Yep that was the culprit. I gave the rope tiny faces and it now collides.
Here is another question for you:
How do I get the curve to behave as it does but have it’s own collisions? In particular, when the rope drops onto a plane and piles up it looks fine except that the curve (bevel) goes through itself instead of colliding with itself. If I put a soft body on and remove the goal I can give it self-collisions but that may interfere with the rope’s behavior.