OK!! We are back from our cruise. Tortola was nice. The excursion and a little shopping right there at the dock is all we did so I can't say much about Tortola itself. The excursion starts early in the morning, 7:30 in the meeting area on the ship. About 60 people went all total. We disembarked and walked the 500 yards or so to the pier where the excursion boat was tied off.
The large, semi enclosed catamaran boat took about 45 minutes to arrive at Jost Van Dyke. They played Island music and offered a small amount of "tour guide" type info on the islands we passed. We all received a wrist band to identify us as participants and a ticket for a non-alcoholic drink. The ride there was nice.
At White Bay we had to be tendered to the beach, which was about 50 feet away. Why I don't know... some reason or another. It took three trips to get all 60 of us ashore. Most of the time was spent donning life jackets for the 30 second trip to the beach. The crew was very friendly and helpful.
The beach itself is nice. Even though it was early in the day, the swimming was great. We were allowed only in a fairly small netted area... maybe about a acre all together. The sand is soft and the water is crystal clear. Lots of small fish and one turtle spotted.
The beach chairs provided were OK. There is shade available. Not all of the shops were open. It looked to be the two bars and a tee-shirt place. The whole beach is a couple hundred yards long. We were the only people there until two other boats arrived later with only a dozen or so folks aboard.
The only downer was that a bunch of our group got lost (in a bar I think) and failed to get aboard on time. We had to sit and wait for them quite a while and then one of the bunch dropped something overboard stepping off the tender, (a lens cap to his camera), that a crew member recovered. More waiting!! Thanks!
The ride back was different than the trip there. Lots of Pain Killers loosened the parents up and the pop music had all of the kids, and most parents, singing and dancing. A very lively and happy group. It poured rain for the last leg for about 10 minutes. Rain is cool to see on the open water.
A good time, a beautiful beach, great water, friendly crew. The actual time on the beach is about 2 1/2 hours. An easy, comfortable time for young and old alike. Amenities though are basic.