"James Touring Service? Anyone been on a tour?"

[BARNOWL ONE]

We toured with james and "sugar daddy" when the maasdam visited st lucia on march 20...great tour. Highly recommend james for cruise critic fans. His van is air conditioned and is in top shape and was very comfortable for our group of eight folks. He responds quickly to emails and will adjust his tour to suit the group. Why pay the outrageous prices the ship charges for a similar tour. And, you are with folks you know from the cruise critic group.....john and shari hildebrandt

[lkjames1]

We booked a tour with James for April 1st and could not have been more pleased with it! Just like one of the emails I received from James, that you won't be disappointed- and we surely were not! What a great day we had! We were a party of 6 and everyone of us could not stop talking about the great day we had. From the time we met James and Sugar Daddy (his driver) at the cruise terminal till we returned, it was non stop fun!

We stopped at an old church in Castries. continuing the drive to see the Castries market, banana plantations and fishing villages. We made a stop and to taste fresh baked bread. We traveled winding roads to see Soufriere Bay and the Pitons that were breathtaking. We stopped at the Diamond Falls River Botanical Gardens that were absolutely stunning. We made a stop at a local restuarant where we had a taste of a local pork dish that had more flavor than any meal that we had on our HAL cruise! We stopped to view the beautiful Marigot Bay! If you book with James, you will not be disappointed. This was the best excursion that we had on our cruise.

[Mungo999]

We would definitely recommend him. We found James via really good reviews on Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic and he quickly quoted us a price by e-mail and gave us clear instructions how to meet him. He was exactly where he said he would be and we were soon on our way with a small number of other passengers. James' van was in excellent condition and he left the driving to Ziggy so that he could concentrate on giving us all the information about his island and answer any question that any of us had. We were never rushed although James always seemed to know exactly when to leave each stop so that we avoided any crowds at the next.

The trip was absolutely excellent and James gave us plenty of choices so that we could tailor our trip and get back when we wanted to. There was never any worry about not getting back in time for the ship - we got back about 2pm as planned, and it seemed to us that James had plans just in case something happened to delay us. We stopped for the hot bread and there was more than enough beer and rum punch available for anyone with a strong thirst.

We have usually done trip organised by the cruise line but this was far better - no crowded bus, plenty of stops, personalised itinerary, excellent guide and plenty of local information.

It was a truly memorable trip to St Lucia - we can't recommend James highly enough. Give him a try when you visit!

[careerlink]

James gave us the best tour we have ever had on any cruise. Period. We were in Saint Lucia on April 8, 2011 from the Princess Star cruise ship. From my initial email to James to the end of the tour, I felt secure i was dealing with a passionate professional looking out for my interest. James advertised a 5 hr. tour for $40 and gave us a 6 1/2 hr tour. He advertised

free beverages and gave us free bananas, free hot baked bread filled with cheese he bought in a fishing village we visited, free grilled pork with hot sauce as well as all the cold drinks you could drink. I forgot my camera battery so he gave me his camera and i put my memory card in it for the day. Got some great pictures thanks to James. If James had a tour service on other islands he would be the only one i would use. His tours are that good. His service is that good. His reliability is that good. He has big, newer vehicles that are air conditioned. Your satisfaction is his greatest concern. Rick and Ellen LeFever :)

[dyfed]

We went with James last week,what an amazing tour,both James and Sugar Daddy showed us all over St Lucia,he had lots of drinks and local food to taste,I don't know how he only charges $40.it was worth a lot more.

If you want to see St Lucia,I would highly recommend James Tours,has to be one of the best tours I have done.

[SCRUFFYCRUISER]

We had the pleasure of touring St. Lucia with James last week. By far, he is the most knowledgeable and personable tour guide we have ever had! James narrated the tour while Ziggy (a.k.a.) Sugar Daddy, drove the van, which was large, comfortable and air-conditioned. James and Ziggy have great personalities and would do well to form their own comedy team when they are not busy with tours! They provided refreshments for us and also stopped to buy us fresh bananas and fresh-baked bread from a local bakery. There remains much destruction on the island from a hurricane last October, but James knew alternate roads for getting around the roads and bridges that were washed out. There are similar tours offered through the cruise lines, but you will never get the personal interaction that James and Ziggy offer. We stopped at many scenic spots for photos and even one spot that had a man offering photo ops with his boa constrictor snake! Our group opted to visit the "drive-in volcano" rather than the Botanical Gardens, and this was no problem for James. Some of the group even took the optional warm mud bath, even though James warned us it would be extremely hot this time of year. We drove through several fishing villages and past the Pitons. At the end of the tour, James took us to a beach. We could have stayed longer, but everyone was so exhausted that we just cooled our feet and enjoyed the scenery. Don't miss the opportunity to tour with James. He gives you so much for such a low price. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we have wonderful memories to cherish!

 

Cindy

[martyap]

All the fantastic things said about James are true. He is passionate about beautiful St. Lucia and provides personable tours of his wonderful homeland. You will not be disappointed booking with James Touring......he really is the best:):):). Marty

[granddutchess]

We are booked with James in July and am glad to hear so many positive things about him. He was very quick to respond to my emails and noted that he would adjust our tour to whatever we wanted to see.

[martyap]

We are booked with James in July and am glad to hear so many positive things about him. He was very quick to respond to my emails and noted that he would adjust our tour to whatever we wanted to see.

I'm sure you will be very happy with your tour. James is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan so be sure to wear something Jets or Giants!

[misand]

:pWe were a group of 8. 4 adults and 4 children age 7-11.

James was great along with his driver. He took us places that ship tours do not go. We were able to experience things first hand and up close. He even picked several cashews that everyone could try. Never knew you could get juice from a cashew fruit. We also saw the banana plantations and had sugar bananas. We did the north tour as we were concerned about car sickness on the other tour. The one thing we tried that was really unique was banana ketchup. We ate it on chips my family really liked it but the other family that was with us didn't like it very well. We went to several different lookout points that were fabulous. Make sure you ask James about the white and blue coconuts! He always kept us well supplied with drinks too. We also went to a beach, that we really enjoyed. James was very knowledgable and friendly. My husband asked James to stop at a local food vendor that he would recommend. He did and the food was really good. Hope to see him again the next time we make it to St. Lucia!

 

Any questions just ask!

[misand]

Just posted my review on a new thread. Very enjoyable.

[A1A]

Anyone recently back from a James Tour, can you tell me what type of refreshments he had available and the price of your tour? Thinking about trying him out based on the reviews!

Thanks!

Ken

[misand]

Anyone recently back from a James Tour, can you tell me what type of refreshments he had available and the price of your tour? Thinking about trying him out based on the reviews!

Thanks!

Ken

 

Hello,

We had a great time on our tour in June with James. He provided a cooler with beer, his special rum punch and kids beverages.

Very enjoyable.

Misand:D

[martyap]

Anyone recently back from a James Tour, can you tell me what type of refreshments he had available and the price of your tour? Thinking about trying him out based on the reviews!

Thanks!

Ken

 

James is great and I'm sure if there is something special you want he'll do his best to accommodate you!

 

Marty

[tmm4vaca]

Just used him july 8th. Great trip. He has rum punch, yum my boyfriend loved it. he also had water and asked what kind of drinks we would like, If anyone wanted extra diet coke, I guess he ws makeing sure he had enough. oh yea and he had Piton beer. We paid 55. per person. and tiped him. We are from Pittsburgh and brought him gifts too. If you look on his web site and his facebook page our picture is on there with our terrible towels. We had fun. We didnt get to see the pitons and that side of the island because of the down pour that morning. but he showed us a good time. James is a great upstanding man. He and my boyfried hit it off great, so much so that he gave him a personal steeler item of his that he treasured. or maybe it was the rum:D:D:D:D

[PointCruiser]

James is great and I'm sure if there is something special you want he'll do his best to accommodate you!

 

Marty

 

This is an excellent recommendation from a discriminating critic! I've known Marty for many years!

 

I'll be forming a small group of my CC friends to tour with James in January. He gets the best quality reviews I've seen!

 

Thanks, Marty! :)

 

Ken

[Yenrab22]

We toured with James on 28 July. A highly reliable and honest guide, will accommodate whatever you want to do. I did a lot of research on line and couldn't find a negative word about him.

James went out of his way to ensure that we beat the big crowds to the main sights. There were a lot of other tour companies organizing their groups on the docks, and James wanted to make sure we made it out to the mud baths before the big groups did. This was good advice, since that place is kind of small, and when we hit it, we had plenty of room. When we were leaving, the busses from the big tour companies were showing up with tons of people, and I imagine it got very crowded in there.

An example of his integrity - we booked our family of 3 with him online and met him at the docks as soon as the ship docked; there was another group of 4 people on the docks who couldn't make up their minds whether they wanted to take the tour or not. After they vacillated a while, james realized we would fall behind the big tour groups if we didn't head out soon, so he just took our family, rather than continuing to try and win over these indecisive people. It may have cost him potential extra customers, but he didn't want our trip to suffer.

James kept asking us if there was anything else we wanted to do. It was raining, so the beach was not an option, but he got us everywhere he could. We did some neat stuff, like the kids got to play a steel drum and hold a boa constrictor, plus we ate some great local foods.

Cost was $55 per person (way below what a Cruise line Shore Excursion would cost, and includes as much as several excursions). James actually offered to discount the price AFTER we were done, because of the weather.

I also liked that James does his own tours, rather than having several guides working for him. Cosol has good ratings, but I did see they had some pretty big groups on the docks.

It sounds like most of the tour companies on St. Lucia are also very good. In any case, much better than trying to do it on your own. With the winding jungle roads, you definitely need a professional driver and guide.

[geenafeena]

from looking at his website, there only appears to be one tour for $188 which includes a heliocopter tour. is this right?

[martyap]

from looking at his website, there only appears to be one tour for $188 which includes a heliocopter tour. is this right?

 

You are obviously looking at the wrong James touring. James uses modern vans with safe drivers at very reasonable prices.....no helicopters and no tours for $188. We have toured with James twice and could not have been more pleased.

You can get in touch with James at tourstlucia68@yahoo.com. James is highly responsible and quick to reply.

We would not consider any other tour in St. Lucia.

 

Marty and Karen

[martyap]

You are obviously looking at the wrong James touring. James uses modern vans with safe drivers at very reasonable prices.....no helicopters and no tours for $188. We have toured with James twice and could not have been more pleased.

You can get in touch with James at tourstlucia68@yahoo.com. James is highly responsible and quick to reply.

We would not consider any other tour in St. Lucia.

 

Marty and Karen

I checked James' website and he does indeed have a combination helicopter and land tour for $180pp.....drinks included.

http://www.jamestouringservice.com/Packages.htm

I'll have to check it out next time we visit. We've only done the standard

land tours and highly recommend James.

[geenafeena]

I checked James' website and he does indeed have a combination helicopter and land tour for $180pp.....drinks included.

http://www.jamestouringservice.com/Packages.htm

I'll have to check it out next time we visit. We've only done the standard

land tours and highly recommend James.

 

we are trying to decide between him and cosol tours. cosol tours is $10 more and includes food. although the land rover tour does sound fun, we have done that before on other islands and had a blast.

[geenafeena]

has anyone done the landrover tour? trying to decide between that and the regular tour. landrovers are always fun though.

[geenafeena]

how is sandi beach in vieux fort which the bus tour stops at?

[Cras108er]

Anyone recently back from a James Tour, can you tell me what type of refreshments he had available and the price of your tour? Thinking about trying him out based on the reviews!

Thanks!

Ken

 

You can not go wrong with James. To be honest, I am not sure how he is making money. He gives you so much for your money. You get an all day tour, with lots of extras. When we went on our tour back in April, we went with a bunch of other folks from Cruise Critic. We booked in advance and he was waiting for us when the ship docked. He treated us like Kins and Queens. We were in three different vans. He spent the entire day personally running back and forth between vans making sure everyone was enjoying the tour. He provided alcoholic and nonalcoholic refreshments to everyone. At one point he stopped and purchased some local baked goods (it was some kind of bread if I remember correctly) at a local shop and provided some (a lot) for the riders in each van. The views of the island were absolutely breath taking. At one point, our driver (Sugar Daddy) got out and picked some cashews from a tree to show us what the plant looks like.

 

If there was anything that sticks out in my mind, its the persohal touch. You NEVER feel like he is just in the business of making money. He truly has the gift of hospitality. He taoilors the trip to what the group wants. As I understand it, the tour is not even standard. He varies it on any given day. I read a review where he even took the group to his house to meet his family. This man is definitely living his passion, and it shows.

 

Sign up today. You cannot go wrong.

[martyap]

You can not go wrong with James. To be honest, I am not sure how he is making money. He gives you so much for your money. You get an all day tour, with lots of extras. When we went on our tour back in April, we went with a bunch of other folks from Cruise Critic. We booked in advance and he was waiting for us when the ship docked. He treated us like Kins and Queens. We were in three different vans. He spent the entire day personally running back and forth between vans making sure everyone was enjoying the tour. He provided alcoholic and nonalcoholic refreshments to everyone. At one point he stopped and purchased some local baked goods (it was some kind of bread if I remember correctly) at a local shop and provided some (a lot) for the riders in each van. The views of the island were absolutely breath taking. At one point, our driver (Sugar Daddy) got out and picked some cashews from a tree to show us what the plant looks like.

 

If there was anything that sticks out in my mind, its the persohal touch. You NEVER feel like he is just in the business of making money. He truly has the gift of hospitality. He tailors the trip to what the group wants. As I understand it, the tour is not even standard. He varies it on any given day. I read a review where he even took the group to his house to meet his family. This man is definitely living his passion, and it shows.

 

Sign up today. You cannot go wrong.

 

You are exactly correct. Unlike many of the other operators, such as Cosol, James personalizes his tours. James is fantastic!!!!!

 

Marty