Celebrity's Coastal Cruise to Pitons

First time to St. Lucia...Looking for reviews on Celebrity's Excursion: Coastal Cruise to Pitons. Deciding between Celebrity's Coastal Cruise to Pitons and Spencer Ambrose Beach Break. Thank you!

First time to St. Lucia...Looking for reviews on Celebrity's Excursion: Coastal Cruise to Pitons. Deciding between Celebrity's Coastal Cruise to Pitons and Spencer Ambrose Beach Break. Thank you!

Couple major differences. Celebrity's cruise is 4 hours, while Spencer's is approx 5.5-6. Celebrity is via catamaran while Spencer's via speedboat. Celebrity is simply a sail down and back up the coast with a quick dip in Marigot Bay and a "light refreshment", while Spencer's is the trip down the coast, about 4+ hours in the beach to sun tan, snorkel, etc plus full lunch and drinks cooler with water, sodas, rum punch and beers..

Not really the same tours at all...if you want beach time, etc Spencer all the way. If you want a leisurely sail, Celebrity's trip...

Enjoy.

Couple major differences. Celebrity's cruise is 4 hours, while Spencer's is approx 5.5-6. Celebrity is via catamaran while Spencer's via speedboat. Celebrity is simply a sail down and back up the coast with a quick dip in Marigot Bay and a "light refreshment", while Spencer's is the trip down the coast, about 4+ hours in the beach to sun tan, snorkel, etc plus full lunch and drinks cooler with water, sodas, rum punch and beers..

Not really the same tours at all...if you want beach time, etc Spencer all the way. If you want a leisurely sail, Celebrity's trip...

Enjoy.

on the celebrity tour does the catamaran dock so I can walk to the beach? since I don't swim I need to get off in shallow water or on a pier

We ended up taking Celebrity's Coastal Tour to the Pitons December 2016. We really enjoyed it but were not expecting a beach day. We cruised to the Pitons via catamaran and back. We also saw Marigot Bay. There was no beach stop (some passengers were disappointed because they were expecting beach time). The catamaran briefly anchored so people could jump in the water and snorkel, if interested. We opted to stay on the boat. There were also music, drinks and snacks on the catamaran which added to the experience!

We've done the Coastal cruise through Celebrity and enjoyed it. It was basically a sightseeing cruise. Was considering the Snorkeling beneath the Pitons through Celebrity to use up some OBC. Has anyone done this excursion. It sounds similar to Spencer"s tour but maybe shorter beach time. Does anyone know if it goes to the same beach, Sugar beach? Looking for input by anyone who has done this excursion.

We've done the Coastal cruise through Celebrity and enjoyed it. It was basically a sightseeing cruise. Was considering the Snorkeling beneath the Pitons through Celebrity to use up some OBC. Has anyone done this excursion. It sounds similar to Spencer"s tour but maybe shorter beach time. Does anyone know if it goes to the same beach, Sugar beach? Looking for input by anyone who has done this excursion.

I was interesting in this too...for the exact same reason, OBC. When do you cruise? I will be in St Lucia in April. Wondering if you did this yet?

No, have not done this yet. Did the coastal cruise 2/2016 and enjoyed it. Will be in St. Lucia again 1/31/2018 on the Silhoutte so planning ahead. If you decide to book snorkeling beneath the pitons through Celebrity I would be very interested in your experience. Most interested in how much time you spend at the beach. Spencer Ambrose has an excursion similar to this one but like I said I would like to use up some nonrefundable OBC.

No, have not done this yet. Did the coastal cruise 2/2016 and enjoyed it. Will be in St. Lucia again 1/31/2018 on the Silhoutte so planning ahead. If you decide to book snorkeling beneath the pitons through Celebrity I would be very interested in your experience. Most interested in how much time you spend at the beach. Spencer Ambrose has an excursion similar to this one but like I said I would like to use up some nonrefundable OBC.

Okay, I will let you know. I've been to that beach and it's lovely. (With Spencer Ambrose) I'm pretty sure we will do this excursion and I will come back and let you know either way. Thanks for your reply.

Thanks, looking forward to hearing from you! Enjoy your cruise.

No, have not done this yet. Did the coastal cruise 2/2016 and enjoyed it. Will be in St. Lucia again 1/31/2018 on the Silhoutte so planning ahead. If you decide to book snorkeling beneath the pitons through Celebrity I would be very interested in your experience. Most interested in how much time you spend at the beach. Spencer Ambrose has an excursion similar to this one but like I said I would like to use up some nonrefundable OBC.

Hi Tartan Cruiser! We took this exact excursion a few months ago in December from the Summit. It was the first time we had ever booked a ship excursion. We chose to book this excursion to use up some of our OBC, and also to have shorter relaxed port day ( we were on a very port heavy itinerary).

The excursion was supposedly 4 hours in duration, but about 20-30 min of this were spent organizing the group at the dock, filling out waivers, etc. (I'm guessing this is a regular occurrence with ship excursions). The boat ride to the Pitons was nice, very scenic with lots of photo ops! We stopped midway to the pitons to drop off about half the passengers on the boat who were going on an entirely different zip-lining excursion ( we stopped to pick them up on the way back as well). After arriving at the Pitons, I'd estimate we spent around 1.5 hours at the beach. I wouldn't really classify this as a beach day, I spent most of the time snorkeling. There really wasn't enough time to both snorkel and lounge on the beach. Overall, it was a nice day, and a nice way to see the Pitons for the first time. DH and I agreed that while it was nice to do using OBC, if we were paying out of pocket for an excursion we'd probably book Spencer's excursion ( It seems like you get much more time at the beach this way.)

On a side note, we will also be in St. Lucia on 1/31/18 on the Silhouette cruise! We are currently debating either the Spencer Ambrose beach break, or spending the day at an AI resort.

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We ended up taking Celebrity's Coastal Tour to the Pitons December 2016. We really enjoyed it but were not expecting a beach day. We cruised to the Pitons via catamaran and back. We also saw Marigot Bay. There was no beach stop (some passengers were disappointed because they were expecting beach time). The catamaran briefly anchored so people could jump in the water and snorkel, if interested. We opted to stay on the boat. There were also music, drinks and snacks on the catamaran which added to the experience!

We also took Celebrity's Coastal Tour to the Pitons and totally enjoyed it.

Where they anchored for the short snorkel stop was quite pretty so was also enjoyable to just stay on the catamaran. :)

OCruisers, thanks for your information about this excursion. Sounds like great minds think alike. I was leaning towards Spencers new excursion that is only 4 hours and does 2 different sites each for 1 hour but then saw the Celebrity one and thought it might be a good way to use OBC. The thing I didn't like about the Celebrity one was it didn't leave until 11:30 and we're only in port until 4:00 (all aboard 3:30) so not really 4 hours and sounds rushed. Spencers leaves at either 8:30 am or 9:30 am. Much better times in my opinion. We really want more of a snorkel experience vs beach time. I think your information helped me decide to not go with the Celebrity excursion. Looking forward to sailing on the Silhoutte and chatting on our roll call. Looks like it's a popular cruise as only inside cabins are available.

We are going in Dec 17 and we will probably go Spencer. I would like to use OBC but I think his tour is much better with less people and more time on the island. Hate paying when I have lots of OBC but the perks are worth it ! Bob

We've done the Coastal cruise through Celebrity and enjoyed it. It was basically a sightseeing cruise. Was considering the Snorkeling beneath the Pitons through Celebrity to use up some OBC. Has anyone done this excursion. It sounds similar to Spencer"s tour but maybe shorter beach time. Does anyone know if it goes to the same beach, Sugar beach? Looking for input by anyone who has done this excursion.

I just tried to book the "Snorkeling beneath the Pitons" excursion but I was not able to book it online. Got a message saying I was too old.:eek: I will be 71 that day and Celeb considers that I cannot decide for myself if I am fit enough. Anyway, I contacted the cruise line to request an exception, but they emailed me that the tour is no longer offered. I am disappointed as I want to snorkel the Pitons again, but I also wanted a cruise line tour. Now I suppose I will have to take the risks associated with a non-cruise line tour. Good news is I will probably pay much less! <G> I don't recall is that beach was Sugar Beach......I have forgotten the name, but it's some of the best snorkeling I've done in the Caribbean.

Can anyone recommend a max 4 hour excursion from the cruise dock that provides snorkeling at the Pitons? I have taken Herod's before, and it's absolutely wonderful, but I don't want to do that again. Suggestions are welcome.

I just tried to book the "Snorkeling beneath the Pitons" excursion but I was not able to book it online. Got a message saying I was too old.:eek: I will be 71 that day and Celeb considers that I cannot decide for myself if I am fit enough. Anyway, I contacted the cruise line to request an exception, but they emailed me that the tour is no longer offered. I am disappointed as I want to snorkel the Pitons again, but I also wanted a cruise line tour. Now I suppose I will have to take the risks associated with a non-cruise line tour. Good news is I will probably pay much less! <G> I don't recall is that beach was Sugar Beach......I have forgotten the name, but it's some of the best snorkeling I've done in the Caribbean.

 

 

Can anyone recommend a max 4 hour excursion from the cruise dock that provides snorkeling at the Pitons? I have taken Herod's before, and it's absolutely wonderful, but I don't want to do that again. Suggestions are welcome.

4 hour max is going to be tough, as it's approximately a 45-1 hour trip one way to Sugar Beach..

Check with Spencer Ambrose, Serenity TVL, Mystic Man.. They may be able to sort it...

4 hour max is going to be tough, as it's approximately a 45-1 hour trip one way to Sugar Beach..

Check with Spencer Ambrose, Serenity TVL, Mystic Man.. They may be able to sort it...

Thanks. After I posted my question above I did email Ambrose, and he replied already. His tour sounds good - 3.5 - 4.0 hrs total, leaves the dock about 30 minutes after the ship docks, arrives back at the ship about 4 hours later - plenty of time to ensure we're on board when the ship sails.

Doug