A HAVENly week on Escape - January 16 - 23, 2016

I'm really enjoying your review! The pictures of the ship and scenery are beautiful, and the descriptions and pictures of the food are making me incredibly hungry! I really love the ones in St. John's and St. Thomas with the multiple ships together in the marina. I also love the ones of the chandelier (depending on how much they've had to drink, I imagine people could stare at it for a long time!) Looking forward to more!

Enjoying your review, and all these gorgeous pictures. Thanks so much for sharing with us. :):)

Thanks for sharing your vacation! Love all the pics and can't wait for more!!!

Great review. Pictures are excellent. Will be on the Escape the 20th . Thanks for posting the St John NCL excursion, think we might do. Did you enjoy the tour?

Wonderful review, can't wait for more. Really enjoying all your pictures and detailed information. Thanks for sharing. Hoping to be on the Escape December 2016.

Thanks for all the great Haven information everyone.....

if anyone can share.....what deck/location do the Haven guests go for Muster Drill on Escape?

thanks!

Have been on many NCL cruises, some in the Haven and must say once you've gone Haven it's very hard to go back. Will be in a 2 bedroom villa in the Haven in May on the Escape and always excited to sail with NCL. Thanks for the menu.

You are totally right that once you have been in the Haven it is hard to go back to a regular cabin. However, I would rather be in a regular cabin than at work.

Day 5 - Tortola

However, I would rather be in a regular cabin than at work.

I would rather stay in an inside cabin bathroom for a week than be at work.

Day 5 - DIY trip from Tortola to The Baths in Virgin Gorda

Since it was going to be a very early morning we had asked our butler for room service, which was promptly delivered at 6:00 am. The table in the Spa suite is not huge but big enough to have a full breakfast.

I really like this picture taken during our arrival in Tortola. It was taken from our balcony looking down at the Brew House.

Prior to the cruise we had decided that we wanted to visit The Baths in Virgin Gorda and that we wanted to do the excursion on our own. In order to get to Virgin Gorda, you need to take a ferry from Tortola to Virgin Gorda and after arriving in Virgin Gorda, a taxi will take you to The Baths. It sounds complicated, but it is really simple as the ferry company (Speedy's) will also provide the taxi that will take you from the ferry in Virgin Gorda to The Baths.

The cost of the roundtrip ferry/taxi service is $38 pp. The ferry terminal is located 10 minutes from the pier and it is an easy walk. The two pictures below will give you an idea as to the distance from the pier to the ferry terminal.

In this picture you can see some people walking from Escape to the ferry terminal.

P&O Britannia arriving in Tortola.

The ferry is very comfortable and departed on time at 7:45 am.

The ride from Tortola to Virgin Gorda takes 45 minutes.

Day 5 - DIY trip to The Baths

Upon arriving in Virgin Gorda you are immediately asked to board a taxi for a quick 5 - 10 minute ride to The Baths.

The Baths is a national park and there is a $3 pp fee to enter. I don't remember if they take credit cards, but cash is always accepted. As seen in the picture above and the map below, there are two ways to get to beach. The best way is to follow the bath trail (red trail on the map), but you can also take the Devils Bay trail. The main problem with following the Devils Bay trail is that you may encounter a long delay at some of the bottlenecks (see pictures below). The delay occurs because most people follow the bath trail. People who follow the Devils Bay trail may have to wait a long time for the Bath Trail's people to go through.

Here are some pictures of the Bath Trail leading to the beach.

Here are some pictures of the bottlenecks I was talking about, which occur when people have to wait their turn to walk/crawl in between some of the huge rocks.

There are several beaches at The Baths. Here is a picture of the first beach you encounter when you follow The Baths trail.

The second beach. We spent almost an hour at that beach. The water temperature was perfect.

Your pictures are gorgeous. What kind of camera did you use?

In order to return to the parking lot to pick up a taxi (waiting there for you), you need to follow the Devil's Bay trail. It is a 20-minute walk, but it is, for the most part, an easy walk.

We left The Baths at 11:40 am because the last shuttle for the day was at 12:40 pm. Back at the ferry terminal there is a shaded waiting area where you can wait for the ferry as well as a little store where you can buy drinks and snacks.

Your pictures are gorgeous. What kind of camera did you use?

Thanks. Actually, all of the pictures in Virgin Gorda where taken with an I-phone 6S. We also brought our Cannon Rebel T5 with us on the trip but decided not to use it except for the excursion in St. Johns/St. Thomas, some of the pictures around the ship and sunsets and sunrises.

True again.

Our trip to The Baths was great and we are glad that we decided to do it on our own. Thanks to our friends from Ohio for allowing us to share this excursion with them. NCL also sponsors a trip to The Baths, but they spend less time at The Baths and it costs $79 pp.

We arrived back in Tortola around 1:30 pm and on the way back from the ferry terminal we stopped by some of the local shops. Please note that the shopping area around the pier is still under development.

Next - Late lunch at Margaritaville and good-bye Tortola.

👍 I do agree.

Thank you so much for posting the dailies. It comes in handy to jot things down per day on our phones before hand. Love all your reviews and pictures too.

Are any of 'the baths' trails accessible without having to climb? I walk with a cane but love to swim and feel so down about not being able to experience 'the baths' .

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Hi Johan! It was great to do the excursion with you guys.

Thought I'd share this pic. Those rocks were huge!

Thanks. Actually, all of the pictures in Virgin Gorda where taken with an I-phone 6S. We also brought our Cannon Rebel T5 with us on the trip but decided not to use it except for the excursion in St. Johns/St. Thomas, some of the pictures around the ship and sunsets and sunrises.

Thanks! I'm shocked and psyched at the same time! Taking my 6s!

Thank you so much for this review! Looks like NCL became better again, especially in The Haven! My husband and I had to cancel and changed our planed cruises and booked The Escape in a The Haven Deluxe Spa Suite!

Now I feel a bit better about going back on NCL after a couple of years of horrible decline of service and food!

November 26th, can not be here quick enough!

Also nice to see a review of a "Family" member and not just of a family of 6!:D