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

[shuyak]

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

 

Thank you, ucanttaketheboy.

After further research, we decide to go with Carnival's Land and Sea which uses (our preferred) catamaran. Serenity uses either power boat or catamaran, Spencer, Herod's and others using power boat/water taxi, which is less desirable.

[martyap]

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

 

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

 

That seems very unlike James. We have used him twice and have recommended him to several friends and everyone has been very happy and always received a complete tour. Last trip we did everything....Pitons, beach, Botanical Gardens, fishing village, banana plantation, snacks, drinks....EVERYTHING!!!! Possibly there was a miscommunication on his part in what he "thought" you wanted for your tour. Please email James and explain your dissatisfaction......I have a feeling he will do his very best to put things right. Keep us informed of what James says......Sorry it did not work out for you this trip. James prides himself in his reputation and providing the best service he can and I know he wants to hear your feelings first hand in addition to seeing them on a Cruise Critic post......Karen & Marty

[LookingForward2]

That seems very unlike James. We have used him twice and have recommended him to several friends and everyone has been very happy and always received a complete tour. Last trip we did everything....Pitons, beach, Botanical Gardens, fishing village, banana plantation, snacks, drinks....EVERYTHING!!!! Possibly there was a miscommunication on his part in what he "thought" you wanted for your tour. Please email James and explain your dissatisfaction......I have a feeling he will do his very best to put things right. Keep us informed of what James says......Sorry it did not work out for you this trip. James prides himself in his reputation and providing the best service he can and I know he wants to hear your feelings first hand in addition to seeing them on a Cruise Critic post......Karen & Marty

 

You are right! - James did call us last night after apparently reading my post. He apologized several times and explained that he got our tour mixed up with another customer's email. We have been in touch with him a couple of times in the past 24 hours and feel certain he will make it up to us as he stated.

Like I said previously, he was a super nice guy and we enjoyed our time with him until we realized we weren't headed where we planned. If he does as he says, I would highly highly recommend him.

[martyap]

You are right! - James did call us last night after apparently reading my post. He apologized several times and explained that he got our tour mixed up with another customer's email. We have been in touch with him a couple of times in the past 24 hours and feel certain he will make it up to us as he stated.

Like I said previously, he was a super nice guy and we enjoyed our time with him until we realized we weren't headed where we planned. If he does as he says, I would highly highly recommend him.

 

I know James will do the right thing. He recently got a special NY phone number just so he could keep in touch with his clients. He really epitomizes great customer service. I hope he resolves your problem to your complete satisfaction.

Thanks for keeping us informed.......Marty

[LookingForward2]

yes, James was a stand up guy! He apologized and made it right with us for taking us on the wrong tour.

 

How many people you don't even know would go through that effort.

 

Considering this outcome - I would highly recommend using James for your next tour in St. Lucia. I am sure he will bring the correct information with him as to which tour you've selected.

 

We felt like we had made a friend and invited him to contact us next time he was in Pittsburgh, hopefully he will.

[kenzie]

We were on Emerald Princess last week and had James for private tour for 6 people, we asked that he take us zip lining and a beach plus some shopping markets. We arrived for tour at around 9.05am, and were told by a young girl, James was seeing to other party and would be back, he returned 5 minutes later and indicated we were late (5 minutes! we were in a line to get off ship). He then told us to wait for a further 10 minutes whilst he looked after other driver, then walked us for 10 minutes through town to his mini bus, which is not very modern. The seats at back were full of ice boxes and we had to squeeze in- he told us he was meeting other driver to give him drinks, we then drove 10 minutes to a petrol station, it was approx 9.40 then and he told us he needed to buy ice and then we had to wait for other driver to arrive at 10am - so he could collect drinks.

So for almost an hour we wasted waiting for James to organise his other drivers. He then took us to zipline, after this we told him we did not want to go to the beach and he could give us a tour, he did not appear very happy with this, it appeared that we would be using more fuel doing this (despite us paying him $390 for the day), he therefore now stopped for fuel. James was not very informative, spending lots of time on cell phone discussing other peoples tours. At one point he told us we had it was easy in the UK as we could do business all year long and he only had a season.

Then just before the shopping he met the other party, keeping us waiting again whilst they complained about there day, apparently their driver told him "he did not like rich people". The shopping offered was the cruise port and that was the end of the tour. I have had much better private tours on other islands and would suggest you do not tour with James, he now has 4 minibuses and spends too much time organising others for a personal service.

[kenzie]

Just to let people know, James just rang me in the UK to say he was sorry for how our tour went and offered any free tour if we went back. Well thank you James for your response, at least you show that you care for your clients and maybe it was just the first busy day you had with all the ships being in port. Hope the rest of the season goes well.

[mad4cruises]

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.

We had a very similar experience to yours with James Tours. The tour was one of the worst we've ever been on. It failed in 2 areas: the guiding of the tour and the itinerary. The tour guide was a young woman who ran out of "commentary" a little over halfway through the tour and barely spoke after that point. The driver thought HE was a tour guide and kept interrupting her speeches. As the day went on, he started ranting about local politics and how awful the island is for those who aren't rich. He was very angry, and we were quite uncomfortable, just wanted to get back to the ship before he totally lost it.

 

Secondly, the itinerary listed on the James Tour web site was not followed. We did not see fishermen repairing nets and building fishing canoes or stop for a brief visit to see the dug-out canoes. We did not take a relaxing swim in the lovely waters of the Caribbean Sea. We did not visit Sulphur Springs, the drive-in volcano.

 

We spoke with James at the end of the tour about our experience, and he offered to discount the price which we didn't do. He seemed like a very pleasant man who may have chosen the wrong people to use in expanding his business.

 

This may be our only visit to St. Lucia, and we had such a negative experience. Nothing can make up for that.

[jbuch02]

My wife and I are regular cruisers in the Caribbean. We book our own tours, don't use the cruise line offerings (although they are fine in most cases, we just like to use the locals) and only use Tour operators that we know and trust. Tourism is the #1 business in the Caribbean and it is very competitive.

 

I can tell you first hand that James Stripix (Steelers) is very reliable and conscientious. He knows the island first had. I think you can tell from the many favorable posts here that he is just that.

 

There are usually bumps when, because of popularity and reliability, a tour business expands. What has impressed me reading the posts here is that James has gone out of his way, just like he has always does for us, to make sure everything is right and if it is not, he'll make it that way until you are satisfied.

 

I Trust James ...... he's one of the best on the islands.

[ibcnusoon]

We are interested in going to Jalouise Beach by sea, NOT land and sea. Other than what Ambrose lists on his website, are there any other private tours just to Jalouise Beach for the day, via catamaran or book? Not interested in doing the land tour at all. Thanks.

[48c]

We are interested in going to Jalouise Beach by sea, NOT land and sea. Other than what Ambrose lists on his website, are there any other private tours just to Jalouise Beach for the day, via catamaran or book? Not interested in doing the land tour at all. Thanks.

You may have seen Spencer's "Jalouise Beach Break on his website. We went on that last year and it's via speed boat both directions (we're going on the same tour January 12). When we took that tour, we spent about 4 hours at Jalouise Beach (we also stopped briefly at Anse Chalet (sp?) beach). It was a fantastic tour with Spencer. BTW - I agree, stay away from the St. Lucian roads, especially considering accident like what happened a few weeks ago.

[ibcnusoon]

You may have seen Spencer's "Jalouise Beach Break on his website. We went on that last year and it's via speed boat both directions (we're going on the same tour January 12). When we took that tour, we spent about 4 hours at Jalouise Beach (we also stopped briefly at Anse Chalet (sp?) beach). It was a fantastic tour with Spencer. BTW - I agree, stay away from the St. Lucian roads, especially considering accident like what happened a few weeks ago.

 

 

eek, I didn't hear about an accident. :eek:

 

I read that it's quicker and prettier to go by sea and we really aren't interested in seeing a banana tree or smelling sulfur from the volcano. From reviews, people have said just take the boat to/from Jalouise Beach so you can spend more time relaxing, swimming and snorkeling -- must haves on our cruise!

[48c]

eek, I didn't hear about an accident. :eek:

 

I read that it's quicker and prettier to go by sea and we really aren't interested in seeing a banana tree or smelling sulfur from the volcano. From reviews, people have said just take the boat to/from Jalouise Beach so you can spend more time relaxing, swimming and snorkeling -- must haves on our cruise!

Yes, my recommendation is to stay with the water cruise and avoid the roads. Not to scare you but a couple of weeks ago, a mini van with a dozen people went off one of the road-side cliffs on St Lucia and landed into the ocean - no one survived. Sorry to end on such bad news but you're wise to take the water route, in my opinion.

[BBowCruiser]

We just took Spencer's beach only tour last week and I can't say enough good things about it!

[pianogal83]

Thank you, ucanttaketheboy.

After further research, we decide to go with Carnival's Land and Sea which uses (our preferred) catamaran. Serenity uses either power boat or catamaran, Spencer, Herod's and others using power boat/water taxi, which is less desirable.

 

We ended up on the Carnival excursion catamaran even though we booked with Spencer Ambrose!! What a confusing day....see my report below.

 

We just returned from an 8 Day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Miracle. We had booked the Jalousie Beach Break after reading all the positive reviews on CC. For those considering this excursion in the future, I wanted to tell our experience so you will be prepared in case the same thing happens to you. We were met at the port at promptly at 9:30 and were quickly led to our waiting boat. It was a smaller boat, holding about 18 people. Our guide was Terry and he did a GREAT job! We cruised the beautiful coast of St. Lucia, through Marigot Bay and even 'through' the natural bridge rock formation called Tunnel of Love featured in Pirates of the Caribbean. Upon arrival at Jalousie Beach, we unloaded and were instructed where to snorkel and that the beach was public but we were not allowed to use the facilities of the Jalousie Plantation. That was fine, we did have the use of a bathroom and even a few lounges. As we were the first boat to arrive, most if not all of our group found a lounge and settled in.

 

Shortly after our arrival, Spencer himself came around and asked how we were doing and said we would stay at the beach until 3:00 pm - his time.

We snorkeled for awhile and when we were ready, we were served a lunch of island style food: a grilled chicken thigh, potato salad, green salad, pasta, banana salad, beans and rice and some local vegetables I didn't know. It was a huge plate of food but mostly carbs. Also, the drinks were unlimited.

 

We were having a wonderful time, swimming and sunning, when suddenly Terry came around and said to get our things together, we would be leaving in 15 minutes. We were confused as it was only 1:45 island time. Sure enough they rounded us up and took us to the dock to board the boat. Spencer was there collecting the tour fee and was questioned about the short swimming time at the beach. He was immediately defensive, didn't try to answer the person's question but stated that he couldn't be expected to tell the difference between island time and boat time and that he cared about his customer's why else would he spend his days at the beach making sure they were cared for, etc. but never answered the question of why we were told by him that we would leave at 3:00 but now were leaving an hour earlier.

 

After boarding, the boat sped off very quickly and soon pulled along side a catamaran. Without any explanation we were told we had to board the other boat - not at a dock but several hundred yards off the coast. Not being a very strong swimmer and having some balance issues, it was quite alarming to me but DH and I made it safely across. After unloading us onto the catamaran, our boat sped away and I realized that we were with a completely different tour company. They were wearing shirts of a company I had never read about in all my research on tours in St. Lucia. No one would tell us WHY we were suddenly put on another boat. We didn't know where we were going or with whom we were going. It was very unnerving!!

 

Finally, I stopped asking the crew of that boat, who just told me they didn't know why we were there, and asked another passenger on the boat. Thankfully, I discovered that this was a CARNIVAL sponsored excursion! Thank God....at least I knew I would make it back to the boat!!

 

We never swam/snorkeled at ANSE CHASTENET nor did we ever see the Bat Cave - nor did we have 3-4 hours at Jalousie Beach - it was almost exactly 90 minutes which was more than our friends who took the Land and Sea Tour got - they told me they only got 40 minutes at Jalousie Beach before they were rushed onto a boat.

 

The following is a description of the parts of the tour that we were supposed to see and do that we did not...this comes from Spencer's site:

 

At Anse Chastanet we will make a brief snorkeling/swimming stop.

 

The Bat Cave in Soufriere Bay is another sight sure to captivate your interest.

 

See, smell and hear the screeching of "Fishermen Bats" which reside in this unique 4-storey high cleft in the coastal rock.

 

From Soufriere, it is a short drive around the base of the Petit Piton to Jalousie Beach. Your Jalousie Beach Break will allow you to enjoy 3 - 4+ hours of serene beauty in a tropical paradise. We actually had 90 minutes at Jalousie Beach.

 

We had a great start to our day but something went terribly wrong - my best guess is that they overbooked and needed the boat to transport other customers but regardless we deserved an honest response to our questions and certainly did NOT deserve to be herded onto another boat in the middle of the ocean with NO explanations!

[ACNCON]

We just returned from an 8 Day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Miracle. We had booked the Jalousie Beach Break after reading all the positive reviews on CC. For those considering this excursion in the future, I wanted to tell our experience so you will be prepared in case the same thing happens to you. We were met at the port at promptly at 9:30 and were quickly led to our waiting boat. It was a smaller boat, holding about 18 people. Our guide was Terry and he did a GREAT job! We cruised the beautiful coast of St. Lucia, through Marigot Bay and even 'through' the natural bridge rock formation called Tunnel of Love featured in Pirates of the Caribbean. Upon arrival at Jalousie Beach, we unloaded and were instructed where to snorkel and that the beach was public but we were not allowed to use the facilities of the Jalousie Plantation. That was fine, we did have the use of a bathroom and even a few lounges. As we were the first boat to arrive, most if not all of our group found a lounge and settled in.

 

Shortly after our arrival, Spencer himself came around and asked how we were doing and said we would stay at the beach until 3:00 pm - his time.

We snorkeled for awhile and when we were ready, we were served a lunch of island style food: a grilled chicken thigh, potato salad, green salad, pasta, banana salad, beans and rice and some local vegetables I didn't know. It was a huge plate of food but mostly carbs. Also, the drinks were unlimited.

 

We were having a wonderful time, swimming and sunning, when suddenly Terry came around and said to get our things together, we would be leaving in 15 minutes. We were confused as it was only 1:45 island time. Sure enough they rounded us up and took us to the dock to board the boat. Spencer was there collecting the tour fee and was questioned about the short swimming time at the beach. He was immediately defensive, didn't try to answer the person's question but stated that he couldn't be expected to tell the difference between island time and boat time and that he cared about his customer's why else would he spend his days at the beach making sure they were cared for, etc. but never answered the question of why we were told by him that we would leave at 3:00 but now were leaving an hour earlier.

 

.......................

 

We had a great start to our day but something went terribly wrong - my best guess is that they overbooked and needed the boat to transport other customers but regardless we deserved an honest response to our questions and certainly did NOT deserve to be herded onto another boat in the middle of the ocean with NO explanations!

 

We were also on the Miracle and did the same tour with Spencer. We had a different problem during our tour but the end result is the same as above - we were not overly pleased with our Beach Break.

 

We were taken on a different boat than Pianogal as we were with Spencer himself . We met at the port and had to wait some time for one of his staff to arrive. She finally arrived and off we went to the boat. The ride to the beach was fun and the 2 staff members explained some highlights of the island but Spencer said our main tour would come on the return trip as we wanted to get us to the beach early before the crowds. He was on his phone ALOT. I guess he was checking in with his other groups. He spent more time on the phone than he did talking to us. Spencer asked if we wanted to stop and snorkel or go directly to the beach. He thought the waves were a little too rough so we headed directly to the beach.

 

Upon arrival at the beach, they pointed to the areas we could use and off we went. The snorkelling was good - my children saw lots of different marine life. The beach is very rocky getting in so I would recommend water shoes. Spencer and his crew were continually asking us if we needed anything and offering drinks and food. They were all very friendly and helpful.

 

About 1:45pm (same as Pianogal) they came over and told us to get ready as we were leaving shortly. We had originally been told that we were leaving at 2pm. We all dried off, changed and packed up. Boats came and people piled in but our group was told to wait for our boat. We waited and waiting and waited some more. They kept telling us that our boat was on the way and we'd be leaving shortly. At 3pm Spencer finally came over and told us to get ready and that we were heading out. When we told him we'd been ready for over an hour he said that he had told his staff that we were getting more time at the beach and "oh, they didn't tell you?". Obviously we didn't get that message. He wasn't very apologetic that we'd been sitting around waiting on the dock for more than an hour.

 

We were told the boat was coming but we had to wait, and wait some more. Out boat finally arrived and we were over packed with another group from the Princess Ship. Our original group was 12 and there was well over 20 on the return voyage. We did get to do the bat cave and had a really nice tour of the island from the boat.

 

Spencer and his crew were very friendly, helpful and nice but we didn't leave with a good feeling. There seems to be alot of confusion as to who is doing what and who is going where.

 

I will also note that Spencer and his crew had a good handle on the ship time vs Island time. They joked around about it. It is his business to know.

 

Would I recommend Spencer - not sure. He's very friendly, fun and knows his stuff (when he's off his phone). I felt very safe with Spencer, I enjoyed my day, it was amazing scenery but I didn't like the confusion.

[kenzie]

Following on from my earlier comments, James has sent me a refund of half our private trip fee. He was very concerned that we did not receive the tour which we expected and as a gesture of goodwill sent us this money straight to the UK. He also said that should we return to St Lucia he will take us on a complimentary tour Thank you James, you are an honourable man

[khm1]

Oh Boy! I light of the 2 recent postings about the Beach break excursion with Spencer Ambrose, I am worried! :eek: I have the land and sea tour booked with Spencer for my February '12 cruise. I have some concerns now.

 

I really like the land tour combined with the boat trip back. We did a similar excursion with Princess several years ago and LOVED it. I am especially excited about the time at the beach. But now it seems that we may be waiting around more than I originally thought.

 

I have looked around the boards, TripAdvisor, and the internet and have not come up with an equivalent itinerary unless we go with RCL. It costs $99 with the cruise line and does not include Jalouise beach. Spencer charges $85. I don't like going on ship excursions very much. I find them crowded and costly.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I stick with Spencer or look for something else? I expect to wait around a little. But PP experience of being kept waiting for over an hour has me very worried!

[mackers74]

Anyone else planning on the Spencer Ambrose Jalousie Beach Break tour Dec 13, 2011? This will be our first trip to the islands and was wondering besides Spencer and James.. Does anyone recommend the cruise ship excursions? Or, private ones are better?

[kellyrobin]

Last time is St. Lucia, did a Cosol tour which included Jalousie and LOVED it! So, this year going back with Spencer to change it up a little with Jalousie Beach break. If it's your first time on St. Lucia do the Land & Sea tour, but don't miss Jalousie!!

[eclipsethecat]

The James Touring tour was a horrible nightmare from the beginning to the end. My husband and I are not picky people who complain however at the end of this tour I went back to the cruise ship and cried because I felt so taken advantage of and stupid for booking and then paying for this tour. I got over it after I realized there was nothing I could do and did not let it ruin my trip however I want to spare others from going through what we went through, especially when there are other tours that offer better options at the same price. Please also note that I realize James cannot control the weather or other people- my complaints are about the way he handled both of those things.

 

We booked James Touring based on reviews on Cruise Critic. I emailed him and he responded right back with an email and a phone call just like the other reviewers on there mentioned. He then confirmed the tour and what we would be doing as well as asking what kind of softdrinks we wanted (which were not there by the way when we were on the tour,) and then told me that if I posted on cruise critic that he emailed me right back, and called right back and others booked he would give me my trip for free. I posted on cruise critic what he asked and to my roll call. The upfront service was good. Everything from there was downhill.

 

The day we arrived in St Lucia we found James waiting for us. He immediately told us that the tour would be in a different order than on the sheet and that we would not be able to go to the volcano because it was all flooded out and dangerous- he said other tours would go and get stuck and we were being safe not going. We agreed that that was fine- that the order was different of the stops and that we would not visit the volcano- not that we wouldn’t do anything listed on the tour sheet- that was not brought up. The other people signed up for the tour never showed up (which he complained about to us.) He then convinced a group of 8 adults to come with us for the tour. Anyways, we were loaded into one van with this rowdy group- they were looking to drink and that was about it- they kept saying they were promised by James unlimited rum punch- which was fine- it was their trip- however James didn’t honor their desires either. They were only concerned about drinking and James assured them that there would be unlimited rum punch. After we got going James picked up the other van (the yellow one,) and his assistant (Cherry) who he told us not to ask questions of because she was in training was going to ride along with us. He kept telling us how he was doing us a favor getting us out of the van with the older people who wanted to party and that he was concerned we would give him a bad review. This was a reoccurring concern of his- that he didn’t want a bad review- towards the end, and especially when he still charged us almost full price for the tour it was extremely annoying and made me feel like he was patronizing me.

 

We drove to the Catholic Church and took pictures, we then saw the park for the Nobel laureates and then drove up to the wood carving factory but only after stopping for gas. I thought it was strange that he did not fill up before hand thus wasting our time. After the wood place (at which James was standing off to the side having a very loud argument over the phone with someone about money (which made me uncomfortable,) and we were left with Cherry who couldn’t answer any of our questions,) which was basically a spiel for us to buy things- we didn’t see anyone making anything and Cherry commented it was sad that we didn’t buy anything, we met the other van at a supermarket. They were demanding the rum punch that James promised them. It turns out he had one small jug of punch- my husband and I had one small cup each and while we sat at the supermarket for 30 minutes the other van bought rum which James then mixed in his punch! It made me so uncomfortable to hear James argue with the guy about the rum (the guy wanted James to give him a $10 discount because he was promised unlimited rum punch,) that we didn’t have anymore. We had two beers and a coke between the two of us for the rest of the day. There were only 12 beers and they ran out quickly, especially with the other van. Certainly not “unlimited” refreshments.

 

I sat in the van and patiently waited because I thought that after all this nonsense we would be on our way. The sun was still out at this point and James drove us up to where the Lady’s Slipper was. This was essentially the last thing we saw on the trip. We did nothing that was noted on the itinerary after this. As we were about to leave a woman in the other party decided she wanted to go shopping. We were already way up in the mountains but we drove back down to the village by the cruise ship to go shopping. I thought that maybe this was on the way to the plantations etc. so I didn’t say anything. We spent literally an hour at the shopping place because the other people wandered around. Meanwhile we stood outside in the hot humid mist waiting to go being harassed by people walking by asking us if we wanted to buy weed etc. It did not make me feel comfortable. James and Cherry were nowhere to be found and I would have been uncomfortable if I was a woman standing there alone- thankfully my husband was with me. We finally loaded up the van and it started raining. James told us he couldn’t take us anywhere near the volcano because we would get stuck- I did not know this meant that at 11:30 the tour was essentially over. If I had known what would happen next I would have asked him to take us back to the ship. I thought we were finally on the way to the banana plantation and other sites on the sheet promised as part of our tour.

After the other party got back into the vans we drove up to an expensive area overlooking the bay (I do not know what this area was called.) The other party was getting rowdy, screaming and saying lewd things. (I would like to point out again that I know James cant control the weather or the other people, I do not fault him for that but rather the way he reacted to it.) They wanted to go to Red Hook so we started on our way there. All the while James was in phone contact with the other van’s driver and the people wanted to stop again for more punch (why the cooler was just not put in their van so we could separate from them I have no idea.) We stopped again on the side of the road and sat there. Meanwhile the weather is getting worse. We sat and James said oh I will take you up to see whales. We drove about 20 minutes up to this point- it looks like a place that is being developed, and he said oh walk up there- you can see the shore but no whales because it was raining too much- by now I was doubting there were ever whales to be seen. We walked from the van to the point- dodging mud puddles, used condoms, condom wrappers, beer bottles and needles. We were obviously somewhere that people go to be out of the way and do illegal things.

 

The view was not that great and I was soaked, cold and starting to get very very angry. By now it was 12:15 or so- I still had the hope that the fresh mango, bread and cheese were coming- we kept passing stands selling those items so I thought that maybe he would stop and get us something. I was starting to get mad however when it became obvious to me that he was wasting time in order to say he gave us a five hour tour. The way we took back, which took us to the same exact place took almost 45 minutes. We went in and out of little alleys. We then pulled into a Costco type parking lot and sat for 30-45 minutes. James kept saying “Oh you aren’t going to give me a bad review are you,” and complaining about the other van. By then it was 2:00 and he started driving us back to the pier.

 

By the time we got back to the pier I was in shock. I could not believe that we had just spent the whole day touring nothing and then PAYING for it! I was expecting James to say, oh you know, this was horrible, don’t pay me anything however he only offered to give us $5 off and a free tour “the next time we come to the island.” I will never return to St Lucia and even if I did I would not trust this man to take a tour with him again. Having no choice (what was my husband going to do- tell a man twice his size he wasn’t going to pay?) my husband gave him $100 and we walked back to the ship. After we got back to the ship I pulled out the paperwork that detailed what we were supposed to do on the excursion and cried- no mangos, no sugar cane, no fresh bananas no bread with cheese. (James did however get himself a hot dog at Costco- I was surprised he didn’t eat it in front of us to be honest.) I felt like a fool. I felt stupid and like I had been taken advantage of. To make things worse, we ran into people the next day who did the Cosol tour the same day we were in St Lucia (so the same weather conditions and everything)- they went to the banana plantation, the volcano, tasted fresh fruit and fish and had a great time- all for around the same price. They said the roads were not washed out and that they had a safe delightful trip. I was heartbroken. I feel so stupid that I spent $100 to basically sit in a Costco and supermarket parking lot and visit a place used for partying, drugging and sex. Please please do not use James Touring for your tour service in St Lucia- I am still furious that I wasted a day of my vacation and paid $100 of my hard earned money on that man and his tour.

[martyap]

WOW.......we've been to St. Lucia twice and toured with James both times ans our experiences have always been very positive. Sorry your time in St. Lucia was a bust.....We would not hesitate using James if we ever returned to St. Lucia.........Marty

[melissa89n]

Oh my goodness! Reading this thread makes it sound like you are rolling the dice if you pick either of these tour operators! It could be great, or it could be terrible, depending on a lot of factors. It seems like these guys are not great at adapting to difficult situations, and are possibly becoming overwhelmed with the number of guests they are booking on their tours. I have also read complaints about recent tours with Cosol and how people are sometimes only getting 45 minutes at Jalousie, after being promised 1.5-2 hours.

 

I don't think I am willing to gamble on these tour operators ability to make our tour a great experience. I understand situations arise out of their control, but the guides should be adaptable and know how to turn a bad situation into a positive experience!

 

I just really want to see Jalousie most of all. Are there no other choices on this island besides these guys? I've got 6 people who are depending on me to make the right decision here and I am having a really hard time! Ack! LOL

[reedprincess]

I just really want to see Jalousie most of all. Are there no other choices on this island besides these guys? I've got 6 people who are depending on me to make the right decision here and I am having a really hard time! Ack! LOL

 

there are lots of other options for getting to see Jalousie, if that's all you want to do. You can hire a taxi for your group right at the dock - it will be about $130-$150US r/t for up to 4 people (the few extra people will be something like $20US extra pp or so) they can take you down thte same route the tours take, drip you at Jalousie's car park - you will have to walk down the rest of the way - and you can enjoy as long as you want at the beach and the taxi will bring you back. Alternatively, they could drop you in Soufriere at the pier and you could take a water taxi over and bak, then the cab could bring you back .

You could arrange a water tour with one of the boat operators - Mystic Man tours or the like. You could book a custom tour with one of the operators, either these guys listed on these boards of other operators - there are lots in St. Lucia. Try SerenityTVL or Barefoot Holidays, both are tour organizers and can put together a vehicle and guide for you.

You can try Spencer Ambrose, who also offers a west coast tour or the Jalousie Beach Break, the Beach Break being by boat both ways.

You could rent a vehicle and drive yourself. Can't hardly get lost, there's only one road around the island.

Try Tribute to the Lion for an amazing tour experience to - IMO - an even better beach than Jalousie at the base of the Pitons, much more pivate feeling and he des a full, organic beach BBQ with fish you catch yourself (or he can of you just want to laze), beach massages if wanted, some old plantation ruins, an all in all great "castaway" type experience. Google Tribute to the Lion to find out more.

So, there's lots of ways to get to Jalousie - or better - beaches without having to do Cosol or James, if a few of these reviews are not reassuring you.

PS: yes, there was some major flooding in Soufriere early last week (Nov.27 & 28) with landslides and lots of roads damaged in the area. It was being cleaned up as of Wed. but we continued to have a lot of rain, which has made the process difficult as the river keeps jumping it's banks and the roads keep flooding out. Some tour operators elected not to do the tour do to the damage to the area and the possibility of getting stuck on the roads - considering the entire vollage was under several inches of mud - I cant say I blame them for that. Although, I can blame them for not communicating it to their guests/customers and for not providing info and an alternative.

good luck and I hope you enjoy your visit!

[martyap]

my friends from California just came back from A James tour Carnival Victory 1-12-11 and could only say how good James was with them after all the rain fall in St.Lucia. I Recommand them to James after reading all the reviews every one said it was the best tour in the Caribbean.

We had similar experiences with James. Have recommended him to friends

without reservation.