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Tortola Jost Van Dyke


beachgoddess
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We're interested in the Celebrity excursion Escape to Jost Van Dyke this November.  It states that people must be able to step off the tour boat into the water once we get there.  Does anyone know how deep the water is once you step off the tour boat?  I've done a little research & have seen anywhere from calf-length to 15 ft.  Would like to know how deep it really is before I book this excursion.  Celebrity does not name the tour boat if that matters.  

Thank you in advance!

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I believe that just means the boat does not dock at a pier but likely pulls up on a beach. I believe it is a catamaran that takes you there and I would think that the water depth at exit would be rather shallow, maybe a foot or so?  Certainly not anything up to 15'.

 

Along with continuing to check back here, I would suggest also posting this on the Celebrity boards as you would likely get better responses there from people who have done this tour previously.  Here is that link:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/16-celebrity-cruises/

 

You could also try the Caribbean / Tortola port of call board here for additional information:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/202-tortola/

Edited by leaveitallbehind
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I don't know the boat that will take you there, so that is a factor, but Jost Van Dyke has a very long beach, and lots of dinghies from sailboats just pull up on the beach so they are maybe in mid-calf high water.  A lot is going to depend on the design of the boat that takes you there.  I am sure that the cruise line is using a local tour company to do this, so I would look around in the port for companies that do the excursion you are looking at, and get in touch with them for a more definitive answer.

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On 9/27/2019 at 7:51 AM, beachgoddess said:

We're interested in the Celebrity excursion Escape to Jost Van Dyke this November.  It states that people must be able to step off the tour boat into the water once we get there.  Does anyone know how deep the water is once you step off the tour boat?  I've done a little research & have seen anywhere from calf-length to 15 ft.  Would like to know how deep it really is before I book this excursion.  Celebrity does not name the tour boat if that matters.  

Thank you in advance!

I am also not comfortable jumping off boats to swim to shore. However, following was my very recent experience:

We took this excursion via Celebrity (Equinox) in September, after confirming with the shore ex desk a million times that they will not make me jump in the water and swim to shore.....since the description did not mention it and I knew from reading here that that is what most excursions do to get to JVD . Shore ex assured me that they had a small "ferry" boat like thing you get into, from the catamaran ,  and they will not make me swim to shore.  They also informed me that they have stpped this jumping to shore thing due to safety issues.

We had to board a catamaran from the Tortola dock. It was quite a big one with ample place to sit in shade.  Also had a bathroom on board. We sailed to White Bay beach in JVD and then  a small "barge" transported us from the catamaran to the shore directly. They put a narrow wooden board for you to go from the barge to the sand. (Maybe a foot or two incline at the most).  No waist deep water to jump into an no swimming to the shore. I was HAPPY! It was really very easy to do. And they helped you with it. It was a step down from the catamaran to the barge. It was fine, no worries. The barge holds about 25 people at one time, so we did this in two turns.
 

We were at the very first beach. Good amount of palapas and shaded area, nice bar, clean restrooms, out door showers, picnic lunch tables, lounge chairs in excellent condition. Lunch and 2 drinks were included. Lunch was the normal hamburgers and hot dogs. The water was crystal clear...just lovely. We walked along the beach to the Soggy Dollar. There were only 5 or so people there. The entire time that we were at White Bay, there were no other tours, local boats etc that came there that day, so it was not crowded at all.

I only wish we had some more time on JVD. The excursion started at 7.30 (we left Tortola pier) and we had to leave the JVD beach by 11.30. Every one was dragging their feet and nobody got on to the barge at 11.30. People took their time boarding and we sailed a tiny bit after noon. Nobody wanted to leave!!!! It was SO beautiful! I only wish they had more time allocated to this excursion. Otherwise there was nothing else to groan about.
 

The ride each way was around 45 mts, but I felt it was shorter getting back to the dock.
Celebrity used some other tour operator, not the Rebel Yell, for this excursion.

 

Hope this eliminates any doubts and helps you make a decision. Enjoy paradise!
 

*** PLease note this was not the Rebel Yell excursion. This was some other company. Will post what company after looking at the pics.

Edited by Arzeena
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We chartered a private boat with Magic Mitch. Took 6 of us wherever we wanted. Had the boat for about 7 hours and cost us a little more than the ship excursion including fuel and tip. It was great. Will do it again next time in Tortola.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/8/2019 at 4:14 PM, hladygirl said:

We chartered a private boat with Magic Mitch. Took 6 of us wherever we wanted. Had the boat for about 7 hours and cost us a little more than the ship excursion including fuel and tip. It was great. Will do it again next time in Tortola.

Do you mind me asking how much it was per person for this excursion?  Thanks

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Just got a new quote for our next stay onTortola, $1,000 + tip for a 6 person boat is the base price, larger boat with more ppl is more of course. We use another outfit but they cater to land visitors so no help here... But Ocean Magic is great - a little pricey at $166 + tip/pp but for a private day that is reasonable.

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  • 2 months later...

Quick question:  Looks like we would like to do the following in BVI:  looks like we would take a taxi from Road Town to West End and take a ferry to Jost Van Dyke.  We are interested in going to Soggy Dollar, so we would take another taxi to Soggy Dollar?  How much time should we leave so we can make sure we would make all those connections back to Road Town?  Are there any other more direct ways to Jost from Road Town?  It's just three of us, so a private charter is way too pricy.  Are there any other options you would recommend?  

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