Argh! Too many choices of good tours ... thoughts on which Serenity tour?

[styxscottii]

Sue:

You might contact Serenity and see if they can do a tour for your group.

Another option you might consider is riding the island railroad. Not sure of their website, but I'm sure if you did a bing of St Lucia railroad you'd find something.

Scott

[cruisegirl29]

Hey there cruisegirl29 we are a group of 15 and will be traveling towards the end of Jan. Had no clue on what to be done. Our decision was finalized with serenity when we checked the banner add above. We spoke to their host Carol and was rather impressed with what was laid out for us. We are doing a private tour and wants to be with no one but our group and the ambassador assign to us. Our motto is to be carefree and have fun from the word go. Perhaps you should contact them. You maybe surprised what they may have in stock for your group. We can't wait for our cruise. What date are you cruising? Who knows we maybe on the same cruise liner as your party. There's a possibility we may cross path lol.

 

Thanks for posting. Maybe I'll give them a call & see what we could do.

 

We are sailing Jan 17, 2010 on the Carnival Victory.... I started a thread back in March of 2008...under the Carnival Roll Calls....

 

Sue

[teltrainer]

Hi, We just returned from the Carnival Miracle. We stopped in St. Lucia and had booked with SerenityTours (John and Caroline) for the Ti Kaye resort day. We were to have been met at the port and then take the Island Diver boat to the resort beginning at 9:30am and returning at 3pm.

 

We met Sherma as scheduled and she said, "I have bad news. Island Divers cancelled because their group of 12 cancelled and they were not interested in taking just 2 of you to the resort.".

 

We had booked this 10 months ago so you can imagine we were really upset and had no back-up plan. We had read about how great Serenity was and assumed all was well. Sherma offered us the land tour with a group of 6 but this was not what we had wanted. My husband asked if they could just drop us off at the resort during the tour since it was on the way. They agreed.

 

Although we still made it to the resort we had the following issues:

1. we lost 2 hours at the resort due to the drive vs. boat time

2. We paid $100 roundtrip for just transportation with Serenity (they wanted $130 just for the drive originally) and had to pay for lunch, drinks, chairs, etc out of pocket. These were all to be included for $150 total.

3. This was thrown at us last minute at the dock and looking back on it we should have just asked Sherma to find us a cab to drive us directly to the resort to have more time (and less stopping to view bananas...we had a land tour in 2007)

 

Sherma was very apologetic and they did drive us there but since they knew early that day that it wasn't going to happen, I felt that John should've had something planned to get us there directly instead of with a tour group.

 

I don't know whether we will do business with them again. I know others have had good experiences and this was primarily Island Divers' bad customer service but I just felt Serenity dropped the ball as well. I plan to email the General Manager at Ti Kaye with my complaint regarding the way things were handled by Island Divers which is part of the resort I understand.

[DGNY]

I tried to contact Serenity through their website a couple of days ago but have not heard back yet. Does anyone have an email address for them?

[cruisegirl29]

Hi!

 

I'm sure hoping someone can tell me what to do!! LOL It's so hard to decide what I want to do in St Lucia. This will be the first time for my visit there. I have a group of 34 people that I am trying to get a group tour put together for our upcoming stop in St Lucia in Jan!!! I want to tour with Serenity but which one should we do?

 

1. Private Island Tour $85.00 pp (up to 4 people free) With the discount it would be $75.pp

All Inclusive food & drink

 

2. Charter Private Catermeran (Holds up to 50)

Which would include All Day open Bar, Buffet Lunch, Snorkeling Gear for $80.00 pp

 

How is the snorkeling in St Lucia? We would be snorkeling close to the Ti Kaye Resort but off the Cat.

 

I know they are two totally different tours!! I'm just wondering what would be better for a group?

 

Thanks in advance!!

Sue

[KAWS]

Both of these tours would be fabulous.

 

We did the island tour and it covered absolutely EVERYTHING. What a fantastic but full day. I'd highly recommend that to anyone that's never been to St. Lucia before and wants to experience what the island is like. Serenity really looked after us well and we wouldn't fault a single thing.

 

With that said, the catamaran would be great too and I'm sure with a group of 34 you'd get the whole thing to yourself.

 

How many in your group would want to go snorkelling and just chill out for the day and how many would like to "see it all"? Because there's too much difference in the tours it's pretty impossible to recommend one over the other. Perhaps present the two options to the group and then let them sign up for whichever one strikes their fancy (or the majority if you're looking for one excursion for everyone).

[cruisegirl29]

Both of these tours would be fabulous.

 

We did the island tour and it covered absolutely EVERYTHING. What a fantastic but full day. I'd highly recommend that to anyone that's never been to St. Lucia before and wants to experience what the island is like. Serenity really looked after us well and we wouldn't fault a single thing.

 

With that said, the catamaran would be great too and I'm sure with a group of 34 you'd get the whole thing to yourself.

 

How many in your group would want to go snorkelling and just chill out for the day and how many would like to "see it all"? Because there's too much difference in the tours it's pretty impossible to recommend one over the other. Perhaps present the two options to the group and then let them sign up for whichever one strikes their fancy (or the majority if you're looking for one excursion for everyone).

 

Thank you so much for posting back!! I agree both would be great!! I will present both options & see what the majority would like to do! I'm thinking the island tour because we are first timers to St Lucia!

 

Thanks again,

Sue

[sailingaway12]

Cruise girl,

 

"I think you will enjoy both tours however with the the Catamaran charter you don't really get to experience the island so I really will say the island tour might be a better option especially with it being your first time on the island. I think you should not miss out on what St.lucia has to offer. Although we did ziplines and enjoyied the east coast our ambassadors told us that the West side is even prettier. Can't wait to return. You should run a vote by your party to see what their preference would be. Do enjoy the island.

[V and S]

We just did a private Serenity island tour with John and Yola, and it was the best part of our entire cruise--and that's saying a lot; it was a fantastic cruise!

 

It might've been the best experience we've ever had on vacation... everything everyone says about them is true. Just such a wonderful experience!! St. Lucia is our favorite island.

[teltrainer]

Hi,

 

I wanted to let you know what I received from Island Divers. According to an email copy they forwarded to me, Serenity failed to confirm our visit to Ti Kaye prior to our arrival and Island Divers did not "bail out" and leave us at the port as Serenity told us.

 

Given the email forwarded to me in which Island Divers discussed this with Serenity, We should have just booked directly with Island divers to avoid what happened.

 

Again this was not the Land Tour but a special Resort Day at Ti Kaye that Serenity booked for us. I'm glad to hear that the Land Tours and other tours have gone well for Serenity but cannot recommend the Ti Kaye resort excursion using Serenity's services.

[ROWSE]

Teltrainer: I am so sorry this happened to you.

 

We have this tour booked Feb. 4th. I have e-mailed Island Divers our receipt from Serenity and hopefully they will confirm with that or tell me what more I can do. I don't want to cancel Serenity as we have toured with them before and found them wonderful.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

[teltrainer]

Hi Rowse,

 

I didn't post the entire email from Island Divers but it definitely said there have been multiple confirmation of tour issues with Serenity so I think you have done the right thing. From what we observed, Serenity's only involvement in the Ti Kaye tour is taking the reservation, meeting you at the pier and connecting you with Island Divers for the boat there and then Island Divers and the Ti Kaye people take it from there.

 

The lunch we purchased at Ti Kaye was delicious. Never had Chicken Curry Roti before and it was fabulous. Water was so calm and clear, like floating in a pool. Also beach beverage and chair service from Terry who works for Ti Kaye was excellent.

 

I'm sure you will have a wonderful time there!

[cruisegirl29]

Hi,

 

I just booked 28 of us on a private island tour with Serenity! We are heading out in 2 weeks from today!!

 

If anyone would like to share what was their favorite island tour stops that would be great! How was the food & drinks offered during the tour???

 

All the reviews I've read say this is a fantastic tour to do with Serenity!!

 

Sue

[quietk]

Hi all, my family (pregnant wife of 5 months, 2 year old son, and both parentals in the late 50's/early 60's) will be visiting St. Lucia in early February. Was looking for a nice day tour that would allow a combination of sightseeing the island and a little beach time. I'm trying to decidbe between Cosol and Serenity and am having a difficult time. Since there are 7 of us, it would be great to have our own van but the only thing I'm concerned about is if we do the island tours, how many vans do we have to wait on in the group or is it worth spending a little extra for a private tour. My other main concern is travelling with a 2 year old (he's in the terrible 2 state) so I wouldn't want to ruin anyone else's day tour if they were touring with us. Any suggestions/advice are greatly welcomed. Thanks:)

 

Walt

[brampton32]

Hi all, my family (pregnant wife of 5 months, 2 year old son, and both parentals in the late 50's/early 60's) will be visiting St. Lucia in early February. Was looking for a nice day tour that would allow a combination of sightseeing the island and a little beach time. I'm trying to decidbe between Cosol and Serenity and am having a difficult time. Since there are 7 of us, it would be great to have our own van but the only thing I'm concerned about is if we do the island tours, how many vans do we have to wait on in the group or is it worth spending a little extra for a private tour. My other main concern is travelling with a 2 year old (he's in the terrible 2 state) so I wouldn't want to ruin anyone else's day tour if they were touring with us. Any suggestions/advice are greatly welcomed. Thanks:)

 

Walt

 

I had the same concerns as you regarding a large tour group with many vans going together. I don't like wasting time due to disorganization, waiting for stragglers or being stuffed in the back of an overpacked van straining my neck to hear the guide.

 

I recommend you contact Andre Joseph of A-Touring Services for a private tour just for your family. We had very positive experience with Andre and his rate turned out very reasonable for a private tour at $40 per person ( however lunch and admission fee to the volcano and botanic garden are not included). We had a whole roomy van for the 4 of us to enjoy the island tour and had plenty of time left to snorkel for 2 hours at Anse Chastenet.

 

You can contact Andre Joseph of A-Touring Services at a link on his website

ataxiservicesstlucia.com or at josephdre913@hotmail.com

 

My review is below:

 

" We just returned from a wonderful 7day Southern Caribbean Cruise on the Carnival Victory.

For St. Lucia, we decided to do an island tour to see the beauty of this island. From reading the reviews on this forum and tripadvisor, we contacted Andre Joseph of A-Touring Services for a private island tour for our family of 4. The other favorite operators on cruise critic seem to be getting too popular and I was concerned about their ability to manage a convoy of 5-6 vans going at the same time. Also we very much prefer a private tour for best family time. Tour to Soufriere on Andre’s web site was exactly what I was looking for. I e mailed Andre for details for the tour and it was confirmed that our tour will be a private tour for up to 4 at $160 (additional person is $40/person) in a minivan to see the island with a stop for lunch at the Beacon restaurant and 2 hours of snorkeling at Anse Chastenet. The rate did not include lunch and admission to the botanical garden or the volcano. Refreshments (water, soft drinks and beers are provided). I decided to skip the volcano for more snorkeling time.

Andre picked us up promptly at the gate at 8:45 am. We were impressed immediately with his clean, new and very comfortable Toyota minivan that could fit about 15 people. We hit all the highlights as listed on his Tour to Soufriere Andre’s Special, including city of Castries, Morne Fortune, banana plantation, Marigot Bay, fishing villages, view of the Pitons, cassava bread store and Botanical Gardens with the Diamond Waterfall. Andre is an excellent driver and we did not suffer at all from motion sickness considering the winding roads in St. Lucia.

Andre is very articulate with a great narrative voice. He gave us a lot of information about St. Lucia. My teenage kids were reluctant about doing an island tour as they had bad experience with boring tour guides in the past. However, Andre was such a good speaker that he kept them interested and learned a lot about St. Lucia. At the end they had to admit that the day was great because of Andre’s skills. Andre made the island came to life for them. Andre also treated us with 3 songs about the beauty of the island with his amazing voice.

We chose to snorkel at Anse Chastenet instead of Jalousie because I heard the snorkeling was better here and it seemed more troublesome to get to Jalousie. We still had a great view of the Pitons on a 10 minute bumpy ride to the Jade hotel at Anse Chastenet but could not see the Pitons on the beach. We planned to have lunch at the Beacon restaurant but the restaurant was fully booked for 2 large groups on that day so we just snapped photos of the Pitons and settled for lunch on the beach.

We left at 2:30pm for an uneventful drive back to the port. On the way back, Andre kept us entertained by quizzing about the information on St. Lucia that he gave us previously. This was great as the kids were excited to try to answer the trivia questions making the 1.5 hrs ride back passed quickly. We were dropped off at the port at about 4 pm.

Overall, I was glad that I booked this private tour with Andre. We had a great day to see the beautiful island with a professional guide/driver at our own pace without the crowd. His rate is also very much reasonable considering that this is a private tour. I highly recommend Andre Joseph if you prefer to have a private driver in St. Lucia. I am sure he can custom tailor the tour for you.

You can contact Andre Joseph of A-Touring Services at a link on his website

ataxiservicesstlucia.com or at josephdre913@hotmail.com"

[ccawalleye]

Walt,

 

I have done the tour with Cosol who is the best in my opinion and will get you

to Jalousie Beach which is in between the two pitons and all is included

in his price for volcano's and snacks and drinks along the way.

If this is your first visit I would definately go with Cosol.

I am going there in three weeks and this time I hope to find taxi

just to go to Jalousie cause it has the best view of pitons and great

snorkleing there. If you go with Cosol tell him Charlie & Shirley from IL

said hi.

 

Walt look at the pics here of Cosol Tour and you decide cause its pics like

these that made my mind up.

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/557312180VTmerz

 

 

Have a great time!

 

 

 

 

Charlie

[quietk]

Walt,

 

I have done the tour with Cosol who is the best in my opinion and will get you

to Jalousie Beach which is in between the two pitons and all is included

in his price for volcano's and snacks and drinks along the way.

If this is your first visit I would definately go with Cosol.

I am going there in three weeks and this time I hope to find taxi

just to go to Jalousie cause it has the best view of pitons and great

snorkleing there. If you go with Cosol tell him Charlie & Shirley from IL

said hi.

 

Walt look at the pics here of Cosol Tour and you decide cause its pics like

these that made my mind up.

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/557312180VTmerz

 

 

Have a great time!

 

 

 

 

Charlie

 

brampton32 and Charlie, thanks so much for the quick replies. Cosol was the first person I contacted for a quote and am interested in seeing what he has to say. Too bad my 2 year old isn't free compared to other tours but it's totally worth it if we have a great time. Thanks again and Charlie great pics, definitely can't wait to get there next month. Happy New Year.

 

Walt

[J & G]

On a recent land-based holiday, we toured with Cosol, Herod, and a cab driver named James. We MUCH prefered Herod as his tour was much more personal! In fact, he took wonderful care of us for three days! One evening he took us to the Anse LeRaye Fish Fry and stayed right with us the whole time to make sure that we were not bothered in any way. He also took us to the Gros Islet Jump Up and made sure we were safe the entire time (and that can be not so safe, we later discovered). On the final day of our holiday, he took us to the airport and even provided a baby seat for our grandson.

 

While we had scehduled a tour with Cosol, based on recommendations, we felt that Cosol was more a performer, while Herod was more a tour guide. I think it just depends on what you are looking for.....we like a more personal tour where we can interact and ask questions. Cosol didn't go for that, even though we were the only two in his van (no ships were in port). He had a set itinerary and script and any deviation from that seemed to be a nuisance. Just our opinion.....

[jaytee27]

Hi Rowse,

 

I didn't post the entire email from Island Divers but it definitely said there have been multiple confirmation of tour issues with Serenity so I think you have done the right thing. From what we observed, Serenity's only involvement in the Ti Kaye tour is taking the reservation, meeting you at the pier and connecting you with Island Divers for the boat there and then Island Divers and the Ti Kaye people take it from there.

 

The lunch we purchased at Ti Kaye was delicious. Never had Chicken Curry Roti before and it was fabulous. Water was so calm and clear, like floating in a pool. Also beach beverage and chair service from Terry who works for Ti Kaye was excellent.

 

I'm sure you will have a wonderful time there!

 

Teltrainer l second you on that comment. Serenity can't be blame for a problem that don't concern them when they have done their part.

[capriccio]

Between CruiseCritic and TravelAdvisor I'm overwhelmed with good reviews of St. Lucia tours. We should always have such problems.

 

I think we're settling on one of the Serenity tours. Does anyone have an opinion that that could help us decide between the Island Tour and the Land and Sea?

 

Also, is paying more for the private tour worth it?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

We just returned from the 2 week Ft. Lauderdale to Manaus (Brazil) cruise on the Royal Princess. One of the highlights was our day in St. Lucia. We took a private/public land and sea tour with Serenity Travel. We went with the private van tour because there were 4 ships in port that day and I was afraid it would be zoo. We were able to stay ahead of the masses. It was worth every penny.

 

It was a half day sightseeing in a private van with Russell and his wife Romillia and then a half day return on a catamaran (the public part of the tour) that included a stop for snorkeling and lots of complimentary rum punch:).

 

Romillia brought various homemade foods for us to try (all delicious) plus we stopped at a restaurant overlooking the Pitons for lunch. We covered about 1/2 the island. We also stopped for fresh bread, to examine how bananas are grown and processed, visited a 'drive in volcano, stopped at a fruit market so Russell could show us about a dozen different local fruits, etc.

 

We highly recommend this tour and we were so impressed with Russell and his knowledge -- I asked Romillia if he was an historian. That is his avocation plus he has a degree in International Relations (and served in the US Army). We all had similar interests (our undergrad degrees are in international relations and my husband's PhD is in history). We'll be back in St. Lucia in October and told them before we even left that we wanted Russell and Romillia to work up a specialized tour so we can see the rest of the island.

[guate]

For my family of four it was easliy worth the extra money for a private tour.

It was not that much more (in my opinion)!

 

I would call or email John and he will help you choose which tour is best for you. They are very knowledgeable and professional.

 

We loved the volcano and hot springs, and banana plantation. And the creole bread!

 

How can I contact them can yu give me an enail? Thanks.

[capriccio]

How can I contact them can yu give me an enail? Thanks.

 

Try ambassador@**************** (ambassador at serenitytvl dot com) or call toll free: 1 866 766 0794.

 

 

[kyriecat]

I was on a private tour of St. Lucia with Serenity last week. My mom is in a wheelchair so we decided that a private tour would work best for us. We didn't want to have others irritated because we slowed them down or have to wait because the tour went somewhere that my mom couldn't go.

 

We had John as our guide. He has a wealth of knowledge about the island, it's history, and it's culture. We had a fanatastic time. I had spoken with John a couple times on the phone before the cruise so he knew what my mom could and couldn't do and offered suggestions for us. My mom said that the Serenity tour was her favorite. There were a few things that she couldn't do due to stairs, but John made sure that she was able to see the sights from the van even if she couldn't get closer to them. The private tour was more expensive than going with a group, but for us it was worth the extra expense.

 

My husband and I are going to St. Lucia for an anniversary get-away in a couple months. We'll probably book a tour or two with Serenity while we're there. Hubby and I did the Cosol tour as part of a group last April in St. Lucia and had a great time, but Serenity provided a more personal touch that my mom really appreciated.

[blyle]

We've used serenity for 3 different tours and have had a wonderful time. One thing no one has mentioned is ..... John takes credit cards so you don't have to bring cash. He has a machine in the van and it makes it much easier. If you have any concerns or questions please call him on his toll free line. Once you speak to either John or Caroline you will feel at ease and eager to use them.

[bluemountain27]

I was on a private tour of St. Lucia with Serenity last week. My mom is in a wheelchair so we decided that a private tour would work best for us. We didn't want to have others irritated because we slowed them down or have to wait because the tour went somewhere that my mom couldn't go.

 

We had John as our guide. He has a wealth of knowledge about the island, it's history, and it's culture. We had a fanatastic time. I had spoken with John a couple times on the phone before the cruise so he knew what my mom could and couldn't do and offered suggestions for us. My mom said that the Serenity tour was her favorite. There were a few things that she couldn't do due to stairs, but John made sure that she was able to see the sights from the van even if she couldn't get closer to them. The private tour was more expensive than going with a group, but for us it was worth the extra expense.

 

My husband and I are going to St. Lucia for an anniversary get-away in a couple months. We'll probably book a tour or two with Serenity while we're there. Hubby and I did the Cosol tour as part of a group last April in St. Lucia and had a great time, but Serenity provided a more personal touch that my mom really appreciated.

 

Hi there kyriecat is Serenity Tours as good as they being portrayed? My 70 year old mom is on cruise with us, we would love to book an activity that will blow her mind. Are they really genuine? Please help.