NCL Tortola by Land & Sea Excursion

I just booked the Land Sea Excursion and was wondering what to expect. NCL's web site gives a kind of vague description. How much time is allowed to explore Soper's Hole on our own? Also, are you allowed to jump in the water at all? Hoping that someone that has done this can shed a little more light on what to expect. Thanks!

I am looking at this as well for July and was trying to decide between the NCL "Tortola by Land & Sea" and "Best of Tortola." I hope someone can share their experiences.

I know Carnival has a forum where past guests share their experiences and reviews on the different ship excursions. Does NCL have that as well?

NCL has reviews of their shore excursions but those two have no reviews posted.

Reading the description it sounds like you'll have a nice coastal tour then have some time to stroll West End before taking safari taxis over Ridge Rd and back into town. So probably no swimming but a nice tour for a first time on Tortola.

I just booked the Land Sea Excursion and was wondering what to expect. NCL's web site gives a kind of vague description. How much time is allowed to explore Soper's Hole on our own? Also, are you allowed to jump in the water at all? Hoping that someone that has done this can shed a little more light on what to expect. Thanks!

We did the land and sea tour last week. You get on the boat and get a coastal tour, they drop you off at a marina to shop for 30 minutes then the rest of the tour is on land via open air buses. It is a nice tour but no swimming involved, a nice tour with alot of information on the island we enjoyed it.

Thanks for the info ghc10! No need to worry about swim suits or towels. I read some reviews on Carnivals web site (figured they would probably be the same) and seems like everyone enjoys it.

We did this tour in January. The boat part was great...good tour...good drinks...dancing...a lot of fun. Then about 30 minutes to shop ( nothing great...just few stores and supermarket) beautiful boats to look at...No swimming......then onto open buses...ours had poor speaker and we couldn't understand most of the tour, but it is a beautiful island with the craziest roads we have ever seen. Not the best tour ever, but a very enjoyable day

We have this tour booked for next month. I have some mobility issues and was curious as to how easy it was to get on and off the tour boat.

Thank You

We have this tour booked for next month. I have some mobility issues and was curious as to how easy it was to get on and off the tour boat.

 

Thank You

we too would like to know as we have slight mobility problems.

Getting on and off the boat was not a problem I believe there was a ramp. Getting in and out of the safari bus may be an issue. The step to the safari bus was small but with hand rail it is helpful. Maybe call the tour company and ask if they have an bus with easier access. We really enjoyed the tour when we went.

we too would like to know as we have slight mobility problems.

Hi, Nita: It's always nice to see one of your posts. I have been a fan of your common sense approach to your CC postings for a number of years.

When are you sailing to Tortola?

Ray

Getting on and off the boat was not a problem I believe there was a ramp. Getting in and out of the safari bus may be an issue. The step to the safari bus was small but with hand rail it is helpful. Maybe call the tour company and ask if they have an bus with easier access. We really enjoyed the tour when we went.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your comments. My issue is lack of balance once In awhile. I'm a bit wobbly stepping over uneven surfaces--like stepping from the dock onto the deck of the boat. As long as there is a hand railing, I think I will be fine.

Ray

Hi, Nita: It's always nice to see one of your posts. I have been a fan of your common sense approach to your CC postings for a number of years.

 

When are you sailing to Tortola?

 

Ray

Thanks Ray, that makes me feel really good. And how in So.Ca. these days?

We are sailing on the Epic November 12th. Never thought we would do a mega ship, now we are getting really excited. Are you sailing in the near future?

It sounds like we will take this tour. Hubby has leg problems, and I do to a degree. We want to do something and this sounds like a good one for us. We don't do the private island because of walking in the sand and we have done St. Thomas so many times.

Thanks Ray, that makes me feel really good. And how in So.Ca. these days?

 

We are sailing on the Epic November 12th. Never thought we would do a mega ship, now we are getting really excited. Are you sailing in the near future?

 

It sounds like we will take this tour. Hubby has leg problems, and I do to a degree. We want to do something and this sounds like a good one for us. We don't do the private island because of walking in the sand and we have done St. Thomas so many times.

We sailed on the Oasis in Feb 2013 and loved the mega ship. We cruised on the Epic a year later and really didn't care for it. Maybe because the design of the Epic is so different from NCL's other ships, we sort of felt lost. It just didn't feel like NCL. We stayed in a DOS which was very nice. Bottom line, I don't think we would sail on the Epic again. Would love to hear your impressions of the ship after you return. We had a great time, but...

We are sailing on the Escape starting on October 15th. I know, another BIG ship. I have done so much research and looked at so many YouTube videos, I feel like I have already sailed. We have booked a nice Aft Penthouse (our first time at the aft of a ship) and looking forward to the large balcony.

Enjoy your trip...

Ray & Teresia

We sailed on the Oasis in Feb 2013 and loved the mega ship. We cruised on the Epic a year later and really didn't care for it. Maybe because the design of the Epic is so different from NCL's other ships, we sort of felt lost. It just didn't feel like NCL. We stayed in a DOS which was very nice. Bottom line, I don't think we would sail on the Epic a gain. Would love to hear your impressions of the ship after you return. We had a great time, but...

 

We are sailing on the Escape starting on October 15th. I know, another BIG ship. I have done so much research and looked at so many YouTube videos, I feel like I have already sailed. We have booked a nice Aft Penthouse (our first time at the aft of a ship) and looking forward to the large balcony.

 

Enjoy your trip...

 

Ray & Teresia

We enjoy cruising once in awhile anymore, but would never book these ships because the public areas are so crowded (based in reviews and friends reports). But it's a matter of what you enjoy too...

We sailed on the Oasis in Feb 2013 and loved the mega ship. We cruised on the Epic a year later and really didn't care for it. Maybe because the design of the Epic is so different from NCL's other ships, we sort of felt lost. It just didn't feel like NCL. We stayed in a DOS which was very nice. Bottom line, I don't think we would sail on the Epic again. Would love to hear your impressions of the ship after you return. We had a great time, but...

 

We are sailing on the Escape starting on October 15th. I know, another BIG ship. I have done so much research and looked at so many YouTube videos, I feel like I have already sailed. We have booked a nice Aft Penthouse (our first time at the aft of a ship) and looking forward to the large balcony.

 

Enjoy your trip...

 

Ray & Teresia

daughter did the EScape last year; she and hubby enjoy it as well as enjoyed the Breakaway. We choose the Epic because it sails out of Cape Canaveral and our younger daughter and son in law live in Orlando. We will get to spend a couple days with them. Otherwise we wouldn't consider it, but I am getting excited.

Have fun on your cruise.

Getting on and off the boat was not a problem I believe there was a ramp. Getting in and out of the safari bus may be an issue. The step to the safari bus was small but with hand rail it is helpful. Maybe call the tour company and ask if they have an bus with easier access. We really enjoyed the tour when we went.

Curions as to the boat type they use for this?

We are going to Tortola in Feb/17 and are thinking about the Land & Sea Tour. If you do this tour, could you please write about here so I can figure out if its something we want to do. Thanks.

We did the land and sea excursion through NCL in January and enjoyed it quite a bit. As others have stated, the boat trip was a bit better than the return on the Safari Truck. The boat was an open with bench seats. We sailed around the harbor past Peter, Dead Chest, and Norman Islands - beautiful clear blue water and a good narration about the islands. We then cruised around Frenchman's Cay to Sopher's Hole where we stopped for about 30 minutes. As others mentioned, there is a restaurant and 3-4 small shops. It was nice - very pretty and clean - but the half hour we spent there was plenty. The trip back was on a open Safari Truck, up and down winding roads. The journey wasn't all that exciting but there were some decent views and a photo stop or two. There isn't that much to do in Roadtown so I wish we would have stopped at Cane Garden Bay or another beach for a while but that wasn't part of the excursion. All in all, we thought it was an enjoyable excursion and the price wasn't too bad. Not a bad way to see Tortola. If you are hoping for something "thrilling", this excursion wasn't it. But, if you are okay with a relaxing and scenic tour, you probably will find this one enjoyable.