Great Advice for NCL's "Escape to Jost Van Dyke"

[ajtraveler66]

What a beautiful beach we got to see on a fine sunny day.  That's what we had.  And we could have had three hours of it.  Unfortunately we blew it because we planned very poorly.  We thought it would be fun to eat at a restaurant on the beach and then actually take in the beach after we had eaten.  DON'T DO LIKE WE DID.  We wasted almost 2 hours of our precious time waiting to be waited on and then waiting on our food.  By the time we got to our beach time, we couldn't relax because we had to start watching our watches...so we wouldn't miss our catamaran back to the ship.  ADVICE:  You can eat ANYWHERE, but you can only experience this tremendous beach for the three hours that you are there.  Come on a full stomach.  Enjoy this absolutely wonderful beach, and then eat when you get back on the boat.  I am not complaining.  I just wish that I would have read a post such as this prior to my going on this really wonderful excursion.

[blue_water]

sorry you "lost time" aj...Where did you wait 2 hours to be served? Having a great lunch on the beach is part of the experience!

[ajtraveler66]

5 hours ago, blue_water said:

sorry you "lost time" aj...Where did you wait 2 hours to be served? Having a great lunch on the beach is part of the experience!   

 

It was at Hendo's.  Looked like a great place..and the food wasn't that bad.  One waitress was waiting on a huge area.  It's possible they were short-handed that day.  Needless to say, we were quite frustrated.

 

 

[big al]

On 2/17/2020 at 3:02 PM, ajtraveler66 said:

What a beautiful beach we got to see on a fine sunny day.  That's what we had.  And we could have had three hours of it.  Unfortunately we blew it because we planned very poorly.  We thought it would be fun to eat at a restaurant on the beach and then actually take in the beach after we had eaten.  DON'T DO LIKE WE DID.  We wasted almost 2 hours of our precious time waiting to be waited on and then waiting on our food.  By the time we got to our beach time, we couldn't relax because we had to start watching our watches...so we wouldn't miss our catamaran back to the ship.  ADVICE:  You can eat ANYWHERE, but you can only experience this tremendous beach for the three hours that you are there.  Come on a full stomach.  Enjoy this absolutely wonderful beach, and then eat when you get back on the boat.  I am not complaining.  I just wish that I would have read a post such as this prior to my going on this really wonderful excursion.

 

Is this the catamaran that leaves like 7 am and comes back around noon? A group of 6 of us are considering doing this excursion...apart from your bad food experience, how was the beach ? Did you go to the Soggy Bottom Bar?

 

Big Al

[ajtraveler66]

10 hours ago, big al said:

 

Is this the catamaran that leaves like 7 am and comes back around noon? A group of 6 of us are considering doing this excursion...apart from your bad food experience, how was the beach ? Did you go to the Soggy Bottom Bar?

 

Big Al

The excursion was thru NCL and it was called "Escape to Jost Van Dyke".  I'm sure other ships use the same excursion.  It's the "Soggy Dollar Bar", by the way....not Soggy Bottom... and it was there, right next to Hendo's.  Yes....the beach was very nice.  It was pretty crowded and there were a lot of boats near the beach....but that didn't seem to interfere with anything.   ...  Overall, it was a wonderful excursion.   I just hope you don't have to waste your time at a restaurant like we did.  I have no complaints other than our wasted time.  Guess I'll have to go back and do it right.  LOL.  The video that NCL has put out on their excursion offerings gives you a pretty accurate picture of what it looks like.  Hope you have great weather like we did.  ENJOY!

 

[big al]

48 minutes ago, ajtraveler66 said:

The excursion was thru NCL and it was called "Escape to Jost Van Dyke".  I'm sure other ships use the same excursion.  It's the "Soggy Dollar Bar", by the way....not Soggy Bottom... and it was there, right next to Hendo's.  Yes....the beach was very nice.  It was pretty crowded and there were a lot of boats near the beach....but that didn't seem to interfere with anything.   ...  Overall, it was a wonderful excursion.   I just hope you don't have to waste your time at a restaurant like we did.  I have no complaints other than our wasted time.  Guess I'll have to go back and do it right.  LOL.  The video that NCL has put out on their excursion offerings gives you a pretty accurate picture of what it looks like.  Hope you have great weather like we did.  ENJOY!

 

 Yes, Soggy Dollar, not Bottom,lol..sounds nice..never been to JVD, so looking forward to it..time in port is horrible: 7 am- 2 pm...on NCL Joy...thanks for the info!

 

Big Al

[blue_water]

Yes short port day, that is a shame for Tortola. 

White Bay does indeed bet very crowded today with day trippers from all of the VI and bareboaters unfortunately but it is beautiful. 

Webcam from SDB

https://www.soggydollar.com/webcam

Edited February 20, 2020 by blue_water

[big al]

5 minutes ago, blue_water said:

Yes short port day, that is a shame for Tortola. 

White Bay does indeed bet very crowded today with day trippers from all of the VI and bareboaters unfortunately but it is beautiful. 

Webcam from SDB

https://www.soggydollar.com/webcam

Thanks, blue water..BTW, I put a post on the St. Thomas link about using a tour guide OR just doing ST by myself & 2 other couples...we have been to ST 8-9x, but the other 4, no..I asked for an opinion..if you can find it & respond that would be great..thanks...if you can't find it, I will post here..

 

Big Al

[blue_water]

We've only hired one driver on STT and that was a gent who worked for the Secret Harbour Resort. Not sure if he is still offering tours but we contacted him through the resort site then...

I've read great reviews of My Love Taxi and Abraham's Taxi, you may want to check them out?

 

 

[big al]

5 minutes ago, blue_water said:

We've only hired one driver on STT and that was a gent who worked for the Secret Harbour Resort. Not sure if he is still offering tours but we contacted him through the resort site then...

I've read great reviews of My Love Taxi and Abraham's Taxi, you may want to check them out?

 

 

Will do..in the meantime, my plan is to FIRST go to Paradise Point, then Megan's Beach ( closer to port), then go to shop in CA downtown..we are there from 11am to 7 pm ( Havensight)... thoughts?   

[blue_water]

Nice day whatever itinerary you choose! We would do Sapphire simply because we love it and it's not much further than Magens, return to shop right in Havensight (or if you have a driver head into CA if you want your friends to see the neat alleys, etc) then PP and relax with cocktails and the view before returning to the ship yo get ready for dinner...

Just another option...

 

[big al]

1 hour ago, blue_water said:

Nice day whatever itinerary you choose! We would do Sapphire simply because we love it and it's not much further than Magens, return to shop right in Havensight (or if you have a driver head into CA if you want your friends to see the neat alleys, etc) then PP and relax with cocktails and the view before returning to the ship yo get ready for dinner...

Just another option...

 

 I may do Sapphire Beach, I love it, too..my concern is to do the 3 things in the right order..I choose PP 1st because it gets busy after lunch..also, I chose shopping last because IF anybody buys anything, if we were to do shopping FIRST, then we have to carry everything the rest of the day with us, whereas if we shop last, we can take all to the ship with us ( unless we buy liquor, then we send to the ship early on..)..BTW, how much from Havensight to Sapphire Bach for 6 people and do you think we can get one van for all? Any suggestions on whom? 

[blue_water]

Yes that's why we shop Havensight after Sapphire, drop stuff at the ship, then walk to the PP tram and relax up top. We'd rather enjoy PP last even though it may be more crowded then...

We'd just hop a safari taxi to Sapphire for $10/pp each way - enjoy!

[big al]

12 minutes ago, blue_water said:

Yes that's why we shop Havensight after Sapphire, drop stuff at the ship, then walk to the PP tram and relax up top. We'd rather enjoy PP last even though it may be more crowded then...

We'd just hop a safari taxi to Sapphire for $10/pp each way - enjoy!

blue water- I still need a van that takes 6 people..does Safari taxi have vans for 6, or do we need to take 2 taxis? Thanks again!! 

[blue_water]

If you need a VAN you will need to contact one of the drivers recommended earlier, but most use the open-sided safari truck taxis. If you just want all 6 to ride together (not a dedicated tour guide) just hop a shared safari taxi at the pier going to Sapphire...

You said you'd been to STT 8 or 9 times already so you've seen these I assume?

Edited February 20, 2020 by blue_water

[big al]

2 minutes ago, blue_water said:

If you need a VAN you will need to contact one of the drivers recommended earlier but most use the open-sided safari truck taxis. If you just want all 6 to ride together just hop a shared safari taxi at the pier going to Sapphire...

You said you'd been to STT 8 or 9 times already?

Yes, at least 8-9 x...we usually go to either Sapphire or Megan's beach, then shop ( or visa versa)..I will contact one of the drivers later as we come closer to November..