James Tours or Spencer Ambrose? Can't Decide - Help!

My wife and I are on the Emerald Princess and will be in St. Lucia on 2/1/12. We've looked at their websites, CC boards, Trip Advisor and can't decide which tour to go on. We are interested in the Land & Sea with Spencer or the Land Tour with James. Has anyone been on both tours as a comparison? It appears from comments that James may be more flexible. I don't think James makes a stop at Jalousie Beach. Is Jalousie a "must do"? Any thoughts are appreciated.

My wife and I are on the Emerald Princess and will be in St. Lucia on 2/1/12. We've looked at their websites, CC boards, Trip Advisor and can't decide which tour to go on. We are interested in the Land & Sea with Spencer or the Land Tour with James. Has anyone been on both tours as a comparison? It appears from comments that James may be more flexible. I don't think James makes a stop at Jalousie Beach. Is Jalousie a "must do"? Any thoughts are appreciated.

First step is to see if they are available or if they are already booked......Next, go on your specific roll call and see if others have booked tours in St. Lucia or if they are interesting in joining your tour. We used James and enjoyed the personal service.....and yes, James is very flexible.

Spencer Ambrose does offer some different itineraries so it really depends on what your group wants to do.

We went with Spencer a couple weeks ago. Jalouise beach is just a small beach but it is really a sight to see. It was amazing scenery sitting between the Pitons. I also liked the water taxi back. This way we were able to see the towns that we had visited in the van, by water. It really was a nice mixture of sight seeing, beach and boat ride back. For us it would have been too much driving without the mixture.

We tours with Spencer Ambrose in July and it was great. Jalousie Beach is a must see, awesome scenery and fantastic snorkelling. The lunch they servedwas authentice Island delights. Thetour was great and I would definatley recommend it

You will love Spencer Ambrose!! We spent the day with him on Thursday and he was as great as every! Great day, great food, great island. spencer Ambrose is the way to go!

I can't agree more about Spencer Amrboise. He's amazing. We hiked the Gros Piton and went to Jalousie Beach with him last Feb and it was a fabulous day!

we went with Spencer Ambrose last time we were in St. Lucia. He did do a great job with our tour.

This year however, we are going with James Touring, from all the reviews we've read - he seems to be equally as good, and he is a Steelers fan, which sold us....jk

I will add that when I gave him our contact information, he called us that very day to confirm and talk about our tour. I call that great customer service from the start.

Use anyone besides Spencer Ambrose! These people are like cattle hurders...they book as many people as they can then try to figure out how they will transport them all around the island. What a mess it was for us to have booked them!

Use anyone besides Spencer Ambrose! These people are like cattle hurders...they book as many people as they can then try to figure out how they will transport them all around the island. What a mess it was for us to have booked them!

We've used James twice and highly recommend him.....very personalized service and very professional....Marty

James is great very personable. We had a party of 8 and we all had a great time. He gets back to you very quickly, whenever you have a question. Enjoy!

Use anyone besides Spencer Ambrose! These people are like cattle hurders...they book as many people as they can then try to figure out how they will transport them all around the island. What a mess it was for us to have booked them!

I agree. I have contacted him and james for a private tour but private tours to them are a 10 person min. I'll grab a taxi at the pier.

We just booked with James today- I read great reviews about him on here and on Trip advisor and he got right back to me via email AND phone. Talk about customer service!

From the 949 - We are on your roll call for that cruise. Have you decided what you are doing on St. Lucia? We are looking for something similar, to see some of the island plus swim/snorkel at Jalousie Beach. Let me know if you need additional people on a tour.

Centralcalicruiser - we booked the Soufriere Land Tour with James Tours. I read great reviews about his tours and that he's more agreeable to personalize the tour. The day I emailed asking about availability, he called me back and talked for about 10 minutes! At first I thought it was a sales call until he explained who he was and why he was calling. He's a very nice guy and sounds like he really wants to please everyone on his tour. Regarding Jalousie Beach, James doesn't go to this beach on his tour. He explained that athough it's a beautiful beach, it gets too crowded with the guests from Jalousie Beach Hotel and all the other tours that are there as well. This was confirmed in several posts I've read on CC and TripAdvisor. He guarateed we'd get close to the Pitons and also go to a beautiful beach that is less busy. Living in SoCal, getting away from crowds at a beautiful beach sounds good to us! Spencer Ambrose's tour goes to Jalousie Beach but I read too many negative comments. If you decide to book, tell him our last name, that we're on the same cruise and we found each other on CC. The price is a great deal at $55/pp from 9am-3pm. When we booked last month, my wife and I were the only two on the tour but it could be different now. Email him and I bet he'll give you a call.

Dan

Dan, that does sound like a great deal and James gets very good reviews. Just not sure I can get the picture out of my head of swimming from that beach in between the Pitons, that is kind of my dream day for St. Lucia.:) When you say he confirmed you would get close to the Pitons, exactly what did he mean, close for viewing, close for swimming? Other than that, I would be very interested in joining in his tour. BTW, what are your plans for the other islands? We are doing Stingray City in Antigua and the short turtle snorkel in Barbados. Nothing yet for St. Kitts or St. Thomas. Don't want to highjack this thread, so you can respond on our roll call if you lilke.:D

Shelley

My fiance and I did Spencer's Land and Sea Adventure last week, and I can't even find the words to recommend him highly enough. Spencer had originally told me that it was a 10-person minimum for that tour, but when he only ended up with four participants he went ahead anyway. We had a fantastic time touring St. Lucia with Spencer and one other couple, and Spencer went out of his way to make sure that my fiance (who was on crutches for our trip) was comfortable and able to participate in everything. The scenery was amazing (especially our trip around the base of the Pitons in a tiny little boat!), and I loved Spencer's periodic stops for local food.

I would absolutely tour with Spencer again and would not hesitate to recommend his tours to anyone.

Seaside122: We are considering to take in-laws (80+ with cane) for Spencer's land and sea. Can you tell us (1) if the bus ride bumpy? (2) if the boat easy to get on/off? (3) if the boat ride bumpy? Thank you!

We were the "other couple" with Seaside 122 on Spencer's tour and we had a fabulous time. He showed us all the points of interest by land and then we were taken to Jalousie Beach. It should not be missed as it lies right between the Pitons. Quite an experience to snorkel right under the peaks. We had a nice local lunch and then returned to the ship by sea, stopping at Marigot Bay briefly and seeing all the sights from a different perspectiive. Even though it was a very rainy day, we enjoyed it thoroughly and would definitely use Spencer Ambrose again.

We booked with James for his Feb. 1 Soufriere Land Tour today. He gets great reviews on CC boards and Trip Advisor. We emailed him from his website this morning and received a return email from him within two hours then a phone call later to answer any questions we might have - talk about customer service. He is very easy to talk with and seems to be a very nice person. We look forward to this tour and to meeting James.

Seaside122: We are considering to take in-laws (80+ with cane) for Spencer's land and sea. Can you tell us (1) if the bus ride bumpy? (2) if the boat easy to get on/off? (3) if the boat ride bumpy? Thank you!

Hello shuyak,

It's hard to say for sure, since the boat Spencer used for us was apparently much smaller than the one he usually uses (since we were such a small group). The boat that our group used was very small and it was a little tricky to get in and out, but my fiance managed OK. It was a fast ride and a little choppy, which I loved, but may not be ideal for your in-laws - however, with a different boat it might be totally different so I would advise checking with Spencer himself if you are interested. As for the van ride, it was not really bumpy, but the roads in St. Lucia are narrow, steep and winding so if anyone is prone to car sickness it might not be a great ride (this would be the same on any tour though).

Hello, magiceye! I hope you're doing well - it is snowing heavily in New England tonight and JP and I are dreaming of St. Lucia. :)

We went with Spencer a couple weeks ago. Jalouise beach is just a small beach but it is really a sight to see. It was amazing scenery sitting between the Pitons. I also liked the water taxi back. This way we were able to see the towns that we had visited in the van, by water. It really was a nice mixture of sight seeing, beach and boat ride back. For us it would have been too much driving without the mixture.

Hi,

We will be in St. Lucia in January for the day. I have been checking both James and Spencer. When you went to Jalouise Beach, did you have to pay an extra fee? Also, were you subject to Beach vendors selling their wares on the beach?

Seaside122: Thank you! Will check. I too am dreaming of St Lucia after shoveling this New England snow and lost power for 18 hrs.

Seaside122: We are considering to take in-laws (80+ with cane) for Spencer's land and sea. Can you tell us (1) if the bus ride bumpy? (2) if the boat easy to get on/off? (3) if the boat ride bumpy? Thank you!

We did this tour with Spencer November 2010. Bus ride will be fine. Our visit last year was a couple of week after the Hurricane and they were repairing roads. They were making great progress in repairing the roads for the damage done (put our efforts to deal with nature's trials to shame!). I would imagine by now they would be back to normal.

Getting into the boat could be a different matter and I would advise doing a bit of research if possible. The Jetty he used in Soufriere was a walk aling the beach. The jetty itself was missing some planking which meant that you'd to walk on the frame in some parts. This may be a concern for you depending if your in=laws have any mobility issues. Would involve balancing on a bit of 4 by 2 (or something similar). If I'd really thought I should have taken a photo to help.There would also be a bit of a step down into the boat to contend with (don't think state of tide would greatly help here)

Perhaps a more recent visitor can confirm whether or not this may still be an issue

just returned from our cruise last night - here's our experience...

(we toured with Spencer Ambrose 2 years ago - wonderful tour!)

decided to go with James this year - hmmmm

he was so personable - calling and answering our emails promptly.

it was only 4 of us in his Steeler van and we were having such a great time conversing. After an hour or so, I asked him when we would be getting to the Pitons - his reply was 'oh, that's on the other side of the island'. while he was so friendly and took us to a couple of places around the island that were different - we did not see the Pitons, the waterfall, the fishing village nor go to Jalouise beach.

He stopped at a store to get us bananas and a package of cashews. While he had previously emailed me that we were going to a Anse Chastanet (black sandy beach) - we did not. He took us to Pigeon Island beach - we didn't seem too impressed, so he took us to Rodney Bay beach nearby. Not a nice beach, several annoying vendors. He told us he would take care of everything but when the chair rental guy came around - he walked away and we ended up paying. We did not get any lunch like we did with Spencer Ambrose - nor the delicious snacks.

Bottom line - while he was a very nice guy - we did not get a good tour. Maybe we should have been more specific with our needs but his website explains the tour and we didn't think we needed to say the obvious sites, plus he had emailed me with some of the specifics which we did not do. We were traveling with first time cruisers and felt they were cheated out of seeing the beautiful island of St. Lucia.

just returned from our cruise last night - here's our experience...

(we toured with Spencer Ambrose 2 years ago - wonderful tour!)

decided to go with James this year - hmmmm

he was so personable - calling and answering our emails promptly.

it was only 4 of us in his Steeler van and we were having such a great time conversing. After an hour or so, I asked him when we would be getting to the Pitons - his reply was 'oh, that's on the other side of the island'. while he was so friendly and took us to a couple of places around the island that were different - we did not see the Pitons, the waterfall, the fishing village nor go to Jalouise beach.

He stopped at a store to get us bananas and a package of cashews. While he had previously emailed me that we were going to a Anse Chastanet (black sandy beach) - we did not. He took us to Pigeon Island beach - we didn't seem too impressed, so he took us to Rodney Bay beach nearby. Not a nice beach, several annoying vendors. He told us he would take care of everything but when the chair rental guy came around - he walked away and we ended up paying. We did not get any lunch like we did with Spencer Ambrose - nor the delicious snacks.

Bottom line - while he was a very nice guy - we did not get a good tour. Maybe we should have been more specific with our needs but his website explains the tour and we didn't think we needed to say the obvious sites, plus he had emailed me with some of the specifics which we did not do. We were traveling with first time cruisers and felt they were cheated out of seeing the beautiful island of St. Lucia.

thank you so much for posting this. i have been very confused on who to tour with on st lucia....spencer ambrose, cosol, or james tours. i have read great reviews from all the tour groups. but if i didn't get to see the pitons, or the waterfall, i would be veryyyy dissapointed :( i think we are going to go with spencer ambrose and the west coast tour (land and sea). i just hope we get back to the port a little early so we can do some shopping before we have to get on the ship :) gotta do some shopping in st lucia! :D