Totola Charters tour to the Baths

[cherylroslyn]

I booked a private excursion through Tortola Charters after reading about them on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor. I read the reviews explored their website and communicated with the owner Captain Bill by email.

 

The booking process was professional and prompt. They did not require any type of deposit which made me feel they were honest and were not running a scam. I was not sure whether to book the Baths or the Jost Van Dyke tour. That decision was made quite easy when I was told by e-mail that the Jost Van Dyke Tour could not be done on this trip as my ship was only in port from 7:00 am until 2:00 pm. Luckily I am returning on December 28, 2011 and I am already booked on the Jost Van Dyke tour with Tortola Charters.

 

I encouraged a number of people from my roll call on Cruise Critic to book an excursion with Tortola Charters. The youngest person on the boat was four and the oldest was in his sixties. Everyone was aware that would would need to swim or float to shore as there is no dock at the Baths. The water that day was perfect and the swim to shore was absolutely nothing, but I was aware that there was the possibility that weather could be bad and that we might have to be rerouted if the water was too choppy at the Baths. That fact is well advertised on both the website and the many reviews I have read and I was fully prepared if it happened. Thankfully the sea was like glass during my visit even the four year old made it to shore with the assistance of Zeko (our guide) and his parents after a minor screaming fit (apparently no one told him he would be swimming to shore!).

 

We were met at the outer gate of the pier promtly at 8:00am by Zeko. He was our mask and flipper provider and was the person who swam with us to shore. Captain Shane was our Captain and boy did he work for his money the day we toured with them. Although we met at 8 and were at the Baths by 9:30 tons of boats were already there because they were breaking the rules and docking overnight at the location. We knew this because many of them had laundry hanging from the railings and it looked like they had been there quite a while. Since all of the bouys were taken Captain Shane had to expertly maneuver his vessel while showing enormous respect for the coral reef and the many boats that had chosen to spend the night and disobey the rules. It was very clear to me that Captain Shane is a well trained, qualified and certified Captain.

 

We got in the water which was crystal clear and about 15 feet deep. Zeko swam next to some of the people that barely knew how to swim, as they were a little nervous. Once on shore Zeko walked us through the "Baths" which are like caves in some places. The rocks are slick and slippery in some places and it is necessary that people be aware that you must be capable of some level of physical acitivity. You should be fairly agile and able to bend and pull yourself up an incline before you would try this excursion. You do not have to be a professional athlete but you should be able to walk five city blocks without complaining.

 

 

While we were there the cruise ship excursion from Celebrity showed up in force. There were clearly people on the SHIP excursion that were struggling to make it through tighter places in betweeen the rocks where it is required that you pull yourself up and walk through a cave while crouching.

 

If it were not for Zeko helping some of the less fit people on the SHIP excursion I doubt half those people would have made it out of the Baths. That was a classy thing because he was only responsible for the 8 of us. The Celebrity group was about 100 people being led by a couple sorrority girls and a frat boy. And our guide Zeko was helping them down a rock so they wouldn't split their heads open, that was a very classy thing to do and it did not go unnoticed.

 

Once we walked one way through the Baths we chose to get in the water and swim back to our original beach location because the SHIP excursion people were clogged into the tight spaces in the Baths and it looked like Grand Central Station. This is where our excurision really shined over the SHIP excursion.

 

We spent over an hour out in deep water snorkeling around. I saw tons of fish, squid (2), conch (1), sea rays (2), some sort of fish that looks like sand that lays on the ground, and even a sea urchin (1). I stayed in the water the whole time and was the last person to reluctantly come back to the boat. The ride back was amazing and we were back one hour before the ship was due to depart.

 

I had a perfect day with Captain Shane and Zeko.......one I plan on repeating when I am back in December. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants a lovely day at the Baths and is pre[ared to swim or float to shore. If you are terrified of the water or panic in water over your head you can stay on the beautiful boat or perhaps choose a different typ of excursion.

[lsycko1]

Thank you so much for the information! I plan on doing this in Oct and am getting a group together!

 

Would you recommend a disposable camera? Water shoes? Or anything special?

 

Thanks again!

[TakeMeAway1001]

I just rec'd my confirmation today from Captain Bill, we're doing the Jost Van Dyke tour :) Glad to see a nice review, we're looking forward to this excursion.

Lsycko, just realized you're from the Roll Call :)

[lsycko1]

I just rec'd my confirmation today from Captain Bill, we're doing the Jost Van Dyke tour :) Glad to see a nice review, we're looking forward to this excursion.

Lsycko, just realized you're from the Roll Call :)

 

I am! I am so excited!!!!

[cherylroslyn]

Thank you so much for the information! I plan on doing this in Oct and am getting a group together!

 

Would you recommend a disposable camera? Water shoes? Or anything special?

 

Thanks again!

I would definitely recommend water shoes for the walk through the Baths because it will help your feet on the slippery rocks. You don't need them for rocks or anything in the water because the sand one the beach is some of the thickest richest softest sand I have ever felt....almost had a mudlike quality. My advice is to do the walk through the baths right away when you get there without wasting time because the ship excursion with throngs of people are comingeventually....

 

 

My advice after that is stay in the water and enjoy the snorkeling because onece the ship excursion gets there the beach s crowded.......

 

Disposable camera or waterproof camera is a great idea so you can take pictures..... after you have swam to shore......

[Florida Fan]

I have had trouble with skin cancer in the past, so I have to be careful with the sun. Can I go to the baths without long time in the sun? I'm absolutely heartbroken that my snorkeling and swimming days are probably over.

 

Also, we'll be in Tortola on my husband's birthday. Any ideas for a great day for him?

[cherylroslyn]

I have had trouble with skin cancer in the past, so I have to be careful with the sun. Can I go to the baths without long time in the sun? I'm absolutely heartbroken that my snorkeling and swimming days are probably over.

 

Also, we'll be in Tortola on my husband's birthday. Any ideas for a great day for him?

yes...you could stay over by the shallow little ponds made by the big rocks protected in some shade... And then get back on the boat whenever you wanted and stay under the awning...

 

Walking through the Baths themselves is almost entirely out of the sun. You could where a big hat and glasses swiming to shore and full shirt while snorkeling....they even have some SPF fabric clothing that I where.

 

I think it is a more ideal place than just your average beach for someone looking to avoid the sun.....the key is the big Portabella mushroom style hat.....

 

 

I have the same issues and I was fine...and when I got back on theboat I had my big hat and I wrapped myself in the big towels and the only thing you could see was my hands.......they were free for the rum punch!!! The guide was kidding with me because I looked like a mummy!!!!!

[gdynkin]

Hi

 

Thank you for the great review. Can you elaborate what the Jost Van Dyke Tour would be like? Also, what are the prices for these tours and how long was the entire tour that you took. Did they provide any food or just the rum punch.

 

Thanks.

galina

[cherylroslyn]

Hi

 

Thank you for the great review. Can you elaborate what the Jost Van Dyke Tour would be like? Also, what are the prices for these tours and how long was the entire tour that you took. Did they provide any food or just the rum punch.

 

Thanks.

galina

Hi...to be fair I have not take the Jost Van Dyke Tour. I am doing so on December 28th so I will report back. From what I have read Jost Van dyke does not involve as much swimming to shore, it seems to involve coming off the boat into the water...but walkable water. The crew seems to take the passengers stuff off the boat in boxes so it doesn't get wet. There are a couple beach bars on the Island...the most famous of which is "the soggy dollar bar" aptly named...... you can buy food and drinks there.

 

As for the cost, it was $55.00 per person for the Baths when I did it. There was rum punch and pringles at the end.....we did a morning trip so no one was really interested in drinking very much........ I just went back to the ship and had a great lunch on the ship after working up an appetitie snorkeling..... Tour took around 4 hours...they are very good about working with the ship schedule...we were leaving at 2pm and we were back by 12:30.

 

 

The ship excursion to the Baths took a high speed ferry and then a bus. Their excursion arrived after our boat ride over to the island......the ride is great!!!! We had one guide for 10 people on the day I went. He snorkelled next to us way away from shore in deep water around some of the boulders...... The ship people stayed over by beach and didn'g get to see too many fish.... Then they had to pack up and leave...and were still there...then we jumped on our private boat and cruised home and looked around the tents selling stuff and still made it back to the ship moments before the ferry pulled up and unloaded..... Their ship excursion was about the same as ours maybe a dollar or two cheaper...and those who did it on their own using ferry and bus paid $39..... I feel this excursion is actually a bargain.......

[readytotravel44]

Based on all multiple reviews we selected Tortola Charters for our trip to the Baths last week. I enticed 6 friends to go with our family of 4. I had quite a bit of contact via email with Bill concerning the specifics of our trip and inclusions. I was aware that there was a possibility that Bill would not be available for our tour. I shared my concern that he would not be there (I had read some not so flattering reviews when Bill was not there) and he promised that he would have a very competent replacement.

 

Bill was not available to accompany our trip.

 

Chris was our captain. The sailing cat was beautiful and exceptionally clean and well kept. We were all asked to remove our shoes before boarding the ship. Chris and his female assistant were polite, but very quiet and just did their job of taking $, sailing the ship, getting flippers/gear, and selling drinks. They did not share any information about the area on our drive out to the baths.

 

Our boat did have a dinghy which came in handy as 3 folks in my party of 10 did use it. The swim to the baths was fine for my husband, daughter, and I as we have snorkeled quite a bit in the past and were comfortable with distance, but it was an intimidating distance for a less confident swimmer. Weather was great and swells were very small.

 

The unfortunate thing about our trip was there was NO TOUR. There were MANY other groups both from our ship and other tours and they all had a leader touring them through the tricky rocks through the passage. When booking this excursion through Bill, I was promised a tour. It was in my contract. This was sadly missing and one member of our party gave up half way through the baths gave up in fear of what was coming next. The other tours were sharing very interesting information with their groups about the history of the baths. They were also talking about Sports Illustrated previous photo shoot locations and other cool things we would have liked to have know, but we had no guide to tell us, though we did ease drop on others on occasion. Lack of a tour guide made the excursion more dangerous less interesting - see original poster's comments about folks without a tour guide - he/she is right, but in our case, we were the ones without guidance.

 

Our time in the Baths was VERY limited. Not sure why the boat ride was so long, but we were very rushed. When we got back on the boat, I showed them my contract and asked why there was no tour guide. I was told, that they didn't do tours. They were just chartered to transport.

 

Of all of the excursions on our 8 day Eastern Caribbean trip, this was the one I was most looking forward to. Unfortunately, it was the only one which was disappointing. I have contacted Bill and explained the what happened. He said the normal folks he uses when he can't attend were not available. He used this company rather than cancel the trip on us. He promised to never use them again. Hmmmm. We had a very full boat. My ten, six others from Cruise Critic, and other quite a few others. Our total was just about capacity. In fact, two of my ten needed to wait to see if there was room before they could board as they had not pre-booked. When a party did not show up, they were permitted to join us.

 

Bill has promised that, should we ever visit Tortola again, we can do the excursion again for free. I appreciate the offer, but don't know if we'll ever make it back. I feel very badly for my mom. She got very little from the excursion. Had a guide been there as promised, she would have made it through Baths with no problem. It is HIGHLY unlikely that she will ever attempt it again even if we do go back.

 

In hindsight. I would recommend having back-up plans if you book Tortola Charters. If Bill is not at the boat, ask the captain if he or she will be leading you on a tour - including commentary about the area, if he or she says no, then go to plan B - perhaps another company.

[checkard]

I have been trying to contact Tortola Charter for several weeks and they never reply back. We have a group of 14 that wants to do the Jost Van Dyke tour.

 

I was using the form on their website to make contact. Anyone else have problems with them getting back to you?

[ColdCarib]

you may want to check you're junk mail / with business mail it goes there often / http://tortolacharters.com/reservations/ if not I would try them again /

[checkard]

Nothing in my junk email either. And no reply to my second inquiry.

 

The form in the link is the exact one that I've been using to contact them.

[TakeMeAway1001]

I have corresponded with Bill at TC using this email, you might want to give it a try :) Good luck~

info@tortolacharters.com

[lauraleigh9mm]

They also took quite a long time to reply to my inquries as well.

[happycruiser1960]

I emailed him yesterday, received a response yesterday and have an email confirmation of my reservation.