Beach BBQ Virgin Gorda

[Misty Morning]

We'll be on the Pride in November and was wondering if they are back to doing beach BBQ at Prickly Pear in the North Sound of Virgin Gorda  after going to Fischer's Cove a few years post Irma/Maria hurricanes.  I understand the Prickly Pear facilities are back up and running.  Much nicer than Fischer's Cove.

[minidonuts85]

Yes. We saw them anchored off of Prickly Pear when we were at the BEYC in the spring. Bbq was set up. 

[M.Travels]

This is where they did the BBQ yesterday as well.

[Strenz]

We were at Prickly Pear for the Bbq on the Christmas Cruise, first time since the 2017 hurricane, great to be back. Beautiful island, it has made a good comeback. Love the BVIs.Happy Sailing.

[ciaoYacht]

Can anyone elaborate on what time the beach BBQ usually takes place?  Just trying to plan out the day and wondering if there will be time to explore Virgin Gorda and The Baths beforehand...

 

Thank you!

[Strenz]

The BBQ starts around 10-2 or 3. Food service starts at 12. There is a ship excursion to the baths and they get passengers back in time for lunch. Prickly Pear is a terrific beach. Happy Sailing

[GottaKnowWhen]

7 hours ago, ciaoYacht said:

Can anyone elaborate on what time the beach BBQ usually takes place?  Just trying to plan out the day and wondering if there will be time to explore Virgin Gorda and The Baths beforehand...

 

Thank you!

On our recent trip, of the 250 or so passengers on board, about 120 of us went to the Baths. We were grouped, split among several buses, well spread out along the trail, and so it worked out. And we got back to the BBQ around 12:00-12:30, in plenty of time, with a few stops going and returning to take in the views. We returned to the ship early rather than hanging on the beach and then swam for a bit off the ship. A good day! 

 

But I would be very surprised if you were able to explore Virgin Gorda and the Baths on your own. 
Stan

Edited January 26, 2023 by GottaKnowWhen

[ciaoYacht]

12 minutes ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

On our recent trip, of the 250 or so passengers on board, about 120 of us went to the Baths. We were grouped, split among several buses, well spread out along the trail, and so it worked out. And we got back to the BBQ around 12:00-12:30, in plenty of time, with a few stops going and returning to take in the views. We returned to the ship early rather than hanging on the beach and then swam for a bit off the ship. A good day! 

 

But I would be very surprised if you were able to explore Virgin Gorda and the Baths on your own. 
Stan

Thanks for the info! Why would it be hard to explore on our own? Limited transportation options? Crowds? 

Curious if booking the ship excursion is really necessary (I will if I have to). But we are younger and typically like venturing on our own if possible. 

[GottaKnowWhen]

11 hours ago, ciaoYacht said:

Thanks for the info! Why would it be hard to explore on our own? Limited transportation options? Crowds? 

Curious if booking the ship excursion is really necessary (I will if I have to). But we are younger and typically like venturing on our own if possible. 

We took a tender ashore on Virgin Gorda (two tenders to accommodate the number of persons doing the excursion). When we got back from the Baths, we took the tenders over to the small island where the Prickly pear Beach is located, the bbq site. At that point tenders were running from the bbq site back and forth to the ship.

So, I am just speculating, but I don't know that there was any option for you to tender ashore to the main island, (other than as a member of the excursion crowd) and if you could get there, not sure you would have a way to get to Prickly Pear Beach or back to the ship.

I would book the excursion, then ask aboard whether your do-it-yourself option is feasible. If so, then cancel your excursion reservation and do your own thing!

Stan

[GottaKnowWhen]

I am browsing back through some of our photos from the trip. In this shot, taken from the road along the Virgin Gorda heights we traversed on our way to The Baths, you can see the Star Pride below. The prow of the ship is pointed directly at the Prickly Pear beach where the bbq is held.

Stan

 

[ciaoYacht]

7 minutes ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

I am browsing back through some of our photos from the trip. In this shot, taken from the road along the Virgin Gorda heights we traversed on our way to The Baths, you can see the Star Pride below. The prow of the ship is pointed directly at the Prickly Pear beach where the bbq is held.

Stan

 

 

Thanks for sharing! Loved following your trip updates in the other thread.

Very much looking forward to first time on Windstar and hoping we make all our ports as some have mentioned Monserrat and Virgin Gorda are sometimes skipped due to rough seas.

[minidonuts85]

@ciaoYacht the VG cancellations you read about are likely when the port stop and beach bbq was temporarily held over near the VG yacht harbor/Fischers cove. Conditions can be very choppy there especially in the winter months. The North Sound is quite calm and sheltered and Prickly Pear is quite tranquil. We’re down in the BVI often as we have partial ownership in a property on Jost. When we take the boat up to VG, it’s such a relief to turn into the North Sound on a blustery day. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by minidonuts85

[ciaoYacht]

6 hours ago, minidonuts85 said:

We’re down in the BVI often as we have partial ownership in a property on Jost.

 

Extremely excited to travel here too! Any hiking recommendations? Looking forward to an afternoon of Painkillers!

[minidonuts85]

31 minutes ago, ciaoYacht said:

 

Extremely excited to travel here too! Any hiking recommendations? Looking forward to an afternoon of Painkillers!

My kind of hike is up and down white bay beach hitting the bars 🙂 Everyone goes to Soggy Dollar to check it off the list but Gertrude’s will let you pour your own; Olga (the star hostess extraordinaire) hands you a bottle of rum, painkiller mix and nutmeg to grate onto your drink. She makes excellent Roti as well. Coco Loco is wonderful as is Seddys (Camille is a great bartender) and “hike” over the rocks down to Ivan’s Stress Free Bar. 
 

If you want an actual hike, you can walk about 100yards behind Gertrude’s/Soggy and turn left at the Perfect Pineapple Inn and hike the steep road up to the very top of the hill for an amazing panoramic view of white bay. The pin is Soggy Dollar and that is where all of the taxis drop off.  The blue line is the road to hike up to the top of the hill. Happy to answer any other questions! 

Edited January 27, 2023 by minidonuts85

[minidonuts85]

@ciaoYacht Just thought about this pic I took week before last that gives a good vantage of the hike and lay of the land in white bay. 
the red circle is where you’ll end up on the hike and you’ll see the road up just to the left. The yellow circle is the “goat path” over to Ivan’s Stress Free Bar. 

[Strenz]

We adore Gertrude's and being a foodie the conk fritters are unbelievable. Have fun. 

[minidonuts85]

2 hours ago, Strenz said:

We adore Gertrude's and being a foodie the conk fritters are unbelievable. Have fun. 

The butter garlic or stew conch is excellent too. When we did 4-days of quarantine on Jost (during COVID) Olga cooked and delivered dinner every day. She is a fabulous cook and amazing person. 

[ciaoYacht]

Thanks for all the pointers!  The photos look awesome, can't wait to check out the beauty of JVD and definitely going to get a hike in before packing on the cals with painkillers, roti, and conch! 

 

Appreciate the advice!

[Misty Morning]

On 1/26/2023 at 11:12 AM, GottaKnowWhen said:

So, I am just speculating, but I don't know that there was any option for you to tender ashore to the main island, (other than as a member of the excursion crowd) and if you could get there, not sure you would have a way to get to Prickly Pear Beach or back to the ship.

I would book the excursion, then ask aboard whether your do-it-yourself option is feasible. If so, then cancel your excursion reservation and do your own thing!

 

Ciaoyacht,

 

Like GottaKnowWhen says, the only way to get onshore in VG is by taking the Baths tour.  They will not let you out otherwise and some clients found out the hard way on our last cruise in November.

[ciaoYacht]

21 minutes ago, Misty Morning said:

 

Ciaoyacht,

 

Like GottaKnowWhen says, the only way to get onshore in VG is by taking the Baths tour.  They will not let you out otherwise and some clients found out the hard way on our last cruise in November.

Thank you for confirming.  I appreciate that and will book the tour!  Sounds like the Baths are a must see and they are high on my list!

 

It does seem a little odd that they list Virgin Gorda as a stop if in fact they don't allow you off unless you're on an excursion.  They should at least note that so people can be prepared.