Pitons in St. Lucia

I'm currently booked with Cosol but I am seriously thinking about switching to an RCI tour. I've read horror stories about Cosol getting back to the ship with 2-10mins to spare.

 

I'm open to suggestions and opinions. Still on the fence. I know they get such high ratings but I want to be able to enjoy the day and not worry about cutting it that close.

I booked Cosol on both of my southern cruises and would not hesitate to do it again. There is no RCI tour that will come close to the value you will get, it was the highlight of both my southern Caribbean cruises.

No issues getting back to the ship...they are constantly checking the progress and have checkpoints so they know if they need to speed up or avoid a stop. They run these tours almost every day for cruise passengers and have it down pat. If they had issues getting customers back to the ship they wouldn't be in business for as long as they have.

I am choosy about giving endorsements or recommendations, but their tour is the best excursion I've ever been on.

Jalousie Beach Break with Spencer Ambrose. You board his boat right at the cruise port in Castries and off you go to the Pitons. The beach is snuggled in right between the two. On the return, you explore the coastline between Soufriere and Castries.

 

 

 

From our tour last March:

 

 

 

[YOUTUBE]Qb6eipq9Pxo[/YOUTUBE]

We've used Spencer Ambrose on three occasions and he has been excellent. No complaints with him at all. Especially enjoyed the Jalousie Beach tour.

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We used Spencer Ambrose Tours for the Land, Sea and Beach Adventure in April 2016. It was our first non-RCI excursion, so were a little nervous about getting back on time, etc. He made it VERY simple as he met us right off the boat. No hassles, no problems. He took care of everything and after a full day, we got back to the boat in plenty of time. Truly, it was without a doubt the best and most memorable excursion we have ever been on, in any port. We would absolutely use him again.

Years ago when we sailed Serenade to St.Lucia we got the best tour of Pitons of all. After departing St. Lucia we sailed to the Pitons where Serenade got in the center between the to, did a 360 turn and then settled in so we could all watch an amazing sunset after which we continued the cruise.

To this day I will never forget the captain of that voyage, Capt. Stig Nilsen. On the way back to San Juan he gave a brief history of each of the islands that we sailed by as well as giving us a close up view of the volcanic destruction on Montserrat. He made that cruise very special.

On Serenade repo in November I used the RCL bus tour of the island. As has been said the roads are hairy, I don't think we had a straight stretch of road the whole day.

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We did the Coastal Cruise to the Pitons, a Royal excursion. About 3 1/2 hours via catamaran. The weather was perfect, scenery was superb, tour guide was so-so. The boat played island music and served free drinks (rum punch) and sandwiches. We stopped along the way for folks to do some swimming. We eventually arrived at the Pitons and pulled up to within a couple of hundred feet. By the end of the cruise, people were dancing up a storm, the drinks were flowing and the music was blasting. A fun excursion!

This is the tour we are looking at.

Can you tell me if you think my 87 year old sister will be comfortable on this catamaran? Is there anywhere to sit in the shade?

Thanks

another recommendation for Cosol tours. Excellent value, and swimming between the Pitons was wonderful!

This is the tour we are looking at.

 

Can you tell me if you think my 87 year old sister will be comfortable on this catamaran? Is there anywhere to sit in the shade?

 

Thanks

You can sit inside or outside. Inside is shaded - outside is more fun. She will be OK as long as she doesn't mind the music and drinking.

Years ago when we sailed Serenade to St.Lucia we got the best tour of Pitons of all. After departing St. Lucia we sailed to the Pitons where Serenade got in the center between the to, did a 360 turn and then settled in so we could all watch an amazing sunset after which we continued the cruise.

 

To this day I will never forget the captain of that voyage, Capt. Stig Nilsen. On the way back to San Juan he gave a brief history of each of the islands that we sailed by as well as giving us a close up view of the volcanic destruction on Montserrat. He made that cruise very special.

I was just on the Brillance in December and he was our captain! How neat!

Thanks!

Forgot to ask- did you do this through the cruise line excursions (RCI) ?

 

And we are traveling with my 87 year old sister. She gets around ok. Do you think she would be comfortable on a catamaran?

 

I appreciate your help.

This is the tour we are looking at.

 

Can you tell me if you think my 87 year old sister will be comfortable on this catamaran? Is there anywhere to sit in the shade?

 

Thanks

Yes the tour was with RCI. There's plenty of seats in the shade on the Catamaran, there's no inside on the Catamaran. Music is playing on the way back from the Pitons, not everyone is drinking. I do recall they served us tea sandwiches, some were tuna fish and some were cheese sandwiches. Everyone had a good time on that tour and I think your sister will enjoy it :)

Here's a youtube video of the Coastal Cruise to the Pitons, as you can see there's plenty of seating for shade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PWYRkxR02I

Motion sick? For me it was being on the side of a mountain with no curbs passing another vehicle at 30mph. :eek: Your tour did sound good, ours was similar but with no swimming or hot spring baths, did see them though.

You mentioned this was the La Soufriere Volcano Tour ... was that a private tour or one through Royal? I really want to experience the scenery without the swim or mud bath part.

Another vote here for Spencer Ambrose. The "beach break" excursion has spectacular views as it takes you to the beach between the two peaks. I have done this 3 times! It is one of my favorite excursions ever!

We also did Cosol Tours (last June) and thought it was one of the best tours that we've done. The island is gorgeous and there are some amazing views during the drive. See my discussion/pictures in my Adventure of the Seas review (link below) starting at post #92.

While we loved the tour and were very glad that we got to see the island by land, we would probably take a boat tour directly to Sugar Beach next time. We loved the beach and just didn't have enough time there with everything else that was packed into the land tour. We got back to the ship with about 30 minutes to spare, but were stuck (i.e. mostly dead stopped) in Castries "rush hour" traffic for several minutes. I was getting a little nervous but our driver made a detour down some side streets and we were fine. I'd suggest taking a private tour. It's not that much more expensive and gives you more control of timing. You can ask to start heading back a little early to ensure that you have enough extra time.

We enjoyed the Coastal Cruise to the Pitons and looking forward to booking it again when we go back in December.

We have done the Coastal Cruise twice. Great way to see Pitons

Yes the tour was with RCI. There's plenty of seats in the shade on the Catamaran, there's no inside on the Catamaran. Music is playing on the way back from the Pitons, not everyone is drinking. I do recall they served us tea sandwiches, some were tuna fish and some were cheese sandwiches. Everyone had a good time on that tour and I think your sister will enjoy it :)

 

Here's a youtube video of the Coastal Cruise to the Pitons, as you can see there's plenty of seating for shade.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PWYRkxR02I

Thank you so much for the video! I think we will book this tour.

Thank you so much for the video! I think we will book this tour.

My pleasure :)

My pleasure :)

Yes! Thank you!

Thank you so much for the video! I think we will book this tour.

It certainly looks a lot more comfortable than the island bus tour.

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Would love to do a tour of the Pitons, but my question is, are there rest room facilities on the boat tour. Does the bus tour stop for rest room breaks?

Would love to do a tour of the Pitons, but my question is, are there rest room facilities on the boat tour. Does the bus tour stop for rest room breaks?

Yes, there are bathrooms on the catamaran.

Would love to do a tour of the Pitons, but my question is, are there rest room facilities on the boat tour. Does the bus tour stop for rest room breaks?

There were at least four stops with restroom facilities on the bus tour. It's a Long tour. We arrived back at the port with about 20 minutes to spare.

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Thanks for the rest room information!

Spencer Ambrose does a tour where you go to Sugar Beach by the pitons by boat. It was great. I get carsick and I've heard tours by road are really difficult.

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Another vote here for Spencer Ambrose. The "beach break" excursion has spectacular views as it takes you to the beach between the two peaks. I have done this 3 times! It is one of my favorite excursions ever!

We did the Land, Sea & Beach Adventure with Spencer Ambrose a few years ago and want to do the Jalousie Beach Break on our upcoming cruise in Feb. '18. I noticed when you click to book online there is a spot to enter a coupon/promotional code. Do you know where we could find one of these by any chance?