CamaCama's Family Vacation on the Escape 11/21/2015 (Detailed PICTURE Review!!!!!!)

[CamaCama]

Oh the St. Thomas taxi drivers :eek:

 

You have to be on your toes with them and know the prices. And don't be afraid to get out! Last time I was there we were going from the Marriott to the port area and took a 'detour' 10 minutes up into town to pick up a local relative.

 

Crazy!! The way back was quick and easy thankfully and both ways were the same price.

[CamaCama]

Awesome review. Thanks so much for sharing all your wonderful pictures. Am glad that your DD was ok and her fever passed. There's nothing worse than being sick on vacation.

 

After seeing your review I'm confused again about our St Thomas day. :rolleyes: We're also coming with kids (think our younger one is your older one's age). I had it all figured out that we'd go to Coki beach...BUT...Magens Bay looks wonderful too :D

 

PS - That rope course on the Escape looks like tons of fun too!

 

Thanks! Oh I know, I really didn't want her to get worse and thankfully she didn't. I went back and forth a lot on where to go in St. Thomas but decided on Magen's Bay pretty much because my mom had been there 20 years ago and wanted to see it again, she remembered how gorgeous it was. We actually met a couple with kids in the elevator that night and they said they went to coki beach and didn't like it, they wished they had gone to magen's. But there is an aquarium at coki so that could be fun...

[LuCruise]

Thanks! Oh I know, I really didn't want her to get worse and thankfully she didn't. I went back and forth a lot on where to go in St. Thomas but decided on Magen's Bay pretty much because my mom had been there 20 years ago and wanted to see it again, she remembered how gorgeous it was. We actually met a couple with kids in the elevator that night and they said they went to coki beach and didn't like it, they wished they had gone to magen's. But there is an aquarium at coki so that could be fun...

 

Very glad she was ok after all.

Hmm...now I'm even more confused. We're not snorkers but it was the Aquarium that made me think Coki. Do you remember why they didn't like Coki?

Magens really did look lovely....blue water and soft sand. I've heard that it gets very busy but its long (which you posted pictures to the left and right to see :) ).

[gambee]

Thank you for insight on Magens bay. We will be there in late March.

 

One quick question. From what I could see in the photos, the only activities offered are paddle board and kayaks? It seems like a quiet beach, well other than all the people, lol.

[Tyskie]

Coki - 10 years ago was amazing - not many people, wonderful snorkeling, empty beach. We were there last year, beach narrow but long, chairs closer than on the ship. It is very close to Coral World. Still good snorkeling.

 

Haven't been to Megan's Bay in "many" years but it does look "child" friendly.

 

Beware with children on the "Safari taxi" - we had a vehicle accident while on a tour - BIL sustained 96 stitches in his head, SIL hurt her back, I hit my head. No seatbelts, crazy curvy road................just be alert!

 

STT, still remains a favorite port for beaches. :D

[skivoodoo]

We packed up all our stuff and headed to the exit... there were several open air buses waiting to head back. We got right on one and it was the same rail-gripping ride back to port. Same cost too.. $8 per person and kids were free.

 

 

We were dropped off in town outside the port and shopped for a little

 

 

We also found this guy who gave us each a free shot of flavored rum!

 

 

 

 

 

Wow. Is it a small world! Charles is the man that gave you the free shot of Cruzan and he is a great friend of ours! My husband and he grew up together in both California and Conneticut. We always try to get to St Thomas on our cruises to visit with him. It is amazing that you happened to take his picture and share it here! We were spending a day with him in January when we take the Escape there.

 

For anyone that sees Charles on your port stop, tell him Wayne and Stacia say hi!

[Marknari]

Thanks so much for your amazing review and photos! We'll be on board Saturday and it's really making the ship and ports come to life for us! Can't wait!

[CamaCama]

Very glad she was ok after all.

Hmm...now I'm even more confused. We're not snorkers but it was the Aquarium that made me think Coki. Do you remember why they didn't like Coki?

Magens really did look lovely....blue water and soft sand. I've heard that it gets very busy but its long (which you posted pictures to the left and right to see :) ).

 

I don't think they said why, they just said they wish they went to Magens. Magens did get busy but it is very big and we never felt like there were crowds around us. We did want a quieter beach for Tortola...

[CamaCama]

Thank you for insight on Magens bay. We will be there in late March.

 

One quick question. From what I could see in the photos, the only activities offered are paddle board and kayaks? It seems like a quiet beach, well other than all the people, lol.

 

Yes, I think those were the only things offered, didn't look much more into it after we went out on the paddleboards. It was a very calm, beautiful beach and although there were a lot of people we never felt like there were crowds around us. I've seen way worse.

[CamaCama]

Coki - 10 years ago was amazing - not many people, wonderful snorkeling, empty beach. We were there last year, beach narrow but long, chairs closer than on the ship. It is very close to Coral World. Still good snorkeling.

 

Haven't been to Megan's Bay in "many" years but it does look "child" friendly.

 

Beware with children on the "Safari taxi" - we had a vehicle accident while on a tour - BIL sustained 96 stitches in his head, SIL hurt her back, I hit my head. No seatbelts, crazy curvy road................just be alert!

 

STT, still remains a favorite port for beaches. :D

 

Yes I've heard Coki has better snorkeling for sure, but it's only me that's interested in that so that wasn't a deciding factor for us. We debated between the two for a while and wanted to do coral world but the reviews said it wasn't worth it b/c of how small it is. My mom went to Magens 20 years earlier and raved about it so it was nice to go back with her.

 

Crazy about that bus accident! Just heard about one on Tortola where 2 people were killed and 16 injured a few days ago. I can see how it can happen very easily, especially head on collisions if the drivers aren't paying attention for 1 second. Our driver at one point was counting his money while driving and we just couldn't watch.

[CamaCama]

Wow. Is it a small world! Charles is the man that gave you the free shot of Cruzan and he is a great friend of ours! My husband and he grew up together in both California and Conneticut. We always try to get to St Thomas on our cruises to visit with him. It is amazing that you happened to take his picture and share it here! We were spending a day with him in January when we take the Escape there.

 

For anyone that sees Charles on your port stop, tell him Wayne and Stacia say hi!

 

How COOL is that?!! So glad I had that picture and that you were following along with my review to see it! He was SO nice and I distinctly remember telling my husband that he didn't have any accent, he spoke so eloquently and that he was definitely from the US. Enjoy your day with him in January!!! How did he end up there? I love those stories....

[CamaCama]

Thanks so much for your amazing review and photos! We'll be on board Saturday and it's really making the ship and ports come to life for us! Can't wait!

 

You're welcome and enjoy!!!!!!!!!

[CamaCama]

Day 5 coming up this afternoon!!!

[Oldgoat61]

I really have enjoyed your review so far. Great pics, and you have a neat family. I look forward to every installment, but only 3 days left! :(

[CamaCama]

I really have enjoyed your review so far. Great pics, and you have a neat family. I look forward to every installment, but only 3 days left! :(

 

Thanks so much and I know, it goes WAY too fast every single time!

[CamaCama]

DAY 5 - Tortola

 

We were all up at around 8am and found that we were already docked at Tortola! It was another beautiful sunny day and again we didn't have an excursion booked but knew we wanted to check out a beach here. None of us had ever been to this island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CamaCama]

Len hit the gym and we waited for him to get back then went up to Garden Café for breakfast. Mila was feeling 100% again (thankfully it was only a 24 hour fever bug) but she did get some kind of rash that must have appeared when the fever broke, it only lasted a few hours that morning (you can kinda see it in this picture below...

 

 

We got off the ship around 10am and the Spirit was in port with us again, docked right next to us. Pretty cool seeing them side by side and the size difference!

 

 

 

Not sure what they were doing here, anyone know?

 

 

 

[CamaCama]

 

We walked down to see if we could get a cab and a suggestion on a beach for the day.

 

 

There was construction going on here so a lot of it was gated off, looks like it's going to be really nice when it's done.

 

 

 

 

[CamaCama]

The girls wanted to go on this bus (can you guess why lol) but it was for some kind of excursion.

 

 

They quickly got over that and we asked some of the drivers there which beach they recommended for us. My in-laws decided to stay back and shop and then go back on the ship for the day so it was just the 4 of us and my mom. They first suggested Cane Garden Bay but then we asked if it got really crowded and we were just more in the mood for a laid back beach, not a ton of amenties, etc... they said Brewer's Bay was the place to go! So... off we went... in a van this time. Same prices as St. Thomas... $8 per person and I think $4 per kid each way. Brewer's Bay is free to get on.

 

Another winding, hilly, scary but beautiful drive!

 

 

 

 

Umm, yea... no guard rail eeeeeek

 

 

Felt such relief when we came to another guard rail

 

 

And they drive on the "wrong" side of the road so it makes it even scarier!

[CamaCama]

The drive was about 30 minutes, felt pretty much the same as yesterday.

 

 

 

Let's hope they got the brakes checked!!!

 

 

 

The driver pointed out Jost Van Dyke

 

 

[CamaCama]

The sign for Brewer's Bay... we were close.

 

 

 

 

We made it! Everyone in the van (there were 2 other families) agreed on a 1pm pickup (it was about 10:45 so we had 2 hours here). All aboard was 2:30, sailaway was 3pm.

 

Now... from the outside we weren't sure of our decision to come here over the other beaches...

 

 

Edited December 10, 2015 by CamaCama

[CamaCama]

Chairs... sorry... Chair's :p were $5 each. They were kinda ratty, rusting and broken but you hardly notice once you put your NCL towel over them and they did the job, we got 2.

 

 

 

We walked straight down to the left and found great spot in the shade right next to the rocks. Mila made herself comfortable on the chair and Sienna went off into the water.

 

 

 

[LuCruise]

I don't think they said why, they just said they wish they went to Magens. Magens did get busy but it is very big and we never felt like there were crowds around us. We did want a quieter beach for Tortola...

 

Thanks for getting back to me.

Looking forward to seeing more from your day in Tortola. Even with my research, I've never heard of Brewers Bay.

 

Btw...you girls are sooo sweet. :-)

[CamaCama]

We felt a lot better about being here once we saw the water, it's a really beautiful beach with shallow, calm water. Nobody trying to sell you anything... exactly what we wanted.

 

 

 

View looking back at our chairs

 

 

View down the opposite side

 

[Bibble]

I love this review!

I'm supposed to be taking this cruise sometime next year, so it's great to see!!!

 

But I'm laughing at myself, because when i saw your embarkation picture, I said "Oh good, they have a teenager, I can see what she did all week" for my daughter. I was halfway into this and noticed some of pics with mirrors and thought that your teenager daughter took a lot of pictures!

Then.... I eventually figured out that's not a teenager - that's you! LOL!!!