blue_water

Sapphire…

I just caught your request for a gorgeous beach with stunningly beautiful water, amenities including lounges and umbrellas, and food and drinks…And no big crowds…lol

You want that ideal beach that everyone on your ship and other ships in port want! 😉

No such animal of course, especially over holiday.

Can you lose the amenities requirements and settle for a towel on a gorgeous beach with restrooms, and food and drinks you pick up on the way? If so Smith Bay Park would be our choice. Arguably the nicest beach and water on the island.

If amenities are more important than fewer ppl we’d be going to Sapphire because we love the beach and island views while staying there.

If docked at Crown Bay, you can  just take a short taxi to Lindbergh Bay (aka Emerald Beach). Amenities, nice enough beach, just not that picture postcard beach…

We use a card to accumulate ff miles rather than hotel chain cards, so we just look for “reasonable” prices at “decent” 3* hotels. We’re booked pre- and post-cruise for our March/April cruise, cancelable of course.

I did just obtain a Wells Fargo/Choice Hotels card for the promo to get at least one free night.

We’ll check the Value Trips HP rates when they are released, but we know already they’re more that we’ll want to pay. 

6 hours ago, ajtraveler66 said:

 

 

Yes, it indicates "Beef Island".  Thanks for your comments.  Worth some consideration.

I should add that CGB is a nice, large beach, with several beach restaurants and a water sports rental. So that attracts a much larger crowd. LB, Beef s a gorgeous beach and was our choice when cruise ships were in. 
So your research is spot-on regarding LB, Beef. I wish someone who has been recently could help with the question of lounge availability last minute, and if DYI’s can rent them…?

15 hours ago, ajtraveler66 said:

We prefer to take ship's excursions.  That said, we'll be on the NCL Prima in January with a stop in Tortola.  There is an excursion for Long Bay Beach and it looks like a very nice beach (have seen some pix and lots of positive comments on this board).

 

Does the cruise transportation stop at an area that is near the vendors where you can purchase chairs, food, and beverages?

 

Do you think we would be safe to book the excursion a day or two in advance?  The reason I ask this is that if the weather looked 'iffy' we could take a pass.  If we buy it way in advance and the weather is bad .... well, we're sort of stuck.

The weather that day can be VERY different than the forecast even two days prior. So booking “last minute” before you arrive doesn’t guarantee nice weather. And being a smaller beach - as compared to Cane Garden Bay - lounge availability may be an issue.

For Tortola a cruise line excursion is really not needed. You will have the same experience at CGB, but will not be tied a group and will have more time. Taxis line up to take everyone back to port whether you are on an excursion or on your own.

I don’t know if you can rent lounges on your own at Long Bay, Beef.

(this is the Beef Island Long Bay and not the beautiful Long Bay, West End correct?)

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

March was blacked-out.

Looking for the ‘25 prices end of year…

21 hours ago, NJ&Ozzie said:

will be staying at hyatt place pre & post cruise - will let you know how it is.  location sure sounds great & price is definitely attractive with valuetrip.  glad someone on the board mentioned them.

NJ

 VT 2024 March/April dates are quite high so we don’t expect them to be any lower in 2025…

@PORT ROYAL is very helpful, I also pose questions on the Grenada TripAdvisor forum for helpful feedback from frequent land visitors and residents 

sunshine powerboats

16 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

If a ship excursion was the only option to get to the Baths then I would take that ship excursion EVERY SINGLE TIME just to be able to get there. The Baths are truly one of my favorite places on earth and I'd be willing to take a leaky rowboat if it meant I could spend a few hours enjoying that amazing location.

We would NEVER take the ship excursion to the Baths - If we didn’t have the time in port to avoid the hoard, we’d definitely choose another, better option.

As I mentioned, Spring Bay is one of those alternatives…

4 hours ago, Canuckling1 said:

@blue_water  I got the reply from Smiths. They said they no longer service the RT to VG route. I’m disappointed. I thought I had it all figured out. lol It will be a real race to get on the 1:30 ferry, get the taxi to the Baths, then spend approx 2 hrs at the Baths to get the 5 pm ferry. Although, it’s also the adventure that is part of it. And at least we are doing our own thing instead of following the hoards. 🙂

Yes I thought Smith’s had backed out years ago…If you are referencing ferry schedules on some of the BVI websites they are obsolete…

The Baths on a less than ideal port stop like yours doesn’t work well, as @lerchkww noted. Everyone from your ship - and any others in port - will be going at the same time. So you will be part of the hoard, unfortunately, and it’s a real mess there…
 

Or you could enjoy a nice daysail or 5 hours on beautiful Tortola away from our fellow cruisers…Even Spring Bay on VG would be a better choice than the Baths, IMHO…

I’m surprised to hear that since many businesses close down during Sept - Nov which is slow season for the islands. But they know what they are talking about of course…

Let us know if you get a reply from Smith’s, as far as I know they just run the USVI/BVI routes...And I wasn’t able to pull up the ferry schedule on the Sensations site which I thought was odd, they’ve been making regular runs too…
 

Good luck!

You will find several different threads just below yours discussing both shared and private independent island tour options, as well as a link to the taxi and tour rates…Any questions let us know! 😉

And of course if you can hook up with 3 or 4 couples on your Roll Call you can share the cost of an amazing private excursion with Sunshine Powerboats or another outfit. We worked with a cat operator on St Lucia to develop a nice tour at a great price and we have 20+ fellow cruisers sharing a low price 

Yes with the Speedy’s Road Town departure at 1:30 and VG departure at 3:30 it’s just not an option…

Smith’s no longer provides intra-BVI service as far as I know, and I’m not seeing a schedule on the Sensations site…I don’t see the 12:30 and 5:00 ferries mentioned by @Canuckling1 Maybe I’m missing something?

We would love to rent a car and visit the North Sound area, or for a shorter day just grab a taxi and spend time at Savannah Bay and Mad Dog’s.

But a private charter will be pricey as you mentioned…

So we’d be looking at the shared independent catamaran day sails that may be an option for you. These include Aristocat, Kuralu, and Patouche.

They typically offer two options - one to the Indians for snorkeling, Cooper or Norman Island for beach time and lunch, and the Willy T, and the other to Jost Van Dyke which is just a beach day with a snorkel stop. 
One may also have a powerboat option to VG as well and worth asking!

3 hours ago, poocher said:

We weren’t there long enough to visit the pool as I recall.  Would I book it as a destination hotel?  No, but it was clean & had both the complementary shuttle & breakfast and was clean, perfectly fine for a night or two.

Yes this is just a decent place to hang for a couple days at a decent price. Another couple has stayed there often and recommend it for the location and the pool, and the price…

thanks

14 hours ago, poocher said:

We stayed, and are staying again in March, at the Springhill Suites on 18th in Dania Beach for precruise night.  They have a complementary shuttle from the airport, have several good sit down and a few fast food restaurants within walking distance and there’s a BJs to purchase a couple bottles of wine.  Fortunate to have Bonvoy points to cover it but I want to say it was about $189.

After tons of research we just chose Springhill for our April post-cruise stay. We’re staying two nights and a decent pool was one of the things we were looking for. Reviews and photos look good, do you have any comments on the pool area?

Nanny Cay is a 10 - 15 minute taxi from the cruise port, $12/pp for two. $10/pp for 3 or more.

is this the new jeep tour that stops at Smuggler’s Cove?

Yes, you dock in a busy marina area, there are a few shops and a few eateries right there. Beyond the port area is a Botanical Garden, but within walking distance is primarily a financial district.

You’ll see many shared safari taxis transporting fellow cruisers to the different beaches or on island tours. 
A couple popular spots to have a drink and a bite are the Watering Hole and Pusser’s Road Town Pub, the latter has a nice store as well.

You can also just hop one of the shared safari taxis that provide various island tours, you will see them identified, or you can ask the nice ladies at the information area for guidance. 
The typical tours include spectacular views and photo ops from high up, and some interesting highlights. Other longer tours include a beach stop, typically Cane Garden Bay which you can read about in the Gorgeous Beaches of the BVI post.

Great outfit, amazing itinerary in your short time in port!

12 hours ago, travelmama06 said:

We will be cruising to Tortola on Ncl Jewel in February 2025 - we do not arrive until 12:30 and leave 8:30 !

I’ve been looking for some type of island tour with some beach time but they all seem to start at 9:00 am 🤷‍♀️

any suggestions ??

thanks in advance !

For Island tours you have a couple great options. Tortola is the most beautiful island in the group, in our opinion, and an island tour (with a nice beach stop) is a great idea…
 

You can just hop one of the shared safari taxis that provide various island tours, you will see them identified, or you can ask the nice ladies at the information area for guidance. 
The typical tours include spectacular views and photo ops from high up, and some interesting highlights. Other longer tours include a beach stop, typically Cane Garden Bay which you can read about in the Gorgeous Beaches of the BVI post. But with an afternoon tour you may have a choice of beaches…You can also plan to stay at the beach and just take a shared taxi back to port later for $12/pp.
 

A private tour gives you a much nicer experience and you can choose your itinerary with help from the driver. The people of Tortola are wonderful, and meeting locals off the beaten path just give a much more personal experience…Just gives you the opportunity to stop at a less crowded beach, or see areas your fellow passengers will not. You’d have more to share at dinner! 😉
 

If interested in the latter, AC’s Taxi would be our choice. A couple of people have not been able to get a reply recently so Arnold may not be currently available…
http://www.info-res.com/actaxibvi/

But any questions don’t hesitate!

On 8/7/2024 at 12:09 PM, blue_water said:

Yes we’ve priced the various nearby Choice hotels, BW, Comfort Suites (cruiseport and cruiseport south), and Cambria. 

The member rates for our late-March date (refundable, all taxes) are between $185 & $206. Based on WTMDR (Way Too Much Darn Research! 🤪) we’ll probably choose Cambria for our one-night pre-cruise.

Looking at a bit nicer options for our two-night post-cruise stay, but still not willing to pay over $300 all in…Prices drop in April, surprisingly…

We decided to book Best Western airport/Cruiseport for our March one-night pre-cruise. We arrive near midnight, so just looking for a “decently-reviewed” option that is close to both (and has a breakfast, which Cambria does not)…

We chose Springhill Suites for our early April post-cruise two-nighter. Based on reviews and recs looks like a nice pool, good location, breakfast, and the price is not bad, even with the Music Festival at that time.

Bot are refundable in case we find better deals (Black Friday, etc)…

@PORT ROYAL thank you…I actually looked at Calabash Hotel on Grenada based on your post and that looks interesting! No day passes, but a beach bar to enjoy. And possibly worth looking at for a future land visit!

Yes Calica is the primary deep water port used for exporting limestone, as well as many exotic woods and minerals. It is also where the car ferry departs for Cozumel.

I remember the Carnival dock had been damaged by a hurricane back when we were still visiting the area. But Carnival was going there prior. Since we built a home outside PDC in 2015 I haven’t seen any cruise itineraries that included that port…

Because of how busy this port is with exports, it makes sense that cruise ships would interfere with the normal operating environment there…But with the huge number of cruise passengers hitting Coz on a daily basis, I would love to dock at Calica for its proximity to some of the most beautiful sites in the Riviera Maya!

Carnival no longer stops there does she?