Cosol Tours

[jerseygirl3]

We're experienced cruisers and done many private shore excursions, and this one ranks up there as probably the best one ever! Cosol is professional, his drivers are outstanding, and he surely delivers more than we expected. His price of $50/pp is extremely reasonable given what we were given and what we saw. The "buffet" food alone was worth $$$. Ours included every kind of fresh, local fruit you could think of, meat pies, fried fish, Johnny cakes, desserts, etc. Beer, bottled water, and rum punch (outstanding I might add) were plentiful. I am a worrier when it comes to having someone else do the driving, especially through winding roads. My heart didn't skip a beat even once while being on this tour, that's how good our driver was. BTW, we were on the 2/8/08 sailing of Constellation and our day in port was 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. We started our tour around 9 a.m. and had to be back on the ship by 3:30. We made it back with time to spare.

 

As far as getting back to the ship on time, remember, this is their livelihood. They would probably lose their business if an entire van load of passengers missed their ship.

 

As to the poster who wants to spend more time at Jalousie Plantation, honestly, I didn't think this place was all that great. First of all, since you're not a guest, you have to pay if you want to use a lounge chair (even though there were plenty there not being used). We didn't realize you had to pay for a chair so we just sat down and a guard came over and asked us to either pay or vacate the chair (he said it in a nice way though). The beach was okay, nothing that great that would make me want to cut short my time anywhere else on the tour.

 

I can't say enough good things about Cosol. He told me he reads Cruise Critic all the time. He said all of his reviews have been good, except for one. He dared me to try and find that one!!!LOL I've yet to find it.

 

Jo-Ann

[Flipflopsnfrozendrinks]

My family did the Feb 14 tour with Cosol, and loved him. We were also on Constellation, and had enough time to shop after the tour. The food was wonderful, and OH that hot bread!

Next time we are in St. Lucia, we will definately go through them again.

I agree with Jo-Ann about Jalousie, I didn't feel like I wanted more time there.

 

Jo-Ann, I can't find the bad one either! LOL

Kim

[djsinric]

We were on the Celebrity Galaxy 02/15/08 sailing and stopped in St. Lucia. We had not planned an excursion but our tablemates told us they had booked with Cosol and it sounded like fun. We actually had Cosol as our driver - how lucky is that?? Although all the drivers/tour guides sound wonderful. This has got to be one of the best tours we have ever taken. We saw more of St. Lucia than I have seen of any other island or port stop. From the banana plantation to the fishing villages, the volcano, waterfall and the "twins". WOW. Best $50/pp we have spent on a cruise. As far as not enough time at Jalousie. We did not think that was the case. We didn't have chairs - because who wants to pay $20 for a beach chair for an hour? The water was kind of cool and I didn't think of that as a beach day anyways. LOTS of other islands with great beaches to spend the day at (Kon Tiki on Curacao and Palm Beach on Aruba to name just two). Ditto on the bread and cheese lunch - too good...... If you read this Cosol keep up the great tours.

[Froufie]

Can someone tell me about the beach visit? The website says you go to Reduit beach - how long do you spend there? Any good snorkelling? What about the facilities?

 

Any info greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks

[cinnam0n]

Cosol's tour goes to the beach at Jalousie Resort, and spends about an hour there. If you read through the threads about Cosol's tour, and also the ones about Jalousie, you will find lots of information on time spent there, the facilities, etc.

[sob]

my wife and I recently came back from a carnival cruise to the southern caribbean had a great time. cosol tours are simply the best. ask for adrian for a driver.. great guy, could have not expected more. they had there local food which was outstanding a great taste of st.lucia food. the tour itself was nonstop fun. they make you feel like family. book this tour early they fill up fast. going to st. lucia and not going on this trip is like going to paris and not seeing the eiffel tower. great job thanks a million. show them a few coin tricks or how to poke your head through a small hole(lol)

[CaribbeanBound]

Look, don't you think you would have heard about it if ANY of the highly recommended tours, like COSOL, failed to get a group back to the ship on time? This is their livelihood. They will get you back in time. If they don't, the news would be all over these boards, no one would book them again, and they would be out of business.

 

If you want a guarantee, then pay extra and book the ship's tour. The ship will typically give you a decent tour, albeit not as intimate.