Any recommends for 1/2 day boat experience for our family?

We are on the Escape in January. Family of 5 (2 adults, 2 teens, 1 nine-year old). The NCL excursions that intrigue us are all boat/snorkel type but at $159/pp CAD they add up to $700+tip for a few hours of fun.

We are only in port from 7am-3pm on a Wednesday. Bummer.

I'm wondering if there is a way to experience something similar on a reliable and safe private touring company/boat for less. We'd like some beach time, some boat time and some snorkelling (the kids have no experience really with snorkelling so a guide that is helpful would be great).

Thoughts or recommendations?

Patouche charters joe is a great captain and took care of my family. It was only the 4 of us on the charter and he did not cancel. Sailed to Virgin Gorda snorkeled there relaxed on beach then sailed to Cooper Island for lunch and more snorkel / beach time. Back in plenty of time for sail away

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Patouche charters joe is a great captain and took care of my family. It was only the 4 of us on the charter and he did not cancel. Sailed to Virgin Gorda snorkeled there relaxed on beach then sailed to Cooper Island for lunch and more snorkel / beach time. Back in plenty of time for sail away

 

 

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Thanks for the suggestion, I checked out Patouche and looks great but non-private charters run til 4pm and our ship leaves port at 3pm. Short day unfortunately.

He will customize it he knows the Escape leaves early and gets back by 2 we were in the Escape in march

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Also interested in a charter, we would have 5 people (3 adults, an almost-3-year old and a 6 year old). We are on Escape and there from 7-3, Patouche looks nice but $1500 a little steep for us esp since we can't take advantage of the full 7 hours. Any other ideas?

It was not 1500 but rather 125 an adult and I think 75 for my kids. Joe the owner is slow responding but I would recommend reaching out to him

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I think 1500 is the private charter price. I did send an email. Thanks!

We signed up for the group however no one else did and he did not cancel so we got a private charter he is good I would definitely sail with him again

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I sailed with patouche in march and from my experience I would not recommend this charter for a family. Firstly, the tour advertised is not necessarily what you will get if he for some reason books more than 25 guests. This happened on our trip. He will not advise you in advance however if there are more than 25 people you will not sail to coopers island but he will bring you to "beef" island which did not seem like an island to me since our taxi picked us up here. This beach is not very nice and there is no opportunity to snorkel here. The Baths was too rough that day to snorkel day and Joe said the only coral to see was whatever was stuck to the rocks. The rip tide was pretty significant that day and I wouldn't have wanted my kids in it. This boat and/or Joe was not particularly kid friendly either. It should also be noted that if you choose the Baths tour you will be doing the Baths barefoot. We needed fins to swim to the beach and Joe did not advise taking any shoes with us. There is also not a guided tour of the Baths at all as advertised. We had a party of 4 and at $500 not including lunch we felt let down. I should also mention that another party of 4 on our boat actually booked his Norman island tour and he just took them to the Baths without any mention of the change in their tour. His customer service in regards to any communication before hand was almost non existent. I emailed several times, send text messages and made phone calls. He ended up calling me back a few days in advance and honestly he did all the talking and never really answered any of my questions. All other tours were booked and that's the only reason I booked anyways even after feeling uneasy about it from the beginning. I have read good reviews and his partner oscar might be better who knows? Im sure joe had good days and bad days and I'm glad the poster above had a good trip. I certainly would never book with him again. Three other couples on the taxi ride back agreed.

I’m always very sorry to read of someone not having the best experience they can possibly have when visiting the beautiful islands of the BVI, especially when using one of the many excellent operators like Joe and Patouche, Aristocat Charters, and Kuralu. Non-recommendations for any of these outfits are just so rare as they are all top-notch outfits with great crews and they really take care of you.

Regarding some of your complaints, I do not believe that lunch is included in the price of the excursion is it? And although we would also have been disappointed with not making it to the Cooper Island Restaurant, we would have enjoyed De Loose Mongoose or the excellent fish sandwiches at Cyber Café in Trellis Bay, Beef Island, instead.

It does sound like inclement weather (high surf and riptides) was the problem that day, and it is common (and desired) for the captain to choose alternate, safer destinations in that situation. Trellis Bay is a safe haven in this type of weather, and that’s probably why Cooper, the Bight, or Marina Cay was not the alternate lunch and beach stop.

It is unfortunate that with the large number of people and the uncooperative weather you didn’t enjoy your day, but I hope you don't give up and return to Tortola and the BVI for a longer visit to really enjoy the beauty.

Oh we will most definitely return to Tortola as we found it very beautiful. The weather had nothing to do with not going to cooper island. The Mongoose place was charming and we probably might have enjoyed it more if we could order off the menu OR if Joe might have recommended the cyber cafe (which he did not). We were offered a buffet which included rice/beans, cole slaw and two types of fried items chicken or fish (I think). 4 things for a fixed price. We were clear that the price of lunch was not included. Aristocat's includes lunch in their price which I like.

There is no "crew" with patouche to take care of you. It's joe with no other boat hands except help from his passengers. I will also add that he did not have enough snorkel equipment to accommodate the children on our trip. He just simply said to us a a group "snorkel stuff in the bucket, plenty of sizes but I certainly do not have enough fins for all these kids" and walked off. He isn't warm and fuzzy at all. I'm pretty laid back on vacation and I really wanted to like him despite his military/gruff personality I just didn't like him. I honestly didn't even interact with him that much but by my obvervations that day he was a jerk if I'm honest. We had one guest bleeding from her time at the Baths. Bleeding in two different places. He tossed her a towel and she sat on the side of the boat trying to stop the bleeding and cleaning her leg. My boyfriend went inside and looked for a band-aid and joe said "she doesn't even need one yet". We got one anyways for her which she appreciated.

You recommend Joe all the time on this board. I appreciated your input before my trip. You might make it clear when you recommend patouche that you have never personally taken this charter trip as a guest. I'm sure you are friends with or know him personally. I appreciate the fact that you also recommend the other two top rated charters according to trip advisor. I think people here are looking for both recommendations from real people who have taken these tours as cruise ship passengers AND from people who are just familiar with the local tourism somehow.

I have been cruising for years and have travelled a lot. We have taken several excursions over the years and not one through the cruise ship. I realize the reviews on trip advisor are mostly good and my experience is "rare" but I honestly think not everyone has time to write reviews and I'm sure Joe has plenty of guests that haven great time. Im sure my experience would have been better if we only had 4 of us on the boat. My trip however was not stellar. We made the best of it and I'm certainly not saying our day was a disaster. We enjoyed Tortola. We didn't however feel like we got a good value for our $500 that day for the 4 of us.

I’m always very sorry to read of someone not having the best experience they can possibly have when visiting the beautiful islands of the BVI, especially when using one of the many excellent operators like Joe and Patouche, Aristocat Charters, and Kuralu. Non-recommendations for any of these outfits are just so rare as they are all top-notch outfits with great crews and they really take care of you.

 

Regarding some of your complaints, I do not believe that lunch is included in the price of the excursion is it? And although we would also have been disappointed with not making it to the Cooper Island Restaurant, we would have enjoyed De Loose Mongoose or the excellent fish sandwiches at Cyber Café in Trellis Bay, Beef Island, instead.

 

It does sound like inclement weather (high surf and riptides) was the problem that day, and it is common (and desired) for the captain to choose alternate, safer destinations in that situation. Trellis Bay is a safe haven in this type of weather, and that’s probably why Cooper, the Bight, or Marina Cay was not the alternate lunch and beach stop.

 

It is unfortunate that with the large number of people and the uncooperative weather you didn’t enjoy your day, but I hope you don't give up and return to Tortola and the BVI for a longer visit to really enjoy the beauty.

Oh we will most definitely return to Tortola as we found it very beautiful. The weather had nothing to do with not going to cooper island. The Mongoose place was charming and we probably might have enjoyed it more if we could order off the menu OR if Joe might have recommended the cyber cafe (which he did not). We were offered a buffet which included rice/beans, cole slaw and two types of fried items chicken or fish (I think). 4 things for a fixed price. We were clear that the price of lunch was not included. Aristocat's includes lunch in their price which I like.

 

There is no "crew" with patouche to take care of you. It's joe with no other boat hands except help from his passengers. I will also add that he did not have enough snorkel equipment to accommodate the children on our trip. He just simply said to us a a group "snorkel stuff in the bucket, plenty of sizes but I certainly do not have enough fins for all these kids" and walked off. He isn't warm and fuzzy at all. I'm pretty laid back on vacation and I really wanted to like him despite his military/gruff personality I just didn't like him. I honestly didn't even interact with him that much but by my obvervations that day he was a jerk if I'm honest. We had one guest bleeding from her time at the Baths. Bleeding in two different places. He tossed her a towel and she sat on the side of the boat trying to stop the bleeding and cleaning her leg. My boyfriend went inside and looked for a band-aid and joe said "she doesn't even need one yet". We got one anyways for her which she appreciated.

 

You recommend Joe all the time on this board. I appreciated your input before my trip. You might make it clear when you recommend patouche that you have never personally taken this charter trip as a guest. I'm sure you are friends with or know him personally. I appreciate the fact that you also recommend the other two top rated charters according to trip advisor. I think people here are looking for both recommendations from real people who have taken these tours as cruise ship passengers AND from people who are just familiar with the local tourism somehow.

 

I have been cruising for years and have travelled a lot. We have taken several excursions over the years and not one through the cruise ship. I realize the reviews on trip advisor are mostly good and my experience is "rare" but I honestly think not everyone has time to write reviews and I'm sure Joe has plenty of guests that haven great time. Im sure my experience would have been better if we only had 4 of us on the boat. My trip however was not stellar. We made the best of it and I'm certainly not saying our day was a disaster. We enjoyed Tortola. We didn't however feel like we got a good value for our $500 that day for the 4 of us.

Based on your description of the water and events it sounded like the weather was a cause of some of the changes/ problems but there was a lot more going on, and it is very unfortunate the day was not more pleasant...

Yes as I've said in other posts we've "almost" booked with Joe on more than one occasion when staying on Tortola but never hooked up and we regret that. There is so much to enjoy via ferries that we never seem to make time for day sails...He also offers "special" tours for land visitors and we will make it one of these trips. But we do not know Joe personally, other than speaking with him and his girlfriend (I believe), and from your description he was not at his best that day!

But again, sorry your experience wasn't a great one.