NCL Excursion vs DIY Virgin Gorda Baths

[Dcorbinx3]

We will be traveling in December 2024 and will be in Tortola from 6 am to 1 pm.  Would we have more time at the baths if we do them on our own, or if we take the ships excursion? I know there isn't much time either way but really want to see the baths!

 

 

[blue_water]

If you peruse the many threads on this topic you’ll find the answers are typically, no, you will not have an advantage either way, precisely because of your short time in port.

You will be fighting your fellow passengers while at the Baths, there’s no good solution there…sorry 😔

[tc-cruise]

18 hours ago, blue_water said:

If you peruse the many threads on this topic you’ll find the answers are typically, no, you will not have an advantage either way, precisely because of your short time in port.

You will be fighting your fellow passengers while at the Baths, there’s no good solution there…sorry 😔

Just curious, how many passengers can these 2 ferries carry in total (one way)? I guess a few hundred? 

[blue_water]

I don’t really know…Often there are two ferries, either one after the other, or at different times. We’ve seen them lined-up at Spanish Town, one may have been for the ship excursion folks…
It’s just harder to enjoy the Baths when a ferry arrives…

[pezie]

We were in Tortola in January from 8am-5pm and NCL offered something similar - Virgin Gorda Escape.  It was  listed as 4.5 hrs, with about 3 hours at Spring Bay National Park. It is uncrowded and practically identical to the Baths with the big boulders to walk around at the shore. I think they have their own ferry arranged.  We loved this excursion!   

[blue_water]

3 hours ago, pezie said:

We were in Tortola in January from 8am-5pm and NCL offered something similar - Virgin Gorda Escape.  It was  listed as 4.5 hrs, with about 3 hours at Spring Bay National Park. It is uncrowded and practically identical to the Baths with the big boulders to walk around at the shore. I think they have their own ferry arranged.  We loved this excursion!   

That is a newer excursion. Spring Bay is home to a condo/apartment property but has never had any amenities for visitors. The topography is somewhat similar to the Baths, but the experience in the boulders is not as, dramatic, say, as the Baths.

 

Did the cruise line provide any kind of amenities for your time in Spring Bay?

[pezie]

46 minutes ago, blue_water said:

That is a newer excursion. Spring Bay is home to a condo/apartment property but has never had any amenities for visitors. The topography is somewhat similar to the Baths, but the experience in the boulders is not as, dramatic, say, as the Baths.

 

Did the cruise line provide any kind of amenities for your time in Spring Bay?

They brought in a portable toilet and a lady who set up a hot dog stand.