St. Kitts Caribbean Scenic Rail & Sail

[tkabrk]

Has anyone taken the tour on St. Kitts - Caribbean Scenic Rail & Sail? If so, it looks like there are two tours offered. One is 3 hours and the other is 4 hours. What's the difference between the two tours? Did you enjoy the tour?

 

Thanks,

Diane

[CruisinNole]

Diane - we just returned from the Equinox 10 night cruise and 3 couples in our group took the train ride. I don't know if it was the 3 or 4 hour trip but they weren't impressed. They said it was boring. The lower section was air conditioned but the upper part, with the better view, was not. They said all they remember is riding through lots of sugar cane fields. Hopefully, you'll get some first-hand reviews to assist you with your decision.

[shun]

Just returned from Equinox and did the train.Not all that impressed.Was a rocky ride and very loud squealing from the tracks.If you do it wear ear plugs. It's a lot of money and I wouldn't do it again.

[Gonzo70]

I actually enjoyed the train ride. It is a bit pricey, but the scenery was beautiful and I found it to be a fun way to tour the island. The upper level is not air conditioned because you are outside! If you get too hot, you can go cool off downstairs, but with the train moving there was enough of a breeze upstairs that I did not get hot. I took tons of great pictures. They also serve you a couple of free beverages including some tasty pina coladas. I do not have any feedback on the sail component - we only did the rail.

 

I am going to try and dig up the link to my photos of my cruise and will edit this post and add it on.

 

Edit: Here is a link to my photos: http://s497.photobucket.com/albums/r...ruise/?start=0

 

The pictures of the rail excursion start on the last picture on page 9 and continue to middle of page 11.

[Ma Bell]

Just my opinion, but I thought it was one of the worst tours I've ever been on.

 

Grab a taxi and have them take you to Romney Manor and Brimstone Hill.:)

[reklawr]

Has anyone taken the tour on St. Kitts - Caribbean Scenic Rail & Sail? If so, it looks like there are two tours offered. One is 3 hours and the other is 4 hours. What's the difference between the two tours? Did you enjoy the tour?

 

Thanks,

Diane

 

We did the rail part of this excursion and really enjoyed the scenery.

[flarad]

Get off the ship and right outside the port area are plenty of taxi/van drivers. We paid $20 each for a van with about 8 people in it. Our family joined with some others. We got a complete tour of the island, fabulous, we saw everything and it was NOT boring. My only hint, if one of you gets motion sick take some bonine. The island is mountainous - beautiful though.

[STXCruisers]

Did the rail part only in February. It was the worst excursion I have ever taken. Please understand that I have never complained about an excursion before. Some are better than others, but nothing so bad I would complain until this one. The price of $99 with unlimited drinks did not seem so bad, but the drinks were awful. Tried banana daquiri - UGH!!, then rum and coke - UGH again & how can you ruin rum & coke? Then had bottled water - much better!

We sat in the lower compartment of the train with the AC. Well into the tour someone came through and turned off the AC. It became very hot inside. After complaints, the AC was turned on again.

Made a bathroom visit on the train only to learn there was no water to flush the toilet. Liberally soaped my hands then tried to rinse them off - but NO water from the faucet either! This made me very uneasy with all these cruise passengers using the train bathrooms, and no water for flushing or washing hands!! We were the second group on this train and the third group was boarding as we got off the train. The train was not being serviced, so they had no water either in the bathroom.

The scenery was OK. The countryside was beautiful, but littered everywhere with junk. I guess there is not a place on the island where they can dispose of their trash, so there it is for you to see all along the train tracks (refrigerators, cars, machinery, etc.).

I complained in person at the Shore Excursions desk then we complained in writing on the form provided. If others would do the same, maybe Celebrity would get the vendor to bring this excursion up to what it should be or do away with it. I must say, though, that the van ride after the train ride was very interesting and we enjoyed that. At $50, I still would not take this excursion.

If I had it to do over again, I would just do a land tour or take a taxi and forget about the train.

Doris

[dilacruiser]

Just did the train ride on our 2/27/10 cruise. First, the train broke down before we got on. Then they had us tromp through some prickers and tall grass and garbage to climb aboard while they fixed it. It is not luxurious as it is promised.

 

The people were friendly, however, when the bar server went to make my banana slushy, she added new banana juice to some that was already in the blender (I had been there for 45 minutes at this time and it had been in there for at least that amount of time in the 86 degree heat). When I asked for a bottled water instead, she made me feel like I had insulted her.

 

Really felt like we wasted this day. We were delayed for about an hour due to the breakdown. Plus, it was a 40 minute drive to the train - although only a 5 minute drive back since the train goes one way and ended up closer to the ship.

 

I did complain to Celebrity (and others did too) and they said they would give me a 15% refund, which I haven't seen yet.

 

So, in my opinion, just about any other excursion you pick would be more worthwhile.

[dilacruiser]

Forgot to mention the diesel fumes that we inhaled the whole ride. Not very pleasant.

[tkabrk]

Thank you for all the feedback - glad I asked.

 

Diane