So confused - St. Lucia tours

Ok - my head is spinning - the good news is there seems to be several highly recommended tour operators in St. Lucia. The bad news is I am having trouble picking one. My Dh and I will be in St. Lucia for the first time on April 1. There is only 2 of us - and while we don't mind taking the tours with others, we usually don't like really huge tour groups (the herd mentality). I am trying to compare/contrast the tours. Please provide any assistance you can.

Cosol's - $65 per person - pro's - very knowledgable, good service, etc. Cons: Lots and lots of people on the same tour and you may not get Cosol as your guide. There was one review that said they enjoyed the Cosol tour except for some crabby people in their group who tried to ruin it

Spencer Ambrose: $65 per person - though that is a bit unclear - he quoted me that price for more than 4 people though I told him there are only 2 of us. I have sent him an e-mail asking him to clarify. Pretty much the same tour as Cosol's, but more personal service (smaller group). Seems to be definite that he is your guide.

Herod's - quoted me $190 split between the two of us - so $95 per person:eek: - that is too rich for my blood, especially since the tour seems the same as Cosol's.

Serenity Tours - $65 Per person - but they do not go to Jalousie beach, they go to Anse Cochon beach - I thought Jalousie was supposed to be the best - they claim to have more personal service but I am not sure their tour group would be any smaller than Cosol.

Help! - I would love to settle this as I have 4 other ports that I need to do research on - St. Lucia is taking up all my time!

Thanks in advance!

All offer great tours the catch is the cheaper the price the more people on the tour. I suggest you check your ships roll call and see if you can find another couple or 2 and split your cost and have a private tour for the 4/6 of you. We did splurged and did the Private cruiser exclusive tour with Serenity another couple on the roll call joined and we became great friends. This was not a cheap tour as we did both land and sea just the 4 of us but it was worth every penny. Liked you have posted there are many outstanding tours to choose from.

The only tour I can speak for is Cosol. My wife and I took it in November and had a wonderful time. As to Cosol not being your (or our) driver, I do not see that as a problem. During our trip it seemed to me that all of his drivers were knowledgeable and good drivers. The fact that you don't pay for the trip (and tip) until after the tour, probably helps with this. Cosol is also at every stop and oversees everything like a mother hen. He does not advertise so all of his business comes from prior customer recommendations so it is to his advantage that all guests on all vans are accommodated properly.

This is the difference as far as I can tell:

1) Cosol - lunch is included, 1 hr at beach, water taxi to the beach might not be included in the price?

2) Spencer - no lunch, lots of snacks & drinks. The time saved from lunch is the time spent on the beach. Direct land transportation to the beach.

Since I only want to go to Jalousie, I didn't look at the Serenity tour.

I decided on #2 because I don't much care for elaborate buffets ... I want to spend as much time on the beach as possible.

I booked with Spencer on 4/14.

This is the difference as far as I can tell:

 

1) Cosol - lunch is included, 1 hr at beach, water taxi to the beach might not be included in the price?

 

2) Spencer - no lunch, lots of snacks & drinks. The time saved from lunch is the time spent on the beach. Direct land transportation to the beach.

 

Since I only want to go to Jalousie, I didn't look at the Serenity tour.

 

I decided on #2 because I don't much care for elaborate buffets ... I want to spend as much time on the beach as possible.

 

I booked with Spencer on 4/14.

The water taxi IS included in Cosol's tour.

Ok - my head is spinning - the good news is there seems to be several highly recommended tour operators in St. Lucia. The bad news is I am having trouble picking one. My Dh and I will be in St. Lucia for the first time on April 1. There is only 2 of us - and while we don't mind taking the tours with others, we usually don't like really huge tour groups (the herd mentality). I am trying to compare/contrast the tours. Please provide any assistance you can.

 

Cosol's - $65 per person - pro's - very knowledgable, good service, etc. Cons: Lots and lots of people on the same tour and you may not get Cosol as your guide. There was one review that said they enjoyed the Cosol tour except for some crabby people in their group who tried to ruin it

 

Spencer Ambrose: $65 per person - though that is a bit unclear - he quoted me that price for more than 4 people though I told him there are only 2 of us. I have sent him an e-mail asking him to clarify. Pretty much the same tour as Cosol's, but more personal service (smaller group). Seems to be definite that he is your guide.

 

Herod's - quoted me $190 split between the two of us - so $95 per person:eek: - that is too rich for my blood, especially since the tour seems the same as Cosol's.

 

Serenity Tours - $65 Per person - but they do not go to Jalousie beach, they go to Anse Cochon beach - I thought Jalousie was supposed to be the best - they claim to have more personal service but I am not sure their tour group would be any smaller than Cosol.

 

Help! - I would love to settle this as I have 4 other ports that I need to do research on - St. Lucia is taking up all my time!

 

Thanks in advance!

Well Cosol's tour you're in a van...so you might have 6-8 other people in the van with you. I definitely wouldn't say it felt herd like at all.

So I guess it all boils down to either lunch buffet or the time on beach.

I know either tours are good from all recommendations.

Hmmm, I heard back from Spencer Ambrose who seems very nice - only issue is, right now only my DH and I have signed up for the tour (our cruise is end of March) - if no-one else signs up - Spencer charges $200 for the tour :eek: - again - too rich for me. Although I like the idea of more time at the beach instead of a lunch buffet....

If I book with Cosol - at least the price is guaranteed....

Anyone care to comment on the Serenity Tours beach? How long were you there - can you compare it to Jalousie beach on the other tours>

Again, thanks for all the help - the feedback is excellent. Please keep it coming!

We found people for Herod's by posting on the roll call. Actually, Vicky and Jeff found us, then we were able to round up some more from the roll call.

First let me say that Herod's tour was awesome. We ended up with 12 people total in two vans. Not crowded at all. The only downer was it rained or sprinkled the entire time. We saw all there was to see, sampled local treats, had sodas, beer, rum punch, etc. Herod is extremely knowledgeable and equally as nice.

One of my favorite stops and a complete surprise was at his mother's house where a there was a huge buffet lunch with local delicacies that his mother had prepared (file size is too big to post photos). This also included grapefruit juice made from grapefruit trees in her yard. I'm not really a grapefruit juice sort of person but I was begging for more.

Others from our roll call did Cosol's tour and were less than pleased. They felt like cattle being herded from one place to another. Some have posted on this board in other threads. Please do some more research if still considering Cosol.

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them.

Cheryl

GO GATORS!!!

Hmmm, I heard back from Spencer Ambrose who seems very nice - only issue is, right now only my DH and I have signed up for the tour (our cruise is end of March) - if no-one else signs up - Spencer charges $200 for the tour :eek: - again - too rich for me. Although I like the idea of more time at the beach instead of a lunch buffet....

 

If I book with Cosol - at least the price is guaranteed....

 

Anyone care to comment on the Serenity Tours beach? How long were you there - can you compare it to Jalousie beach on the other tours>

 

Again, thanks for all the help - the feedback is excellent. Please keep it coming!

We booked through Serenity Tours and couldn't be more than happy. We didn't do the island tour but they were able to personalize the zipline tour to suite us. We didn't get to go to Jalousie beach so I can't comment on it. We had alot of telephone conversations before we left with John and Carol at the office in St.Lucia and they were very professional. Everything was arranged for us as we requested.

If you haven't called yet do so and perhaps they might tell you more about the beach. I think I also read somewhere that Jalousie was closing down. I might be wrong so not sure how accessable it might be to get to the beach there.

Thank you to everyone who posted information - it was a tough decision - we decided to book Spencer Ambrose based on reviews here and after posting a note on my roll call board to find out several others had booked with Spencer also. He has been VERY quick to respond and has sent very nice and welcoming e-mails. We are really looking forward to touring with him.

I'll let you know how it went when we get back!

Thanks again!:)

All the best and do have fun......St.lucia is gorgous.;)

Thank you to everyone who posted information - it was a tough decision - we decided to book Spencer Ambrose based on reviews here and after posting a note on my roll call board to find out several others had booked with Spencer also. He has been VERY quick to respond and has sent very nice and welcoming e-mails. We are really looking forward to touring with him.

 

I'll let you know how it went when we get back!

 

Thanks again!:)

Please be sure to post back about how your tour went. I would love to go back to St. Lucia, but would like to find a new tour operator. DH and I (along with about 20 other cruise critic members in our group) had a bad experience on Cosol--- too many people, too crowded, bland driver, not given everything promised on the tour (had to cut out one activity), and were given a hard sell to write good reviews on Cruise Critic. I have heard good things about the Ambrose tour, and we might look into it in the future.

sbharr,

When will you be touring with Spencer? My husband and I just booked a tour with him for Wednesday, March 25th. We are really looking forward to it!

sbharr,

 

When will you be touring with Spencer? My husband and I just booked a tour with him for Wednesday, March 25th. We are really looking forward to it!

Hi JenShanny!

We will be missing you by one week - we will be on Spencer's tour the Wednesday of the following week.

Hope you have a great time!

The only tour I can speak for is Cosol. My wife and I took it in November and had a wonderful time. As to Cosol not being your (or our) driver, I do not see that as a problem. During our trip it seemed to me that all of his drivers were knowledgeable and good drivers. The fact that you don't pay for the trip (and tip) until after the tour, probably helps with this. Cosol is also at every stop and oversees everything like a mother hen. He does not advertise so all of his business comes from prior customer recommendations so it is to his advantage that all guests on all vans are accommodated properly.

I so agree with this poster. We also took the advise of other posters last year before our B to B cruise. Cosol tours is probably the best tour we have ever done. What a wonderful day and packed full of things to do and places to visit. Very professional but alot of fun to boot. The vans (approx.8-10 people) were quite new, clean, A/C worked well. Truly couldn't find any fault with the tour. You will love going to the Piton's. Poster above is right that even though "Cosol" may not be YOUR driver, he is right there at every stop taking care of everyone. Plus he LOVES apples as they are very expensive in St. Lucia. So if you could "sneak" some off the ship and give them to Cosol he would really appreciate it. Go on the tour and enjoy !! You won't be sorry....:)

I agree with Puffer46. We returned home yesterday from our l0 day Constellation cruise. We have cruised 20 times already and NEVER booked with an independent tour company BUT from what I read on these postings about COSOL, we took a chance and I do have to say - IT WAS THE BEST TOUR WE DID THE WHOLE CRUISE> We had a great driver, we had 6 of us in the van, had so much fun that the rest of the cruise we hung out with those people. The water taxi ride to the beach was great. Seeing the Pitons was terrific. We stopped at the Volcano. We also stopped to enjoy foods of the island and share in rum punch toasts. We had a blast. We finally met Cosol at the end of the tour and he was very friendly. I am very happy to recommend his tour. $65 pp well spent.

marlenewendtch@sbcglobal.net

I agree with Puffer46. We returned home yesterday from our l0 day Constellation cruise. We have cruised 20 times already and NEVER booked with an independent tour company BUT from what I read on these postings about COSOL, we took a chance and I do have to say - IT WAS THE BEST TOUR WE DID THE WHOLE CRUISE> We had a great driver, we had 6 of us in the van, had so much fun that the rest of the cruise we hung out with those people. The water taxi ride to the beach was great. Seeing the Pitons was terrific. We stopped at the Volcano. We also stopped to enjoy foods of the island and share in rum punch toasts. We had a blast. We finally met Cosol at the end of the tour and he was very friendly. I am very happy to recommend his tour. $65 pp well spent.

marlenewendtch@sbcglobal.net

My suggestion

Find out how many ships are in port that day. If 4 or more you will feel herded. St Lucia was the most beautiful island on our cruise. It was a shame that we were rushed, pushed a shouted at. We only put up with that through 2 stops. We then told our driver to get Cosol we needed to talk. After a few minutes they packed up a cooler for us in our van and we took off on our own with our driver. The whole tone of the tour changed and we very much enjoyed the rest of the day. We did pay for our on lunch at a beach side restaurant but that was our choice as we wanted to be by ourselves. Now I am not blaming Cosol for this situation. When you get that many people showing up on a small island like St Lucia at the same time this is gonna happen.

this past November.

Meal? Who needs a meal. We stopped at so many little places & had free snacks that we were stuffed. It was really great!!! Tried all kinds of different foods that you wouln't normally have on a tour and everything tasted great.

He used to be a policeman & seemed to know just about everyone we saw.

Spencer was a great guide & provided us with a fantastic tour. As were requested, he arranged things so that we could spend an extra hour snorkelling at the beach. I understand that other tours do not accommodate revisions to their regimented schedule. This is why we chose Spencer.

I can highly recommend his tour & would not hesitate to do it again.

Hope this helps.

Go to this site and see if you have other ships in port with you http://www.cruisett.com/news.php

We have recently returned from a cruise (Galaxy March 2 sailing) that included St Lucia - probably my favorite port of call and largely due to our tour with Cosol ! Just a small group of six of us, with Cosol as our guide made for a fabulous day. Cosol was great, he loves the Island (and seems to know everyone on it personaly) and truly seemed interested in making sure we did too. Honestly can't imagine how our day could have been any better. Was very easy to connect with Cosol, we left right on time and seemed to be ahead of any other groups (we'd be leaving a site as others would pour in).

Jalousie beach was incredibly beautiful and as a photography fan enjoyed the many stops of interest we made along the way. Food was a highlight as well - not a sit down meal, but with tastings throughout the day (fresh Bananas, a sampling of local treats and fabulous fresh, fresh, fresh cheese bread) it was a perfect day. :)

We just got back from a tour with Spencer on 3/18. He is very nice and is eager to please. If there is something you want to see or would like to pass on, he will accomodate you. His wife phoned to ask him to pick up bread on his way home, so he stopped and brought us all coconut bread from the bakery. Our only issue was our private tour with him was not private, we had 4 others join our family. It ended up ok as Spencer made sure we were all happy! My kids loved Spencer, he told my 11 yo son he loved his spirit, they got along great. ENJOY!!!

Can someone please tell me how I can contact Spencer. I can't find a website and the one e-mail address I found wasn't working. Thank you in advance!

We toured with Spencer Ambrose's company last Wednesday - April 1 - we ended up having his brother Neptune (or Small!) as our guide as Spencer's van was already full when we met up with them - we had a blast!!! Spencer made a point of introducing himself and then checking up on us at almost every stop when we saw him.

Neptune was a fantastic tour guide - it was just DH and me, another couple and one solo traveler from our Princess ship with him (Hi Monique, Kay and Rick!) Neptune was very informative, friendly, funny and was intent that we all have a good time. We made all the stops others have described and got fed everywhere we went and there were drinks available all day in the van - both alcoholic and not. It was a great day - we laughed alot! I was going to shake Neptune's hand at the end but he just smiled at me so I gave him a big hug. It was like touring with a really good friend.

Book with Spencer - you will love it!

One small word of warning - I agree with others about the roads in St. Lucia - they are VERY hilly and windy and if you get motion sickness, take some bonine before you go. Everyone on our van was fine but I could see why some people would be bothered if they get car-sick easily.