Tortola 6-1pm.. again.

[KyleClark]

Hi all - We've been sailing NCL for many years.  Every time we go to Tortola it's a 1pm departure.  This kills my spirit when looking for cruises to book. I feel we miss out on a lot of good experiences there since the time is limited.  Why is this departure so early?  Are there any itineraries that stay there longer?

 

Thx,

Kyle

 

 

[PelicanBill]

Yea this stinks. Where do you go next?  Apparently someone who designs itineraries thinks this is a great idea to squeeze a stop in.  You probably need those hours to get to the next port.  The other possibility is that Tortola is encouraging it so they can get a second ship in after you for a 2-8 port call.

 

It does stink. Most people do not want to get out of bed that early, and get breakfast (will it even open early for this?) and be able to get started on an excursion at 6:30am.  Painkillers at Soggy Dollar Bar at 8am anyone?

 

[ColeThornton]

4 minutes ago, PelicanBill said:

Painkillers at Soggy Dollar Bar at 8am anyone?

 

Drastic times call for drastic measures!  Ya gots to do what ya gots to do.  🙂

[All-ready2cruise]

@KyleClark I have the Island of Tortola on the cruise I have booked for May 2022 which has the same time frame. Little too early for me so, I'll likely just stay on the ship (Breakaway). The next day is a sea day, then GSC for the final day. 

 

 

[brookie848]

I have seen itineraries where the Tortola stop is longer and the St. Thomas stop is short. When I look at cruises, port times are one of the things I take into consideration.

 

The port times on NCL's Eastern cruises have really left a lot to be desired the last few years.

[allaboardwhosgoingaboard]

We're in the same boat (pun intended!:). Then, factor in your time zone! At least we are only an hour off. I've looked this island over as we've never been and just figured if we sleep in too late to really "do" anything, it seems they have a decent enough port area with shops and places to stop in (Pusser's Pub for a painkiller) to at least say we did something. But, I agree. It sucks. Didn't stop me from booking though! :) 

Edited December 18, 2020 by allaboardwhosgoingaboard

[complawyer]

dont fret, unless you want to go to the beach, that's plenty of time.  aint much going on in tortola.

 

st thomas, again if y ou dont want to beach it, you can wander around the port of charlotte amalie for a few hours and waste some money.

 

we once spent a week in st thomas, as i wanted to take our young grandson on vacation (he was 9 at the time and didnt have a passport)

 

I can personally assure you, you wont miss anything and might even have a better time staying on the ship

[DaCruiseBug]

1 hour ago, PelicanBill said:

Yea this stinks. Where do you go next?  Apparently someone who designs itineraries thinks this is a great idea to squeeze a stop in.  You probably need those hours to get to the next port.  The other possibility is that Tortola is encouraging it so they can get a second ship in after you for a 2-8 port call.

 

It does stink. Most people do not want to get out of bed that early, and get breakfast (will it even open early for this?) and be able to get started on an excursion at 6:30am.  Painkillers at Soggy Dollar Bar at 8am anyone?

 

 

Most of the itineraries i've seen have a sea day right after Tortola and then Great Stirrup Cay. I'd rather stay an extra 2 hours in Tortola and get to GSC a bit later than leave at 1pm and then get to GSC at 8-9am.

[PelicanBill]

GSC is a good explanation. It's 1,000 miles, which is going to take 40-44 hours at full steam. From 1pm that would be a sea day and arrival early in the next morning.  From NCLs point of view they'd like to be at GSC early before weather whips up the seas.  They have to cut a lot of GSC visits short when the sea gets rough there.

 

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by PelicanBill

[MsTabbyKats]

2 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Most of the itineraries i've seen have a sea day right after Tortola and then Great Stirrup Cay. I'd rather stay an extra 2 hours in Tortola and get to GSC a bit later than leave at 1pm and then get to GSC at 8-9am.

I'd rather skip GSC and spend the day on Tortola.

[jemz1949]

Whether it is 5 hours in Tortola or 10 hours in Rome, I simply can't get past the idea of having to be in the NCL "bubble" when I get off the ship and having to pay their ridiculously high excursion prices.  That is a deal breaker for me right now, regardless of the itinerary.  

 

[PelicanBill]

Good point.  They will all be going to GSC for now... until it is safe to go ashore again.  There aren't enough excursion providers in Tortola to make it a bubbled port.

[DaCruiseBug]

Just now, PelicanBill said:

Good point.  They will all be going to GSC for now... until it is safe to go ashore again.  There aren't enough excursion providers in Tortola to make it a bubbled port.

 

That and NCL can charge ridiculously "port and tax" charges at GSC and call it a free day yet they add on $30-40 per person when you dock there.

[DaCruiseBug]

NCL loves going to their own islands because then they can charge everyone fees and disguise them as "port taxes".

 

For example:

 

Carnival 11/27/2022 7 day sailing from Miami with stops in Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Roatan equals $137.24 in "port taxes".

 

Norwegian 12/17/2022 7 day sailing from Miami with stops in Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan, and Harvest Caye equals $203.83 in "port taxes".

 

So the only difference in itineraries between the Carnival sailing and NCL sailing is the extra stop in Harvest Caye. Meaning that NCL is charging every single customer $66.59 to dock at Harvest Caye.

 

This is how Norwegian rips off its customers...by hiding fees on top of fees and on top of fees.

[Turtles06]

Five years ago, we had a fun 10-night Eastern Caribbean cruise out of NY on the Gem.  (I sure would love to do it again!)  Among other ports, we called at Tortola from 7am-1pm.  Yes, pretty short.  But we took a wonderful snorkeling excursion to The Indians that made very good use of the limited time.  I just checked our itinerary, and Tortola was followed by two days at sea and then disembarkation in NY the next morning.  I imagine the 1pm departure from Tortola was needed to ensure an on-time arrival in NY.

 

(photo by turtles06)

[lepidoptera]

34 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Five years ago, we had a fun 10-night Eastern Caribbean cruise out of NY on the Gem.  (I sure would love to do it again!)  Among other ports, we called at Tortola from 7am-1pm.  Yes, pretty short.  But we took a wonderful snorkeling excursion to The Indians that made very good use of the limited time.  I just checked our itinerary, and Tortola was followed by two days at sea and then disembarkation in NY the next morning.  I imagine the 1pm departure from Tortola was needed to ensure an on-time arrival in NY.

 

(photo by turtles06)

In 2018 I did a 11 day out of NYC with a 7-1 stop in Tortola. I had booked the excursion on the Rebel Yell to Jost Van Dyke. The day before the captain changed it from 6 to 12 and warned us that we would be leaving on time. I made sure I had breakfast before I left-some of the others did not expecting for their to be food at the beach. We had amazing time on Jost-only the Soggy Dollar was open and we were the only ones there. Then after all of our pain killers there was rum punch on the boat back. The excursion was plastered especially some of the smaller ladies with nothing in their stomach. But all of us, even those that couldn’t walk straight made it back on time.

 

The ship however did not make it back to NY on time though-we were originally supposed to get back at like 8, then then they changed it to early evening. We didn’t actually get off the boat until around 10pm. So if I ever do a NYC cruise again I’m driving or taking a bus 😂

[BirdTravels]

We grab a snorkel excursion. Snorkeling the caves is a great tour. We’re fine getting out of there at 1:00.  

[HowardK]

2 hours ago, lepidoptera said:

In 2018 I did a 11 day out of NYC with a 7-1 stop in Tortola. I had booked the excursion on the Rebel Yell to Jost Van Dyke. The day before the captain changed it from 6 to 12 and warned us that we would be leaving on time. I made sure I had breakfast before I left-some of the others did not expecting for their to be food at the beach. We had amazing time on Jost-only the Soggy Dollar was open and we were the only ones there. Then after all of our pain killers there was rum punch on the boat back. The excursion was plastered especially some of the smaller ladies with nothing in their stomach. But all of us, even those that couldn’t walk straight made it back on time.

 

The ship however did not make it back to NY on time though-we were originally supposed to get back at like 8, then then they changed it to early evening. We didn’t actually get off the boat until around 10pm. So if I ever do a NYC cruise again I’m driving or taking a bus 😂

I usually cruise from NYC- I was going to go on the Escape in i think 2016 - with the 7-1 Tortola excursion booked on the Rebel Yell- i ended up not going on the cruise but that sounds like a great morning ! However, event though I am an early riser don't like the thought of a 6am port call. Makes the night before early or then maybe not sleeping much at all.

[david_sobe]

I hate stops like this especially on such a great island like Tortola.  By the time you eat breakfast and get off the ship, get to the beach, its time to go back.  Tortola was a surprise for me earlier this year. I was originally disappointed when NCL swapped St Maarten for Tortola.  But my day at Long Bay Beach was my best beach day in my life. I cant wait to go back someday.  I would hate to have to pack up at 11:30 am to make sure you are on the ship by 12:30.

The only thing more disappointing than this was the night arrival at Puerto Rico on the Encore eastern earlier this year.

However, I was looking at NCL eastern Caribbean sailings in 2022 and they are amazing.  Tortola, St Thomas, Dominican Republic and GSC.  Now THAT is a great itinerary.  

[zqvol]

4 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

NCL loves going to their own islands because then they can charge everyone fees and disguise them as "port taxes".

 

For example:

 

Carnival 11/27/2022 7 day sailing from Miami with stops in Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Roatan equals $137.24 in "port taxes".

 

Norwegian 12/17/2022 7 day sailing from Miami with stops in Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan, and Harvest Caye equals $203.83 in "port taxes".

 

So the only difference in itineraries between the Carnival sailing and NCL sailing is the extra stop in Harvest Caye. Meaning that NCL is charging every single customer $66.59 to dock at Harvest Caye.

 

This is how Norwegian rips off its customers...by hiding fees on top of fees and on top of fees.

Your assumption may or may not be correct. In addition to the stops you have to look at ship size and number of passengers. A larger ship has much higher port fees than a smaller one.

[All-ready2cruise]

6 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I'd rather skip GSC and spend the day on Tortola.

I love GSC. Been there several times. However, I've never been to Tortola so, staying on the ship might be something I'll reconsider when the date gets closer.  I love exploring new POCs. However, since I'm booked in the Haven for this cruise, it might be a nice way to explore/enjoy the Haven. 

 

We'll see. 

Cheers

[DaCruiseBug]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

Your assumption may or may not be correct. In addition to the stops you have to look at ship size and number of passengers. A larger ship has much higher port fees than a smaller one.

 

Those fees are proportional. As in, they're mostly per capita.

 

But using your flawed logic...the Carnival taxes should actually be higher. That sailing is on the Carnival Celebration which has a passenger capacity of over 6,000 and a tonnage of 180,800. Meanwhile the NCL sailing is on the Bliss with a capacity of about 4,000 and a tonnage of about 168,000.

 

Stop making excuses for how dirty NCL chooses to do business.

[Sweetnspicy]

In January we were on an 11 day from San Juan and we had a full day in Tortola! It was our favorite day with an excursion on a private charter that someone here in the meet and greet put together. Just 8 people on a catamaran and for the entire day. It was amazing! I want to go back so bad. 

[farmersfight]

21 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

Painkillers at Soggy Dollar Bar at 8am anyone?

 

 

[MsTabbyKats]

15 hours ago, All-ready2cruise said:

I love GSC. Been there several times. However, I've never been to Tortola so, staying on the ship might be something I'll reconsider when the date gets closer.  I love exploring new POCs. However, since I'm booked in the Haven for this cruise, it might be a nice way to explore/enjoy the Haven. 

 

We'll see. 

Cheers

I used to love GSC before they upgraded it.  DH and I would go to the upgraded area, and it was like having paradise to ourselves.  Now...it's just an overly crowded beach and half the time the ship doesn't even make it there.

On the other hand, Tortola, a part of the BVI is beautiful....and the ship's time there is really just a waste.  I went on a Windjammer cruise about 40 years ago...and thought it was the most romantic place on earth.  IMHO...the island itself is richer and safer than most of the other islands as far as wandering around.