Please help with trip to the Baths

[azkcruizers]

Hi...my family will be cruising on the Carnival Breeze and in Tortola on Thursday, February 7th. I thought I had this all figured out, but have just realized that all of our port times were changed. We will be in Tortola now from 8am to 3:30pm. I am aware that time in Tortola is one hour ahead and we stay on ship time.....so Tortola time we will be there from 9am to 4:30pm.

My confusion is now looking at Speedy's Ferry Service schedule on a Thursday I would have to take the 10:30am ferry. It says arrival in Virgin Gorda would be 11:30. The confusion is every other ferry is only a half-hour long, so could this be a misprint or is it really twice as long?

On the way back to Tortola I would have to take the 2:45 ferry which says arriving St. Thomas via Tortola. I would correctly assume that we are stopping in Tortola and that it would be about half-hour or am I wrong?

I know this is confusing, but wasn't sure if anyone could help out. Just crossing my mind that I could probably email Speedy's to find out.

Thanks so much for your help!

[blue_water]

Hi Karen,

 

There are 2 ferry companies making this run - Smith's and Speedy's. It's a 30 min ferry each way. I see different times posted depending which site you reference -

 

http://www.bvivacation.com/transportation/BVI-Ferry-schedule-virgin-gorda-tortola-speedys-smith.php#.UOBpqLaXJfc

 

http://www.bestofbvi.com/info/bviferry_tortola_vg.htm

 

So I would e-mail both operators and ask what times they run that day so you are sure. Their e-mail contacts are in the bestofbvi link. You can get a one-way ticket each way if you want to take advantage of a different return time with a different operator, but you'll pay $10pp more for that option.

 

Have a great day, the Baths are gorgeous!

[azkcruizers]

Thanks for your help! I did contact them and found out that the ferry is 30 minutes. The problem is on the return ferry even though it says via Tortola it doesn't always stop in Tortola. With our short time in port, that would be the only possible ferry to give us enough time at the Baths but back on ship in time. Now I'm not sure what to do. I had my heart set ongoing, but hate not knowing until that day if we can do it or not. I guess I could do the ship excursion. It is twice as much and less time there...

[blue_water]

Not sure what you're seeing? There is a ferry between VG and St Thomas but that's a different one. The ferry schedule from Road Town to Virgin Gorda and back are direct, there are no other stops. There is also a ferry between Beef Island and VG, that's for folks flying into Tortola and staying on VG.

 

Where are you seeing the ferry from VG to Road Town is not regular??

[blue_water]

The Smith's 2:15 return ferry would work for you, right? You wouldn't have a lot of time, but everything is close in the Valley on VG and you could at least see the Baths for awhile. If not enough time you may want to save that for a future stay in either the BVI or the VI and do a beach on Tortola for this stop?

[azkcruizers]

Blue water...thanks so much for your help. The 2;45 ferry I was seeing was listed on Speedy's website and that is the one that most likely will not stop in Tortola anymore. I guess it used to but not so much lately.

I did not see the 2;15 ferry with Smith's and yes that would work! My question is on tripadvisor there are very poor reviews of Smith's ferry service. Wondering if they are accurate or not?

I'm figuring by taking the 10am ferry to the Baths and leaving on the 2:15 we would have close to three hours. Do you think that would be worth the trip or no....I don't think I will be back soon and would like to see the Baths, but maybe I'm just being silly :)

[blue_water]

Yes, I would definitely go for it, the Baths are a must-see in my opinion.

 

I ignore the bad reviews on any of the ferries, all ferry operators are similar and most of the time they're great, sometimes there are delays. But from our experience between STT and STJ and Tortola and VG they're very good, no worries. I've seen bad reviews from first-timers to the islands and they aren't experienced with island time.

Have a great cruise, and don't worry about the ferries. If there is a problem you'll know when you arrive but again we've not had problems coming and going from RT. Others on this forum have taken a private ride that a guy sells tickets for by the ferry, I'm not recommending that but that (like the catamaran sail option) goes directly to the Baths with no taxi necessary so you have more time at the Baths. His name escapes me but if you search you'll find it.

[OCruisers]

Thanks for your help! I did contact them and found out that the ferry is 30 minutes. The problem is on the return ferry even though it says via Tortola it doesn't always stop in Tortola. With our short time in port, that would be the only possible ferry to give us enough time at the Baths but back on ship in time. Now I'm not sure what to do. I had my heart set ongoing, but hate not knowing until that day if we can do it or not. I guess I could do the ship excursion. It is twice as much and less time there...

 

Yes ... but please take into consideration how much easier and way more worry free the ship excursion it would be for you.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[blue_water]

The decision of whether to choose the cruise line excursion option over a self-excursion depends on the riska and rewards, just as in any other situation. In this case I would do the self-excursion because it's one of those that use the same transportation as the cruise line option except you have more flexibility on the ground (and hopefully that means more fun tine!) really no need to worry.

 

There are some excursions we may go through the ship with (very rare however), but this and others like going to St John from St Thomas or to Josts from Tortola we would certainly do on our own.

[azkcruizers]

 

Thank you. I am very careful and normally we plan our own excursions outside of the cruise ship. I believe we will try to go on our own using Smith's ferries. I will be sure to double check the ferries once we get there and if something doesn't work out we will cab it to a beach.

 

Only one last question.....is it worth it for my Mom to take the ferry over for the views and to hang out and have a drink at the Top of the Baths restaurant? She is not able to walk far but would like to come. Also, is the walkway accessible by wheelchair from the pier to the ferry or would she need a cab?

 

Once again thank you...😃

[blue_water]

Your Mom should be able to see some nice views of the other islands, not sure if she will be able to see the Baths from the Top (sorry, we haven't been there in a couple years and I can't remember that). As you said there is a restaurant there along with a wading pool she can relax at.

I would probably plan on taking a taxi to the ferry, especially if it's a hot day.

 

Not sure if I mentioned it earlier but Joe has a nice cat that caters to cruisers and sails to the Baths. He's at patouche dot com . That might be ideal if your time in port works for him, it may not...

 

Enjoy your time and the people there as they are one of the reasons we love staying in the islands of the BVI. :)

[azkcruizers]

Thanks ...will do! Looking forward to going now:D

[Crystalkrt]

Glad I found this thread.

 

I am planning on doing the same as azkcruiser. However, I did read the taxis from Virgin gorda pier to the actual Baths could be a bit of a hassle. Is this true?

I am scared of doing the Baths on my own because of this. We will be visiting Tortola from 10am to 6:00pm on a thrusday.

 

I also read about Dion, who is usually waiting by Tortola port (with his private boat) and will leave at the Baths without the need to cath at taxi. Anyone knows anything about Dion?

[blue_water]

Not a "hassle" at all, some folks report negative experiences but often it's because they have the wrong attitudes...

The drivers are stationed at the dock as that's where most of their business comes from. They are very easy to work with and will drop you at the Mineshaft or Spring or Savannah Bay and return when you ask them to. Our last driver didn't want any money until we got back to the ferry dock.

 

No worries, very easy self-excursion, and you will feel fine once you're there! Have a great day!