Tortola, BVI

I am surprised Disney has added this port to their stops so soon. I was just there on the NCL Escape and the port is not quite finished yet. 95% of the shopping area right at the ship dock is still under construction. In fact when we were there in January there was only Diamonds International and a couple very small local vendors there. Maybe they will get it done quickly but it seemed like there was at least 6 months work remaining.

Also FYI to parents and elders: The trip to the Virgin Gorda Baths is not easy at this point. Perhaps they will improve it in the future but right now to get to the beach from where the bus lets you off, you have to walk down a fairly steep primitive path that is wet and slippery with lots of sharp volcanic rock on the ground. Loose rock! Many children on our ship came back with scraped legs and knees and an elderly woman came back with a broken wrist. And once you get to the beach it is very beautiful and very crowded. At some areas where you walk under the huge rocks ( not really caves) it can get so congested with people it is more hassle than its worth. Now these are just my observations having been there in January 2016 so your results may be different. Good luck but be careful on this one!

DCL has made intermittent stops at Tortola for a long time. We were there on the Magic in 2009.

There are 2 paths to the beach. We found the one on the left to be much easier than described above.

DCL has made intermittent stops at Tortola for a long time. We were there on the Magic in 2009.

 

There are 2 paths to the beach. We found the one on the left to be much easier than described above.

I didn't know that. The press release by Disney made it sound like it was a new port for them starting in 2016. Where did you dock in 2009? The dock we were at was just built in 2014 according to the guy at the port office. At the Baths, the tour company never offered us nor informed us of a different path. I did not see any other paths from where the bus let us off so I wonder if it is still there?

I honestly don't remember where we docked...it was a long time ago. I did the excursion thru DCL as I went alone (without family). When we got off the vehicle (a 12 or 14 person van type thing), we were told that there were 2 paths. One was longer but smoother and one was more steep but shorter. The beaches connected but to get to the other beach you had to go thru the rock formations. While I enjoyed being in the formations, there were areas that I wasn't comfortable negotiating thru, so I only saw the beach that was on the left side. The left side was a nice bay type area, and while there were enough DCL people to feel safe (including at least one CM), it was not crowded at all.

'new pier' is just an expansion of the old pier from what I remember and see on Google Earth

the pier side shops are new ,,,,, there was little there pier side b4. you had to head towards town

I didn't know that. The press release by Disney made it sound like it was a new port for them starting in 2016. Where did you dock in 2009? The dock we were at was just built in 2014 according to the guy at the port office. At the Baths, the tour company never offered us nor informed us of a different path. I did not see any other paths from where the bus let us off so I wonder if it is still there?

We stopped in Tortola on our westbound TransAtlantic in 2010. I don't know where the dock was in relation to where we docked, but here's a picture of the Magic in port that day:

[/img]

And a closer shot:

[/img]

In 2012 we cruised on Carnival Breeze and had a full day in Tortola we loved it

We were there in December. The port will be nice when it is finished.

If I had kids and was looking for a good beach, I might try Brewers Bay. The Bay is very large, the slope is extremely gentle and if offers very shallow snorkeling on the left hand side. There weren't any kids there the day we were there (at least none on the end where we were), probably no more than 40 people there and tons of beach to spread out on. And the Presidente's were cold! And shade!

Nice pictures! The dock expansion is probably what happened to the old dock. The new is big to accommodate the large ships. When the port shop area is finished it will be very nice! I want to try it again in two years. The island was beautiful.

Thanks for the updated info on Tortola. We've been there once before, but it was a long time ago. Going to be there again on the Magic in April. Have booked a tour to the Baths, but have been reconsidering based on reports like yours on how crowded it is. Where you there in the morning or the afternoon? Read it is less crowded in the morning, but out tour is in the afternoon.

We were there for about 4 hours....departure about 10am, return to ship about 3:30 with transportation time of maybe 45 minutes each way (boat and then vehicle)...so about 11-3 at the baths.

As far as I could tell, we were the only tour group there that day. Taking that left path was golden because there were maybe 30 people staying on our side of the beach. It seemed more crowded in some of the rock formations than on the beach. I think most of the people were on the other side.

On our side, there was one CM who was cruising with his mother, and maybe 30 guests from the Magic. We had a blast!

Both the left and right paths to The Baths are still there. The left path goes down Devils Bay Beach and the right path goes down to The Bath's Beach and you can get to one or the other through the caves. The Bath's Beach is the ONLY one with a bar, however. The right path is the steeper of the 2.

If you decide to go to The Baths be sure to take some Bonine at least 1/2 hour before you get on the Ferry as the crossing in the morning is rough and many get seasick.

There is another way to go to The Baths and that is to hire a private boat to take you and swim into The Bath's Beach.

Thanks for the updated info on Tortola. We've been there once before, but it was a long time ago. Going to be there again on the Magic in April. Have booked a tour to the Baths, but have been reconsidering based on reports like yours on how crowded it is. Where you there in the morning or the afternoon? Read it is less crowded in the morning, but out tour is in the afternoon.

Our tour was the only one offered for our cruise on NCL and it left the ship at 8 am. The ferry ride across to the island was a bit rough and some folks got sick. I didn;t think it was too bad but we are boaters anyway. When we got down to the beach it was very crowded that day. And another problem is you had people trying to go both ways through the rock "caves" and that created a bottle neck. Then everyone was getting nervous they would miss the shuttle bus back to the ferry so suddenly there was this mass change of traffic flow towards the bus. If I did it again I would do a private tour where the boat takes you right to the beach area and you swim in from the boat. Its more expensive but I would not fight those crowds ever again.