Laurba99 Posted May 2, 2016 #1 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Thinking of going April 2017 on sail going to Tortola, St Thomas and Castaway Cay. It's either this or an all-inclusive land trip. Trying to find out what people loved at these ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dclnut Posted May 2, 2016 #2 Share Posted May 2, 2016 St thomas has a beach where the planes fly right over the beach. Coolest thing ever. I still show off the pictures and people cant believe me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurba99 Posted May 2, 2016 Author #3 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Do you mean St Maarten? we just got off a cruise that stopped there and we went to a beach that was known for it. This cruise doesn't go to St Maarten though although we did love that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex techie Posted May 2, 2016 #4 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Do you mean St Maarten? we just got off a cruise that stopped there and we went to a beach that was known for it. This cruise doesn't go to St Maarten though although we did love that! Yep, that Maho beach, St. Maartin. ex techie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex techie Posted May 2, 2016 #5 Share Posted May 2, 2016 (edited) For St Thomas, Cable car and Megan's Bay. But neither need to be booked thru the cruise line. ex techie Edited May 2, 2016 by Ex techie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlightgraham Posted May 2, 2016 #6 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Take boat over to St. John and away from St. Thomas crowds. Beautiful island, beautiful beaches. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted May 3, 2016 #7 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Magen's Bay is beautiful and very crowded. Within easy walking distance of the dock, you have the cable cars and the butterfly farm as well as the shopping "mall" thing. A short cab ride away is Coki Beach and Coral World. Check on line and in the tourist magazines at the port--there are sometimes discount tickets for Coral World. This is a good place for kids--touch tanks with educators, an underwater walk in viewing area, a small aquarium, hiking trails, etc. Coki beach is literally across the parking lot. The beach is free, family friendly, and has decent snorkeling. If you do Coral World, you will get a wrist band that will allow you to come and go all day to use their restrooms, snack bar, etc. Tortola--LOVED the baths at Virgin Gorda, but this is not a trek for young kids. There are 2 walking paths to the beach. I took the one to the left which supposedly is shorter but steeper. Gorgeous beach. The two beaches connect thru the rock formations (baths), but I decided to not go all the way thru. This excursion does require a 30 minute boat ride then a vehicle ride then the walk. Honestly a great excursion, but if you get sick in small boats, etc. maybe not for you, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex techie Posted May 3, 2016 #8 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Take boat over to St. John and away from St. Thomas crowds. Beautiful island, beautiful beaches. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk This excursion I would DEFINITELY get thru DCL as it is a boat ride away. Rough weather could stop you returning on time, so that blanket of DCL's responsibility would be worth it for me. But I only heard amazing reports from Cast and Crew that attended or were tour guides on St John trips. ex techie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurba99 Posted May 3, 2016 Author #9 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Thanks yes I'll look into St. John's. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurba99 Posted May 3, 2016 Author #10 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Anyone do the zip line excursion at either St. John/St Thomas or the Tortola stop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheeling TravelingMom Posted May 6, 2016 #11 Share Posted May 6, 2016 moki'smommy is the walk to the beach doable for a full time chair user? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted May 6, 2016 #12 Share Posted May 6, 2016 moki'smommy is the walk to the beach doable for a full time chair user? Which beach are you talking about? If Baths at Virgin Gorda--no way. We've had very poor results with the beach wheelchairs on Castaway Cay. While I understand that some people can use them on the sand, I'm 60 years old and frankly couldn't push it. This was several years ago when I was with a friend who needed a chair. She is a small woman, and I couldn't push the chair on the sand with her in it. She "opted" to stay on the cement paths...but it really was a "no choice" situation. The last time we did a beach was at St Maarten, and at that point my daughter was using a chair only for long distances. I think that was the cruise where she was using a cane, and that was do-able. The beach at St. Maarten is actually fairly accessible. Coki Beach at St. Thomas is also fairly accessible, but to get to the water, you still have to be able to wheel on the sand....a trick we've never mastered. The sand comes to the parking area, and the water isn't too far away, but you still have to get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheeling TravelingMom Posted May 6, 2016 #13 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I'm sorry. I meant St. Thomas. I'm pretty resigned to the fact that we will be staying on board in Tortola. Just doesn't seem like anything will be easy there. Castaway Cay I am going to try like crazy to get accessible cabana. If I can't then we will be OK using a sand chair down to the water. He hates them but his dad or older brother can push it just to get him down there. I have been on Castaway Cay so I have a view in my head of how he will be able to maneuver there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted May 6, 2016 #14 Share Posted May 6, 2016 There are several different beaches at St. Thomas, but none of them are totally, really accessible. Coki was the best that we've been to recently. You might want to look into a resort hotel that offers a day pass and access to "their" beach--some of those might be a little easier. I have no personal experience with any of them though. My daughter isn't much of a beach person, so unless we are traveling with friends, we pretty much limit the "beach" to Castaway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-cruise Posted May 6, 2016 #15 Share Posted May 6, 2016 We just did this itinerary a couple weeks ago, but on the Magic. In St. Thomas we did the tram to Paradise Point, and then the Screamin' Eagle jet boat which was awesome! In Tortola we took the tour to the Baths on Virgin Gorda. It was neat, but not something I would probably do again. Takes a long time to get there and back for a fairly short amount of time actually at the Baths. Our 5yr old had no problem at all getting through the rocks so it's totally doable with that age child. Even my 70 something year old mother made it down the path to the first beach without any issues, she didn't go through the rocks though. We doubled back through the Baths and then back up the first path rather than doing the loop. That was the best decision we made as the Baths were empty of people on the way back through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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