NCL CAncelled St Lucia Cruises Over Concern for Passenger Safety!!!

[LaShelle2]

http://www.stlucianewsonline.com/?p=1945

 

 

Link was sent to me on NCL forum. News to me. I never thought of St Lucia as an unsafe place, but it must be something to it if a cruise line would opt out of stopping here?

 

Has anyone ever felt unsafe here? We were planning on this as a grab a cab and head to a free beach day. Should we rethink our plans? The tours here seem so pricey compared to other stops, but may be worth the exepnse if it's that bad. :eek:

[sunseeker09]

I have read reviews that people didn't feel safe at certain beaches, but we never felt unsafe. We had one older guy follow us for a bit in town, begging for money, but he seemed harmless. Mostly we thought that the people in St. Lucia just weren't friendly and seemed to resent us being there. We did a Carnival cat cruise and the crew were miserable and didn't say anything the whole trip. It was like they just hated having to be there. It wasn't a particularly positive atmosphere. When we stopped to snorkel some guy offered my husband drugs... while we were smimming, which I found comical more than anything (I mean, we were IN the water). I took a photo of a colourful, passing small boat. The 2 guys in it glared at me like they were going to come on board and rip the camera out of my hand. Another odd thing was that our cat made a couple of unplanned stops to pick up someone and to pick up a package. I did have to wonder if drugs are becoming more of a problem on this island? Not that it concerns me personally, as we go to and love Jamaica.

 

St. Lucia doesn't have the greatest beaches, so if you are selecting islands for beach days, this may not be the best one to choose for that. Every island we went to had better beaches (ok, except Dominica). The scenic tour plan worked well on Dominca though, so if we end up back there on another cruise we'd probably go and do an inland tour with one of the reputable companies mentioned here. Sorry, but St. Lucia was our least favourite island out of 10 on that trip. So NCL dropping it wouldn't bother me any.

[virginiatechmom]

http://www.stlucianewsonline.com/?p=1945

 

 

Link was sent to me on NCL forum. News to me. I never thought of St Lucia as an unsafe place, but it must be something to it if a cruise line would opt out of stopping here?

 

Has anyone ever felt unsafe here? We were planning on this as a grab a cab and head to a free beach day. Should we rethink our plans? The tours here seem so pricey compared to other stops, but may be worth the exepnse if it's that bad. :eek:

 

 

It is funny how different experiences can be. St. Lucia was one of our favorite islands. It is absolutely beautiful. We did a private tour with Frank. We found him to be very trustworthy and we did not feel like we were in any sort of danger at all. It was just my daughter and I and Frank was very respectful and treated us like family members. We are returning this year and once again using Frank to take us zip lining and to the beach.

 

The beach we went to last year was Jalousie and as far as scenery goes, it is truly one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. I do not know how difficult it would be to tour the island on your own, but I personally would not be comfortable doing so because of the steep, twisty roads. I am not sure how easy it is to grab a cab and go to a beach, but other posters may be able to give you advice on that. If you do have the chance to join one of the reputable tour companies mentioned on this board, I think you will be quite safe and, in my opinion, seeing Jalousie is worth the effort.

 

Enjoy your day in St. Lucia. It is a breathtaking island!!

[BroncosFan2010]

It is funny how different experiences can be. St. Lucia was one of our favorite islands. It is absolutely beautiful. We did a private tour with Frank. We found him to be very trustworthy and we did not feel like we were in any sort of danger at all. It was just my daughter and I and Frank was very respectful and treated us like family members. We are returning this year and once again using Frank to take us zip lining and to the beach.

 

The beach we went to last year was Jalousie and as far as scenery goes, it is truly one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. I do not know how difficult it would be to tour the island on your own, but I personally would not be comfortable doing so because of the steep, twisty roads. I am not sure how easy it is to grab a cab and go to a beach, but other posters may be able to give you advice on that. If you do have the chance to join one of the reputable tour companies mentioned on this board, I think you will be quite safe and, in my opinion, seeing Jalousie is worth the effort.

 

Enjoy your day in St. Lucia. It is a breathtaking island!!

 

Would you mind sharing how you got to Jalousie and about how much it cost? I really want to go to this beach but cannot seem to find any way to get there just to spend the day. I am not interested in doing an island tour with a stop at Jalousie.

[virginiatechmom]

Would you mind sharing how you got to Jalousie and about how much it cost? I really want to go to this beach but cannot seem to find any way to get there just to spend the day. I am not interested in doing an island tour with a stop at Jalousie.

 

 

Sure, I am happy to help. We arranged a tour with Frank last year and we just chose where we wanted to stop. I cannot remember the price last year, but this year we are again using Frank and I can tell you what he is charging us. It is 3 of us this on this year's cruise. He is charging $85 per person to go zip lining. After we are finished with that, we are going directly to Jalousie and he is charging us $40 pp for that portion of our day. That price includes transportation, lunch and his cooler of beer, soda, water and famous rum punch. He can tailor your day to whatever you want. I believe we will have about 3 hours at Jalousie after the zip lining. He is a very sweet family man and he will do whatever he can to make your day just the way you want it to be. Also, he can arrange for a boat ride from Jalousie back to the ship so that you can avoid having to drive back and have even more time at the beach if you want. I think he quoted me $120 if we chose to take the boat back, but we decided to just have him drive us back in his van at the end of the day. Hope this helps!

 

His email address is: franktax@hotmail.com

[BroncosFan2010]

Sure, I am happy to help. We arranged a tour with Frank last year and we just chose where we wanted to stop. I cannot remember the price last year, but this year we are again using Frank and I can tell you what he is charging us. It is 3 of us this on this year's cruise. He is charging $85 per person to go zip lining. After we are finished with that, we are going directly to Jalousie and he is charging us $40 pp for that portion of our day. That price includes transportation, lunch and his cooler of beer, soda, water and famous rum punch. He can tailor your day to whatever you want. I believe we will have about 3 hours at Jalousie after the zip lining. He is a very sweet family man and he will do whatever he can to make your day just the way you want it to be. Also, he can arrange for a boat ride from Jalousie back to the ship so that you can avoid having to drive back and have even more time at the beach if you want. I think he quoted me $120 if we chose to take the boat back, but we decided to just have him drive us back in his van at the end of the day. Hope this helps!

 

His email address is: franktax@hotmail.com

 

Thank you so much! I have been in contact with him before, and for some reason I think he is quoting me much higher rates than everyone else! I will try again and see if I can get a better deal.

[virginiatechmom]

Thank you so much! I have been in contact with him before, and for some reason I think he is quoting me much higher rates than everyone else! I will try again and see if I can get a better deal.

 

 

You are very welcome. He may give his past customers a slightly better deal because I think that one of his emails earlier this year mentioned something about a "regular" rate of $55 pp for the tour/lunch portion of our day, but that he was giving us a discounted rate of $40 pp. I think the zip line price is a set fee he pays the zip lining company, but you may be able to negotiate Frank's rate if you ask. Good luck - I hope it works out for you.

[suitetooth]

Thank you so much! I have been in contact with him before, and for some reason I think he is quoting me much higher rates than everyone else! I will try again and see if I can get a better deal.

 

Don't be a cheapskate !!!!! You get what you pay for.. He is the best,everyone knows him and you will definitely get your money's worth.

[Gthenewsgirl]

Don't be a cheapskate !!!!! You get what you pay for.. He is the best,everyone knows him and you will definitely get your money's worth.

 

I am jumping in on this, b/c I am a cheapskate just like Bronco :rolleyes:. I found an identical tour w/someone else (a reputable tour operator) for about $50 cheaper than what Frank is charging. That's the price of lunch. And the other company has been MUCH more responsive than Frank. Why would I pay more for what is effectively the same tour? It's the law of supply and demand. Frank has competition, and his personality only goes so far in making up for the difference in price.

 

Additionally, I feel more comfortable going with a "firm" (a company, if you will) than an individual. I feel better protected if anything should happen to go wrong.

[RonnieD]

Sure, I am happy to help. We arranged a tour with Frank last year and we just chose where we wanted to stop. I cannot remember the price last year, but this year we are again using Frank and I can tell you what he is charging us. It is 3 of us this on this year's cruise. He is charging $85 per person to go zip lining. After we are finished with that, we are going directly to Jalousie and he is charging us $40 pp for that portion of our day. That price includes transportation, lunch and his cooler of beer, soda, water and famous rum punch. He can tailor your day to whatever you want. I believe we will have about 3 hours at Jalousie after the zip lining. He is a very sweet family man and he will do whatever he can to make your day just the way you want it to be. Also, he can arrange for a boat ride from Jalousie back to the ship so that you can avoid having to drive back and have even more time at the beach if you want. I think he quoted me $120 if we chose to take the boat back, but we decided to just have him drive us back in his van at the end of the day. Hope this helps!

 

His email address is: franktax@hotmail.com

Could you use your own camera when you zip lined? ?

[kenrod]

We were in St. Lucia last week as one of our ports on the Carnival Victory. I have to say that this was our favourite island in our port intensive cruise.

 

We took a private tour with Cosol and we never felt unsafe in any way wherever we went.

 

Part of our tour took us to Jalousie Beach. This beach is public, but there is also a resort there and the non-guests are not allowed to use the chairs. One of the waitresses from the resort asked us if we wanted a drink, so I ordered a Coke. She came out with a can of Coke and a straw and wanted to charge me $4.00! My wife stepped in and told her to take back her Coke because we were not going to pay 4 bucks for a can of pop. This was the only "crime" that we witnessed on the island.

 

Other than that little "pimple on the bum", our day in St. Lucia was enjoyable and we are seriously considering going back and speding more time there as a land vacation.

[BroncosFan2010]

I am jumping in on this, b/c I am a cheapskate just like Bronco :rolleyes:. I found an identical tour w/someone else (a reputable tour operator) for about $50 cheaper than what Frank is charging. That's the price of lunch. And the other company has been MUCH more responsive than Frank. Why would I pay more for what is effectively the same tour? It's the law of supply and demand. Frank has competition, and his personality only goes so far in making up for the difference in price.

 

Additionally, I feel more comfortable going with a "firm" (a company, if you will) than an individual. I feel better protected if anything should happen to go wrong.

 

 

Thanks for defending me. I am not a cheapskate by any means. DH and myself are paying a LARGE amount of money for a balcony hump cabin on a B2B. We are booking every dream excursion we can think of, and we are also buying a new car this summer, all on one income! This cruise is to celebrate our 5 year anniversary and my completion of grad school. So, while I want to book every excursion we WANT to do, regardless of price, we are not really sure what we want to do on St. Lucia, so we are shopping around for rates. When I see someone take the same tour with Frank that we are interested in for $70, I am confused as to why he is charging me over $100??? Especially, when I can book the exact same thing with the cruise ship for $104, and I will have the peace of mind of knowing that RCCL will be getting me back to the ship on time, and all the other guarantees when booking a ship excursion.

[virginiatechmom]

Could you use your own camera when you zip lined? ?

 

 

We have not gone on our cruise yet, but I will let you know about using our camera on the zip line when we return. We are on the Victory 5/23, so I will try and remember to post the answer when we get back.

[notentirelynormal]

Don't be a cheapskate !!!!! You get what you pay for.. He is the best,everyone knows him and you will definitely get your money's worth.

 

It isn't a matter of being a cheapskate - its a matter of not feeling cheated. If you pay $10 and the guy next to you pays $10 - why should I pay $20 for the same thing? Its not nice to call people names because they choose not to be taken advantage of.

[takevtr1]

Wow.

I never thought that plannig a dream vacation ie: a cruise would involve so much stress.

 

I also use private tour operators on every island we visit to save some money and have just my family on the tour, but after all the haggeling, it may be better to just take a ship excursion.

 

STRESS OUT !

[Flowers2]

I am jumping in on this, b/c I am a cheapskate just like Bronco :rolleyes:. I found an identical tour w/someone else (a reputable tour operator) for about $50 cheaper than what Frank is charging. That's the price of lunch. And the other company has been MUCH more responsive than Frank. Why would I pay more for what is effectively the same tour? It's the law of supply and demand. Frank has competition, and his personality only goes so far in making up for the difference in price.

 

Additionally, I feel more comfortable going with a "firm" (a company, if you will) than an individual. I feel better protected if anything should happen to go wrong.

 

Gthenewsgirl, can you share which tour operator is doing the identical tour as Frank for $50 cheaper, is this the total off for a group or $50 per person cheaper?

Is this the same tour you were looking for other's, for zip line and the Jalousie Plantation beach?

 

 

Thank you

[dc512cedar]

We were on a cruise ship excursion to the Anse-La-Raye Waterfall the week of 4-25-10. On the way back from the falls to the safari jeeps, the last four people in our group were robbed at gunpoint. Turns out this also happened in December when 14 people were robbed.

 

So you do need to be careful of your surroundings. It takes the fun out of the vacation, but you have to stay aware that danger exists on St. Lucia.

[BroncosFan2010]

We were on a cruise ship excursion to the Anse-La-Raye Waterfall the week of 4-25-10. On the way back from the falls to the safari jeeps, the last four people in our group were robbed at gunpoint. Turns out this also happened in December when 14 people were robbed.

 

So you do need to be careful of your surroundings. It takes the fun out of the vacation, but you have to stay aware that danger exists on St. Lucia.

 

 

Oh wow! What a scary experience. If I keep hearing stories like this, I may just convince DH to remain on the ship, or maybe do a little shopping in the main shopping area (where I have seen lots of security). This is horrible publicity for the island. If they don't get this under control, they will loose so many tourist dollars!

[klepton]

Oh wow! What a scary experience. If I keep hearing stories like this, I may just convince DH to remain on the ship, or maybe do a little shopping in the main shopping area (where I have seen lots of security). This is horrible publicity for the island. If they don't get this under control, they will loose so many tourist dollars!

 

I'm not super familiar with the situation there, so I could be way off base, but with the number of people who visit St. Lucia on a daily basis the crime ratio probably isn't all that high. I mean, you'd probably have a better chance of getting robbed in Miami on your way from the airport to the pier than you do in St. Lucia. That might be a stretch, probably is, but I think it illustrates the point that you can get mugged anywhere. The very small chance of crime is not enough to keep me from seeing the beautiful island of St. Lucia. If you're really concerned, book a big tour with a known operator that stays in populated areas. But don't skip it altogether.

[BroncosFan2010]

I'm not super familiar with the situation there, so I could be way off base, but with the number of people who visit St. Lucia on a daily basis the crime ratio probably isn't all that high. I mean, you'd probably have a better chance of getting robbed in Miami on your way from the airport to the pier than you do in St. Lucia. That might be a stretch, probably is, but I think it illustrates the point that you can get mugged anywhere. The very small chance of crime is not enough to keep me from seeing the beautiful island of St. Lucia. If you're really concerned, book a big tour with a known operator that stays in populated areas. But don't skip it altogether.

 

I have been to St. Lucia, did the Cosol tour (was herded like cattle all day with 200+ other people), and I saw the island. I thought the island was beautiful. If I do anything, I will do a snorkeling excursion with RCCL.

 

If entire cruise lines are pulling out of St. Lucia, my guess is that it is not safe. There are hundreds of thousands of people coming and going out of Miami every single day. My guess is that there is maybe an average of 3,000 people on St. Lucia on a given day. Hearing of 4 people out of 3,000 getting robbed at gunpoint is a much higher percent than what happens at a busy port like Miami.

[Flowers2]

Gthenewsgirl, can you share which tour operator is doing the identical tour as Frank for $50 cheaper, is this the total off for a group or $50 per person cheaper?

Is this the same tour you were looking for other's, for zip line and the Jalousie Plantation beach?

 

 

Thank you

 

 

Can you please share tour operator, cost, and details of tour?

[Flowers2]

I am jumping in on this, b/c I am a cheapskate just like Bronco :rolleyes:. I found an identical tour w/someone else (a reputable tour operator) for about $50 cheaper than what Frank is charging. That's the price of lunch. And the other company has been MUCH more responsive than Frank. Why would I pay more for what is effectively the same tour? It's the law of supply and demand. Frank has competition, and his personality only goes so far in making up for the difference in price.

 

Additionally, I feel more comfortable going with a "firm" (a company, if you will) than an individual. I feel better protected if anything should happen to go wrong.

 

Gthenewsgirl,

 

Can you please share tour operator, cost and details of this tour?

[BroncosFan2010]

Gthenewsgirl,

 

Can you please share tour operator, cost and details of this tour?

 

I would also be interested in the tour operator you are using.

[klepton]

I have been to St. Lucia, did the Cosol tour (was herded like cattle all day with 200+ other people), and I saw the island. I thought the island was beautiful. If I do anything, I will do a snorkeling excursion with RCCL.

 

If entire cruise lines are pulling out of St. Lucia, my guess is that it is not safe. There are hundreds of thousands of people coming and going out of Miami every single day. My guess is that there is maybe an average of 3,000 people on St. Lucia on a given day. Hearing of 4 people out of 3,000 getting robbed at gunpoint is a much higher percent than what happens at a busy port like Miami.

 

Well, but 4 people aren't getting robbed every day in St. Lucia. Way more than 4 people get robbed in Miami each day.

 

Not trying to get into a probabilities argument here, as I admitted it was probably a stretch. But trying to illustrate a point. People get robbed, shot, stabbed, killed, raped all the time in major cities in the US, and from this thread all I've heard about in St. Lucia are two robbings at gunpoint in Dec and April. Yet people are saying they'll skip St. Lucia because of it, when they'd feel perfectly safe going to Miami, New York, Chicago, DC, etc. St. Lucia isn't a bad place, you can get robbed anywhere, I'm just trying to keep things in perspective and encourage people not to overreact to this news.

 

A cruise line pulling out is serious, especially for the local economy. But remember that it's mostly a PR/business move. Companies don't have the luxury of playing the odds, NCL had an experience where 4 of their passengers got robbed while on a tour, so they have to act on that. It doesn't matter if it was an isolated incident, they have to act for PR reasons. I wouldn't take it as a sign that NCL is taking the position that St. Lucia is dangerous.

[DuBoisen]

Interesting...My wife and I have traveled to the the caribbean a number of times and have been to most of the islands. Last year was the fist time we went to St Lucia and I can honestly say of all the islands we have been to, this one made me feel the most uncomfortable. I never felt in danger but very uncomfortable. I am not surprised by any of the reports that are coming out of the island.

 

I have skimmed the boards and have failed to see where any other islands have the same problem as this. Gun point robberies only months apart on a small island in the caribbean, this is not the same as traveling to Miami or any other big city in the states and trying to compare them, it's just not reality and please don't kid yourself in thinking that it is.

 

If a multimillion dollar company has a major shift in scheduling due to safety reasons on any island, people need to sit up and take the warning for what it is! The cruise line is saying we are not putting our passengers at risk any longer. This is NOT a publicity move (I don't think they have any problem with publicity) it's a move to keep us safe.

 

My wife and I will be back to the caribbean in the fall and yes we will be in St Lucia. Will we get off the ship...Maybe, maybe not, we'll see.