Soggy Dollar Bar Excursion

We will be going on the Escape in June and stopping in Tortola. One of the excursions on the NCL site is a catamaran cruise that goes to the Soggy Dollar Bar for $109. Does anyone know of any excursions I could possibly book on land once I get there that go to the Soggy Dollar Bar that might be a bit cheaper? Thank you everyone!

I can't help you but you might find something on the Tortola Port of Call forum section. Here's the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

We will be going on the Escape in June and stopping in Tortola. One of the excursions on the NCL site is a catamaran cruise that goes to the Soggy Dollar Bar for $109. Does anyone know of any excursions I could possibly book on land once I get there that go to the Soggy Dollar Bar that might be a bit cheaper? Thank you everyone!

We tried booking independently once and the excursion was canceled due to the company going out of business. They did not contact us but stopped communicating with us. Our group got on ncl tour and loved it. We have been with ncl 3 times on this tour and it was great. I know it is a lot of money but it was the best place of our cruise history.

FWIW...we booked a charter with Aristocat when we were in Tortola and would do it again without question. May have been a bit more than $109, but was a full day with lunch.

Based on postings here, this excursion frequently sells out. If you are considering it, book it sooner and cancel if you find something else.

This is the only ship excursion we've done in three cruises. We thought it was worth the money. While we would have loved to spend more time there, we were very pleased with the way the excursion worked with our short time in port.

Patouche and Ocean magic Mitch do private charters. I believe it's around $475.00 for a 1/2 day charter.

OMM can take 12-14 people if you can get a group together, which would make it reasonable.

Patouche is about the same.

Google them!

We are pretty much "anti-NCL excursions" as they tend to be overpriced. HOWEVER we decided to book the "Escape to Jost Van Dyke" with NCL, and we are glad we did! It's a fairly long boat ride from the ship to the island, God forbid something goes wrong along the way back, and you miss the ship. Jost Van Dyke if by far the nicest island we have ever been on. We pounded the famous "pain-killer" drinks for a few hours, don't really remember the boat ride back too well :D :D

The only Jost Van Dyke/Soggy Dollar excursion shown for my Escape cruise in May is this one:

"Ultimate Adventure & Jost Van Dyke

--Board a Rigid Inflatable Boat – RIB for an opportunity to see the picturesque coastline up close and visit one of the premier beaches of the British Virgin Isl ..." for $169/pp

We are pretty much "anti-NCL excursions" as they tend to be overpriced. HOWEVER we decided to book the "Escape to Jost Van Dyke" with NCL, and we are glad we did! It's a fairly long boat ride from the ship to the island, God forbid something goes wrong along the way back, and you miss the ship. Jost Van Dyke if by far the nicest island we have ever been on. We pounded the famous "pain-killer" drinks for a few hours, don't really remember the boat ride back too well :D :D

I've been lucky to sail to and overnight in White Bay, JVD, and it's amazing. On my last Escape trip, I paid $109 for my kids and I to go, as I wanted to show them this great place, have amazing roti at Gertrude's....and I was sick and we couldn't go. heartbreaking. If you can go, go. It's awesome.

Its a great excursion, the ride over and back on the Rebel Yell was awesome. Staff was great especially Claudia. the captain. Would not hesitate taking it again, in fact I will be on Dec 3 2016 if it is available. Jost Van Dyke is absolutely beautiful.

I am all for doing excursions on your own but so many people have talked about how new Tortola is to having a big ship in port. That peoples private excursions have ended up cancelled. I think this is one you should book with NCL. It does seem sell out.

I booked it for our June Escape

We are doing the "Rebel Yell"/ Soggy Dollar NCL excursion for our August 20 cruise and it is already sold out. Have read nothing but great comments about this NCL excursion. Since this is our last stop before Nassau returning to Miami I felt we were safer taking an NCL sponsored event if there might be problems on return to the ship, having a 3:00 p.m. departure. If we missed the ship in St. Thomas or St. Maarten it shouldn't be too big a deal to catch up by the next morning. :rolleyes: Gerry

Sailed with Patouche several times to JVD and had a blast! Absolutely worth it....

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I agree with those above. Rarely do I book a ship excursion, but the trip to JVD is an exception. Too far and too close on time to take a chance. JVD is not easy to get to by ferry either. It is one my favorite places and a must do whenever stopping in Tortola. I did book it again for my upcoming cruise and noticed that it is now sold out weeks before we sail. Don't drag your feet if you're going to do it.

We are pretty much "anti-NCL excursions" as they tend to be overpriced. HOWEVER we decided to book the "Escape to Jost Van Dyke" with NCL, and we are glad we did! It's a fairly long boat ride from the ship to the island, God forbid something goes wrong along the way back, and you miss the ship. Jost Van Dyke if by far the nicest island we have ever been on. We pounded the famous "pain-killer" drinks for a few hours, don't really remember the boat ride back too well :D :D

That's a major advantage booking through NCL, they are responsible for getting you back on time or the ship waiting if you are late.

I've been to Jost Van Dyke from Tortola several times, always booked independently. I know a couple have been less than the $109, and a couple more. But....

The last time we booked through one that has been mentioned specifically on this thread (less than $109, I believe) and it's the only time we nearly missed the ship. The boat we were on lost a motor on the return trip, so we were going less than 1/2 speed. They ended up letting us out in a place we really weren't allowed to be, on the wrong side of a locked gate, and we couldn't get through. Luckily, we happened to be directly in front of the ship, and caught the attention of some people on the Bridge, who (I'm assuming) contacted security at the correct entrance, who came down and let us through. Otherwise, we'd still be sitting there.

If you are at Tortola 7-1 only (vs. all day), I recommend using the ship-sponsored excursion. We were on a recent Gem cruise that was there for that limited time so we went with the Escape to JVD too. It is quite a long (45 minute?) motorized catamaran ride to JVD from Road Town, Tortola. That's the only ship-sponsored excursion we've done in years.

Also, the beach, chairs and hammocks at Soggy Dollar were nice, but the Pain Killer wasn't all that special to me. We wandered down the beach a bit to Gertrude's and had her Pinky Passion--she hands you the bottles and you make your own cocktail for $10. I know they serve food there too--someone on this thread mentions it.

Have a great time!

I've researched this extensively the past week or two. For a few reasons, one being that NCL excursion has been canceled numerous times (I really want to get back to JVD - love it), sometimes it's offered on the inflatable boat (no interest to me to travel to JVD on one of those), and another being I want to ensure that I get the most time on White Bay as possible.

If you provide me your email, I will send you the spreadsheet I put together. It includes six of the top tour operators for this (top ratings on Trip Advisor).

Lori

We did the Rebel Yell/ NCL Escape to JVD in January. It was amazing and we returned about 10 minutes later that required by the ship. Of course, since it was an NCL excursion, the ship waited. Had it been a private company, we would have been spending more time in Tortola...

About how many months before your cruise is this available for booking?

I assume Tortola ones are last- my December cruise has options for St Thomas and Nassau only at this point.