Spencer Ambrose Tours

[Joy2Day]

Beaches in St Lucia are public, so even though the area with chairs was small, there was a large beach and water section that was very spacious. There was frequent turnover in the smaller section and we easily found chairs for my group of 10.

 

 

We did not experience any turnover in the shady area while we were there. As I thought about why our experience was so different than yours, I think I hit upon a group dynamic that would be out of Spencer's control. Most of the Beach 20 Break people were together --- all cruising on our ship as part of a large group sponsored by a supplier. Therefore, they had gotten to the space, staked out their claims (in large conversational groups)--- and seemed to resent the new arrivals for intruding on their private party to some degree.

 

It was very easy to blame Spencer and the setup of the shaded area for this group dynamic, but he really couldn't force them to move on for our benefit.

[WaggesAZ]

To follow is the review I posted on TripAdvisor, and I can't say it was a bad day, but there were a few signs to me to understand why the reviews that are negative are happening. Our family had a great day, and I recognize that our Jalousie Beach experience was effected by the large number of people at the Beach and the weather, not either of which Spencer is directly responsible. Here is what I posted on TA:

 

We did the Spencer Ambrose Land and Sea tour on March 14, and I was happy that Spencer accomodated my last minute request. We (Husband, 2 sons 17 & 10 and I) had originally booked the Jalousie Beach Break, but the boys decided as the swells were still present, a beach day not be best. In our opinion, the beach was not that enjoyable while we were there, so we were glad we did not spend our day at Jalousie Beach.

 

The land part was of our tour was enjoyable. Terry and Spencer's daughter were our guides for the day, and we made several stops for photo ops, (shoot through the van windows at some, actually get out at others). The hurricane changed the waterfall grounds, although it is still beautiful, it is not as nice as when we visited in 2010. The volcano is interesting, but if you have been to Yellowstone, no need to get out.

 

We made our way into Soufriere and boarded the boat to the beach. At the beach instead of a buffet (I think that is only for the Beach Break Tour), we were handed styrofoam containers of food. It did not look appealing but we did try to eat it. The section of the beach for non-resort visitors with free chairs is very small and was quite crowded. There was no where to eat the boxed lunch, and we thought about renting resort chairs, but at $25 a piece, for less than 2 hours opted not to. The food wasn't great, I took only a bite of each item offered.

 

Spencer collects payment for the tour when you are at the beach. I was told they would come collect while we were eating, but I was grateful to be able to eat without interuption. Since it was not easy for our family of 4 to share the 1 chair we were able to secure, trying to manage money & the food would have irritated me. Spencer was very kind to me via emails, prior to the tour and at the beach, but I noticed he was quite abrupt with many guests.

 

We were not able to snorkel as there were lots of loose jellyfish tentacles in the water. As we were not able to really swim or snorkel, I asked how soon we were scheduled to leave. Terry & Spencer said the next boat we could board. It was Capt Mack's boat and it was quite large. Our family of 4 went straight to the top, and I was grateful we were able to escape some of the folks who were below. While waiting for other to board the 2 boats of Spencer's, we were able to watch several people who were falling down drunk. One guy fell on the dock, and again as he boarded the boat. Lucky us, his wife came up top, and nearly feel out of the boat she was so drunk. Terry had to climb up and protect her from falling out. They stopped the boat so she could go down to the bathroom, and thankfully they would not allow her to return to the top. When I asked for my 1st rum punch of the day, I was told they didn't have cups. Not a big deal, but cut off the people who need to be cut-off, not everyone! I believe it was because these people that we "had no plastic cups" .

 

Our Capt & Terry pointed out interesting things along the way back to the ship, again offering plenty of photo opportunities. Our trip back took much longer than I expected (about and hour and 15, maybe even 90 minutes). We made it back to the ship a little after 4.

 

I had previously toured with Cosol and his tour was very crowded in 2010. I was hoping for an improvement with Spencer, and there were only 14 in our tour of the land and the van could have had several more people, and we did not caravan. This was an improvement, and our driver (maybe James??) never made me uncomfortable. I did think the stops were a little rushed, but not so bad, Terry was just mindful that he wanted to leave us enough time at the beach. I also liked returning by boat, so we didn't have to take the winding roads back.

 

My communications with Spencer were great, and I feel he is a kind man. However, his behavior at the beach causes me to wonder if he is getting to big to manage the amount of bookings he accepts. We did enjoy our day, and I am not sorry we went, and at no time did I feel in danger of missing the ship. However, to give the rave reviews and recommend to anyone and everyone, I am not comfortable doing so. I am honestly sad to say that.

 

I hope that Spencer finds a way to manage his bookings or starts limiting the number of bookings he accepts. I know there were at least 4 people that did not show, so I am left wondering, if he took a deposit from people, if it would help better manage the number of bookings. I felt the start and end of the day he seemed very stressed to manage it all, and I think that is the lasting impression you leave people with. How your day starts and ends with the direct operator leaves a lasting impression.

[Xcitdcruiser]

As of today, there are 160 reviews of Spencer's tours on Tripadvisor. 17 of those rate him as average, poor or terrible. So, approximately one out of ten customers feel his excursions are not above par. That, along with the reports of the beach itself helped us to decide to look for something else. Everyone needs to decide what your priorities are and go with realistic expectations. Hopefully you'll be in the 90% who will have a good or excellent day! :D

 

This worries me also - what did you decide to do instead?

[sippican]

This worries me also - what did you decide to do instead?

 

We are doing the day pass at Ti Kaye through Island Divers (based at the resort). It is $75 pp including transportation and lunch. Since we were most interested in great snorkeling and a comfortable place to spend the day, we opted out of experiencing Jalousie Beach. A few other people on our roll call are doing the same, so hopefully we'll have a few reports upon return.

[khm1]

We are doing the day pass at Ti Kaye through Island Divers (based at the resort). It is $75 pp including transportation and lunch. Since we were most interested in great snorkeling and a comfortable place to spend the day, we opted out of experiencing Jalousie Beach. A few other people on our roll call are doing the same, so hopefully we'll have a few reports upon return.

 

Can you please come back and let us know how it went at Ti Kaye?

[Xcitdcruiser]

We are doing the day pass at Ti Kaye through Island Divers (based at the resort). It is $75 pp including transportation and lunch. Since we were most interested in great snorkeling and a comfortable place to spend the day, we opted out of experiencing Jalousie Beach. A few other people on our roll call are doing the same, so hopefully we'll have a few reports upon return.

 

A report would be amazing! Were you able to get a group rate or anything of the sort?

 

What time do they pick you up / drop you off?

I'm trying to find out if there is any way they can show you the Pitons - either on the transfer to / from the resort or when people go out diving...

 

I have also emailed them, so hoping they get back to me.

[sippican]

Can you please come back and let us know how it went at Ti Kaye?

 

Yes, I will be sure to do that.

 

A report would be amazing! Were you able to get a group rate or anything of the sort?

 

What time do they pick you up / drop you off?

I'm trying to find out if there is any way they can show you the Pitons - either on the transfer to / from the resort or when people go out diving...

 

I have also emailed them, so hoping they get back to me.

 

I never inquired as to a group rate.

They are picking us up at 8:30 am, drop off around 3:30.

Not sure about the pitons, but I think they are quite a bit further so the transfer will not go by by that area.

The best I am hoping for is a glimpse of the Pitons from the ship as we sail in or out.

[Xcitdcruiser]

Yes, I will be sure to do that.

 

 

 

I never inquired as to a group rate.

They are picking us up at 8:30 am, drop off around 3:30.

Not sure about the pitons, but I think they are quite a bit further so the transfer will not go by by that area.

The best I am hoping for is a glimpse of the Pitons from the ship as we sail in or out.

 

Thanks a million!!

Other questions I have if you happen to remember whilst enjoying it all...

 

How far is the boat ride from cruise port to resort?

Can you indeed see the Pitons form the cruise?

What kind of food is offered for lunch?

Any info re the massage package

or the diving package...

 

Many thanks & i hope you have a great trip!

[Carol999]

We did the land and sea tour with spencer's tours, and it really is a beautiful destination. When we arrived at the beach between the Pitons, the lounge chairs were already full. It was strange , but all the tour people were literally condensed on one part of the beach. Though we could roam across the entire beach area and swim where ever we wanted, everyone chose to hunt out the shade. Due to everyone needing shade from the umbrellas, we could see the people doing what the walrus's do; there is a sweet spot and everyone wanted to be in it.We were literally on top of each other ,all wanting to stay in one compacted spot. We invaded a family with lounge chairs that were underneath the shaded area, and I was ready for a fight if they asked us to get out of their space,as I wasn't about to stand in the sun any longer.(luckily I think they could see our dilemma).

When it was time to leave at the 2:00 time slot,we stood out on the dock in the hot sun till about 2:45. Everyone was panicking that they were going to have to wait for a later boat to take us back to the ship. Everyone appeared as fed up as we were and some people were shoving elbows into others and being hostile about getting on the boat. When the second boat pulled up, I could see we were all going to make it on the 2:30 departure, but not everyone saw it and they were yelling at others that they weren't on their original boat and were outwardly hostile to some. It wasn't very organized. Part of the problem was people did not approach spencer with their payments on the beach , and so he wouldn't let them back on the boat till they paid. It was so annoying ,it appeared some were hoping not to pay,as he repetitively was shouting the names, and some were actually standing in the group of us. He had a list of our names though, and if you didn't have a check beside your name showing you had paid weren't getting on. To top it off one of his boats broke down enroute back to the ship. Going there and back was informative and interesting. We were just thankful it wasn't our boat that broke down as we already felt we were cutting this way too close on time.

If all the bad press about him is coming from this one day,March 14 then I would give him some slack. Cause most of his tour I felt was fine. We were the "four people" that didn't show, though we actually did, we were just super late, and got another driver named Ian help us join up to the main group.

[WaggesAZ]

If all the bad press about him is coming from this one day,March 14 then I would give him some slack. Cause most of his tour I felt was fine. We were the "four people" that didn't show, though we actually did, we were just super late, and got another driver named Ian help us join up to the main group.

 

If you are referring to my report, I felt they we reported about the same, some good, some not so good, not all in Spencer's control. However, I feel like you should acknowledge these reports have been coming back very mixed for a significant period of time, not just the 1 day we were there. As I said, I want Spencer to find away to get his bookings managed better, because I think it is paramount to his continued success. I do not want to seem him fail.

 

Lastly, we waited just outside the port area (well after the meeting time by at least 30 minutes) for your party to arrive, so you should give him extra kudos for accommodating you. I am certain that's why we were rushed through our stops since we waited for you for so long. No offense intended, it's just that it caused us to have a rushed experience that could have been avoided. That was part of my disappointment, as I am an avid photographer and took over 600 pictures that day. If I could have shot from outside the van at some of the stops, it would have made for a few better pics. I do cut him slack for waiting for you, but it did impact 14 other peoples day.

 

Happy and safe travels Carol! :)

Edited April 15, 2013 by WaggesAZ
typo

[Hammer1211]

we took spencer's last week to do the piton hiking tour which is clearly not one of the more popular ones there ended up just being 6 of us

-we found them easy enough and boarded boat alright but there tons and tons of miscommunication, we picked up some carnival passengers before heading towards the pitons when 1/2 way through the driver stopped and said we were going to be put on another boat..he argued on his cell for a minute then appeared to just say screw it and drive us there either way.

-the piton hike was awesome, very hard... and as we were already 1/2 hour late due to miscommunication on getting there we basically didnt have time to finish the hike...

-the hike guide isnt a spencer employee he worked for the parks dept. basically, cameron, interesting guy...

-when we got to the boat spencer was now driving, and was very confused about why we were asking where all our stuff was, another couple left basically all the stuff on the previous boat (id, wallet,etc) and spencer was clearly unsure where it was..he talked to someone who said it was all at the beach we were headed to...eventually

-spencer was mad jalousie beach was closed as matt damon apparently paid a ridiculous amount of money to rent the beach for the day for a wedding, or something, allegedly...so instead of going to the beach so we could get a dip he slow rolled past the beach just so the cops could drive out and yell at us, he said it's things like this that made MLK and nelson mandela so important...how he equated matt damon renting the beach to those things was beyond me, but honestly it was a bit embarrassing.

-so we go a few beaches down where all his other tours were at...he never really gave us the oppt to get in the water, he more just started collecting money from people on his other boats...it was ok we were pooped from the hike but still....

-the tour back was nice, he got very angry when some people on another boat were given the oppt. to jump off the boat and swim over to the rock archway and jump off...this struck me as odd as they clearly were told to go ahead and jump in the water if they so chose....idk maybe he was worried about liability or something...

-we got back in a good amount of time

pros: great tour, great hike, very scenic and adventurous

the boats we used were nice, plenty to drink, etc

cons: time management was awful, i know there regular beach they use was closed and they were a bit thrown off but ultimately i wasnt all the impressed w/ their organization...no pun intended i think they need to tighten up there ship a bit...

-give them a try i fully recognize we got them on a difficult day but there were some things i just wasnt impressed about.

[reedprincess]

-when we got to the boat spencer was now driving, and was very confused about why we were asking where all our stuff was, another couple left basically all the stuff on the previous boat (id, wallet,etc) and spencer was clearly unsure where it was..he talked to someone who said it was all at the beach we were headed to...eventually

-spencer was mad jalousie beach was closed as matt damon apparently paid a ridiculous amount of money to rent the beach for the day for a wedding, or something, allegedly...so instead of going to the beach so we could get a dip he slow rolled past the beach just so the cops could drive out and yell at us, he said it's things like this that made MLK and nelson mandela so important...how he equated matt damon renting the beach to those things was beyond me, but honestly it was a bit embarrassing.

Yes, Matt Damon did rent all of Sugar Beach Resort, and did pay a ridiculous amount of money for it, along with demands to the Looshan gov't that the beach be closed to the public (in complete violation of Looshan law), to impose a no fly zone for the helicopter company, station coast guard to keep people out, station police around the property in addition to their hired security and the normal resort security, and so on. Perhaps Spencer's remarks were regarding the violation of laws and displacement of the locals for some movie star - and that this is what Mandela and King, etc fought for - equality and rule of law and so forth. The whole thing was not a great deal for the Looshan public - fisherman denied their normal fishing grounds, tour operators displaced, visitors missing their promised tours, helicopter company denied flights, and so on.

I am sure they have some lovely pictures though. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2309807/Matt-Damon-wife-Luciana-renew-vows-intimate-beachfront-ceremony.html

Sorry your tour was so disrupted, Spencer normally offers a great product, but it is becoming obvious he has grown too big for one man to manage and guide at the same time. Hopefully, as the cruise season winds down and he has some down time, he will re-evaluate how the business is run.

I am glad you enjoyed the Pitons though!!

[Hammer1211]

We'll agree to disagree I thought and continue to think it was a ridiculous comment and comparison, which would have been absolutely fine also if he hadnt made the point of wasting our time so he could argue with the police and grand stand instead of you know...taking us on our tour? to make your big symbollic gesture in front of your tour group who clearly wanted to get on with the tour? not sure thats smart business...it certainly didnt ruin the trip for me, pitons were awesome, its a beautiful island, I even thought the boxed lunch was good..... but like i said I think it's a mixed bag. just being honest

[reedprincess]

We'll agree to disagree I thought and continue to think it was a ridiculous comment and comparison, which would have been absolutely fine also if he hadnt made the point of wasting our time so he could argue with the police and grand stand instead of you know...taking us on our tour? to make your big symbollic gesture in front of your tour group who clearly wanted to get on with the tour? not sure thats smart business...it certainly didnt ruin the trip for me, pitons were awesome, its a beautiful island, I even thought the boxed lunch was good..... but like i said I think it's a mixed bag. just being honest

I don't know what you are meaning by agreeing to disagree - I didn't disagree with you anywhere. I simply pointed out that yes, Matt Damon did rent the place, it is not "alleged" or rumoured that he did - he truly, actually did, and our wonderful gov't went along with his demands lock, stock and barrel, thus denying the local population their rights. And that PERHAPS was what Spencer was referring to, that being denied our rights was what Mandela and King had fought for. Yes, I am sure he could have handled it better- I offered no disagreement there, nor did I anywhere. Just pointing out that you said "allegedly" regarding the beach and Matt Damon situation, when it is actual fact.

As I said - he has obviously grown too big for one man to both manage and be the main tour guide, perhaps in the off season he will re-evaluate how he operates his business, either cutting back the numbers he accepts or hiring some management or tour operators to help things go more smoothly.

All the best.

[Carol999]

If you are referring to my report, I felt they we reported about the same, some good, some not so good, not all in Spencer's control. However, I feel like you should acknowledge these reports have been coming back very mixed for a significant period of time, not just the 1 day we were there. As I said, I want Spencer to find away to get his bookings managed better, because I think it is paramount to his continued success. I do not want to seem him fail.

 

Lastly, we waited just outside the port area (well after the meeting time by at least 30 minutes) for your party to arrive, so you should give him extra kudos for accommodating you. I am certain that's why we were rushed through our stops since we waited for you for so long. No offense intended, it's just that it caused us to have a rushed experience that could have been avoided. That was part of my disappointment, as I am an avid photographer and took over 600 pictures that day. If I could have shot from outside the van at some of the stops, it would have made for a few better pics. I do cut him slack for waiting for you, but it did impact 14 other peoples day.

 

Happy and safe travels Carol! :)

 

I was told the bus only waited 10 minutes for us and then left the port and we caught up with them at the volcano and then climbed on with the others, we didn't stop at any of the stops to catch up with the tour. Are you the same people? we apologized so many times,maybe there was another 4 people also? And I agree with you about spencer, if this is an ongoing issue of over loading then he does need to look into it

[sippican]

It appears that the overbooking issue is one component and his attitude and people skills are another. For us, choosing a different option was fairly simple. With 197 reviews on tripadvisor, 27 of those are average or below. True, most are positive, but there is no way I'm going to throw the dice and hope I'm not one of the 13% who have a just average of worse tour.

We book private tours on our trips and realize that reviews are just the personal opinions of others, but we always look for companies that have few or no negative reviews, and we read the concerns of posters. IMHO, the points brought forth in his reviews were significant to me, and not just the picky, petty complaints frequently found in negative reviews. I was not willing to give him my business.

Unfortunately,in St Lucia, there are few options for the Pitons. If we ever get the chance to visit the island again, and there are indications that his company has addressed the issues, I will happily book.

[sippican]

Sorry, duplicate post.

Edited April 18, 2013 by sippican

[WaggesAZ]

I was told the bus only waited 10 minutes for us and then left the port and we caught up with them at the volcano and then climbed on with the others, we didn't stop at any of the stops to catch up with the tour. Are you the same people? we apologized so many times,maybe there was another 4 people also? And I agree with you about spencer, if this is an ongoing issue of over loading then he does need to look into it

Hi Carol-It mustn't have been our bus that you were scheduled to be in. It was the same 14 people the entire land tour, and no one joined us, even at the boat ride. I am certain it wasn't you we had waited on. Please know I wasn't upset with you either way! :o We both agree he needs to find away to get a handle on his bookings and management of them. :D

[Carol999]

Im glad, I would have hated to have been responsible for someone not having a good time due to my actions.

[WaggesAZ]

Im glad, I would have hated to have been responsible for someone not having a good time due to my actions.

 

You can't be responsible for someone else not having a good time unless they let you! Attitude and enjoyment go hand in hand, I will always choose to let it go & enjoy! We are blessed to be able to travel, so no way would I let the little stuff affect the day! :D

 

[nicolerene81]

Just finished the Jalousie Beach Break with Spencer.

He was very efficient and we were the first people on the beach so we ha our choice of chairs.

The snorkeling was good with lots of fish and coral. There are a ton of fish Jo are right at the beach so young kids can literally wade in and just out their face in the water to see fish.

Someone referred to the food as "slop" which is ridiculously ignorant. It was delicious, home cooked, traditional Caribbean food that was sooooo good. It included BBQ chicken, green banana salad which tasted like artichoke hearts, rice and beans, and salad.

The boats were never crowded and the ride was a little bumpy but expected.

Our guide Terry was outstanding and was constantly checking with us to see if we needed anything (drinks, food, snorkel equipment, etc). He was wonderfully attentive and informative.

 

I can't wait to go back and use Spencer Ambrose tours again.

[LEtue]

As of today, there are 160 reviews of Spencer's tours on Tripadvisor. 17 of those rate him as average, poor or terrible. So, approximately one out of ten customers feel his excursions are not above par. That, along with the reports of the beach itself helped us to decide to look for something else. Everyone needs to decide what your priorities are and go with realistic expectations. Hopefully you'll be in the 90% who will have a good or excellent day! :D

 

This assumes that everyone that takes his tour writes a review and as we all know that is not the case.

 

I have never written a review on TripAdvisor and have taken some wonderful excursions around the world. I guess if I had a really bad experience I would be inclined to write something so others know can make informed decisions though.

 

What tour did you book and did you enjoy it? CC reports are always the best and I would love to hear your experience :)

 

Some reviews on TripAdvisor that are almost hard to believe especially for the same excursions I really enjoyed :confused:

[LEtue]

Sorry...duplicate post!

Edited December 14, 2013 by LEtue

[SnorkelAway]

I will just add that we had a great time with Spencer's Jalousie Beach Break off Jewell first week of November and we have signed up for the same thing again in February, again off Jewel. My impression is that Spencer tries very hard to give everyone a great time and may in the past have been more likely to overpromise, trying to accommodate people - that is just my sense from reading the reviews and having emailed with him and met him. We very much recommend his Jalousie Beach Break if you want to snorkel, see the Pitons up close, and have some beach time. Just from what I have heard from others, I understand his land and sea thing is as good as the others.

 

David

[SDadven]

Just returned from 14-day Caribbean cruise on HAL. We had booked with Spencer. He was prompt with getting back to us with all the details. When we arrived in St. Lucia there was no one to meet us. Waited 40 minutes. Checked e-mails...nothing. Had one of the information booth ladies call him twice...no response. Never heard from him. Very disappointed but fortunately we didn't let it ruin our day. Interestingly our ship was late in docking but we were still there at the prearranged time, perhaps a few minutes late but not more than five minutes. We were also the only two from the ship booked with him. Most of the people seemed to be with Cosol or James Tours. We booked based on cruise critic feedback and TripAdvisor reviews. Will assume this was a fluke and something beyond thier control but it would have been nice to have been contacted.