Sunny Liston vs Godfrey tours in St Thomas or other tours??

[curlyguy]

We were in St.Thomas on Wednesday November 11 2009 and toured with Sunny Liston. We had a blast , singing and laughing and seeing the sites of the island. Sunny stop for shopping for 1 1/2 hrs. stopped for the banana rum daiquiri's and views of Megans Beach. Then went to view Drakes Seat, Bluebeards Castle, and other island sites including Sapphire Beach, 2 hrs. ,then back to the ship. You won't go wrong booking with Sunny Liston Tours. :cool::cool:

 

 

Ron

[CRUZN CHICK]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Just curious, during the Sunny Liston tour, do the passengers sing along with him or just Sunny is singing? Does he sing just from time to time but have the music blasting all though the duration of the tour? For the folks who went on the two hours shopping tour, since we are not into major shopping but just wouldn't mind window shopping, do you think one hour is too short? I would hate to pick one hour and run out of time to look around and feel I wish I had more time afterward. Are they places to sit down for people watching if we just want to relax a bit if we are done shopping and still too early for the sightseeing part? I am curious about the upbeat tour of Sunny but just don't want to end up being in a really rowdy tour, I presume it's not one of those "booze tours" when everyone is happy and sometimes too happy????

We were on Sonny Liston's tour in 2007 and had a ball!! He teaches you the "days of the week" song and believe me, you will know it by the time you return to port!! He's great fun - never a dull moment. I am absolutely positive we had more fun than anyone else on tours that day and we really made a spectacle of ourselves coming back into town!! I would highly recommend him!

[castlecruisers]

We just returned yesterday from our first trip to St. Thomas. I feverishly researched independent tours online before leaving on the trip as I know the savings are nearly 1/2 of what the ships charge for the same tours. We considered Godfrey as well as Sunny Liston and ultimately chose SL after reading a review of another couple who had traveled with their 14 y.o. son and said the tour was very entertaining for all of them (we traveled with our 13 y.o. son). We also opted for SL because he was the most flexible. My wife did not want to shop in downtown for 2-3 hours like most tours do. Sunny offered flexibility of 1, 2 or 3 hours of shopping. We opted for 1 hour which was plenty of time to get what we wanted. There are approx. 25 pages of reviews on SL's website (sunnylistontours.com) and I could not find one negative review. I also liked the fact that he accepted Paypal vs. a credit card #. Sunny operates his business with two VERY NICE vehicles. His wife operates the other one. I did notice some Godfrey vehicles while on our tour and I have to say that Sunny's were the nicest on the road. We exited the ship at 10:30 and once on shore asked a security guard where we could find sunny liston tours. He was quick to point out that Sunny is a "household name" on St. Thomas and that we were now considered a "local". It was about that time that Sunny pulled up and greeted us with a smile and each of us by our first names. We climbed aboard and headed for Main St. He dropped us in front of the post office and told us to meet him back in 1 1/2 hours, so we (my wife) actually got a little extra time to shop. Highly recommend Del Sol. Everything they sell changes colors out in the sun. Wife also recommends Mr. Tablecloth. Yeah, I know, who goes to the Caribbean to buy a new tablecloth. We apparently did. It was beautiful, however, and we (I) only paid $78. We met back at the post office (VERY IMPT: DO NOT pay $3/each for bottled water before leaving the ship! There are street vendors right in front of the post office selling bottled water and sodas for $1/each, Dasani for $1.50/each.) and Sunny was there to pick us up. Now this is where you may or may not opt to go with Sunny Liston Tours. Yes, he plays loud Caribbean style music and sings over a loud speaker, everyone on the tour participates. He even pumps the brakes to the beat of the music as the truck rolls backward or forward on a hill. He laughs alot and makes it VERY entertaining. Alot of the other tour buses where looking at us with intrigue as we were having the most fun! That said, however, Sunny drives very fast down the roads and around corners. It's sort of like being on a roller coaster at times, so if you are not into an "amusement park" style experience, this tour is NOT FOR YOU. My wife commented also that she wished that he had stopped at a few more lookouts that we passed for picture opportunities. I'm sure if you mentioned it ahead of time, he would be happy to accomodate. We went all the way to the top of the highest peak in St. Thomas, stopping on the way to see the Atlantic Ocean and then the Caribbean Sea. We ended at a lookout at a Nature Preserve where we had a VERY GOOD Banana Daquiri. The view of Megan's Bay and the other islands was BREATHTAKING. Afterwards, Sunny gave us the choice of 3 beaches: Megan's Bay, Coki Beach or Sapphire Beach. We chose Sapphire Beach by a majority. Upon arriving at Sapphire Bch, Sunny gave us the option of taking pictures and getting our feet wet for approx. 15-20 minutes or staying at the beach for 2 hours. Some chose to stay and some chose to return to the ship. This is where Sunny won my overwhelming endorsement. On the way up the mountain, my wife's newly purchased ladies visor from Del Sol flew off her head and into the roadway. I couldn't get Sunny's attention because of the music and it really put a sour note on what had been a perfect day to that point. When we arrived at Sapphire Bch, I told Sunny about it and he offered to drop us back on Main St. for a quick minute so I could purchase my wife another hat. He helped us look for the visor on the route back, but to no avail, I had to cough up for a new one. (I explained what had happened to the Del Sol manager and she gave me the visor for 1/2 price.) Sunny waited for me and then drove us back to the ship pier. If we ever go back to St. Thomas, we will DEFINITELY use Sunny Liston for a tour of the island. The cost was nominal at $25/each for everything he offered. (My brother traveled to St. Thomas last Fall and paid $50 for his family just to hail a cab to Megan's Bay and back.) We give SL tours two enthusiastic thumbs up!! Best of luck with your decision and your trip!

 

 

 

Heard good reviews about Sunny Liston but not sure if we are ready for a "wild singing tour" for hours at St Thomas. Also heard about Godfrey tours. Could you please share your experience with these tours or any other tours you have done not from the ship? We would like minimum shopping, like to do sightseeing and have some beach time. What would you recommend? Not into zip line or jungle hikes though. Any info are welcome! We will be traveling with our by then 16 year old daughter in march

[black forest]

Not to be the only negative post here, but make sure you have Godfrey's phone number with you. He stood us up and also another couple. They had his number and my husband had a phone, so we called. He forgot, no apology, no I will be right there. The "head" of the taxi drivers got a cab and asked him to give us a tour. He did a nice job and took us to the beach. We didn't get to shop because we waited for over an hour for Godfrey to show up. Didn't let it ruin our day. We confirmed a few days before our cruise, so don't know what happened!

 

Hi, we made the same experience. We were glad about the other couple having a cell with them. They phoned Godfrey and he sent another transportation. I turned out to belong to Sunny Liston tours. So we were picked up and brought to Sunny Liston. Because we waited for more than 30 minutes, we could do any shopping. It was last February. In the end we had a nice day with Sunny and can recommend his tour. Thanks to 'our couple from Florida'. Was nice meeting you!

[dz63]

We did the Island Tour with Airforce 1 Papa Bear in July and he was fantastic. Although he did play music, it was not loud and he does not make you sing along--if that worries you. Before we booked with Papa Bear, we also looked into Sunny Liston's tour. We ended up choosing Papa Bear because his tour began at 9:30, whereas Sunny's tour began at 11:30. We opted to have the earlier departure time, so that we would not feel rushed and be worried about getting back to the ship on time. For those that want time to go shopping there is an opportunity to do so at the end of the tour. If you do not want to shop, Papa Bear will take you back to the ship. Papa Bear also gave us a choice as to which beach we would like to go too. Payment was not required until the end of the tour.

 

I have written a detailed review that includes lots of photos of our tour with Papa Bear. If it interests you, you can read it by clicking on this link below and scrolling down to Post #7.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1020550

 

Good luck on making your decision!

[NancyJewel92]

castlecruisers - Thanks for your detailed review -- especially for including the info about the speed of Sonny's driving and the pumping of the brakes. From your words, I could picture my mother getting motion sickness. My family is not a fan of amusement park rides, so this info was helpful. :D

[lotro]

We have used Godfrey three times and would use him again. We did have an issue connecting the first time, but all the taxi drivers know Godfrey and one called him and he came right around. Guess he was there earlier, but we weren't standing in the right place.

 

Our experience has been that he describes the beach stops and gives each passenger their choice of where they want to be dropped off. He then picks everyone up at the appointed hour and returns them to the ship. We were given his advice about which beach was experiencing better snorkeling that day, etc., but we still had the ultimate choice where we wanted to go.

 

He is very informative and gives plenty of time for photos...which I take full advantage of! He makes sure everyone is satisfied on his trip because he is well aware of the value of repeat customers and knows we all talk:D

[fayerussell]

We have booked with Godfrey tours for the first time and will be going next week on carnival freedom. I'm worried about pickup. Where is exactly the 'right place' that we are supposed to be standing so that we don't miss him??

[montREALady]

We did the Sunny Liston tour and it was the absolute BEST tour!! Sunny is probably the happiest person that I have ever met. We had our 15 year old daughter and 17 year old son with us and they couldn't get the smiles off of their faces. Sunny sings for sure, but it's so much fun that everyone that we passed waved and smiled at us!! I saw an item that I wanted to buy in the gift shop on the mountaintop and regretfully didn't. I've been thinking about it ever since, so I emailed Sunny and asked him to give me the name and phone number of the place. He got me the item and is mailing it to me!!! I'm astounded!! What a great person to do that for a virtual stranger. I highly recomend him and his tour...!! We did 2 hours of shopping (mostly looking), 2 hours of Sapphire Beach (I would do Maegan's Bay if I had to do it over..we have done it before and it's prettier I think) and the 1-1 1/2 tour which shouldn't be missed!! Enjoy yourselves!!!:D

 

Wow, that was so nice of him!!

[Sgt. Jeff]

Gonna tour with Henry from EEE Tours for the 4th time in September!! He is a retired police officer and very active in his church! Everybody in St. Thomas knows him and made us feel part of the family. His website is www.eeetours.com We can't wait to get back to St. Thomas!!!!

[homeinboca]

Since we are first timers to the Island, we are looking into a tour company as well. It seems most go shopping in the morning and then off to the beach. Are there any that go beach first, then shopping in the afternoon? It always seems like the weather is much finer early in the day.

 

Thanks,

[dz63]

Since we are first timers to the Island, we are looking into a tour company as well. It seems most go shopping in the morning and then off to the beach. Are there any that go beach first, then shopping in the afternoon? It always seems like the weather is much finer early in the day.

 

Thanks,

 

We toured with Papa Bear from Airforce 1 Fun Tours. We went sightseeing first and then to the Beach. We got to the beach around noon. After beach time, (which was around 2:30 pm for us), those that wanted to go shopping, were dropped off at Charlotte Amalie or if you prefer, he will take you back to the cruise ship pier where you can go shopping at the Havensight Mall.

[jazznj2]

Just back from St Thomas where we did the Sunny Liston tour. It was GREAT!!! Sunny was a joy and we definitely had the most rocking tour bus on the island! I cannot tell you how many folks on other buses stopped taking pictures of the gorgeous scenery and took a photo of our bus when we went by! We had a great time and would definitely recommend Sunny's tour to anyone interested in getting a nice tour of St Thomas and have a fun island time to boot. We found the time for all activities was just right, not too much, not too little! Definitely recommend a Bushwacker from one of the bars in the shopping area, wish I knew the name of where we got ours as it was KILLER! It was down a little alleyway of shops. And the place Sunny takes you for the daiquiris is great, you get to add as much rum as you like, you just pay for the daiquiri mix! :-)

[montREALady]

Just back from St Thomas where we did the Sunny Liston tour. It was GREAT!!! Sunny was a joy and we definitely had the most rocking tour bus on the island! I cannot tell you how many folks on other buses stopped taking pictures of the gorgeous scenery and took a photo of our bus when we went by! We had a great time and would definitely recommend Sunny's tour to anyone interested in getting a nice tour of St Thomas and have a fun island time to boot. We found the time for all activities was just right, not too much, not too little! Definitely recommend a Bushwacker from one of the bars in the shopping area, wish I knew the name of where we got ours as it was KILLER! It was down a little alleyway of shops. And the place Sunny takes you for the daiquiris is great, you get to add as much rum as you like, you just pay for the daiquiri mix! :-)

 

Nice!! I just booked him! Question, does he go by majority for the beach? My mother and I want to go to Magen's no matter what. Another question, the boat docks at 9am, so I booked the tour for 10am to give us some time to debark. Sunny replied with my confirmation saying the ship is an hour behind local time, so he will be there 10am local time, which is 9am ship time, now we have no time to debark! What time did you dock and what time tour did you take?

[GinDon]

We had our hearts set on Coki Beach for our tour with Sunny. I e-mailed him and asked if we could be sure to go there, even if the others didn't want to. His e-mail reply to me was "majority don't rule on MY tour!" The day we took the tour, he went to 3 different beaches, to please us all. He's great!

[montREALady]

We had our hearts set on Coki Beach for our tour with Sunny. I e-mailed him and asked if we could be sure to go there, even if the others didn't want to. His e-mail reply to me was "majority don't rule on MY tour!" The day we took the tour, he went to 3 different beaches, to please us all. He's great!

 

Oh good!! Thanks for the reply. I just emailed him before I saw this and let him know that we want to go to Magen's.

[2PinaColadas]

Which of Sunny's beach choices is best? We have never been to any of them. All we need is pretty water and a place to grab a drink.

[montREALady]

Which of Sunny's beach choices is best? We have never been to any of them. All we need is pretty water and a place to grab a drink.

 

Me neither, but sounds like Magen's to me :D If you're into water activities, not Magen's :p

[GinDon]

For snorkeling and fish feeding, Coki is hard to beat. But for sheer beauty, Megan's Beach (no good snorkeling here, though). We went to Sapphire in 2006 and liked it, but it's getting bad reviews lately, so I couldn't recommend that one.

[rosenc1c]

Most of the tours involve shopping downtown. I was last in St Thomas 14 years ago, so my memory is fuzzy, but isn't downtown a short walk from the cruise dock? I'm wondering why we need a tour bus to take us shopping if we can just walk a couple of blocks? maybe my memory is bad.

 

We expect to have a group of about 26 to 40 people, and I'm trying to pick the best company for a private tour. Based upon the websites, is Air Force One a bigger company that can better accomodate a large group with a couple of shuttles?

[gam888]

Thank you everyone for continuing to reply my post. We did end up booking with Godfrey and enjoyed his tour. He was very professional.

[montREALady]

Ha, here I am a year later, let's be honest, I was pretty sad to get back from this cruise and couldn't bear to come back in here. BUT, I just booked another so I'm back! The Victory this time.

 

Anyway, we booked Sunny Liston and he was great, hilarious and his van is full of singing and music pumping. If you're not into that, I guess don't bother, lol. We did Magen's Bay for the beach and we didn't quite enjoy it, I felt like we were all jammed on there because of the distance between the sand and water. Sunny dropped off some other people at another beach, which I can't remember the name of right now and when we went to pick them up on the way back to the ship, I went in to take a peek (it was part of a hotel or something) and I loved how it looked. Soooo, this year The Victory Southern Cruise is stopping off in St. Thomas and we're going to try that other beach this time. Looooved St. Thomas, the shopping and we even did the Sky Ride on the way back to the ship. I can live there easily.

[EJPhilly]

Ha, here I am a year later, let's be honest, I was pretty sad to get back from this cruise and couldn't bear to come back in here. BUT, I just booked another so I'm back! The Victory this time.

 

Anyway, we booked Sunny Liston and he was great, hilarious and his van is full of singing and music pumping. If you're not into that, I guess don't bother, lol. We did Magen's Bay for the beach and we didn't quite enjoy it, I felt like we were all jammed on there because of the distance between the sand and water. Sunny dropped off some other people at another beach, which I can't remember the name of right now and when we went to pick them up on the way back to the ship, I went in to take a peek (it was part of a hotel or something) and I loved how it looked. Soooo, this year The Victory Southern Cruise is stopping off in St. Thomas and we're going to try that other beach this time. Looooved St. Thomas, the shopping and we even did the Sky Ride on the way back to the ship. I can live there easily.

montREALady:

 

I have a question for you.. I have booked Sunny for tour in May. Did he stop at the Sky Ride for you guys, or did you do this on your own? I want to do this in the worst way, but we are on Oasis and she's docked in Crown Bay and Pt. Pleasant is in Havensight.

Thanks

[montREALady]

montREALady:

 

I have a question for you.. I have booked Sunny for tour in May. Did he stop at the Sky Ride for you guys, or did you do this on your own? I want to do this in the worst way, but we are on Oasis and she's docked in Crown Bay and Pt. Pleasant is in Havensight.

Thanks

 

He dropped us back to the port, we ran inside to drop off our stuff (we had a day of shopping, towels, etc), then walked over to the Sky Ride ourselves. Well we walked quickly because we were reeaaallly pushing it with the time, lol. He's so sweet, he would drop you off on the way back though if that's what you want. I'm almost 100% sure. Make sure you insist to get him for the tour though, he has another driver, and we almost ended up with him (which I'm sure would have been fine), but we heard how much fun Sunny is, so we wanted him. But seriously, he's loud, the music is loud, everyone is singing, it's great, but some ppl who booked him right there on the port, they looked like they didn't really like that too much since they didn't know what they were in for. Oh, and the name of the other beach was Sapphire Beach Resort, http://www.stthomasvacation.com/. We're most likely going to try that one this time. Or do both since we don't need to do a tour this time.

[EJPhilly]

He dropped us back to the port, we ran inside to drop off our stuff (we had a day of shopping, towels, etc), then walked over to the Sky Ride ourselves. Well we walked quickly because we were reeaaallly pushing it with the time, lol. He's so sweet, he would drop you off on the way back though if that's what you want. I'm almost 100% sure. Make sure you insist to get him for the tour though, he has another driver, and we almost ended up with him (which I'm sure would have been fine), but we heard how much fun Sunny is, so we wanted him. But seriously, he's loud, the music is loud, everyone is singing, it's great, but some ppl who booked him right there on the port, they looked like they didn't really like that too much since they didn't know what they were in for. Oh, and the name of the other beach was Sapphire Beach Resort, http://www.stthomasvacation.com/. We're most likely going to try that one this time. Or do both since we don't need to do a tour this time.

How did you "request" him? I have "friended" him on Facebook, so maybe I will give him a lil reminder that Monday before we leave to make sure we have him? I think our ship is on the opposite side of Pt. Pleasant! :(