Trip Bacon — The secret ingredient to the perfect getaway logo

Tortola Cruise Port: Our Shore Excursion Got Cancelled — Here's What We Did Instead

Dockside Travel
Dockside Travel
🥈Expert
👁️ 638 views📅 1 weeks ago⏱️ 9:47
What This Creator Said
Creator RecommendsCruise Vlog🥈Expert Creator
👫 Best for GroupCaribbeanVeteran Cruiser

Source: Our analysis of the creator's lived experience, based on what they said in this video.

Creator's Key Takeaways

An unexpected change of plans turned into a fantastic afternoon and evening filled with family, friends, great food, a few drinks, and plenty of entertainment.

It's common in Caribbean ports for tour operators to wait until they fill their vehicle before departing, and we completely understand that.

Creator's Tips & Advice

If you want to get a 6:00 p.m. dining time, it does book up early. So, make sure you book your reservations as soon as you can.
If a local tour is delayed and not moving, it may be better to cut your losses and head back to the ship.

🆕New to Cruising? This Creator Addresses:

Dining reservations for large groupsBook early, especially for popular times like 6:00 p.m., as larger parties can be challenging to fit.

Questions This Creator Answers

QWhat should you do if your cruise excursion is cancelled due to weather?
QHow is the dining experience at Eden on Celebrity Beyond?
QWhat is the port atmosphere like in Tortola?

Topics Covered

Kids Family4½ Happy BaconDining Specialty4½ Happy BaconDining Bars Drinks2½ Happy BaconEntertainment Nightlife3½ Happy BaconPool Deck2½ Happy BaconPort Destination2½ Happy BaconExcursions2½ Sad Bacon

Port Highlights

St. Thomas
Top: Excursion to St. John
Tortola2 Happy Bacon
Top: Boat ride and snorkeling near Virgin Gorda
How to read the Trip Bacon Score
Happy Bacon — creators loved this aspect
Sad Bacon — creators took issue with this
Meh — no strong opinion either way

Scale: 0–5 strips in half-step increments. 0 = “meh”, 5 = “bacon bliss”. Aggregated from creator-review sentiment, weighted by channel expertise.

About our Bacon Score methodology
YouTube Video Description

What happens when your cruise excursion gets cancelled at the last minute? That's exactly what happened to us in Tortola — and honestly, it turned out to be one of the best days of the entire cruise. We are Kris and Melanie from Dockside Travel. We've been cruising for more than 20 years — dozens of sailings, nearly 300 nights at sea — across Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, and now Virgin Voyages. In this video, we cover: ✅ Arriving at the Tortola cruise port and exploring the port area ✅ Our cancelled shore excursion to Virgin Gorda (and what caused it) ✅ Attempting a local island tour — and why we got back off the bus ✅ Port area walk-through: shops, restaurants, taxi dispatch, and pricing ✅ Celebrity hosting local school kids on board — a really nice touch ✅ Relaxing on Celebrity Beyond: pool, ping-pong, Magic Carpet, Sunset Bar ✅ Dinner at Eden — the full review (food, drinks, atmosphere, service) ✅ Late-night at the Martini Bar After our excursion was cancelled due to weather and sea conditions, we tried pivoting to a local island tour, but that didn't pan out either. So we headed back on board Celebrity Beyond — and ended up having an unforgettable afternoon and evening with family and friends. Sometimes the best excursion is the one you didn't plan. Chapters: 0:00 Cancelled Excursion in Tortola 0:45 Exploring the Port Area 2:30 The Boat We Didn't Get On 3:15 Attempting a Local Island Tour 4:00 Back on Board Celebrity Beyond 5:00 Pool & Ping-Pong 5:30 Magic Carpet & Sunset Bar 6:00 Eden Restaurant: Pre-Dinner Drinks 6:30 Dinner in Eden — Full Review 8:30 The Martini Bar at Night 9:15 Wrap-Up & Next Episode ➡️ Watch next: Celebrity Beyond playlist — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOWmuWAJEL5WrRgewlAUhy1viuhDMtBkY Have you ever had a shore excursion cancelled? What did you do instead? Let us know in the comments below! 👍 Like | 🚢 Subscribe | 🔔 Hit the notification bell so you'll know when our next video goes live 🌐 Stay Connected: 📍 Website: https://www.docksidetravel.ca 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/docksidetravel 📷 Instagram: @docksidetravel Please Note: While we share our opinions and personal experiences in this video, it is for your entertainment. You should contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for detailed advice and information specific to your booking.