runnergirlcinci

We did this tour in early March.  I would say it was 'so-so'.  Personally I would not choose to do it again. It was no bad, per se.  But if I had a choice on where to spend my day, I would not do this excursion again.  We found the crew on the boat seemed more interested in partying with themselves than makings sure the guests were taken care of.  They were dancing and singing up a storm.  Also, on every excursion I've been on in the Caribbean the crew always helps you back into the boat after snorkeling.  Usually they take your mask, flippers, and offer you a hand up.  Here they did not.  You were on your own.  And this was the first excursion I've ever been on where you had to sign out the mask and the flippers to make sure you return them!

Hi all, 

My husband just called and talked to Ringo today (1/24/19).  He was able to reserve a time slot for us directly (not through a cruise ship) for $145 each for the 30 min session.  Lifesabanquet - you may want to call back if you're still interested in doing it.  Also Ringo said it is either an easy walk or a $10pp taxi depending on which port we are docked to get to the Emerald Beach Resort where they are located.

That's too bad to hear you can only book it through Royal Caribbean.  We are coming in on Princess so I guess we can't do it based on what he told you.  

Does anyone know how much a taxi would be (and how long the ride is) from the port to wherever you meet St. Thomas Flyboarding?  It doesn't sound like they provide transportation.  I sent an email asking via their website yesterday but have not heard back.  Just trying to understand what the full cost will be for two.  It's already pretty expensive at $145 for 30 minutes but we would really like to try it.

My husband and I did the hike 5 years ago using Spencer Ambrose.  We loved it.  We took a speed boat to the base and he had a guide there waiting for us.  Wonderful young man named Cameron.  It was a tough but amazing climb.  Absolutely beautiful and it felt like such an accomplishment when you got to the top.  The only reason I haven't booked it again for our upcoming cruise is he has added a $180 refundable late transport fee (plus a non-refundable $10 PayPal fee).  My understanding is he had issues with people not getting back down in time to meet the speed boat so he has to send another one later, which adds cost.  So to 'incent' you to get back down on time he's added the $180.  Well maybe not incent you, but to cover his costs.  It's understandable but made me too nervous to book.  The cost of the excursion is $150/person plus $1/person transaction fee.  We did it before he had the late transport fee but got down in time anyway.  Then they pick you up in the speed boat, you get taken to a beach, we had lunch, snorkeled and then they took you back to the ship.  A wonderful day.

FLL airport. All the rental car companies are in the same location.

Erica

There is no longer a shuttle from the car rental building to the port. There is a sign that says it has been discontinued. We didn’t cruise last year so I am not sure how long ago it stopped. But we had done it in the past.

Erica

I found they would modify the hours per your request. So they would easily allow you to change to 9-3. Just write to them and ask.

I'll type what I remember (without street names) and hopefully ReedPrincess can fill in the rest. From the resort you walk straight to the traffic circle. Take a right at the traffic circle. You will need to cross the street when you turn right to get on the sidewalk. At this point the airport runway will be on your right and stores will be on your left. You follow that street straight until you get to a main intersection where the road coming from your left will 'T' into the street you're walking on. You will turn left here. It's a busy intersection but the sidewalk is on your left so you don't have to cross the street here. You then walk straight on this street until you see the street for the port. There is a gas station on the right to identify the street. Now you get to have fun crossing. There is a traffic light further up so if you wait for it to change that should reduce some of the traffic and you can cross over. We found cars stopped for us to let us cross. Then you walk to your ship! Pretty easy. Just a couple of turns.

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Just got back from the Royal Princess where my husband and I both did the tour. Our opinion, for what it's worth, is we both enjoyed it tremendously and would recommend it to others. We thought it was fascinating. There were 20 of us on our tour - so a big group. We signed up around noon the day of boarding at the customer service desk (purser desk?). The tour was our last sea day on the 10 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. The night before our tour we had a letter in our room that had a waiver for us to sign and bring plus, told us where to meet, and explained the dress code. No open toe shoes, sandals, heels. And must wear long pants. I did see one woman had cropped pants and they didn't say anything.

We had a fabulous time and are still talking about all of the things we saw and learned.

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Well I can't comment on spending the day at Rendezvous. The day we were in port it was raining pretty hard at 9:30am and we were supposed to go there at 10. Around 11 it let up and we did walk over. It takes about 15 minutes. It's a rough sidewalk but it's doable. No hills just a flat walk. The place looked ok but since the weather wasn't perfect we decided to just head back to the ship and save the $130. The hotel doesn't look new but there is a small beach and we saw two pools. Not sure if the one day pass can use both or not.

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I will be there on Jan 23rd. Will try to remember to come back after our return the following week to post a review!

I can only answer one of your questions for sure - you pay when you arrive, you don't have to pre-pay.

We are planning to walk so I don't know about taxi availability. But considering it is a resort, I would think they could get your a taxi for your return trip.

Yes they are co-ed.

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Thanks to this post we are now going to Rendezvous on Jan 23rd. I wrote to Angus and he confirmed they had availability for $65. Wish I had seen the note to request 10-4pm, I asked for 10-3pm! I wonder how they kick you out in the afternoon?

Anyway, thanks to everyone that responded to this thread. Can't wait to try it out!

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We rode horses at Gold Mine Ranch in February and thoroughly enjoyed. it. They only take a max of 6 people and it is not a "nose to tail" type of ride. Our ride was about an hour and a half. The owner picked us up at a gas station that was an easy 5 minute walk from the port. The horses were calm and easy to ride. There were just 4 of us on our tour plus the guide. We rode along the beach, took the horses in the water, and around some hills. It was a very pleasant ride. The guide stopped to take our pictures with our camera multiple times. I am sure we will use at least one of them in our Christmas card - the background of the water splashing behind us while we're on the horses is just beautiful. We would definitely recommend Gold Mine Ranch.

We used Goldmine Ranch in February and had a very nice time. We spent about an hour and a half riding. It was not a "nose to tail" type of ride which made it very enjoyable. You could go whatever speed you felt comfortable with (within reason). We got to walk the horses into the water, along the beach, and into some hills. The guide took our picture in multiple spots with our own camera. The horses were calm and friendly. We were only with one another couple and our guide on the tour. I like that they only take up to 6 guests at a time, I would not enjoy being with more than that. The owner picked us up at a gas station that was an easy 5 minute walk from the port and dropped us back off there. The owner started his business by rescuing horses and then expanded to rescuing other animals. Very thoughtful man. I enjoyed giving him our business.

We also did Levi's wet tour during February while there on the Royal Princess. We LOVED it. We would highly recommend Levi and this tour. I was concerned there would be too much "van time" but it really was not. Levi was right where he said he would be when we exited the ship. We had a great time at all of the stops. Levi was personable, helpful, professional and felt like a friend by the end of the day. There were just 5 of us on the tour and we all got along great and shared wonderful memories together. Next time we are in Dominica we will definitely look to do a tour with Levi.

Sorry, I'm no help, as I hadn't heard of Mt. Liamuiga. But I'm going to watch for other people to respond as I would love to do another beautiful hike like this again.

But I'd recommend if you don't hear back from anyone, you still go for it. The worst thing that can happen is you don't make it all the way to the top. But the views from the walk up would still be worth it. You can walk at whatever pace you need and get as far as you can. The guide will know when you need to turn around. Just my two cents!

We were on a Princess ship when we did the climb last year. For us, we got back with time to then go have lunch at the beach where the others on the excursion spent the day, snorkel and had a small amount of relaxing. So it was not a rush to make the ship.

How long it will take you is a matter of how in shape you are. The more in shape the less and/or shorter breaks you will need to take. The day we did the climb it was only my husband and I with the guide.

We had a fantastic experience. We were there in February. Spencer's boat picked up us and three other couples at the cruise port. We were the only two hiking and he dropped us off at the base of the Pitons, where we met our personal guide. When we were done hiking the guide called the boat and it picked us up right away and took us to where there other folks had spent the day at the beach. We had no issues with Spencer's service. Not sure if that's because we were there during an uncrowded time period or not. Our guide, a young man named Cameron (who I would highly recommend) said he thought Spencer did a very good job versus other tour operators planning hikes.

Just my two cents. I know others have had different experiences.

I guess the question would be - could he hike continuously uphill for 2-2.5 hours? I thought I saw a video posted on line of a family doing the climb and there were boys in it but I am not sure of their ages. Try searching the internet and maybe you can find it and compare the kids to the boy you would be bringing.

Again, my goal was to help others with a mistake I made in terms of three stops for snorkeling and the type of catamaran. Hopefully with your clarity and my clarity others will have a good understanding of what is being provided.

If I missed the information on the website possibly others did too.

Never said I was misled. I am trying to help others make a decision on what they are signing up for. It's my review based on my observations/experience.

It can't hurt to explain to others that the boat is not a sailboat. That's a fact - not an opinion.

Like I wrote, when I arrived to meet the boat I was surprised to not see sails on the catamaran. If I had noticed there were no sails on the website then I would not have been surprised when I arrived.

I don't believe there is anything wrong with pointing this observation out in my review as there could be other people that would like to know this prior to booking. Some people really look forward to a relaxing day on a sailboat versus a powerboat. It was an oversight that I didn't notice this in the pictures you pointed out and I would like to help others that may not notice either.