Kimmus66

Thank you so much for this advice on cabin numbers, I greatly appreicate it!

I'm leaning towards Deck 4 as a first time cruiser on this line.  I'm a light sleeper, so is Deck 4 quiet? do I have to worry about being near anything noisy?  Mid ship the best cabins on Deck 4?

Thank you so much for the advice and answering, I greatly appreciate your help.  🙂

May I ask what you tip private tour guides?  If you had a guide for the day for 8 hours, just 3 of you.....do you tip him?  I'm assuming yes?  If so, how much?

May I ask how much do folks tip private guides for the day?  We have an 8 hour tour with 3 of us.  How much should we tip the guide? The guide and driver are the same person.

Thank you so much for the reply.  OMG, 4 1/2 months for a reply.  All I can say is NEXT!  I"m glad I inquired. I thought maybe I was being impatient.

I emailed another tour company called Provence Private Tour today and they replied back to me within hours.  I think I am going to do a Aix en Provence & Cassis Tour with them, as well as a Nice & Saint Paul de Vence Tour.

Thanks again.

Kim

Hello there, for those of you who have used "One Day In Provence" did you have a hard time getting a hold of them?  I have emailed multiple times to ask questions and set up a private tour and I am not hearing back from them. I'm also checking my spam folder. 

Did they reply back to you right away?  Or is it usual to wait a week or two for a reply?  I'm reaching out about a tour day in June.

I toured with Lawrence with a group of 10. We had a fantastic time!!!! His Van was nice and clean, beverages, great air conditioning and each and every one of us said it was our favorite excursion on the entire cruise.

I would not hesitate to go with Lawrence of Antigua!

We stopped at Shirley Heights and Nelson's Dockyard. We also made a stop for 40 minutes at this area for shopping (which we wanted to do) and there was a little cafe on the water where you could get hot dogs and sandwiches, so we ate there.

Lawrence will go where ever you want him to. We had a group of 12 of us.

About how long does his Island Tour last?

 

Does he stop somewhere so you can get lunch?

 

Thanks,

Tim:cool:

How was the new Margaritaville? Is it walking distance off the ship and right at the pier? We will be there in October 2013. Thank you for any insight!

It opened on the day we arrived in Falmouth in late February.

I agree with the below. Internet is kind of "iffy" in the Caribbean. It's more than likely, Lawrence may not have received your email and was shocked when you were cancelling in person the day of the tour.

I don't visit this board often -- but many are always quick to slam and say bad things about some of the workers without giving them the benefit of the doubt. It's a real turn off.

When I booked my tour with Lawrence, I was in communication with him a couple of times with questions via email. My last email that I sent to CONFIRM to him we were going for sure -- did not make it to him. After a few days, I received another email from Lawrence asking if I made a decision yet and then we confirmed. I don't think Lawrence was being unorganized -- I think internet in the Caribbean can be spotty.

We did our tour with Lawrence and he is a very kind and nice man, extremely organized and we really enjoyed our excursion.

I meant did he acknowledge your original cancellation. There was a misstep there and it is too bad that happened, I'm sure you felt bad when you learned he didn't receive your cancellation. That's why I would go to the trouble of following up (by phone if necessary) to ensure the message got through since it is my responsibility. It is a business and he works primarily with pre-bookings. Just that Lawrence is a great guy and your post isn't really fair to him. He doesn't ask for a deposit and we should be respectful and verify cancellations are acknowledged.

E-mail is notoriously hit or miss in the Carib.

We had the same experience with Lawrence and his land tour. We did his tour last week with a beach extension to Valley Church. We just did this tour last week of February 2013. I would recommend Lawrence in a heartbeat. It was a great tour and our group of 15 really enjoyed it.

Toured with Lawrence on Nov. 17, 2012. Great tour with a gracious, professional and knowledgeable guide!

We just used Leston Lawrence "Lawrence of Antigua" last week with a group of 15. We did the land tour with beach extension (he took us to Valley Church Beach). We really enjoyed the tour. Lawrence is professional, answered all my questions promptly, has a wonderful van that is spotless, roomy and great air conditioning and took us to all the key sights of Antigua. I would use him again in a heartbeat and also refer clients to him as well. You will really enjoy a tour with Lawrence. I highly recommend him!

Anyone used either of the two tour guides recently? If so, how was your tour? Thank you.

Sorry to hear that,but our group really enjoyed our excursion. Not one person in our group disliked it or had any issues. I was the coordinator, so of course if they had complaints, I would have been the one they would have complained to since I organized the tour.

Don't know how you can say this, we were there last week and didn't enjoy our day at all.

We also did this tour about a week ago with a group. Everything turned out perfectly. Spencer was great with communications (I was the coordinator for the group) and we met him at the exact time we were told and in about 10 minutes, we were on the boat and starting the tour (Jalouise Beach Break). He did not try to recruit others and he only allowed so many in the boat so everyone was comfortable. We really enjoyed our day and it was the highlight of our cruise. I would book one of his tours again in a heartbeat and have used him many times in the past, and even have sent clients of mine on his tours. The entire staff is wonderful.

We just did the Spencer Ambrose Jalousie Beach Break tour this past Tuesday. We booked in advance (only 2 weeks prior), for 14 people. Spencer was very prompt in all communications. On the day of the tour, we met Spencer at the designated spot just outside the security area. We walked about 100 yards to the dock, and waited about 10 minutes while Spencer hopped on a boat to get his boat and bring it to the dock. There were 2 additional people who joined at the last minute, as they wanted to hike the Pitons. We left in his speedboat, 16 customers and 3 staff. The boat is rated for 21 people. Going to the Pitons is not a leisurely ride. He moves pretty fast and since it was windy, he had to go a little faster so the people sitting in the back didn't get soaked by the spray. The boat has twin 300 HP engines so it moves. We had 8 adults and 8 kids, ranging from 11-17 years old. The people sitting in the front get the bumpy part of the ride, so all of the kids, and I, sat there. It really was a great and fun ride, but it is not a ferry ! We actually went around the far side of the Pitons to drop off the couple hiking, with a guide provided by Spencer. It gave us a nice view, and took about 10 minutes. Spencer then brought us to Jalousie Beach, where we met a small group of people that had arrived on an earlier boat from Spencer. We sat in the free chairs in front of the snorkeling area, which was under some tree cover and had some huts. We chose not to move down the beach towards the resort since most of our group wanted to snorkel. We spent hours snorkeling, which was excellent. Tons of fish and coral and the kids loved it. I always wondered what kind of food would be served when I read these reviews. Spencer has someone cook up a nice selection of local fare. BBQ chicken, rice and beans, pasta salad, coleslaw, etc. The food was outstanding. Everyone commented how great it was and the kids even ate it all. We had an oversized plate, plenty of food. We also had plenty of beverages, whether it was soda, water, beer or rum and Spencer's crew was always there to help get you more. At about 2 PM we loaded back up into Spencer's boat along with his other boat and we both headed back to Castries. The ride back was slower at times than the ride to the Pitons, as Spencer made the stops already mentioned, the Bat Cave, the Natural Bridge, Marigot Bay, etc. We arrived back at the dock at 3:30 PM, an hour before All Aboard.

 

I was a bit nervous about booking this tour, since I convinced 13 other people to go so I wanted it to turn out OK. It was the highlight of the cruise. When you think about what you get for the $85pp it is well worth it. A boat ride back and forth to the Pitons, no driving ! Chairs at the beach, lunch, drinks, it became a no brainer.

 

I would highly recommend Spencer and his team. It was well organized, very professional and all the staff were very friendly. If I ever returned to St Lucia I would not hesitate to book him again and will refer anyone I know going there as well.

We used Spencer last week and it was WONDERFUL!! My entire group had a fantastic time. We did the Jalouise Beach Break. I have also used him in the past for the Land and Sea Tour, as well as sent clients on his tours many times -- all were exceptional and I had happy clients. He was very quick to answer emails and questions and it was very organized and our favorite excursion for the week.

I would use him again in a heartbeat. Please do not be worried. He's a wonderful person and you will really enjoy your day.

I can only give you my experience but we booked with Spencer a couple years ago and had a great time. I read the mixed reviews as well and was hesitant so I emailed him before I booked and asked a bunch of questions. He was very quick to respond and had acceptable answers to my questions.

 

We took the land and sea tour and it was very nice. He does stop along the way which I didn't mind because it gives you a more personal interaction with the people and there wasn't any pressure to buy. He also made a stop and brought on board some bread for us to sample and it was really good.

 

We are going back to St Lucia in two weeks and booked the Sea Tour with Spencer so we could get more time at the beach.

 

I believe he tries his best to make the tours as enjoyable as possible and he is very aware of the reviews he gets and the impact to his business as he mentioned this to me in his response and once again at the port when we got to St Lucia.