Spencer Ambrose tours????

[lcmslady]

Hi everyone, we just returned from the Carnival Victory and had booked a tour with Spencer during our St.Lucia stop. We had our tour customized and Spencer was great during our planning stages. We had his cousin John as our guide and rode in a beautiful Lexus for our tour (there was 3 adults and my DS11). John was terrific and very informative!! We definately beat the crowds and loved seeing the island in a relaxing way. Spencer called several times throughout our tour to check in and make sure we were on schedule. I thoroughly enjoyed our day and wouldn't hesitate to book Spencer again!!!

 

We have booked a private tour with Spencer for January. We've already told him we want to skip the volcano and the snake man. What else would you suggest we skip based on what you saw/liked?

[CINDYSUE]

Just got back Tuesday. I will put my two cents in also. Spencer was wonderful. One of the best tour guides I have ever had. If you get a chance, please take some schools supplies for the kids on the island. Some don't go to school because they cannot buy uniforms and supplies. Spencer and his wife, who is a school teacher, buy supplies for them and distribute them in the outlying fishing villages.

[kellyclayt]

Please tell me exactly what kind of school supplies are most needed. I am a teacher too and have a tour planned with Spencer next month. Thanks!

 

Just got back Tuesday. I will put my two cents in also. Spencer was wonderful. One of the best tour guides I have ever had. If you get a chance, please take some schools supplies for the kids on the island. Some don't go to school because they cannot buy uniforms and supplies. Spencer and his wife, who is a school teacher, buy supplies for them and distribute them in the outlying fishing villages.

[rosenbra]

For those who have already been on Spencer's Tour, what attire would you recommend? Is there walking where sandals might not be a good idea? Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

[mpduquaine]

I wore my sandals with my swimsuit and a sundress over the top. There is not much walking at all. We DID NOT take the volcanoe tour though. We went to see the banana plantation, the over look, the fishing villages, lunch and then the boat ride to Jalousie beach. It was casual and incredibly wonderful!!!!!!!!!

[maygoddess]

I always vacation with these two pairs of shoes and use them depending on the activity.

 

I have a pair of Chaco's sandals:

http://www.keenfootwear.com/product/ss09/shoes/women/waterfront/venice%20h2

 

I got these for my 1st cruise in tahiti. I wanted something with a rugged sole for hiking,walking, water use. so i can wear these in the water and get them wet and they have a lug sole for slip prevention. They are heavier than I thought but they are my sandals I wear on excursions where I may need to walk AND go in the water and get them wet or for beach use.

 

For my last cruise, I also added a pair of keens:

 

http://www.keenfootwear.com/product/ss09/shoes/women/waterfront/venice%20h2

 

I would have stuck with just the chaco's but we decided to go ziplining and was told we should have a close toed shoe like sneakers. i didn't want to bring regular sneakers which means I needed socks..and they would not be waterproof. So I found the keens. Thank goodness I did listen about closed toe shoes as I slammed into a tree as I finished a zipline thanks to an inattentive guide at that tree and I think I hit knee and foot first.

I like these because they have the rugged toe but they are light sandals for walking and they are waterproof..so I could walk in water in them rather than have separate water shoes. they are primarily neoprene material (think wetsuit) so they would dry fast.

I grabbed this for those more rugged excursions where I wanted the closed toe.

 

So not trying to "sell" you on keen and Chacos only. there are similar and cheaper brands out there but at least gives you an idea of what works for me. I don't bring fancy sandals to cruises for excursions..only for onboard for dinner and walking around the ship. I would also not recommend flimsy flip flops either for any excursions unless you are going straight from ship to beach..but usually you are doing some walking, ferries, passing from small boats onto slippery decks..so choose a shoe that is multifunctional and safe for all these conditions. I was surprised to see an older lady standing in line at the zip line as I finished with flimsy flip flops on! Did she not realize she would be dangling from a zipline 60 ft up and these shoes could fly off?? I told her I just slammed into a tree so be careful.

 

Anyway..hope that helps. I think for Spenser's tour, I wore my Chaco's since I knew we would end with beach time. We drove in, but I think now he takes a water taxi in..in that case, my chaco's would still be fine as they would not slip off my feet as I jumped off the water taxi into the water nor would they be slippery as I jumped back on.

I will be touring with Spenser again next march but doing a custom tour that will include ziplining and no beach time..so Keens will be going with me this time!

[maygoddess]

oops...just realized I had the wrong link for teh chacos:

http://www.chacousa.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/W-SAND/11397W/39508/Womens/Z-2-Vibram-Unaweep/Black/J100024

 

I always vacation with these two pairs of shoes and use them depending on the activity.

 

I have a pair of Chaco's sandals:

http://www.keenfootwear.com/product/ss09/shoes/women/waterfront/venice%20h2

 

I got these for my 1st cruise in tahiti. I wanted something with a rugged sole for hiking,walking, water use. so i can wear these in the water and get them wet and they have a lug sole for slip prevention. They are heavier than I thought but they are my sandals I wear on excursions where I may need to walk AND go in the water and get them wet or for beach use.

 

For my last cruise, I also added a pair of keens:

 

http://www.keenfootwear.com/product/ss09/shoes/women/waterfront/venice%20h2

 

I would have stuck with just the chaco's but we decided to go ziplining and was told we should have a close toed shoe like sneakers. i didn't want to bring regular sneakers which means I needed socks..and they would not be waterproof. So I found the keens. Thank goodness I did listen about closed toe shoes as I slammed into a tree as I finished a zipline thanks to an inattentive guide at that tree and I think I hit knee and foot first.

I like these because they have the rugged toe but they are light sandals for walking and they are waterproof..so I could walk in water in them rather than have separate water shoes. they are primarily neoprene material (think wetsuit) so they would dry fast.

I grabbed this for those more rugged excursions where I wanted the closed toe.

 

So not trying to "sell" you on keen and Chacos only. there are similar and cheaper brands out there but at least gives you an idea of what works for me. I don't bring fancy sandals to cruises for excursions..only for onboard for dinner and walking around the ship. I would also not recommend flimsy flip flops either for any excursions unless you are going straight from ship to beach..but usually you are doing some walking, ferries, passing from small boats onto slippery decks..so choose a shoe that is multifunctional and safe for all these conditions. I was surprised to see an older lady standing in line at the zip line as I finished with flimsy flip flops on! Did she not realize she would be dangling from a zipline 60 ft up and these shoes could fly off?? I told her I just slammed into a tree so be careful.

 

Anyway..hope that helps. I think for Spenser's tour, I wore my Chaco's since I knew we would end with beach time. We drove in, but I think now he takes a water taxi in..in that case, my chaco's would still be fine as they would not slip off my feet as I jumped off the water taxi into the water nor would they be slippery as I jumped back on.

I will be touring with Spenser again next march but doing a custom tour that will include ziplining and no beach time..so Keens will be going with me this time!

[dz63]

For those who have already been on Spencer's Tour, what attire would you recommend? Is there walking where sandals might not be a good idea? Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

 

We did the West Coast Island Tour. We toured the banana plantation, Toraille Falls and Botanical Gardens, Sulphur Springs and went to Jalouise Beach. DH, my oldest son and I wore sandals and that worked fine for us--there really wasn't that much walking around. My younger two sons wore their running shoes, simply because they got blisters from their sandals and wanted to wear something more comfortable. We also wore our bathing suits under our clothes.

 

Hope this information helps!

[shelling4life]

If you go to St. Lucia...all I can say is lifetime friendships will be made with Spencer Ambrose. Let me make a list of what impressed my husband and I.

Total attention

A great conversationalist

Stories shared

The banana plantation experience was a great learning experience...so amazing how he located different items in the growing process and how unique he made our tour.

He stopped and gave us homemade creole bread, warm and oozing with nummys...

He stopped and gave us fresh sugar cane to snap and eat...very refreshing.

Feed us so well. Never were you ever hungry. Everyone was smiles from ear to ear. I am hungry now as I remember all the great tastes.

He works 250% harder to satisfy his guests. Far harder than anyother tour you would ever want to spend your money with...

Trust me...if anyone desires a great tour...its everyone, and he delivers!!!!

He sent us a great email after our tour, and a lifetime friendship is growing quickly.

 

Believe me, he will contact you. He is very dependeable. Give him a day. I assure you, you would never want any other tour guide again. He will make you feel very wonderful. I prayed for his business and family as our ship left port. He leaves you feeling like you have been touched by an angel of the Lord...

[MotoRacer598]

Spencer is a great guy! Toured with him last Thanksgiving. He wont forget our group. I about gave him a heart attack at the volcanos. I went flying downhill in my wheelchair and flipped out of it. I was fine just a few scratches. He thought I was insane and we had a good laugh back to port.

 

If you use him tell him I said Hi!

[moopig]

Just got back from CB and had booked a tour with Spencer. His brohter, Small, actually did our tour as Spencer was unavailable and Small was GREAT! I hightly recommend this tour! We did so much and were able to try alot of good food. Jalousie (sp?) beach is wonderful and you can even snorkel off the shore.

[xyankee]

We too toured with Spencer a few weeks ago and can honestly say it was the best tour we have ever taken. Spencer is a great person, knows his island and will make you feel welcome. I highly recommand Spencer for a tour of this lovely island.:)

[Sailmore]

We also had a wonderful tour with Spencer. He is a very thoughtful, accomodatiing man and tried his best to make everyone happy. Our day went well and everyone seemed to enjoy our tour. Its hard to imagine anyone not having a good time with his honest desire to please all.

 

Jim & Linda,

Canada

[Sweetpeas]

We also had a great time with Spencer. He is full of laughs, smiles and information. He also keeps everyone very full with all the wonderful goodies that St Lucia has to offer.

 

Also, Jalousie Beach is worth every second that you can spend there, it's beautiful.

[dznymom]

It's funny, we were sitting here the other night after snowblowing and shoveling the first real snow of the year, and out of the blue DH says "I wish I had some of Spencer's bread right now." (We took Spencer's tour back in August.) It's funny because the bread was just bread - warm & yummy and slathered with peanut butter, but really just bread. I have no idea why it made such an impression other than it was part of a joy filled day filled with surprises and fun and new friends!

 

We generally don't repeat things, but if we are ever back on St. Lucia, we will definitely tour with Spencer again :)

[shelling4life]

Spencer, if you can view this...so happy to see all the remarkeable and true responces to your days adventure while in St. Lucia. Look over 290 great responces....Have a wonderful and pleasureable Merry Christmas!

[tencms]

We booked Spencer’s tour based on recommendations from various boards and we were not disappointed. We were met coming off the ship as promised and our tour guide for the day was Small, one of Spencer’s brothers. There were six of us on the tour (four traveling together plus one other couple) and we were the only passengers in a 15-passenger van. We passed many vans and buses that were literally packed, including the Cosol tours. There was an ice chest in the van with plenty of water, sodas, beers and the rum punch. Lunch was in a restaurant/bar in one of the villages and there was so much good food that, even after five days of “training” on board ship, none of us could finish even half of the plate! The water taxi to Jalousie Beach was beautiful so take your camera along. We had left our DSLRs in the van and only had along a little point-and-shoot because we weren’t sure if we’d have to wade ashore. You go from dock to dock so bring along your camera gear! .The snorkeling area on Jalousie was calm and protected so you might get away with just your mask and snorkel if you don’t feel like carrying your fins.

 

Our first and only other visit to St. Lucia was about 6 years ago. We were impressed with the people. They were friendly and we felt very comfortable there. On this visit, every time the van stopped, we were approached by someone begging or panhandling. I was approached by a man and, after I gave him 2 quarters (all I had left after the 4 preceding handouts), he told me he only wanted paper money. We closed the windows after that. Be forewarned: if you take a picture of anyone, you’re expected to tip. I was very happy to be guided by Small (who isn’t small, by the way) and I felt that he knew what he was doing both with the tour and with ensuring our safety.

 

DO NOT wear your jewelry off the ship. I know we’ve all heard the nebulous stories about someone who was robbed on shore… but a ship’s shore excursion from our ship was robbed at knife-and gunpoint on our cruise. I normally wouldn’t pass on stories, but this was confirmed. No one was hurt, but they were threatened and the robbery was successful. Bearing this in mind, I would advise leaving your jewelry/expensive watches in your cabin and would still highly recommend Spencer’s tour.

[dz63]

I wrote my review with photos (post #160-162), now I have completed a YouTube video where you can see more photos and video clips of our excursion with Spencer Ambrose Tours.

 

Carnival Victory—Our Day in St. Lucia with Spencer Ambrose Tours, July 9, 2009

Our fourth port stop took us to the beautiful and lush island of St. Lucia. We booked the West Coast Island Delight Tour with Spencer Ambrose Tours. We saw the fishing villages of Anse La Raye and Canaries, visited a Banana Plantation, cooled off in the Toraille Waterfalls, walked through the Botanical Garden, smelled the pungent odor of sulfur at Sulphur Springs and went swimming at the breathtaking Jalousie Beach nestled between the majestic Pitons. Length: 5:53

 

[burm]

We toured with Spencer's brother Small the other day and had a wonderful time. He took great care of us and arranged for the water taxi back to the ship from Jalousie to give us extra water time.

 

This is a very brief review because we just arrived home late last night. :) It will take a week to catch up with life in the Real World.