captain said "No. We are full. They cannot come aboard."

 

The woman said they had been given the wrong tickets and had to go back to exchange them and that is how they ended up at the back of the line. The family members on the boat pleaded (One young couple from their group offered to get off but even though the poor woman looked distressed, she refused the offer) and even the locals pleaded to let even just the woman on board to be with her child, but no. The boat pulled away and the family was separated. The next ferry wasn't until 9:00.

 

Ok so now we had no coffee, we rushed to get to the ferry, ended up on the lower deck which was stuffy and warm, and witnessed a family become separated. This was not a fun start to the day and we paid $132 for this.

 

Our kids were hot and cranky and we had 40 minutes on this boat with no distractions for the kids because we packed light. DH is wonderful and knew exactly what I was thinking (why didn't we go for the snorkel tour?!) and he reached from behind and rubbed my shoulders and said "We've got to make the most of it." He was right-I took a deep breath, told the kids to look out the cracked half window or think about their fun day yesterday but whining wouldn't get them anything because I didn't have anything to give them. Somehow this little speech worked and then I watched the woman next to me work on a page of numbers. Some kind of lotto scheme maybe? I don't know, but watching her check the list passed the time.

 

I knew one thing for sure-we would not be messing around when it came time to get back to the Escape!

 

To be continued...

 

 

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[oncruisecontrol]

Loving your review. Can't wait for more. We are going on the Escape in September. We did the Getaway last year and loved it.

[cookie*]

Loving your review. Can't wait for more. We are going on the Escape in September. We did the Getaway last year and loved it.

 

 

Thanks! I hope people find the information helpful. I think my Virgin Gorda info will be good for people to have when making a decision about how to spend the day.

 

I'm sure you will love the Escape!

 

 

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[anonmom]

Great review, thanks! I can't decide if I'm glad my husband and I are doing the Baths on our honeymoon, so without the complication of having our daughter with us, or if I wish we were just doing a beach day on Tortola. Anxiously awaiting the next installment!

 

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[Pegsue06]

I am loving this review, we will be on the Escape in April of 2018 our of NY. We will be traveling with DH, DD and 5 year old grandson. Love reading about the Splash Academy. Sitting on the edge of my seat waiting on the rest of your review.

[cookie*]

Great review, thanks! I can't decide if I'm glad my husband and I are doing the Baths on our honeymoon, so without the complication of having our daughter with us, or if I wish we were just doing a beach day on Tortola. Anxiously awaiting the next installment!

 

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Thanks for sticking with me! I'll get there! I am taking my time with this next installment because I'm still piecing everything together-there were so many discrepancies from the info we read before the trip to our actual experience. I think I have a really good understanding of what happened though and I really think it will help people decide what to do. There is no right or wrong choice, but I think knowing what to expect will be of value.

 

I am loving this review, we will be on the Escape in April of 2018 our of NY. We will be traveling with DH, DD and 5 year old grandson. Love reading about the Splash Academy. Sitting on the edge of my seat waiting on the rest of your review.

 

 

Thanks so much!!! I have a great Splash update for our last sea day-I am telling you, Splash is OUTSTANDING!!!

 

 

 

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[cookie*]

Before I go on with our day, I am going to give a little info to put everything in perspective. I went back and looked at what I had read before our trip and understand now why I was so confused.

 

I am realizing now that some of the info on CC is dated, or perhaps DIFFERENT depending on the day you are taking the ferry.

 

For example, the info I read made it sound like you would get an independent taxi and pay $4 per person. We didn't even realize at this point the taxi was included in the ticket price and that we were using Speedy's taxis. We figured out that the taxi was included when we got off at the Baths and weren't asked to pay.

 

From our experience, it appears Speedy's has a different plan when NCL Escape is in port than possibly other ships. In some reports from other ships the taxi is not included in the ferry price and there are many taxis waiting at the dock. In our experience there were two taxis waiting, both owned by Speedy's, and not enough seats for everyone on the ferry.

 

NCL Escape heavily advertised the Baths, which I should have realized would make it extra crowded. Later, I read on the excursion form it says "Expect crowded locations and high temperatures." My guess is that because the Escape has such short port hours, the Baths may experience higher crowds than when other ships are in port with longer hours. In the "Ports of Call" section of CC there are some reports of no or very little crowds at the Baths, but I have to assume that is a report from a ship with longer port hours making the timing for visiting the Baths much more flexible and thus less crowded.

 

Next up will be the report of our time at the Baths, which we LOVED, but there are definitely some drawbacks and I for sure would NOT go with the ship tour, especially if you want to explore areas without crowds.

 

Here is a preview picture :)

 

 

 

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[cookie*]

Back to our regular program [emoji6]

 

The boat docked 30 minutes later and since we were on that lower level we were the first off the boat and the first ones on the taxi. There were two open air taxis waiting, but there were not enough seats for everyone [emoji51] and some people had to wait for the taxis to come back. I felt so bad for the people who had to wait, because even though they probably only had to wait 10-15 minutes our time here was so short!

 

We were on the taxi though and I was ready for fun. The beauty of the islands quickly puts everything in perspective-there is beauty everywhere.

Virgin Gorda is much more arid than St Thomas or St John. There are cacti everywhere. I noticed a group of vacation homes and jotted down the name of the property for future reference.

 

When we got to the top of the Baths we were told to meet at 11:00 if we wanted the 11:40 ferry or 12:00 if we wanted the 12:40 ferry.

 

This situation of not enough room on the boat and then not enough room on the taxis made us very nervous about the return trip. After the 12:40 ferry the next ferry isn't until 3:30 which is after the Escape leaves. We should have asked if we were at the top by noon if we were guaranteed a spot on the 12:40 ferry, but at that point we were still in shock by how everything had played out so we decided on and stuck to meeting at 11:00.

 

When we got off the taxi we went to the ticket window and had a short wait while they processed a credit card for the woman in front of us. Adults $3 and the kids were free so we paid our $6 in cash and got two tickets that made for a nice little souvenir. While waiting to get the tickets the ship tour arrived and they headed down the path because they had their tickets already as part of the package.

 

We were told to take the trail down to Devil's Bay. This was about a 15 minute walk down a dirt path with some bumps and uneven steps with cacti on both sides.

Our kids did pretty well although DS9 slipped and got a small scrape on his leg. We enjoyed the walk down and allowed some rushy rushy people to pass us because we liked having some open space in front of us-no need to rush because you will just get stuck behind people anyway. We found a cute little crab.

 

Once at Devil's Bay we saw a bunch of people snorkeling from the catamarans and people putting their stuff down and swimming or walking through the rocks.

We explored that area a bit, but it was a little confusing to see how to get to the Baths.

 

 

 

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[Kenns10]

Great review! I have a few questions on the ports as I am planning a cruise on the Escape. It'll be me and the girlfriend, we are both 30 and no kids!

 

St. Thomas: I am thinking of doing St. John's on our own as well but I can't decide which beach to pick! Trunk Bay/Cinnamon Bay/Other, etc. I definitely want a beach that has a snack bar, place to rent a chair, bathrooms, etc. Do you think the 4pm ferry back would be doable? I'd like to grab a drink at one of the bars (e.g. Woodys) after the beach and before leaving the island

 

Tortola: was planning on doing what you did and do the Baths on our own, but given all the confusion I think I may want to rent a tour guide/catamaran or head to Jost Van Dyke instead. Or, are the Baths a must-do?

 

Nassau: I've been here several times and done Atlantis. What did you guys do?

 

Thanks!

[cookie*]

We figured it out and found ourselves in a LONG line of people hardly moving anywhere.

Up ahead there was a ladder into the Baths and people were having a tough time getting down. Some people tried to squeeze through the opposite direction because they didn't understand what they had signed up for. There were Speedy's guides at the various rough parts like the ladder or the slippery rock you navigate with a rope.

 

Finally it was our turn at the ladder and we made our way down with ease. We got out of the line of people and explored on our own. Most people with the ship tour seemed to stay in the line without exploring-another reason to do this activity on your own! We went off and explored, then rejoined the line got to the next spot and explored some more and so forth.

 

We really enjoyed exploring the Baths and couldn't believe how most people just stayed in the line. We noticed the first Speedy's guide look at us as we veered off on our own and I registered that he noticed our green wrist bands which signified we were on our own. Perhaps the tour people were told to stay in the line? I do think they are on a tight schedule.

 

 

By going off and exploring we got some great photos making it look like the Baths were uncrowded but that was because most people stayed in the line. At most there was one other family also exploring which was great because we could take turns taking family pics. Back home people who have seen our full pictures are amazed and say "Wow, looks like you had the place to yourself too!" Hahaha, um yeah, NO. Not in the least bit, BUT, we found ways to ESCAPE the crowds. [emoji23]

 

There were definitely lots of people who did not know what they were getting into. You need to be able to crouch low and feel comfortable squeezing through tight spaces. Lots of people bumped their heads including us. Ouch! We noticed several people at different points try to go back the opposite way because they didn't think they could handle getting through the rest of the Baths.

 

As we were exploring, one tour family followed us thinking there was a secret way out avoiding the line and then we all almost got lost-whoops. They were supposed to meet back up top at 10:30 and it was 10:15. We found our way back to the line of people. The Baths covers a pretty large area but the tour doesn't see most of it.

 

We found some dry cave areas and thought these tree roots were pretty cool. The kids felt like true explorers.

 

 

We made our way to the Bath's beach and let the kids swim for a bit, then headed up to the snack area and I bought a really cute t-shirt. They unfortunately didn't have kid sizes though.

 

We cleaned off our feet, put our sandals back on and made the 15 minute walk back up to the top. DD had found a flower and she dropped it somewhere on the walk which led to a flood of tears. We knew she was hot and hungry. It was about 10:55 at this point. I would have loved to check out the restaurant with the pool at the top and get a snack or lunch and cooled off in the pool, but we were just so completely unsure about the taxi/ferry situation we stuck to our plan.

 

The first taxi we saw told us he couldn't take us, we needed the Speedy's taxi which wasn't there. The other taxis we saw were for the ship tour. We needed to wait which was fine, but DD5 was still crying about her flower. There was a police woman who saw us and asked what had happened. We told her about the lost flower and she took DD5 by the hand and walked her towards the restaurant and picked a whole bouquet of flowers for her. What a nice lady! We spent the next few minutes chatting with her about Island life and then our taxi came. We got on and it filled up quickly. We were on the ferry boat, up on top this time, by 11:18. This was a MUCH larger ferry boat than what we had this morning.

 

The ferry was about to pull away when one woman hopped off a taxi and started running towards the pier. We heard one of the Speedy guys shout "wait!" but the ferry left the dock and the woman had to wait. We chatted with the people sitting near us and it seemed everyone on the 11:40 boat had changed their plan from the 12:40 boat because of what had happened that morning with the family being separated. That large group from the morning incident was on the 11:40 ferry as well.

 

This time DS9 fell asleep on the ferry. It was a hot day. The breeze from being up top felt wonderful.

We saw a ton of sail boats and we decided next time we visit Tortola on a ship we would probably do a half day sail. These islands are just so beautiful and our time at the Baths was too short and crowded. Don't get me wrong, we loved our day, especially exploring on our own, but having done the Baths without a cruise ship in port I would prefer to wait until we take an island trip.

 

Would I recommend the Baths ship tour? No. The ship tour has less time than doing it on your own.

Would I recommend doing the Baths on your own? YES, but with caution:

1-you must be ready to be one of the first off the ship

2-take as little as possible with you because you have to carry it everywhere. We only needed 1-2 towels for the 4 of us. It was hot enough to dry naturally and there was no time or desire to lounge. If you plan to use the pool up top then you may want your towels.

3-on the ferry sit near an exit so you can get on one of the first taxis

4-have cash to get through the Bath's ticket window faster

5-Go ahead and take the 12:40 ferry but get yourself up to the restaurant/pool at 11 so you can relax before going back.

6-Have a mindset that this will be VERY crowded, you will have some waiting in tight spaces, but you will see some very beautiful spots if you step away from the crowds.

 

 

 

 

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Great review! I have a few questions on the ports as I am planning a cruise on the Escape. It'll be me and the girlfriend, we are both 30 and no kids!

 

 

 

St. Thomas: I am thinking of doing St. John's on our own as well but I can't decide which beach to pick! Trunk Bay/Cinnamon Bay/Other, etc. I definitely want a beach that has a snack bar, place to rent a chair, bathrooms, etc. Do you think the 4pm ferry back would be doable? I'd like to grab a drink at one of the bars (e.g. Woodys) after the beach and before leaving the island

 

 

 

Tortola: was planning on doing what you did and do the Baths on our own, but given all the confusion I think I may want to rent a tour guide/catamaran or head to Jost Van Dyke instead. Or, are the Baths a must-do?

 

 

 

Nassau: I've been here several times and done Atlantis. What did you guys do?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Hey! Thanks for following along :). You and your girlfriend are going to have such a great trip! St. John is SO beautiful-you will love it there. No need to decide before you get there. If I were doing this without our kids I would tell the people at the taxi stand I wanted a short tour with a stop at an uncrowded beach. Stop for a photo above Trunk Bay. From staying on the island, Oppenheimer was our favorite beach, but it might be closed due to some construction and there are no facilities and for sure no cabs waiting for you. When we were there years ago, it was just our family and a guy with a machete cutting down coconuts. [emoji38] That said, I am sure there are taxi drivers who will love to show you the island and where to get a great beach experience. People love Cinnamon, but it wasn't my favorite-I like the smaller beaches better, but that is personal preference.

 

The Baths are gorgeous, but I think the port hours are just too short to fully enjoy them from the Escape. BVI is so amazingly gorgeous, I would look into some sort of semi-private half day sail.

 

Nassau-we did Blue Lagoon Island. We enjoyed this very much, but I understand why some people like to stay on the ship for the day.

 

 

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