The Baths. Questions...

[singjenn]

Hey y'all! I had orignally posted this in St. Thomas because that is where our ship docks, but the suggested posting it here because it's location. Thanks!!

 

 

I'm seriously considering doing the Carnival excursion to the baths (it will be from St. Thomas). This area looks phenominal and I would love go visit there. I just have a few questions.

 

What do you do with your things? I really want to bring my dslr but I'm afraid it would get stolen if i left it on the beach while I snorkeled. And there is no way I'm leaving it on the ship :D

 

 

Is there a restaurant or bathroom? If so, how close?

 

Any other important info? Thanks!

[Zeno]

Hey y'all! I had orignally posted this in St. Thomas because that is where our ship docks, but the suggested posting it here because it's location. Thanks!!

 

 

I'm seriously considering doing the Carnival excursion to the baths (it will be from St. Thomas). This area looks phenominal and I would love go visit there. I just have a few questions.

 

What do you do with your things? I really want to bring my dslr but I'm afraid it would get stolen if i left it on the beach while I snorkeled. And there is no way I'm leaving it on the ship :D

 

At the bottom of the trail from the Top of the Baths there is a bar that has lockers to rent.

BUT I am not sure that I would leave anything REALLY valuable in them.

 

Is there a restaurant or bathroom? If so, how close?

 

At the Top of the Baths, there is a restaurant.

At the bottom of the trail just before you actually go through The Baths, there is a bar. I can't remember if the bar sells food but it does have drinks and soft drinks.

There are washrooms there as well.

After you go through The Baths, you are at Devil's Bay where most people snorkel (although depending on the waves you can do some snorkeling at the small beach before you go through The Baths). There are NO washrooms and no refreshements at Devil's Bay.

 

Any other important info? Thanks!

 

BRING WATER - I cannot emphasize that enough.

Wear proper footwear to walk down to The Baths (sneakers or good athletic sandals). Do not wear slippy sandals or flip-flops.

 

Have a great day - The Baths are unique and lovely.

[ricks2047]

Here's My take on this. From your post you seem very interested in taking your DSLR, so I assume that you are very interested in the photography side of things. My suggestion is, don't snorkel. There is waaaaay too much to photograph at the baths without going snorkeling. And to split the amount of time that you get while on an excursion between snorkel and baths would, IMHO be getting too little of both. On my last land only visit, I spent the entire day at the baths without snorkeling and this still wasn't enough time. Focus on only one part. Of course, DSLR protection is important, as stated before.

[southtx]

Take your DSLR, or you will kick yourself for the rest of your life. I took mine and when I wanted to go swim, we stuck it in our backpack under a tree and put stuff on top of, like towel, shirt, etc and just kept an eye out on the bag. I never ever was nervous. When we went to the Devils Bay side we put it in backpack, making sure it was nice and protected and my husband carried it.

Here's a photo of why you should take it.:)

[nabby]

If you can get a dry bag for your camera, I would encourage you to take it inside the Baths as well. See below. There are great pictures to be taken inside. Note you do NOT have to swim, but you will need to wade.

[golfnwench]

Hope someone can clear up some confusion. I'm looking at an excursion on NCL that indicates a cruise to the Baths, swim in from the boat to the beach at Virgin Gorda. It then says there's a rough path to the Baths.

I'm looking at some of the pictures of on the NCL site, and those lovely pics above with the rocks rising up out of the water...I take it that's the Baths and the only way to get there is via the path?

Thanks

Liz

[nabby]

I think the rough path they are referring to is the crawl through the Baths (rocks). The Baths consists of two beaches, with those huge boulders in between. To get from one beach to the other, you go through the boulders. It is not particulary bad, but there is stooping, wading, and a bit of cimbing (they have ropes and ladders to assist you). If you want to go up to the Top Of The Baths restaurant, you will need to go up an uneven path. The people who come by land use his path to get to The Baths.

[Weluv2cruise2007]

The Charter (Tortola Charters) service I'm looking at says not suitable for non-swimmers. I'm by no means a good swimmer, but not "non". It also mentions providing a flotation device for snorkelling. Is being a good swimmer required? I'm sort of assuming the warning is a standard liability warning just so that someone terrified of water doesn't show up (?)

[mytime53]

The Charter (Tortola Charters) service I'm looking at says not suitable for non-swimmers. I'm by no means a good swimmer, but not "non". It also mentions providing a flotation device for snorkelling. Is being a good swimmer required? I'm sort of assuming the warning is a standard liability warning just so that someone terrified of water doesn't show up (?)

 

No, you don't have to be a good swimmer. I think you're right that they want people comfortable in the water, even if it's a little choppy, and able to propel themselves through the water.