ajtraveler66

We did the St. John's Champagne and Snorkel. (Catamaran).  It was a decent excursion, but we were only at the beach for about an hour.

I went because I heard that St. John is so beautiful...and it is.  I think if I went back on that cruise again, I would do something on St. Thomas...and do it with a reliable private tour.  (We were at port at St. Thomas around 8.  Our tour to St. John didn't go out until about 11:45.  In essence, we wasted a good three hours while in St. Thomas).

The USVI and British VI are relatively close together.  It's a shame that a ship can't be at port at St. Thomas or Tortola and be there for two days or so.  [Bermuda cruises, for instance, are at port for over 2 days.  It's so nice not having to worry about the clock. ... But then, I don't make the rules].

Recently went on the Encore to the Caribbean.  It is an absolutely beautiful ship.  If I have any complaint, it would only be that it was very loud and noisy--even in some of the specialty restaurants.  This may sound like a stupid question, but are any of the NCL ships known to be less noisy than others?  I've been on several of the NCL ships, but I don't think I ever noticed the specialty restaurants to be quite as noisy as they were on this one.  Perhaps it's just the fact that we were in the Caribbean which--in and of itself--suggests 'party' atmosphere.  Just curious.

10 hours ago, big al said:

 

Is this the catamaran that leaves like 7 am and comes back around noon? A group of 6 of us are considering doing this excursion...apart from your bad food experience, how was the beach ? Did you go to the Soggy Bottom Bar?

 

Big Al

The excursion was thru NCL and it was called "Escape to Jost Van Dyke".  I'm sure other ships use the same excursion.  It's the "Soggy Dollar Bar", by the way....not Soggy Bottom... and it was there, right next to Hendo's.  Yes....the beach was very nice.  It was pretty crowded and there were a lot of boats near the beach....but that didn't seem to interfere with anything.   ...  Overall, it was a wonderful excursion.   I just hope you don't have to waste your time at a restaurant like we did.  I have no complaints other than our wasted time.  Guess I'll have to go back and do it right.  LOL.  The video that NCL has put out on their excursion offerings gives you a pretty accurate picture of what it looks like.  Hope you have great weather like we did.  ENJOY!

5 hours ago, blue_water said:

sorry you "lost time" aj...Where did you wait 2 hours to be served? Having a great lunch on the beach is part of the experience!   

 

It was at Hendo's.  Looked like a great place..and the food wasn't that bad.  One waitress was waiting on a huge area.  It's possible they were short-handed that day.  Needless to say, we were quite frustrated.

 

Just got back from a wonderful cruise that included St. Thomas.

I took a ship excursion from St. Thomas over to St. John.  I loved what I saw, but I only got to spend about an hour there instead of the two hours of beach time we had been counting on. (Long story).  

The excursion didn't start until about 11:45....and we had been in the port most of the morning.  It seems such a shame that the ship didn't offer a longer excursion.

In some ways, I wish we had arranged for a private excursion, but it's always nice to have the 'security' of being on a ship-sponsored tour.  

Would love to go back to the Virgin Islands.  Any suggestions on how to make things better that next time?

As a commentary....I enjoy the NCL Bermuda cruise because the ship is at port for over 2 days...and it makes for such a relaxed time.  That said, with so much to see in the US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands, it is such a shame that ships can't arrange for a multiple- night stay while at port in this magnificent part of the world.  Maybe they'll read my post and do something about it.  Ha, ha!

22 minutes ago, SteveH2508 said:

Any chance of a picture of a menu - or a link to one?

You should find it by navigating through this link.  Look for the restaurant and there should be some click-on menus.  Not sure how up-to-date they are.  But the Onda one looked current from last week.

https://eatsleepcruise.com/2019/12/norwegian-encore-restaurant-menus-and-dining-guide/

We just returned from a cruise to the Virgin Islands on the NCL Encore.  (A wonderful cruise, by the way).  While on the boat, we ate in several of the complimentary and specialty restaurants....all were good.  But after all was said and done, all four of us within our group agreed that our dining at Onda (by Scarpetta) was the finest and most enjoyable.  Everyone raved about their food.  I ordered "Mezzelune" and it was the lightest and best-tasting ravioli dish I have ever experienced in my life.  I had the "Panna Cotta" for dessert, and it was unbelievably good.  If you are on the NCL Specialty Restaurants dining plan, don't pass this restaurant up just because it's not the Italian restaurant you are familiar with on most other NCL ships.

What a beautiful beach we got to see on a fine sunny day.  That's what we had.  And we could have had three hours of it.  Unfortunately we blew it because we planned very poorly.  We thought it would be fun to eat at a restaurant on the beach and then actually take in the beach after we had eaten.  DON'T DO LIKE WE DID.  We wasted almost 2 hours of our precious time waiting to be waited on and then waiting on our food.  By the time we got to our beach time, we couldn't relax because we had to start watching our watches...so we wouldn't miss our catamaran back to the ship.  ADVICE:  You can eat ANYWHERE, but you can only experience this tremendous beach for the three hours that you are there.  Come on a full stomach.  Enjoy this absolutely wonderful beach, and then eat when you get back on the boat.  I am not complaining.  I just wish that I would have read a post such as this prior to my going on this really wonderful excursion.

We will be doing the St. John Champagne/Catamaran Sail excursion next month.  We have no desire to snorkel; we are only interested in the beach.  

How do we get to the beach once the catamaran arrives?  We will have items with us that we will want to keep dry...so if the catamaran does not go into shallow water, we are hoping that a small raft or small boat can bring us ashore.  Just curious.

We are to fly into Miami the day before our cruise this February.  We have gone through a travel agent and they have us booked at a hotel near the airport for our overnight stay.  It is the Pullman Miami Airport Hotel.

Getting to the cruise terminal will not be an issue for us because we will have most of the next day to get there.

However, we'd like to have a little fun time that night while we are in Miami (maybe go to a good Cuban restaurant).  

Knowing all of this, are we going to be fine with the airport hotel location.  Or would we be better off calling our agent and arranging for one closer to the port.

Also.....do most hotels provide a shuttle service to the port area?

We will be taking the Jost Van Dyke excursion to White Bay Beach while we are ported at Tortola in mid-February 2020.

Our party of four's average age is 65.  We are wondering which restaurant/bar would be more suited for us for lunch and beverages?  I'm guessing that it would be Hendo's, just from looking at the website pictures.  But pictures don't always tell the whole story.  If we choose to have lunch at Hendo's are reservations required?   Pro's and con's of each place would be helpful.  Thanks much.

We have purchased the "Champagne Catamaran Sail to St. John" and are really looking forward to it.  Too many have told me that St. John is a must while at port in the USVI.

We do have a few questions for those of you who have done this excursion (or plan to do it soon...and know the answers).

Evidently, our boat goes to Honeymoon Beach...  Are there chairs/umbrellas available at the beach?  What about food & beverage vendors?  I know that food and beverages will be offered on our return to the cruise ship, but we need to know whether to bring our own water, etc. in the event that the beverage vendors are not nearby  [We realize that this is part of the National Park....so I certainly would understand if stands are unavailable].

Our main focus, of course, is the beach and the water, but to help us better plan, the answers to these questions will be helpful.

Thanks.

We are going to narrow down our excursion plans in the next few days (NCL Encore--Feb 2020 -- Will be at port on Wednesday, February 12)

The excursion to St John (Champagne Catamaran) looks great....and it goes to Honeymoon Beach.  Then I see another excursion to St. John which will go to Trunk Bay.

Both excursions look tremendous to me.  There is food and drink on the way back on the Honeymoon Beach excursion.  But apparently none on the excursion to Trunk Bay.

Best beach wins.  Food is not a factor.  Your comments, please.

We are trying to decide what to do while at port in Old San Juan from 5:30 to 12:00 on Tuesday, February 11, 2020.

One possibility we are considering is to make reservations (if possible) at a restaurant that features the local cuisine along with other menu offerings such as lightly seasoned favorites such as steak, chicken.  [Some within our party have difficulty with overly spicy foods].  If we went this way, which restaurant(s) would you suggest?

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

We have not ruled out just eating on the ship and then going out for a walk for an hour or so.....but it sure would be fun to sample some good local cuisine.  I have heard that mofongo is a 'must'.

Thanks.  I didn't realize we would have that much beach time.  That's pretty good.  That helps a lot.

There is an excellent chance that we will go to Jost Van Dyke on the Rebel Yell.  However, there is one drawback--not much beach time if we take this excursion.  [We will be on the NCL Encore in February... and at port in Tortola from 8am-5pm]

That said, we are considering the possibility of taking a taxi or walking to one of the beaches 'on our own'.  Which beach would you suggest that satisfies these criteria:  1) We would get at least 4 hours of actual beach time with food and drink available....with no fear of getting back to the boat in time.  2) We know there will be lots of people there, but the less crowded the better.  3) The obvious....a beautiful beach.   

Keep in mind, our biggest concern is making sure that we get back to the boat without feeling panicked or rushed.

I thank you in advance for your help.  

We are very likely to do this excursion while at port in St. Thomas in February.  The catamaran is slated to go to Honeymoon Beach.  We were wondering if there were any eating/beverage facilities either on the beach or within walking distance from the beach.  Thanks.

We will be in Tortola in mid-February 2020 on the NCL Encore.  We are starting to choose our excursions, and we are having difficulty deciding between the Gorda Baths and a trip over to Jost Van Dyke.  

Our only other port site (other than San Juan) will be St. Thomas.  And we definitely want one good beach day either at Tortola or St. Thomas.

Even though we will be on a larger cruise ship, as far as I can tell we will be the only ship at port while in Tortola.  So if we choose the Baths, then hopefully it won't be that crowded.  But with that said, we are still torn between the baths and Jost Van Dyke.

Look forward to your input.

1 hour ago, ajtraveler66 said:

Thanks for your answer.  That helps.  I didn't mean any disrespect to the person answering the phone.  I was very kind to her, and I didn't question her response.   I just feared that the hurricane may have caused some issues.  That or any other factor.  Just want to go to St. John really bad.  In fact that was why I booked this cruise.  I will keep my eyes on things over the course of the next few months.  Again.... thanks.

 

6 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Yes...what's happening is exactly what they said. Not all possible excursions are offered on every sailing for a variety of reason including how long the ship is in port and how many other ships are in port that day...the latter because the cruise lines works with mostly the same vendors, which have only so many seats to sell. Not all excursions are posted for sale at the same time and what you're looking for may very well become available down the road so you need to check back periodically. I have cruises coming up in December and January where excursions are still being added and there still are none available for a couple of ports.

 

Why would you expect a telephone customer service rep whose job is to book excursions for cruisers to know exactly why, when and if a particular excursion will be be offered? The shore excursion department's management is responsible for that, not a clerk answering the phone.

We just booked our cruise for this February on the NCL Encore.

On the main NCL page with all of the shore excursions posted, several excursions from St. Thomas to St. John are listed.  However, once we registered and went to our registration, those particular excursions were not available to us for when we arrive at St. Thomas.  I realize some cannot be offered  because of time restraints, but that should not be the case for our day in question.

I called, and I was told that they might add more excursions in the future.

No disrespect to the person I talked to, but I know they don't always know everything, and I know they are constantly being flooded with other calls--and probably don't have time to dig deep into the question at hand.

Does anyone have the scoop on what might be happening here?

5 hours ago, SeaWatcher65 said:

NCL right now is offering nothing that is interesting other than overpriced walking tours (I can walk on my own... for less money).  Bioluminescent Bay is not offered and too far away to risk on my own without a ship excursion.  Sunset Cruise would be nice but I need suggestions and read reviews.  Never been to San Juan before.  This might be one of those ports where I get off the ship, walk a while, and hop back on the cruise ship to enjoy a great new ship more!

Yep......you can enjoy the cruise ship more when 3/4 of the people get off for an excursion.  I'm laughing here, but it sure is the truth.

We will be there from 8am until 5 pm on Thursday, February 13th.  I believe we are the only ship at port that day.

I've heard the gorda baths are nice.....but if it's guaranteed to be congested (see my initial post), my vote would be to do something else.  But if that's what the others want to do, that's fine.  [I have sort of been put in charge to do the excursion research for the group].  So, like I said...it the gorda baths are THE thing to do, then I'll go along with it if the others want to do it.

We will be on the NCL Encore in February, and according to my research, that will be the only ship at port.

Here are some ship excursion options that we are considering.  Your input is much appreciated.  Also let me know what the port area is like... different things to do after we get back from our excursion.

1) Virgin Gorda Baths:  I've watched a video (24 minutues) of someone who took this excursion, and it just didn't appeal to me the way that I thought it would.  It appeared to me that things were very congested, and even though the rocks looked different ... I got a very claustrophobic feel about the entire event (lots of tight squeezes plus the congestion).  But if this is a must do for the other three in our party, then I will go with the flow.

2) Long Bay Beach, Beef Island:  This looked like it wouldn't be too bad.

3) Island Beach Break:  This looked okay, but it didn't specify a specific beach.

4) Jost Van Dyke:  This looked like it might be fun.  I see that they have a Soggy Dollar Bar.  But hopefully the beach wouldn't be overcrowded.  Since there is only one ship, I'm thinking that it wouldn't be too bad.

LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR INPUT.  We are open to other suggestions, but as a rule we prefer to do the cruise ship excursions.

We will be on the NCL Encore in February.  Our first stop is San Juan.  But we don't arrive at port until 5:30 p.m. ... and the ship will depart at midnight.  So we don't have much time there, and it will all be in the evening.

Any suggestions for our group of 4 (60ish).  We are more than happy to take on of the ship's excursions if that is our safest and best option.  Any excursion you could recommend?  [see thoughts in last paragraph]

Also, if you think it's safe to do our own thing in the evening, what would be some good things to do relatively close to the port?

All we would really care to do is possibly sample a little bit of the local cuisine....and maybe do a little browsing (possible shopping) in the local shops.