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St. Kitts- not up to expectations


Patsy Rosie

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:(

We were on the Celebrity Mercury out of Baltimore on January 3.

One of the stops was St. Kitt's. I was looking forward to it- since we had not been to that particular island before. What a disappointment. The excursion cost us 45.00 per person. Other cruisers took a cab which only cost them 13.00.

The beach was not nice. It was loaded with women who wanted to massage our feet- for a price- and who got more and more aggressive as the day went on. There was also a man with a young monkey trying to get people to pay him to take a photo with the monkey. I heard from other cruisers that the monkey nipped 2 or 3 people.

When I complained to the excursion desk the best the manager could do was to refund us 20%.

My advice- stay on the ship in St. Kitts- it does not feel safe - the beach was nothing- and the natives were frightening.

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Patsy, I would like to know which beach you went to, I hate being harrassed when we are looking for a relaxing day. Thanks

Holy crap! I have been to St Kitts more times than I can count and love it there! I have never felt in danger there at all. Sorry to hear you had such a bad time!

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:(

We were on the Celebrity Mercury out of Baltimore on January 3.

One of the stops was St. Kitt's. I was looking forward to it- since we had not been to that particular island before. What a disappointment. The excursion cost us 45.00 per person. Other cruisers took a cab which only cost them 13.00.

The beach was not nice. It was loaded with women who wanted to massage our feet- for a price- and who got more and more aggressive as the day went on. There was also a man with a young monkey trying to get people to pay him to take a photo with the monkey. I heard from other cruisers that the monkey nipped 2 or 3 people.

When I complained to the excursion desk the best the manager could do was to refund us 20%.

My advice- stay on the ship in St. Kitts- it does not feel safe - the beach was nothing- and the natives were frightening.

 

1. Did you do any research on the island? It has a World Heritage site - Brimstone Hill fortress. Beautiful tropical vegetation in the hills. Gorgeous views. The beaches are not the best in the Caribbean but most are perfectly decent, pleasant places.

2. As for the natives being "frightening" - simply NOT true. I have stopped their a couple of times on cruises AND spent a week long "land' vacation there. I found everyone I met was quite pleasant. How did they "frighten" you? How did the island feel "unsafe"?

3. Why should you be refunded for an excursion just because you didn't like it? It was YOUR decision to book an over-priced ship's excursion on an island that has many GOOD, reasonably priced tour operators.

4. Anyone staying on the ship will miss a chance to see a really lovely Caribbean island.

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Well since I have never been there and would like to get off the ship what else is there to do???

 

Plenty:

1. Brimstone Hill - World Heritage Site - lovely restored fortress, perched high on a hill. The views are amazing.

2. Caribelle Batik and Romney Manor - beautiful gardens and natural forest and a ruined plantation

3. The view from Timothy Hill (both directions) - one of the most outstanding photo ops in the Caribbean

 

There are several quite good tour guides discussed on this board who can give you a tour with these and more sites.

 

Or of course you could do like OP and take an over-priced ship excursion to a beach over-crowded with fellow cruisers and convince yourself that the fact that you had a miserable time was somehow "St Kitt's fault".

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  • 1 month later...
Plenty:

1. Brimstone Hill - World Heritage Site - lovely restored fortress, perched high on a hill. The views are amazing.

2. Caribelle Batik and Romney Manor - beautiful gardens and natural forest and a ruined plantation

3. The view from Timothy Hill (both directions) - one of the most outstanding photo ops in the Caribbean

 

There are several quite good tour guides discussed on this board who can give you a tour with these and more sites.

 

Or of course you could do like OP and take an over-priced ship excursion to a beach over-crowded with fellow cruisers and convince yourself that the fact that you had a miserable time was somehow "St Kitt's fault".

 

 

There are better beaches than St. Kitts BUT why would anyone want to go hang out at the beach there or a swimming pool??? It is one of the most beautiful islands anywhere and it deserves a day of sight seeing. I guess because I am older I don't understand why everyone wants to go to the beach at every island. The USA has beautiful beaches all along the Gulf Coast. The things listed in the post about are not to be missed.

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next time take a cab to the Marriott- you won't be disappointed!

 

Times 2. We did this last year and opted for the day room there. This gave you a room to use for the day as well as the pool and beach and discount for food at the swim up pool bar. Must say this was a relaxing day for us and my son loved the waves at the beach. If I can remember it only cost around 65 bucks for the "day room".

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We had problems with overly-agressive vendors here in December (police actually came but they came out after the police left) and felt that our belongings were not safe. We had to go into the water in shifts. I expressed my concern about safety to the exercusion desk and Celebrity customer relations. They just blew off my comments, saying they don't know where the tour operators take passengers (duh!). Didn't even address the safety issue.

 

 

 

:(

We were on the Celebrity Mercury out of Baltimore on January 3.

One of the stops was St. Kitt's. I was looking forward to it- since we had not been to that particular island before. What a disappointment. The excursion cost us 45.00 per person. Other cruisers took a cab which only cost them 13.00.

The beach was not nice. It was loaded with women who wanted to massage our feet- for a price- and who got more and more aggressive as the day went on. There was also a man with a young monkey trying to get people to pay him to take a photo with the monkey. I heard from other cruisers that the monkey nipped 2 or 3 people.

When I complained to the excursion desk the best the manager could do was to refund us 20%.

My advice- stay on the ship in St. Kitts- it does not feel safe - the beach was nothing- and the natives were frightening.

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We had problems with overly-agressive vendors here in December (police actually came but they came out after the police left) and felt that our belongings were not safe. We had to go into the water in shifts. I expressed my concern about safety to the exercusion desk and Celebrity customer relations. They just blew off my comments, saying they don't know where the tour operators take passengers (duh!). Didn't even address the safety issue.

 

What safety issues?

I don't leave my valuable belongings unattended at ANY beach and that includes ones in the U.S.

As for vendors - just say NO firmly. Vendors are annoying - they are not a safety issue.

Oh and if you want to attract vendors - go in large herds like cruiseship excursions. We were NEVER bothered by vendors when we just went to beaches on our own in St Kitt's.

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Plenty:

1. Brimstone Hill - World Heritage Site - lovely restored fortress, perched high on a hill. The views are amazing.

2. Caribelle Batik and Romney Manor - beautiful gardens and natural forest and a ruined plantation

3. The view from Timothy Hill (both directions) - one of the most outstanding photo ops in the Caribbean

 

There are several quite good tour guides discussed on this board who can give you a tour with these and more sites.

 

Or of course you could do like OP and take an over-priced ship excursion to a beach over-crowded with fellow cruisers and convince yourself that the fact that you had a miserable time was somehow "St Kitt's fault".

Thanks for the tips. I have been considering staying on board when we hit St. Kitts, because I have been there before, and simply I will have had an island stop almost all week and last time I was so tired, needing a vacation after the vacation. But, the three places you mention sound interesting, so I am rethinking again.

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We found St. Kitts to be an interesting place. Some of the most breathtaking views of the Caribbean from the mountainsides and lots of historical gems like the batik factory and the fortress.

 

On the other hand, I wouldn't go here looking for beaches. That's why the good Lord made St. Maarten!

 

Do some research, get off the beaten path and seek out the beauty of St. Kitts. Outside of St. John, it was one of the most pristine islands I've ever visited in 20 years of touring the Caribbean.

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Thank you Zeno and Staplerman, I am looking forward to visiting St. Kitts for the first time in September.

 

I will definitely get off the ship and will not be going to the Marriott (but I love Marriotts!) I'm going to do some research on tour guides...any suggestions?

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Thank you Zeno and Staplerman, I am looking forward to visiting St. Kitts for the first time in September.

 

I will definitely get off the ship and will not be going to the Marriott (but I love Marriotts!) I'm going to do some research on tour guides...any suggestions?

 

On our last stop in St Kitt's (jan 2010) we toured with Royston and were exceptionally pleased. He is VERY flexible and will do what you want to do.

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Thank you Zeno and Staplerman, I am looking forward to visiting St. Kitts for the first time in September.

 

I will definitely get off the ship and will not be going to the Marriott (but I love Marriotts!) I'm going to do some research on tour guides...any suggestions?

 

 

We toured with Rose and Jim's Taxi Service this January and had a fantastic experience. Rose was our driver and was very accommodating. We were initially indecisive about getting off the ship in St. Kitts, but so glad we did as it ended up being our favorite stop. Lots to see!

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:(

We were on the Celebrity Mercury out of Baltimore on January 3.

One of the stops was St. Kitt's. I was looking forward to it- since we had not been to that particular island before. What a disappointment. The excursion cost us 45.00 per person. Other cruisers took a cab which only cost them 13.00.

The beach was not nice. It was loaded with women who wanted to massage our feet- for a price- and who got more and more aggressive as the day went on. There was also a man with a young monkey trying to get people to pay him to take a photo with the monkey. I heard from other cruisers that the monkey nipped 2 or 3 people.

When I complained to the excursion desk the best the manager could do was to refund us 20%.

My advice- stay on the ship in St. Kitts- it does not feel safe - the beach was nothing- and the natives were frightening.

 

That is 20% more than I would expect. If the tour did what it said, you shouldn't get money back because you didn't enjoy it. Some excursions are better than others, some like excursions that others don't. You agreed upon a price when you purchased the ticket. It is unfortunate you didn't do your research.

I loved St. Kitts.

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We had a wonderful tour in St. Kitts with Rosevelt Taylor. He was so nice and informative and took great care of us. He made sure we saw the beautiful island from its best view. I highly recommend his tour.

http://stkittsislandparadisetours.com/index.cfm

 

 

We will be in St. Kitts in 4 weeks. Can you tell me what you paid for you tour and what the tour entailed.

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I'm currenly booked on a three hour ATV tour with Pereira? The minute I heard the words "beautiful countryside" I thought 4 wheeler. ;)

 

Thank you Zeno and Staplerman, I am looking forward to visiting St. Kitts for the first time in September.

 

I will definitely get off the ship and will not be going to the Marriott (but I love Marriotts!) I'm going to do some research on tour guides...any suggestions?

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  • 1 month later...
:(

We were on the Celebrity Mercury out of Baltimore on January 3.

One of the stops was St. Kitt's. I was looking forward to it- since we had not been to that particular island before. What a disappointment. The excursion cost us 45.00 per person. Other cruisers took a cab which only cost them 13.00.

The beach was not nice. It was loaded with women who wanted to massage our feet- for a price- and who got more and more aggressive as the day went on. There was also a man with a young monkey trying to get people to pay him to take a photo with the monkey. I heard from other cruisers that the monkey nipped 2 or 3 people.

When I complained to the excursion desk the best the manager could do was to refund us 20%.

My advice- stay on the ship in St. Kitts- it does not feel safe - the beach was nothing- and the natives were frightening.

 

 

Well- duh! Of course the locals looking to make a buck off the tourists are going to go to where the ship excursion is. The tour desk has no control over the vendors that show up at the beach.

 

There is so much to do on this island that if you don't do research about it and end up having a crappy time, you have no one to blame but yourself. This is one of my favorite stops to just get out for a nice drive and shop at the batik factory. The people are great, the scenery is some of the best in the Caribbean and the history of the island is one of the most intriguing.

 

I find it interesting that the OP did not answer our questions about what beach it is, but felt that the whole island was a raging crime scene -geez.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I cannot even imagine going on a cruise through the Caribbean islands and staying on the ship! Really!!! I am so looking forward to St. Kitts. Thanks, other posters for the encouraging words about its beauty. All I can say is, do your homework, research these amazing boards and don't go with an attitude of how you are going to dislike everything you see. We booked with Thenford Grey, based on the great review he (and other tour guides) have received. these people make their living from us tourists and will do their best to show us a good time, I believe. Oh, and yes, we booked directly with him, as a small group.

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We are returning to St. Kitts for the second year in a row aboard the Victory. We went with Roosevelt Taylor last year and have booked with him again. He is excellent and will show you all the beauty that is St. Kitts. This year he is including a beach stop. We saw some of the most breathtaking scenery there and it is hard to imagine staying on the boat on any of these stops.

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