St. Lucia POST hurricane

[ramby]

Looking for feedback from people who have been to St. Lucia after the hurricane. How did you spend your day and would you recommend that we do the same? Certainly understand the need to spend money there given the damage. But also concerned that the conditions might really not be safe for tourists (blocked roads, mudslides, contaminated water, etc.) Thanks in advance...

[jotabecu]

Looking for feedback from people who have been to St. Lucia after the hurricane. How did you spend your day and would you recommend that we do the same? Certainly understand the need to spend money there given the damage. But also concerned that the conditions might really not be safe for tourists (blocked roads, mudslides, contaminated water, etc.) Thanks in advance...

 

 

 

We were there last week on Emerald Princess.

Things seemed fairly normal in the capital save the fact that in many areas there was still no water available for cooking, toilets, personal higiene, etc so residents wre somewhat constrained and visitors had limited availability of services, yet taxi operators have put up a shortened version of a Basseterre tour.

We were not able to go south to the Pitons and Soufriere area which is one of the highlights for the road/bridge for the most direct route had been washed out and the trip would take too long.

You might check this withg the ship.

At any rate do enjoy it for they are great people.

[pokergirl34]

I'm curious what will happen now that there was a huge flood in Castries just this week :( Im not sure what that will mean for our cruise in 3 weeks.

 

We will probably have to figure out something else to do rather than the tour we have planned.

[kellyclayt]

We will not be there until February, but will be doing a sea tour, Herod's Island Splendor Cruise, which will not be dependent on the roads. You might want to check out something like that. I've been to St. Lucia twice before and agree with other posters that the people are wonderful!

 

Looking for feedback from people who have been to St. Lucia after the hurricane. How did you spend your day and would you recommend that we do the same? Certainly understand the need to spend money there given the damage. But also concerned that the conditions might really not be safe for tourists (blocked roads, mudslides, contaminated water, etc.) Thanks in advance...

[comcox]

We are scheduled to dock in Castries on Dec. 1 and take a private tour to Enbas Saut Falls and Soufriere. Has anyone been there in the last few days. Would really appreciate any updates. Thanks.

[shashi883]

We were in St Lucia on 11/18. We were told that we would be able to make it to the Southern part of the island but then it started to rain. Our tour guide said the one thing that can't get anymore of is "rain". It rained for hours and there were several land slides, floods, and mudslides while we were up in the mountains. Luckily our tour guide turned around and got us out of there. It was very dangerous.

I am sure they are doing their best to clear the roads but it may take a little while.

[Mikeiesp]

We are currently on the Celebrity Millennium. We were notified a couple of days ago that our tour was cancelled due to the Hurricane damage. We were scheduled to take the (Island delights tour) which heads south towards the Pitons. We were told the only way to get there to see the pitons was by boat. I hope this helps and things get better before you arrive. Good Luck

 

Mike

[CRUMB]

Most of the trips were cancelled when I was there a week ago. Some streets and shops were flooded and weather was terrible so we only had a quick walk round the port area. Shame because we had a helicopter trip planned which we couldn't do.

[AAAAmerican]

Hi comcox,

 

We also are scheduled to arrive Wednesday, December First 2010 a.d.

 

The Queen Mary 2, again this time we are on there, God willing.

 

I have not heard many good reports except at least people there are getting water in bottles.

 

The children are in very much need of supplies etc.. a lot of damages have occurred to the infra-structure.

 

Are you aboard the Miracle? That is another ship scheduled to be in Port, I believe still. She is a nice vessel.

 

:cool:

 

See youall ashore?

 

 

We are scheduled to dock in Castries on Dec. 1 and take a private tour to Enbas Saut Falls and Soufriere. Has anyone been there in the last few days. Would really appreciate any updates. Thanks.

[BigRed93]

We are scheduled to be there Dec 1st as well.

 

Cancelled my island tour and booked one that is by boat. Although there is progress being made, one rain storm or even a heavy shower that day will cause issues. And of course the forecast is for rain.:(

 

Now the condition of the sea is another story, but that would be the same anywhere.

[pokergirl34]

We are scheduled to be there Dec 1st as well.

 

Cancelled my island tour and booked one that is by boat. Although there is progress being made, one rain storm or even a heavy shower that day will cause issues. And of course the forecast is for rain.:(

 

Now the condition of the sea is another story, but that would be the same anywhere.

 

May I ask what tour you booked? And was it through the cruiseline or a private company?

 

Thanks!

[BigRed93]

Booked the Jalousie Beach Break with Spencer Ambrose. Both ways by boat, description shows a quick stop at Anse Chastenet as well as Jalousie Beach. It's on his website, which is just his name .com.

[rlpolobear9]

the forecast is always for rain in the tropics, I wouldn't worry. We went to Mexico two yrs ago they forecasted rain everyday when we got there they hadn't had any rain for 3 months and it was 90-100 everyday in fact most locals don't even track the weather in these areas unless there is a major storm coming

[FIRSTLAKE]

Just received the attached from a tour company we are scheduled with in Dec:

 

"Yes the roads were blocked due to landslides but are cleared up.

We will not be able to visit the waterfall and botanical garden because of the extent of the damage."

[drb]

Booked the Jalousie Beach Break with Spencer Ambrose. Both ways by boat, description shows a quick stop at Anse Chastenet as well as Jalousie Beach. It's on his website, which is just his name .com.

 

The resort at Jalousie Beach is not scheduled to re-open until December 15th (per stormcaribe.com ) though the tour with Spencer does not make use of the resort, just a small section of the beach although if there are no guests at the resort perhaps the entire beach would be available for day trippers.

[CHuntMD]

16 family members spent the day on St. Lucia last Wednesday. We went with Cosol tours specifically with guide "Baptist" (highly recommended, search other reviews). Heard from other cruise passengers that RCCL canceled their land-based excursions due to the roads.

 

Yes the roads are open except we did not see the waterfall but we did get to see (and smell) the active volcano. Tomas provided 35" of rain in 24hrs.

 

The snorkeling off the beach between the Pitons was incredible.

 

CH

[FIRSTLAKE]

Was snorkeling part of the Cosol tour? We have booked a tour for next week and he advised we will probably spend some extra time at the beach.

[mateome]

We were in beautiful St. Lucia on Thanksgiving day. Did a land and sea tour with Herod. It was awesome. Highly, highly recommended. We could not get to the botanical gardens or waterfall, but did everything else. The resort at Jalousie Beach is closed, but we used the beach. HOWEVER, there were no facilities there so Herod had us use restrooms and change into swimsuits at his mother's house, where we had lunch. We also couldn't get into much shade at the beach as the shelter areas were still being evaluated by the insurance company and they wouldn't let us near them. But we were fine and did not miss it. We also were stopped on the road a couple of times by heavy machinery still clearing boulders, but not a big deal. The sight of the mudslides was stunning. If anyone has any questions, ask away. Like I said, we were there a few days ago and it was our favorite island.

[Annie Morehead]

We took the Cosol Tour on Thanksgiving Day last week, and it was great!! And snorkeling was included. So glad we booked with him instead of the cruise line, because he knew what was available, etc. The only thing we didn't do is waterfall (it had been washed away).

[snorkelphile]

Booked the Jalousie Beach Break with Spencer Ambrose. Both ways by boat, description shows a quick stop at Anse Chastenet as well as Jalousie Beach. It's on his website, which is just his name .com.

 

 

Big Red, be sure to write a review of this tour when you get back!

[BigRed93]

see review for Jalousie Beach Break here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1318425