Cosol Tour in St. Lucia

[Sanlj]

We took a Cosol tour with Bompy, a tour guide, in late February as well. I would point out that this Southern Caribbean itinerary includes islands that are generally far less tourist-oriented than what we've seen on the Eastern and Western itineraries...thus a lot of driving to see the sights. Our group of 8 agreed that some of the photo opportunities were phenomenal, but we might have shortened the tour or made longer stops. We enjoyed seeing the beauty of the island, but would opt for a longer stay at Jalousie Beach next time.

 

In Cosol's defense, we kept remarking that each new view was more spectacular than the last one! It's a beautiful island and Cosol's drivers are very proud of their heritage.

 

All in all, a memorable day.

 

Enjoy every minute! Sandy

[OHCruisin]

We took a Cosol tour with Bompy, a tour guide, in late February as well. I would point out that this Southern Caribbean itinerary includes islands that are generally far less tourist-oriented than what we've seen on the Eastern and Western itineraries...thus a lot of driving to see the sights. Our group of 8 agreed that some of the photo opportunities were phenomenal, but we might have shortened the tour or made longer stops. We enjoyed seeing the beauty of the island, but would opt for a longer stay at Jalousie Beach next time.

 

In Cosol's defense, we kept remarking that each new view was more spectacular than the last one! It's a beautiful island and Cosol's drivers are very proud of their heritage.

 

All in all, a memorable day.

 

Enjoy every minute! Sandy

 

I can agree with your thinking. Would have loved more time at the beach (had it not been raining) and longer stops. Would have improved the tour in my opinion. It is a beautiful island with outstanding views.

[pharmacist cruiser]

Cosol is the ONLY way to go! His tour was the highlight of our entire trip. We were lucky to have him as our driver. You will not be disappointed.:D

[elliekate]

We just returned from Serenade of the Seas and the Cosol tour was the worst excursion we have ever taken! I really didn't research any of the other tours since there is so much about Cosol on CC. I did read a negative review just before we left and I just thought the person posting was a negative person. How could so many people say good things and this one guy said he was disappointed. I will have to say I now agree with everything he said and wish I had paid attention! On the day we were in St. Lucia, there were five or six other ships there also. Cosol just kept booking people and hired out various taxi drivers. It took so long to get everyone organized, we had to decide which stop to skip! To make matters worse, we were quoted 55/person and at the end, they tried to collect 65/person. Luckily, I had the email with the confirmation of the correct amount. In addition, we didn't get Cosol or Bumpy or any of the other drivers that others on CC have commented on. We got a "dud" who just talked to the person sitting in the front. I had to keep asking if he could talk loud (no mic) so we could at least learn something about the island. Everywhere we went, there were massive crowds and vans everywhere. Someone else in our CC group did the ship count and also made note of how everyone on CC said they were going with Cosol. Common sense told them to look elsewhere! They chose Serenity Tours and were more than pleased - couldn't say enough good things about them!

 

Everyone in our CC group (on several different vans) said they will post negative reviews as well! Maybe if there are fewer ships in port, you may have a better experience than all of us!

[sweetestpea]

My family and I just returned from the Serenade and took the Cosol tour. We were looking SO forward to this tour due to all the positive reviews, etc. The day started out with a hitch due to tendering but I feel that had little impact on the rest of the day.

 

To begin, we had a hard time finding Cosol or his crew at the port, when we finally did, it wasn't the warmest welcome and from that point we felt really rushed and like cattle. We made a stop for breakfast & drinks and there were ENTIRELY too many people, like 150 too many. I take private tours to get away from the cattle herding of the ship tours and this was the worst ever. I know Cosol makes more money but almost everyone that we spoke to, didn't get the tour they were expecting. Our day was rushed and we ended up on a van that didn't want to go to the beach, what a huge dissapointment, that was the one stop we wanted to make. Things could have been better organized ahead of time. Anyway, St. Lucia is gorgeous and we would all like to go back but we were all very disappointed. I guess our expectations were so high due to all the positive reviews and I feel like I needed to give an authenic review of our experience.

 

To be fair, Cosol seemed like a really nice guy, just a little over his head. I think he hires drivers/vans on a need basis but I much rather have listened to a recording than the driver we had, he didn't offer much unless we asked. I think the driver can make or break the tour. Oh, Cosol mentioned three times to give a good review and that just seemed like overkill to us. Be sure to take Dramaine, the roads are really curvy and our van had poor AC. If you arranged the tour when the price was $55, make sure you have proof OR you will be paying $65.

[BroncosFan2010]

Hey there EllieKate and Sweetestpea! I was on your ship and felt the same way you guys did about Cosol. I wrote a REALLY long review about it on this board, but apparently they did not like it and it got deleted from the boards. I wonder if Cosol himself had something to do with that.

 

There were WAY too many people and the experience was not at all what I was expecting. The only good thing was the free beer, rum punch, and St. Lucia moonshine. It made the trip more bearable. I wish I had gone to do the zipline like DH and I had originally planned to do on St. Lucia.

 

There was wall to wall people and vans everywhere on this tour. It was hard to enjoy anything, let alone take decent pictures. The waterfall was a dud, a mere trickle of water, and not worth the walk to see considering you had to walk over 500 other people taking pictures and standing on the footpaths talking. The volcano was so crowded it was also hard to enjoy. I got out of the van, snapped a few pictures, and got back in to avoid the crowds of people and venders shoving necklaces in my face. We were there less than 20 mintues.

 

We skipped the beach, and if I had known that the other sites were so pathetic and crowded, I might have decided to go to the beach instead. But since we were running late we had to get rid of one of the options. Of course, we had to pay full price.

 

I will never do this tour again, and suggest that people check out how many other ships will be in port before deciding to go with this tour. Anything more than 2 ships in port would probably be too much, let alone 5-6 as we had.

[Ashley9880]

I am sooo glad to hear your opinions on this tour. I really thought I was losing my mind. Cosol's tour is so highly regarded on this site - and I think we now know why. I also started a new thread after I returned from my tour on 2/25/09 and it was deleted. Apparently someone only wants positive reviews on this site.

 

To validate - I felt the same way about the tour as the previous posters.

[wibeachbum]

I am sooo glad to hear your opinions on this tour. I really thought I was losing my mind. Cosol's tour is so highly regarded on this site - and I think we now know why. I also started a new thread after I returned from my tour on 2/25/09 and it was deleted. Apparently someone only wants positive reviews on this site.

 

To validate - I felt the same way about the tour as the previous posters.

 

 

There is a notice at the top of the page to post reviews or recommendations only in response to a request, do not start a new thread. That's probably why your post was deleted.

[cruisingcoppertop]

:(I, too, booked with Cosol after much research and reading many, many reviews so I was very disappointed to have a poor tour with him. I was on the Serenade of the Seas and booked a party of 9 for the tour. We tendered into port and met Cosol with ease at the gate just next to the tenders. We were among the first to arrive at approx. 0840 but did not leave on our tour for at least an hour and a half. There were many, many people waiting for Cosol to place on the numerous vans that were waiting. It was extremely unorganized. Cosol asked us and another group to be split up 4 in one van and 5 in another. When we opposed(because we thought we had booked a private tour, to avoid the "cattle herding" experience of ship tours) he did call for additional vans which further held up progress. We ended up being the very last van in the approx. 10 vehicle caravan to leave. Because of the confusion, we were not able to include everything that was described in the tour. Our group went briefly to the bananna plantation, then stopped for 'native' snacks as did all the other vans. The 'traveling' drinks did not travel with you but in a separate van that you met up with. We then went to the water taxis for the beach where we were able to spend 45 mins(it was beautiful there!). After the beach we met quickly with the caravan for beverages then went to the waterfall, which was packed and a very short stop. Lastly we quickly visited a village for warm bread and cheese(although we had no beverage to go with, because, of course, it was in the other van). The ride back to town was long and winding. Our guide was mediocre at best. I think he tried, but I also felt as though he was just filling in and maybe this wasn't a regular job for him. Sure enough, Cosol did remind all of us several times to speak highly of his tour on CC and other sites. I feel that the $65.00 that we paid per person was excessive since we didn't complete a full tour and were rushed/crowded the entire time. I would not recommend this tour and in fact felt bad that I had booked for my group! Friends of ours on board had actually paid a taxi driver to have a tour of the island including the plantation and beach for $35.00. So, beware, especially if you see a lot of ships in port the day of your tour.

[Ashley9880]

There is a notice at the top of the page to post reviews or recommendations only in response to a request, do not start a new thread. That's probably why your post was deleted.

 

You're probably right. It's funny though that the same rule doesn't apply on other Ports of Call boards.

 

 

Cruisingcoppertop - I know exactly what you mean! I'm pretty sure I've been fired from picking excursions for my group now.

[pakitin]

Before you book a private tour it is important to consider the situation. If you are on a big ship or if there are three or four cruise ships on the same day on the island only one van will get Cosol, another van his brother and the rest will be hired van drivers with much less experience and ability to comunicate. Also as some board members mentioned you will be visiting sites as a member of a caravan of vans making the tour experience not fun at all.

 

On March 3rd we arrived on St Lucia aboard the Oceania Regatta and we were one of two parties that hired Cosol. The first group departed at 9:00 and Cosol, whom we requested as our guide or we would not tour, left with our group of 8 at the schedule time of 10:00. We visited the sites we wanted and eliminated some that were on his schedule but of no interest to us. It was a very pleasant tour and he was great but when he mentioned that the next day he had 130 persons to tour the islands I pictured in my head the insane caravan of vehicles on the winding roads to get to the Pitons and the "Volcano". We were very happy to be almost alone on the road and eating the cheese bread, drinking the spice rum, the rum punch and the local beer.

 

Go to this islands on a small ship or find out what other ships will be at your side.

 

Paco

[BroncosFan2010]

I am actually pretty upset that there is not a place to post reviews for excursions on these boards. I feel that I was misled by the Cosol group. We did not get the tour that was promised in his e-mail. We did not get the experience as other people have on the tours. I am upset that I still had to pay the full amount, although we were not able to visit all of the sites. If he had not packed the roads and stops with 20+ vans, it might have been possible to take the time to see everything. I felt rushed, crowded, and unable to enjoy this beautiful island. I could not even take good pictures because there were always a million people around.

 

This is the only tour I regret booking on the entire cruise. Even the cruiseline's tours are never THAT busy or crowded. I felt that I had to voice my opinion because Cosol kept continually pushing us to write good reviews on Cruise Critic. I would write a great review for a good experience, but that is not what I experienced at all.

 

I write my reviews in order to warn other cruisers about my experience so they can avoid being misled. A vacation is a luxury, that costs money, takes time to plan, and will be remembered for a life time. What a shame to not have it be as enjoyable as possible.

[mlambert]

Mokaheena, we had the very same experience you did. We must have had 15 or more vans in our group. We were "caravanned" from site to site. I felt like we were cattle. When we arrived at the breakfast stop for snacks, people pushed and shoved to get to the table. It was ridiculous. When we arrived at the waterfall, people were pushing and shoving to go to see the "falls" which were nothing to speak of.

 

The water taxi to the beach was very difficult to get into. The pushing and shoving, combined with the water taxi issue make this NOT a tour for senior citizens who have any difficulty with balance or walking. The walking is on uneven, sometimes steep pavement or grounds. Entering the water taxi is from the water, so you must wade out into the water and then hoist your legs up into the boat. Beware of these mobility issues!

 

I would never do this tour again. It was not worth what we paid and was a miserable experience.

 

Marianne

[k-mac]

Thanks to those of you that presented your negative views on Cosol's Tour. All you ever see are people raving about it. We were scheduled to go with him next week when there are 3 large ships in port, and I'd hate to go with a group of 100+ people. I contacted Spencer Ambrose last night and was able to switch to his tour. He stated that we'd be with a small group, and we'd leave at 8 or 8:30 so we could get ahead of the large groups. So once again, thanks for your advice!!!:)

[notentirelynormal]

Who's Spencer Ambrose? Is he the guide or the name of the tour?

[finucane]

Thanx everyone...

I appreciate hearing what is happening latley with Cosol.

Not sure how one can deal with the growth but it sounds like he is not handling it very well.

If this continues we will probably (most likely) cancel, we have plenty of time to watch.

Maybe the deciding factor is to watch the ship count?

 

Cosol, I hope you are reading and learning...

[cw2go]

I had this tour booked for April SOS cruise and for some reason I had a sinking feeling to cancel and select a different tour. I had doubt that our 12 yr old son would enjoy himself at all. I made the changes and cancelled this tour. The next day I looked over the cc message board hoping I didn't make a mistake and this was the recent post about his tours can we all say confirmation...:eek: I am pleased to have changed our plans.

[k-mac]

Who's Spencer Ambrose? Is he the guide or the name of the tour?

 

He's the tour guide.

[OHCruisin]

You're probably right. It's funny though that the same rule doesn't apply on other Ports of Call boards.

 

 

Cruisingcoppertop - I know exactly what you mean! I'm pretty sure I've been fired from picking excursions for my group now.

 

You have been fired:D

[ms.sunburn]

Wow, I think Cosol has become a victim of his own popularity! It's a bit sad. I'm sure he's a good tour guide, but with that many ships in port it must have become unmanageable. I recall reading the reviews about Cosol before my trip and seeing a number of people from my ship saying they were all doing his tour and wondering how he could handle that many. I guess I have the answer.

 

We were in St. Lucia last Thursday on Spencer's tour. Our ship was the only one in port and the stops were busy enough. After visiting St. Thomas once when there were 5 other ships in port I decided it was a good idea to pay attention to those kinds of details. It can make or break a day.

[BroncosFan2010]

:(I, too, booked with Cosol after much research and reading many, many reviews so I was very disappointed to have a poor tour with him. I was on the Serenade of the Seas and booked a party of 9 for the tour. We tendered into port and met Cosol with ease at the gate just next to the tenders. We were among the first to arrive at approx. 0840 but did not leave on our tour for at least an hour and a half. There were many, many people waiting for Cosol to place on the numerous vans that were waiting. It was extremely unorganized. Cosol asked us and another group to be split up 4 in one van and 5 in another. When we opposed(because we thought we had booked a private tour, to avoid the "cattle herding" experience of ship tours) he did call for additional vans which further held up progress. We ended up being the very last van in the approx. 10 vehicle caravan to leave. Because of the confusion, we were not able to include everything that was described in the tour. Our group went briefly to the bananna plantation, then stopped for 'native' snacks as did all the other vans. The 'traveling' drinks did not travel with you but in a separate van that you met up with. We then went to the water taxis for the beach where we were able to spend 45 mins(it was beautiful there!). After the beach we met quickly with the caravan for beverages then went to the waterfall, which was packed and a very short stop. Lastly we quickly visited a village for warm bread and cheese(although we had no beverage to go with, because, of course, it was in the other van). The ride back to town was long and winding. Our guide was mediocre at best. I think he tried, but I also felt as though he was just filling in and maybe this wasn't a regular job for him. Sure enough, Cosol did remind all of us several times to speak highly of his tour on CC and other sites. I feel that the $65.00 that we paid per person was excessive since we didn't complete a full tour and were rushed/crowded the entire time. I would not recommend this tour and in fact felt bad that I had booked for my group! Friends of ours on board had actually paid a taxi driver to have a tour of the island including the plantation and beach for $35.00. So, beware, especially if you see a lot of ships in port the day of your tour.

 

 

Hey there! I feel bad that I also booked this tour for DH, myself, and my parents. I had just great excursions every day until this one! I was thinking to myself how great CC had been for picking excursions. But this was a huge disappointment. Luckily, I have not been fired, as we decided there way no way to know this tour would be a bust until we saw the number of ships in port. If we had been thinking, we would have just not gotten on the tour at all. After all, you did not have to pay until the end. :rolleyes:

[NCTribeFan]

I appreciate all reports of all tours, good and bad.

 

But I also agree that people need to do ALL their research before they sail. If there are 5 or 6 ships in port, of course the operators are going to be overwhelmed and of course the sites are going to be crowded (looking at the port calendar, the most listed were 4 ships on 3/4). I don't really see how that is the fault of any tour operator. Of course, they could stop accepting bookings, couldn't they?

 

It clearly states at the top of the POC boards that reviews are to be posted ONLY at someone's request. I have no idea why. I believe it is to prevent tour operators from posting fake, glowing reviews about their own tour companies.

 

I'm booked with Cosol in May. I've done my research and we're the only ship in port that day. I'm going under the assumption that we'll have a MUCH better time than the people going on the ship excursions, and will see many more sights at a lower price.

 

I do appreciate objectivity in all reviews, whether they are about ships, ports, food, whatever.

 

And shouting in super-large fonts isn't necessary. We can all read. If you want a tour operator to know your views, write to them specifically. Expecting them to lurk on these boards is silly. Some do read here, but expecting them to come here to find out how you felt is not the way to go about things. Let them know how you felt and make suggestions on how they can improve their tours. An anonymous message board isn't the way to implement change.

[holdon216]

I did not book with Cosol because he sent me back a generic answer to an e- mail i had sent him. He just bumped off to me the same old letter he sends to everyone, i assume. I booked with someone else because of that. Now i am glad i did.

How can you find out how many ships are in port the day you are there??? Thanks!!!

[louisenana]

:mad: I and three others of my family were also in port that crowded Wed. and we did not have advanced knowledge that there would be 5 ships in port due to rerouting of at least one ship due to civil unrest. I have never been on a worst tour.. and I did get glowing reviews from CC Boards before booking. Our tour "guide" was Pascal, a local cab driver in a rented van for the day . The van was fine, that is all I have positive to say about the tour. I had been to St. Lucia before, knew what to expect about the island, poverty and the natural beauty. This tour did not deliver what was advertised, and I resent being herded like cattle to be "fed and watered". The size of the group overwhelmed the food stop and the bathrooms. One man in our group cut his foot at the boat launch area to go to the beach, it is a dirty,garbage area where even our guides threw their lunch containers on the ground. I had a first aid kit with and helped the man with his bleeding foot (on coumadin), beach footwear is a necessity. And what was the final goodbye from Pascal? "Be sure you give good reviews to Cruise Critic!" He also passed out his business card. Go on any other tour, not COSOL.

[parknchow]

I was on the Carnival Victory and took Cosol's tour on Feb 26, 2009 and enjoyed it immensely.

 

There were probably about 50 people in 4-5 vans. I didn't expect the group to be so large but at the same time, I did not find that each van had to wait for the others. The only time we spent waiting was when Cosol met us at the pier at 8:40 am and we waited till past 9 am but this was due to people who showed up late and not Cosol's fault. I had Adrian as a driver and found him to be knowledgeable, friendly, and a good driver. As with most excursions, you do feel like cattle being herded from place to place. And with other cruise ships in port (that could be 10,000+ people getting off the boats!), you can expect the crowds at the popular attractions.

 

For $65, I saw the banana plantation, volcanoes, falls, beach, and scenic stops along the way. Not to mention all you can drink, the wide variety of delicious Caribbean food at lunch, and the warm bread and cheese snack. My highlight was the boat ride (sure, it was a little difficult getting on/off the boat, especially for my mom) and Jalhousie Beach. I heard the snorkelling is good there too although I didn't get to do that. And the air-conditioned van was very comfortable.