Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Spencer Ambrose tours????

Sgt. Jeff

By Sgt. Jeff,
in St. Lucia

Recommended Posts

camperhawk

camperhawk

Posted
Posted

Thanks for a wonderful review of your cruise! I was interested in St. Lucia and e-mailed Spencer. Thought we had made the right choice,except that apparently now he cannot drive to the beach or request transport van so would be the water Taxi, which is fine with me, but my sister is older and has had some recent knee problems Do you know if that would be a problem?

 

Anyone can help with this question, but just loved the pics and review from dz63 and family. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dz63

dz63

Posted
Posted
Thanks for a wonderful review of your cruise! I was interested in St. Lucia and e-mailed Spencer. Thought we had made the right choice,except that apparently now he cannot drive to the beach or request transport van so would be the water Taxi, which is fine with me, but my sister is older and has had some recent knee problems Do you know if that would be a problem?

 

Anyone can help with this question, but just loved the pics and review from dz63 and family. Thanks!

 

I'm glad you found the review helpful.

 

I'm wondering if we were one of the last groups that Spencer could drive down to Jalouise Beach with? It is too bad that he lost this priviledge and must also use the water taxi.

 

Since I have not been on the water taxi, I do not know if your sister would have problems getting on it or not. Hopefully someone who has used this service will be able to help you with this question.

 

cz

Link to comment
Share on other sites
texasmomoftwo

texasmomoftwo

Posted
Posted

I have no idea about the water taxi, but I will tell you if there is any way you can use Spencer, do so! He was absolutely phenominal. We used him (group of 7) in July...and it was by far, the best tour guide ever. Super polite...super organized. Great hospitality. If you have room in your suitcase, please bring some school supplies for the children of that island. His wife teaches school and they would just love it. The poverty in some areas prevents children from going to school. So sad...

 

But I will get off my soapbox and say...BOOK SPENCER. Even if you have to use a water taxi, he makes everything just PERFECT!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Londen'sMiMi

Londen'sMiMi

Posted
Posted
Thanks for a wonderful review of your cruise! I was interested in St. Lucia and e-mailed Spencer. Thought we had made the right choice,except that apparently now he cannot drive to the beach or request transport van so would be the water Taxi, which is fine with me, but my sister is older and has had some recent knee problems Do you know if that would be a problem?

 

Anyone can help with this question, but just loved the pics and review from dz63 and family. Thanks!

 

Getting on the water taxi requires one to back down a very sturdy wooden ladder from the dock to the boat. When we went (I believe it was low tide) it was about six foot from the dock to the boat. The two water taxi attendants were in the boat to assist any who needed help and Spencer was on the dock offering assistance as well. Hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jms2362

jms2362

Posted
Posted
Thanks for a wonderful review of your cruise! I was interested in St. Lucia and e-mailed Spencer. Thought we had made the right choice,except that apparently now he cannot drive to the beach or request transport van so would be the water Taxi, which is fine with me, but my sister is older and has had some recent knee problems Do you know if that would be a problem?

 

Anyone can help with this question, but just loved the pics and review from dz63 and family. Thanks!

 

You climb out of a small boat which they bring right to shore. She should be able to maneuver, sit on side and swing legs over side and you could ease her onto the beach floor. Have her get some water or beach shoes as there are seashells and might bother her bare feet. Enjoy, it is a beautiful beach. I forgot my beach shoes and wished I had them for walkin in the water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dz63

dz63

Posted
Posted
I have no idea about the water taxi, but I will tell you if there is any way you can use Spencer, do so! He was absolutely phenominal. We used him (group of 7) in July...and it was by far, the best tour guide ever. Super polite...super organized. Great hospitality. If you have room in your suitcase, please bring some school supplies for the children of that island. His wife teaches school and they would just love it. The poverty in some areas prevents children from going to school. So sad...

 

But I will get off my soapbox and say...BOOK SPENCER. Even if you have to use a water taxi, he makes everything just PERFECT!

 

:) I agree 100%!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TakeMeAway1001

TakeMeAway1001

Posted
Posted
What is the best way to get in touch with him? I have tried his website but have not recieved a response as of yet? Any hints?? Thanks so much!!

 

Have you checked your spam folder, that is where my reply from him ended up. He is very good about getting back in touch, if nothing try again~

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Turtle Lover

Turtle Lover

Posted
Posted

My family, friends, and I booked with Spencer's company about two weeks before our trip in July, 2009. Spencer answered every email that I sent promptly. I never had to wait longer than a day for a response. I had many questions for Spencer, since we wanted to modify his tour. He did everything he could to accommodate our wishes.

Since we had booked very close to our trip, Spencer already had a tour booked, so his brother Neptune was our tour guide. When we got off the ship in St. Lucia, Spencer met us at the dock. We brought him some apples from the ship as well as some almonds from the US. Apples are very expensive on the island ($2.00 an apple), and we had read that Spencer loves apples and his wife loves almonds. Since I didn't know for sure that Neptune would be our guide, I didn't have anything for him, so I later sent him some flavored coffee. These men were very appreciative, and it made me happy to bring a little gift along for them.

Spencer introduced us to Neptune, and explained that we would meet up with him periodically throughout the tour. Even though Spencer was not our tour guide, he kept in close contact with Neptune by phone to be sure that we were on schedule. Spencer was very conscious of the time, and wanted to be sure that we arrived back at the ship with plenty of time to spare.

Our van was an older van, not too comfortable. Spencer had the nicer van, but we made the best of it. It's a long ride to Jalousie Beach, but we had plenty of stops along the way, so we could stretch our legs. Our first stop was at an overlook area where we could take pictures of our ship. It was a crowded tourist area, and there were island vendors selling their wares. We found most of the people at that stop to be very pushy and aggressive. We made several stops along the way. One stop was at a banana plantation where Neptune explained how the bananas are cultivated. Neptune pulled of a few bananas and we feasted on sweet island bananas. We also stopped at an overlook rest stop where I tasted banana ketchup for the first time. It was very tasty, almost like a sweet mustard. At another market, I bought myself some banana ketchup to take home (I wish I had bought more), as well as a few banana bracelets. These bracelets were made from the bark of a banana tree.

Another stop we made was to see how casaba bread is made. Neptune explained each step of the process, and the shop was selling the bread. I had hoped to buy some to taste, but we were running late.

The island is lush and green, and the views of the Pitons are spectacular! On the drive we saw a few men with large snakes (good photo op). Be sure to sneak your own pictures, because everybody wants to charge you to take a picture.

We wanted to visit the drive through volcano, but Spencer was getting worried about the time. He wanted us to have enough time to go to the beach, because we had several members of our group that wanted to snorkel at Jalousie Beach. Neptune was fantastic! He stopped everywhere we wanted him to, which probably put us a bit behind schedule. Spencer explained to me by phone that if we went to the drive through volcano, we would only have about 45 minutes at the beach. Normally you would have much more time. After discussing it with my family and friends, we decided to continue our journey to the volcano.

Neptune took us to a beautiful waterfall which was surrounded by a tropical garden. The flowers were very exotic and we even saw a hummingbird nestled in a flower.

After that we were off to the drive through volcano. It was different than I imagined. Basically it was steam rising from the ground. The area smelled like rotten eggs due to the gases that were being released from the volcano. I'm a teacher and I teach about volcanoes, so for me it was an amazing experience to get pictures from the collapsed crater of the volcano. Now that I've been there, I wouldn't feel the need to visit there again.

Lunch was definitely interesting. I had mentioned to Spencer that I was a vegetarian, because I had read that he provides lunch. I was stunned (and pleasantly surprised) when Spencer emailed me to tell me that his wife would prepare me a special vegetarian lunch! Spencer treated me like family, making sure that I had a suitable lunch. He asked me several questions ahead of time, to be sure that his wife prepared a lunch that I would be able to eat. After visiting the volcano and the waterfall, Neptune took us to a little restaurant. It was a small homey restaurant with a bar and a few tables. Neptune's girlfriend was the one who prepared the St. Lucian homestyle meal. When we arrived, the homemade food was on a large buffet table. It reminded me of a family dinner. It consisted of chicken, rice, and noodles. Then Neptune's girlfriend brought out the casserole of a macaroni and cheese type of food. She told me that Spencer had dropped it off and it was made by his wife! He certainly took care of me, like a family, while I was in St. Lucia.

Spencer was getting nervous because our many stops had put us behind schedule. He continually called Neptune to be sure that we would have time for the beach, and still get back to the ship on time. We arrived at Jalousie Beach, which sits in between both of the Pitons. WE met up with Spencer again, and he asked how our tour had been up to that point. We assured him that his little brother, Neptune was terrific. The beach was breathtaking. Words cannot describe this gorgeous beach. White sand covers the beach (it was shipped in from another island), and the two Pitons hover on each side. I wish that we had more time to spend on that beach. We did a "speed snorkel" and 45 minutes later we were heading back. Once again, if we had followed Spencer's set tour, we would have had much more time at the beach.

Neptune provided us with a cooler full of beer, water, and maybe soda (I don't remember since I'm not a soda drinker). He even had rum punch, although I didn't try any.

On the way back, Neptune stopped to buy us some fresh St. Lucian bread. We passed it around our van. It was still hot, and very delicious.

We arrived back at the dock at about 3:40 PM and our ship was leaving at five. We had plenty of time to spare.

I would highly recommend both Spencer and Neptune as tour guides. They are both wonderful men, and they'll do their best to make your trip to St. Lucia a memorable one. I still can't believe how much we were able to pack into one day, and still arrive back at the ship with plenty of time to shop at the dock. Spencer Ambrose is the way to go!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dz63

dz63

Posted
Posted
My family, friends, and I booked with Spencer's company about two weeks before our trip in July, 2009. Spencer answered every email that I sent promptly. I never had to wait longer than a day for a response. I had many questions for Spencer, since we wanted to modify his tour. He did everything he could to accommodate our wishes.

Since we had booked very close to our trip, Spencer already had a tour booked, so his brother Neptune was our tour guide. When we got off the ship in St. Lucia, Spencer met us at the dock. We brought him some apples from the ship as well as some almonds from the US. Apples are very expensive on the island ($2.00 an apple), and we had read that Spencer loves apples and his wife loves almonds. Since I didn't know for sure that Neptune would be our guide, I didn't have anything for him, so I later sent him some flavored coffee. These men were very appreciative, and it made me happy to bring a little gift along for them.

Spencer introduced us to Neptune, and explained that we would meet up with him periodically throughout the tour. Even though Spencer was not our tour guide, he kept in close contact with Neptune by phone to be sure that we were on schedule. Spencer was very conscious of the time, and wanted to be sure that we arrived back at the ship with plenty of time to spare.

Our van was an older van, not too comfortable. Spencer had the nicer van, but we made the best of it. It's a long ride to Jalousie Beach, but we had plenty of stops along the way, so we could stretch our legs. Our first stop was at an overlook area where we could take pictures of our ship. It was a crowded tourist area, and there were island vendors selling their wares. We found most of the people at that stop to be very pushy and aggressive. We made several stops along the way. One stop was at a banana plantation where Neptune explained how the bananas are cultivated. Neptune pulled of a few bananas and we feasted on sweet island bananas. We also stopped at an overlook rest stop where I tasted banana ketchup for the first time. It was very tasty, almost like a sweet mustard. At another market, I bought myself some banana ketchup to take home (I wish I had bought more), as well as a few banana bracelets. These bracelets were made from the bark of a banana tree.

Another stop we made was to see how casaba bread is made. Neptune explained each step of the process, and the shop was selling the bread. I had hoped to buy some to taste, but we were running late.

The island is lush and green, and the views of the Pitons are spectacular! On the drive we saw a few men with large snakes (good photo op). Be sure to sneak your own pictures, because everybody wants to charge you to take a picture.

We wanted to visit the drive through volcano, but Spencer was getting worried about the time. He wanted us to have enough time to go to the beach, because we had several members of our group that wanted to snorkel at Jalousie Beach. Neptune was fantastic! He stopped everywhere we wanted him to, which probably put us a bit behind schedule. Spencer explained to me by phone that if we went to the drive through volcano, we would only have about 45 minutes at the beach. Normally you would have much more time. After discussing it with my family and friends, we decided to continue our journey to the volcano.

Neptune took us to a beautiful waterfall which was surrounded by a tropical garden. The flowers were very exotic and we even saw a hummingbird nestled in a flower.

After that we were off to the drive through volcano. It was different than I imagined. Basically it was steam rising from the ground. The area smelled like rotten eggs due to the gases that were being released from the volcano. I'm a teacher and I teach about volcanoes, so for me it was an amazing experience to get pictures from the collapsed crater of the volcano. Now that I've been there, I wouldn't feel the need to visit there again.

Lunch was definitely interesting. I had mentioned to Spencer that I was a vegetarian, because I had read that he provides lunch. I was stunned (and pleasantly surprised) when Spencer emailed me to tell me that his wife would prepare me a special vegetarian lunch! Spencer treated me like family, making sure that I had a suitable lunch. He asked me several questions ahead of time, to be sure that his wife prepared a lunch that I would be able to eat. After visiting the volcano and the waterfall, Neptune took us to a little restaurant. It was a small homey restaurant with a bar and a few tables. Neptune's girlfriend was the one who prepared the St. Lucian homestyle meal. When we arrived, the homemade food was on a large buffet table. It reminded me of a family dinner. It consisted of chicken, rice, and noodles. Then Neptune's girlfriend brought out the casserole of a macaroni and cheese type of food. She told me that Spencer had dropped it off and it was made by his wife! He certainly took care of me, like a family, while I was in St. Lucia.

Spencer was getting nervous because our many stops had put us behind schedule. He continually called Neptune to be sure that we would have time for the beach, and still get back to the ship on time. We arrived at Jalousie Beach, which sits in between both of the Pitons. WE met up with Spencer again, and he asked how our tour had been up to that point. We assured him that his little brother, Neptune was terrific. The beach was breathtaking. Words cannot describe this gorgeous beach. White sand covers the beach (it was shipped in from another island), and the two Pitons hover on each side. I wish that we had more time to spend on that beach. We did a "speed snorkel" and 45 minutes later we were heading back. Once again, if we had followed Spencer's set tour, we would have had much more time at the beach.

Neptune provided us with a cooler full of beer, water, and maybe soda (I don't remember since I'm not a soda drinker). He even had rum punch, although I didn't try any.

On the way back, Neptune stopped to buy us some fresh St. Lucian bread. We passed it around our van. It was still hot, and very delicious.

We arrived back at the dock at about 3:40 PM and our ship was leaving at five. We had plenty of time to spare.

I would highly recommend both Spencer and Neptune as tour guides. They are both wonderful men, and they'll do their best to make your trip to St. Lucia a memorable one. I still can't believe how much we were able to pack into one day, and still arrive back at the ship with plenty of time to shop at the dock. Spencer Ambrose is the way to go!

 

 

Great Review Turtle Lover!

It looks like you did all the same things we did on our tour with Spencer, except we did not see how casaba bread is made--that would have been interesting!

 

I wish I would have known prior to our tour that Spencer loves apples and his wife loves almonds--I would have brought some along for him too!

 

Thanks for sharing your day in St. Lucia and I agree: "Spencer Ambrose is the way to go!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
workinmom3

workinmom3

Posted
Posted

We are booked with Spencer in just 10 days for an island tour from the Sandals Regency resort. Now several others that are staying with us (we're there for a wedding) would like to do the zipline. We can book it through Sandals, but I know that Spencer offers this tour as well. I would like to give him the business. Anyone ever do this tour with him?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
floridalady

floridalady

Posted
Posted

So glad you had a great time.Did you go to Jalouise?If so how was it getting on and off the "water taxi"...was it hard for the kids?How long did the boat ride take?How long were you able to stay on the beach?

Thanks in advance.:D

 

 

QUOTE=pepita27;16108766]We were with Ambrose last week and the guy did an awesome job. We were travelling with small kids, and he made sure they have fun as well. He is very nice, very thoughfull, and very professional. He was in fact the only guide accompanying his clients on sites, and explaining everything to us. The others tours guides/drivers stayed in their cars while people were going around. I would defenitly recommend him. He made such an impression on my kids that they keep asking when they would see him again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jms2362

jms2362

Posted
Posted
We are booked with Spencer in just 10 days for an island tour from the Sandals Regency resort. Now several others that are staying with us (we're there for a wedding) would like to do the zipline. We can book it through Sandals, but I know that Spencer offers this tour as well. I would like to give him the business. Anyone ever do this tour with him?

 

Go online and reserve it. My family did it in March and loved it. They will pick you up and take you back. It is Treetop Adventure Tours www.adventuretoursstlucia.com, had to get out the tee shirt to be sure I had it correct. They still talk about it and how great it was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
workinmom3

workinmom3

Posted
Posted

Got an email from Spencer tonight that he would not be able to do our tour on 9/17 b/c he has to go to Miami to meet with his brother from Texas. He said his brother, Neptune, will be doing our tour. He seemed very concerned that we would be upset that he would not be there. I know I have read good things about Neptune also, so I said it would be fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
maygoddess

maygoddess

Posted
Posted
Did you get a price break with the larger group. It appears he charges $65 - $70 US per person for groups of 2 - 4.

 

Thanks.

 

I arranged a group of about 30 from our cc roll call this past April. I think it was $60 per person at that time. He didn't offer a price break and we didn't ask. The full price is well worth it. That money helps pay for any entry fees to any places you see like the botanical gardens if you go, cost of water taxi, cost of food, etc..so he doesn't personally take all that for profit. Of course he also has expense of gas, car maintenance, etc. It is not a wealthy country, so I would have felt guilty asking for any discount. For me..I would have paid him double because he was so worth it. I am actually booking him again next march when I return on Carnival Victory. He is already arranging a custom tour including ziplining this time so I don't repeat the same tour. This was by far my favorite island and favorite tour guide.

 

On the other post about Spenser not being the tour guide himself but having his brother Neptune..you won't be disappointed with either brother. Since our group was so big, we had 3 vans with Spenser, Neptune and other brother, Small. I was with Spenser..but did get to talk to the other two while we stopped around. They actually all almost look like triplets! They are ALL the nicest and accomodating and take care of their group..so if Spenser is not available, do not hesitate to have neptune or small as your tour guide!

 

YOu can ask him about price breaks..but keep all the above in mind. The extra $5 or $10 you may pay may not be that much to you..but to them it is alot!!

 

cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...