Are they worth it? Shore Excursions in Samana, Tortola, and St. Thomas

[RebaS]

Hi, first time cruiser here again. We are a couple with an 8 year old son, and have an upcoming Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. I have "pre-booked" our Shore Excursions, but have time to change based on advice and feedback. Thanks so much in advance for answering my copious questions! :) First, we've booked a Shore Excursion in Samana, St. Thomas and Tortola - all through NCL. Is that overkill? We do love the beach, boats, snorkeling, etc. and just don't want to be "on our own" in these places, unless advice says - "not worth the excursion" - do XXXX instead. We are signed up for: Samana Caves & Mangroves & Beach Escape, St. Thomas Cataway Girl Sail & Snorkel, and Tortola Cane Beach Chill Out. Any advice or feedback on what we've picked for shore excursions, or what we SHOULD have picked for shore excursions would be much appreciated - as well as advice on having a "formal" shore excursion in every port....we like to stay busy but don't know if we've gone overboard (no pun intended!:D ). Thanks so much!

[GoNCruisnFamily]

We did the Caves & Mangroves / beach break in Samana 2 weeks ago. The caves/mangroves portion was great. I have kids 8 and 11. We took a boat across the bay area that took about 45 mins to the national park. We toured around the outlying rock formations to see them and lots of cool birds. We stopped and saw several caves that have very old carvings and drawings. We went up a river into the mangrove forest. All of this was very interesting to us. The boat ride was bumpy, which my kids loved (like a flume ride at the fair).

It took about 4 hours total.

They dropped us at Cayo Levantado. I was not very impressed with this part. There are A LOT of vendors who ALL want you to stop and buy from them. You have to walk through them to get to the beach. The beach area is very pretty. The surf was rough that day so we did not do any snorkeling. The water had cleared up from before (due to the tropical storm). We did not buy any food there as we felt that $15pp for the lunch buffet was excessive for what was offered. We had some snacks with us for the kids (I recommend this as the excursion overlapped the regular lunchtime). We stayed there for a couple of hours. I am glad I did not schedule the beach break as my primary excursion.

 

In Tortola, we took the NCL excursion to the Baths and loved it. We got to snorkel and swim and go through the rocks. Island Shipping was the operator. Our captain's daughter in law was our guide and she was great. Enjoyed the rum punch too!

 

Have a great trip. We are supposed to get 12 in of snow tomorrow and wish I was back on the Jewel!

[KerCar]

Welcome to CC!!!! We visited Tortola and St. Thomas last year on the Spirit. In Tortola, we went to Cane Garden Bay on our own. Taxis are extremeley plentiful right off the ship and very resonable. I'll have to check, but I believe it only cost a few dollars per person. You can arrange to have your taxi driver pick you up later on in the day or hop on another taxi if you'd like to play it by ear. Extremely easy and I like the fact that you are not rushed to get back to the tour bus. Good luck planning:)

[Mooder]

Have you considered the Baths in Tortola? I can't say it is better than what you have planned since I have only been once and that is what we did. But I can tell you I loved it and it is probably the most memorable beach I have been to. Though technically you don't go there for a beach experience. It is more about the beauty, the water, the amazing rock formations. Rather than go through NCL, we used Patouche and felt we got a better experience - less crowded as they know how to beat the cruisers and more personal guide through the rocks. Our guide had to help some cruisers who had long since lost site of their guide. You also get punch, a fantastic boat ride, a lovely lunch and great company. Afterwards, we still had time to catch a cab (which the Patouche people called for us) to a beach on Tortola and spend a lovely afternoon. The cabbie came back for us at the appointed time and brought us back to the pier.

As for formal excursions every day, I say yes. My first cruise, I did no excursions, but since then I try to plan for most if not all port days. Some people would rather fend for themselves, but since you seem interested, I say go for it. You get a lot more out of the islands.

[Aurelija]

We just returned from the 9 day on the Jewel. Loved our cruise and all the ports. Did our own tours or tours with the local island tour operators (e.g. St. Lucia island tour 3-4hrs with multiple stops visiting the volcano, fishing villages, waterfalls etc. $30 /person). You don't have to pre-book anything in advance, there are always plenty of tour guides and mini vans available in the port terminal.In Tortola I would recommend going to Brewer's Bay in a cab ($6/person one way) which was much nicer than Cane Garden Bay and less crowded, we visited both and regretted not staying on Brewer's Bay longer.

[lovemylife]

Hi Reba, for our cruise on the Spirit, I spent tons of time in the ports of call section. We're cruising on the Dawn this Spring, same itinerary you're on, and I've been reading like crazy.

Other than Samana, where I'd definitely do a ship's excursion, you'll find tons of helpful tips, reviews, and suggestions for going it alone (or with NCL) in Tortola and St Thomas.

The one question you need to ask yourself is, are you comfortable on your own? The ship's excursions are almost always much more expensive than booking through an independent, but some people are only comfortable with the cruise line, because if you run late, they'll wait for you.

In a port where we feel safe, we do our own thing, and make sure we leave for the ship in plenty of time for traffic, or whatever else might make us late.

I'd also suggest joining the roll call for your sailing. You might find a friend for your son before you even leave!! Have a great cruise!:)

[Mo from Canada]

St Thomas - do Sunny Liston tours you'll love it

Mo

[SteveLT]

Yes, they are totally worth it.

A lot of Independent Shore excursions & Tours to choose from leaving from the Port of Samana.

( At below 30 to 50% of the High Prices of your Cruise Ship ! )

 

Nowadays in 2012, you find a lot of Online Information.

 

Some of the Best Independent Tour Operators here in Samana :

 

1) Razor Tours / Green Cape Adventures

2) Tour Samana With Terry

3) Marivanna Tours

4) Raymond & Gregory Tours

5) Cayenas del Mar Tours

6) "Optima" & "5 Stars" Taxi Custom-Made Tour Service

 

You can Google them and find all the online information, schedules, details & prices

 

Steve

Tour Guide in samana

[akupupule]

You can always do a beach, but there is only one Baths. We did the Baths excursion on another cruise line and loved it!