Virgin's Overland Drive in St Kitts… the views were lovely, the van was not

And the views, the views (that I could see) were beautiful.

Why ship excursions cost more

When you book an excursion through a cruise line, you pay more for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they promise you’ll make it back onboard. If you’re late back to the ship and you’ve booked your own trip, they will leave without you. If you’re late back on a ship-booked excursion (not just Virgin Voyages, this is true for all lines including Celebrity & Royal Caribbean) they’ll do their best to wait for you, much later than they would otherwise, and they’ll pay to get you to the next port if they can’t wait long enough.

The Overland Drive of the Enchanting Seaside popped up on the app and for $65 each we thought why not, we’ll see the major sights, no effort or stress, exactly what we want on our Caribbean getaway. While it was no effort, it certainly wasn’t no stress.

The van

The narrow winding roads over cliff edges can be nerve wracking on a good day, but the van that picked us up was on its last legs & kept stalling, rolling backwards and losing grip on the brakes. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I couldn’t even look out of the window because it was covered by a sticker, so nothing to take my mind off what I was becoming increasingly convinced was about to be a trip to A&E.

The window I was supposed to be looking out of.

The views, and the beers

We made it to all of the view points intact, and even found cold beers at the last stop, a very welcome break given the aircon was also broken in the van.

Not impressed, Virgin

A disappointing day made worse by Virgin’s complete lack of interest in taking any responsibility for the trip.

I thought the second reason these trips cost more is because the cruise lines put in the time & effort to vet the activity providers before passing them on to their passengers, which would obviously cost time & money. That clearly wasn’t the case here, and all we were offered was a 10% ($6.50 each) refund as credit that we could spend onboard. Not impressed Virgin!

Back at the port, where the day finally got good again.

Final Verdict

1 out of 5. Give it a miss.

Still happy to sail with them — the Negroni tasting was worth every penny — we’d just sort our own driver next time. See what Virgin have coming up if you fancy the ship rather than the excursion.

If it’s the views you’re after rather than the ship, the island tours out of Basseterre cover the same viewpoints, and you can see what they cost next to the $65 each we handed over before you decide. There’s also a fair bit more going on in Basseterre itself than we gave it credit for, right up until the masquerade dancers turned up and rescued the afternoon.

Overland Drive St Kitts FAQs

How much is the Overland Drive excursion in St Kitts? We paid $65 each, booked through the Virgin Voyages app.

Is the Virgin Voyages Overland Drive excursion worth it? Not for us. The views are genuinely beautiful, but the van kept stalling, rolling backwards and losing grip on the brakes, and one window was covered by a sticker so you couldn’t see out of it anyway.

What happens if you’re late back to the ship on a cruise excursion? If you booked it yourself, the ship will leave without you. If you booked through the cruise line, they’ll do their best to wait, much later than they otherwise would, and they’ll pay to get you to the next port if they can’t wait long enough. That’s true across the lines, not just Virgin Voyages.

Should you book shore excursions through the cruise line or independently? The guaranteed ride back is a real benefit. We’d assumed the price also covered the line vetting the operator, and on this trip that clearly wasn’t the case, so don’t count on it.

What did Virgin Voyages do about the complaint? We were offered a 10% refund, $6.50 each, as credit to spend onboard.

Can you book a St Kitts island tour without going through the cruise line? You can, and it’s what we’d do next time. The island tours out of Basseterre cover the same stops. Just build in a proper buffer at the end, because the bit above about the ship leaving without you is not a joke.

Prices are what we paid in December 2024. Things move, so check before you book.