Tell me what you did in St. Lucia...

[cctimmom]

St. Lucia...

 

What did you do?

Did you book through RCCL or on your own (if so, how)?

Would you recommend it?

[wolv4life]

St. Lucia...

 

What did you do?

Did you book through RCCL or on your own (if so, how)?

Would you recommend it?

 

We booked the Tree Top Canopy Tour through RCCL and went two weeks ago. It was raining like crazy though, and half the zip lines were closed. We ended up getting a partial refund.

 

If you want to go independent, many on these boards have raved about Cosol Tours, I'd check them out on the St. Lucia board.

[mom kaplan]

St. Lucia...

 

What did you do?

Did you book through RCCL or on your own (if so, how)?

Would you recommend it?

 

We took the Cosol tour in St. Lucia which is a private company. Our driver was great and truly gave a us a thorough tour of the island including a taste of some of the local fresh fruit and baked goods that he bought at the bakery. We also toured the volcano (prepare yourself for the pungent smell--sulfur) and spent time on a beautiful beach. Even my then 16 and 14 yr. old sons loved the tour! If I had told them we were doing a "cultural" tour of this area, which it essentially was, they would have turned their noses up but this was by far their favorite part of the entire trip. They still rave about it!

[jackdiamond]

We went to Choc beach by bus. The bus stop is about 1/4 mile from the pier exit; and, the fare is very reasonable.

[sue7045]

St. Lucia...

 

What did you do?

Did you book through RCCL or on your own (if so, how)?

Would you recommend it?

 

After searching I booked Cosol Tour on my own through internet. This was the best tour I have ever taken. It cost us $65 each and was worth every penny. We visited many different sights and tasted many different foods. They also had a van the followed you with all the drinks, so you were never thirsty. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't miss it!!!

[Philly Steve]

We also toured the volcano (prepare yourself for the pungent smell--sulfur) and spent time on a beautiful beach.

 

Despite the sulfur odor, the volcano tour is interesting. :cool: A handkerchief dabbed in cologne can help.

[cruising to paradise]

We also did Cosul Tours and it was an awsome tour. I think it was the best we ever did. You won't be disappointed.

[cctimmom]

We took the Cosol tour in St. Lucia which is a private company. Our driver was great and truly gave a us a thorough tour of the island including a taste of some of the local fresh fruit and baked goods that he bought at the bakery. We also toured the volcano (prepare yourself for the pungent smell--sulfur) and spent time on a beautiful beach.

 

was this a specific tour... this sounds great... a little sightseeing and some beach time... my kind of excursion.

[cctimmom]

was this a specific tour... this sounds great... a little sightseeing and some beach time... my kind of excursion.

 

sorry... never mind... I just found their website... that looks AWESOME!

[rummenroman]

I would also highly recommended Cosol. You get to see the banana plantation, the volcano, waterfalls, and IMO the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean. There was lots of stops for photo ops. You are also back to the pier in time to do some shopping. Well worth the $55 we paid over a year ago. I would pay twice that to do this tour again!

[laedw]

Do you book this directly with Cosul via their website or can you book it through RCCL? I am concerned about getting back to the ship on time. Thank you.

[zoncom]

By myself on Constellation. Wanted to do Pitons not on bus. Walked into the market area just off pier, directly to back. On left was guy selling tour to the Anse Chansenet hotel beach and sulfer volcano by fast speedboat holding about 25 people. I paid $60; about 5 hrs. including drinks on way back. Very pleasant.

[English_in_Spain]

If you want the same type of tour as Cosol but a little more one-to-one I would recommend Spencer Ambrose. As it is just your party you can choose where you want to go and what you want to see.

 

There were just two of us in an air conditioned vehicle. We saw the Cosol tour buses and they looked very cramped in an open sided vehicle.

 

If you want fun and sing-along then probably Cosol is the way to go. If you want a quieter tour of the island then look os Spencer.

 

Here is his website

http://www.spencerambrose.com/

[jmhn72]

We did our tour last fall with Sencer Ambrose also. He did a wonderful job, and a very nice person.

[nanfromatlanta]

We loved the Cosol tour, however, if you prefer to book an excursion through the ship, I highly recommend the Land & Sea to Soufriere tour... fabulous!! Loved returning to the ship on a catamaran.

[Gottacruise3]

Can't miss with Cosol Tours. I had a fantastic time!!!!

[gmacruiser418]

we did the Cosol tour, it was the best tour ever! recommended it to a friend visiting there for a week and she too enjoyed it.

[bplazo]

We did Jungle Tours with Shal a few years ago when we were in St. Lucia. It has been one of our favorie excursions. We were toured in an open land rover to many different areas and had lunch at a plantation. Drinks were also included.

[jd1966]

Catamaran cruise to the Pitons. Verrrrry relaxing and scenic!

[ace1zoe2]

We also did the Cosol Tour last summer. It was my husband & I both 50ish, our 3 adult children & 3 spouses/girlfriend ages 21-28. Everyone had an awesome time & agreed it was our favorite excursion to date. The driver/tour guide was wonderful, the sites were beautiful, there was plenty to eat/drink. We would definitely do this tour again. It was well worth the money.

[misty57]

We took a tour with Herod, with a group from our roll call. It was fabulous. We even had lunch at his home. It was the best tour we have ever taken Well worth the cost. Check out his website. You can't go wrong. The only thing is that he requires a minimum number for the tours.

[iriegirl]

Another Cosol customer here. Went with an 2 other family members and both agree that it is the best tour we've ever been on. Recommended it to friends who went on a cruise a last month, and they agree--it's the best tour they've ever been on. Can't go wrong with Cosol, if you choose to go that route.

[farmersescape]

Do not, I repeat, do not do an Island tour with a hangover....worst day of my life :rolleyes:

[stargate fan]

We booked a tour with Spencer Ambrose and it was the worst mistake we made.

 

1) The tour started almost an hour late.

2) Then a Christian prayer was said out loud, which is all fine and good in private, but not for those of us who are Jewish (or do not follow a Christian faith).

3) The bus was crowded to the point that my husband and I could not sit together. We were all quite squished.

4) We were educated at Roseau Valley Banana Plantation about the banana crops on the island, but never got to sample anything as stated on the website.

5) We did not pass through the fishing villages of Anse La Raye and Canaries, as stated on the website. We were driven through area with terrible poverty instead. (Yes, we know the economy on many islands is quite bad.)

6) We did stop at the Toraille Waterfall and Botanical Garden, but only for a few minutes to see the waterfall. It was beautiful. No time to see the gardens, though.

7) Due to the late start, so we could not visit both the Sulphur Springs volcano and have beach time at Jalousie Beach. Since there were two buses on this tour, those of us who chose the volcano went one way and the beach goers went another.

8) When we volcanologists were finished with the tour (which was very cool, btw), we were taken to an area to await the beach goers. After 30 minutes, we questioned our delay in returning to the ship. Were were told again that we were waiting for the beach goers, who were set to arrive in another 15 minutes. We were not in a place where we could shop or grab a bite to eat, we were in a parking area with access to nothing, not even a bathroom. We had a bit of a mutiny and demanded that we be returned to the ship. After a few phone calls made by Ambrose's brother to who-knows and more wasted time waiting around, we were finally returned to the ship.

 

The beach goers, incidentally, did not arrive at the ship for over an hour after we did. Imagine if we had not demanded our return to the ship-we would have been sitting around that parking area for an hour, doing nothing. We could have had some time at the beach after all.

 

It took me a few days to decide on a tour for St. Lucia. I went back and forth between Spencer Ambrose and Cosol. If someone had written about this Spencer Ambrose tour as his/her experience, we would have booked with Cosol instead. We heard wonderful things from people we met on the ship. Not one person with whom we spoke reported a single bad issue with the Cosol tour.

 

That's my story.

[satxdiver]

I did the rain forest cycling tour and enjoyed it.