Phil Lafayette

[CECRN]

Has anyone gone on a tour with Phil Lafayette recently? Any feedback for us?

[greenbbs]

My wife and I went with Phil on the Jan 10th Ruby Princess trip.

 

Man, he was outstanding. His daughter met us at the pier, and directed us to the minibus that would take us around the island.

 

From the pier, he drove us around town really quick, showing us such sights as the Ocho Rios jail (as he drove past, he kindly warned us to decline drugs, or we'd end up there....it's not a friendly looking building).

 

When we got to DRF, he told us the best way to get around there, how to see the falls, what to avoid, what to see, etc. We had about 2 hours at the falls to enjoy....it's pretty spectacular. We didn't climb the falls, however, because my wife is pregnant and she didnt' want to take any chances.

 

From DRF, he gave us the option of either going for lunch, or heading to the next stop. Our tour group chose lunch, and he drove us further out towards where Sandals and Riu Resorts were, and we ate at a restaurant called "Scotchies", which is a Jamaican Jerk restaurant. Extremely authentic. The place had a thatch hut bar, and a bunch of covered eating areas, all outside. The area they cooked the food was visible, and the various meats (sausage, pork, and chicken) were seen cooking on the wood planks. For about 6 bucks each, we got bread, all 3 meats, and choice of drink (Beer, Rum Punch, Coke, etc). Very very good food.

 

From there, we drove to the River Tubing site on the other side of Ocho Rios. We didn't do this either, as my wife was still hesitant, but after we saw the part of the group that was going down the river leave, we got back on the bus, and he showed us the parts of Jamaica that a bunch who visit Ocho Rios don't usually see. There was a hillside area with multi-million dollar houses with spectacular views, areas that have the history of all-inclusive resorts in Ocho Rios, and a few other places. We went back from there to pick up the group.

 

Then, we went on a short drive back to town, up a hill, where you have a spectacular view of the town, the port, and our ship. Great photo op. After that, he drove us to the Fern Gully, where you could see Jamaica's rain forest. It was pretty neat to see the huge trees.

 

He dropped us off at the Island Village shopping area, and wished us a safe trip for the rest of our cruise. We did a bit of shopping, and headed back.

 

Today, we got an email from him making sure we got home safely and seeing how we were doing.

 

If you want to take a tour, i HIGHLY recommend him! Nothign but first class all the way!

[CECRN]

Great, thank you so much!

[dcappa]

My husband and I were on the very same tour with Phil on our 1/10 Ruby princess cruise (Waves to greenbbs). We had a blast! Phil was not only a great tour guide, he was hilarious and made sure out whole day was fun filled.

 

My husband climbed the falls, but I opted not to, as you do need to be pretty sure footed (I am way too clumbsy). The tubing was SO much fun! We laughed the whole way down the river.

 

We too recieved an email from Phil to say thank you. I was very impressed that he remembered the nicknames he had given all of us.

 

I would definitely recommend!