Scenic Barbados Tours (NOT Cameron Reid Tours)

[lotro]

Has anyone booked through Scenic Barbados Tours? This is a totally different company than Cameron Reid's Tours, though the website names are very similar.

 

Scenic Barbados Tours is advertising a $30 4-hour tour for cruise ship passengers that leaves at 10:00 that consists of 2 hours of touring with beach time and refreshments. They have posted a couple of "reviews" on their website http://www.scenicbarbadostours.net/cruise_tours1.html, but wanted some input from fellow CC.

[sbharr]

My DH and I are looking at this tour too - seems like a good value for the money - and just the right mix of touring/beach time.....

 

Love to hear other opinions!:)

[cjtravel]

This seems like a very good tour for the money. We are going in June. If anyone does this tour before June 14th please report back. Would love to hear how this tour actually is.

Thanks

[sbharr]

Just did a search on this board for Scenic Barbados tours and it looks like a CC member, Prairiesailor, had the same question. He (or she?) booked a tour with Scenic Barbados tours (same one we are looking at - 2 hours tour, 2 hours beach) and just went in the last few weeks. I posted a note on the roll call board of the cruise, and hopefully, we will hear something soon!:)

[swom]

Why do all the tours in Barbados require a credit card for reservations? I have several tours booked on our upcoming cruise and no one wants payment up front.

[sbharr]

Quick update - I heard back from PrairieSailor - he said that he never could find the Scenic Tours Rep when they got off the ship, although later he contacted them and they said they were there. He ended up hiring a taxi for a tour and visit to the beach at the pier.

 

Not a good sign for Scenic tours:(

[1Buckeye Cruiser]

This looks like a fantastic deal since from what I read on CC we would be spending around $40 for a taxi roundtrip to Accra. Does anybody know where the tour actually goes and what beach is included.

[luvocean9]

Starboy, do you know Mr. Lovell personally? You have only made 3 posts on the board and all are in favor of this tour operator, so I am just wondering. :D

[sbharr]

This looks like a fantastic deal since from what I read on CC we would be spending around $40 for a taxi roundtrip to Accra. Does anybody know where the tour actually goes and what beach is included.

 

 

I asked these same questions and got this response:

 

Thanks for your email .

Our package is 2 hrs tour of the island ,then two hrs at the beach .

We go down the west coast of the island ,pass thru Sandy Lane area .stop at

the first church of the island for a tour .Then onto the highest part of

the island for a look at the east coast ,then across to the St. Johns church

look out point .

After we go to the beach ,the beach we go to is Dover beach ,or Accra beach

.We serve refreshments , like soda pop , rum punch or beer .

Rental of chairs and unbrellas are optional and you willll have to pay for

such services .

We have room on the date mentioned by you .

Thank you ,and hope we can be of service to you.

Regards

Edwin Lovell

 

I'd like to give them a try as it does seem a good value - but I wish a cruiser from CC had some experience with them - I am a little hesitant after what PrairieSailor said - particularly because you have to pay them in advance!

[1Buckeye Cruiser]

I asked these same questions and got this response:

 

Thanks for your email .

Our package is 2 hrs tour of the island ,then two hrs at the beach .

We go down the west coast of the island ,pass thru Sandy Lane area .stop at

the first church of the island for a tour .Then onto the highest part of

the island for a look at the east coast ,then across to the St. Johns church

look out point .

After we go to the beach ,the beach we go to is Dover beach ,or Accra beach

.We serve refreshments , like soda pop , rum punch or beer .

Rental of chairs and unbrellas are optional and you willll have to pay for

such services .

We have room on the date mentioned by you .

Thank you ,and hope we can be of service to you.

Regards

Edwin Lovell

 

I'd like to give them a try as it does seem a good value - but I wish a cruiser from CC had some experience with them - I am a little hesitant after what PrairieSailor said - particularly because you have to pay them in advance!

Thanks for the info. Somebody just back said they paid $15 per person RT just for a taxi to Accra so this really looks like a good deal. We have always said we would never pay in advance for any tours so that part makes me a little nervous. It looks like you will be going before us, would you mind letting us know how it was? Just a quick note on this thread would be greatly appreciated!

[cjtravel]

We would be interested in seeing a post if and when someone does this tour. We are looking at this tour for our June Sailing. Thanks

[luvocean9]

I'd like to give them a try as it does seem a good value - but I wish a cruiser from CC had some experience with them - I am a little hesitant after what PrairieSailor said - particularly because you have to pay them in advance!

 

We have decided to hire Mr. Lovell for a half-day private tour on March 26. He always returns my emails and has given me honest advice and his price is fair. If I remember correctly, PrairieSailor was not able to find him at the pier. I appreciate his feedback, but this is just one person's experience. We will just ask the security guards in uniform to help us if we are not able to locate him. He also gave us his cell phone. I am confident that we will find him and have a great tour. When we return, I will post our experience and hopefully establish a good reputation for him.

[sbharr]

We have decided to hire Mr. Lovell for a half-day private tour on March 26. He always returns my emails and has given me honest advice and his price is fair. If I remember correctly, PrairieSailor was not able to find him at the pier. I appreciate his feedback, but this is just one person's experience. We will just ask the security guards in uniform to help us if we are not able to locate him. He also gave us his cell phone. I am confident that we will find him and have a great tour. When we return, I will post our experience and hopefully establish a good reputation for him.

 

I have been talking it over with DH - and we will probably book too - it does make me a little nervous to pay in advance - but Mr. Lovell has been very responsive so far.....

 

I will post when I return if we go - I hope someone else will post before we leave in less than 3 weeks!:)

[luvocean9]

The money up front seems to be the way of it in Barbados. I figure if something happened and he was a no show, I will just contest the charge on my card. But I am confident that it will not be necessary.

 

We will be back on 3/28 and I can post something about Mr. Lovell soon after. When are you leaving?

[sbharr]

March 29 :)- not sure we will be able to access the web once we've gone - I appreciate the thought though.

 

 

 

The money up front seems to be the way of it in Barbados. I figure if something happened and he was a no show, I will just contest the charge on my card. But I am confident that it will not be necessary.

 

We will be back on 3/28 and I can post something about Mr. Lovell soon after. When are you leaving?

[sbharr]

:D

 

We booked with Edwin Lovell as stated before and we were in Barbados last week - I made the reservation with him via e-mail instead of using his on-line form and did not have to pay in advance.

 

One note - we messed up on where to meet him - It was a bit unclear from his e-mail - when you get off the ship - you have to walk through the terminal building and then you get outside to a parking lot where other people are meeting tours and getting taxis - you have to cross the parking lot and go through the secure gate at the end and that is where Edwin will meet you with a sign with your name on it. We just exited the building and waited there in the parking lot - until I talked one of the nice port greeters into calling Edwin's cell phone number which he included in his confirmation e-mail as we did not have a phone - Edwin explained where he waiting for us. After that - we were off.

 

It was just my DH and I and two other ladies traveling together from our ship. The tour was supposed to be 2 hours tour and two hours beachtime - but the ladies did not want to go to the beach - Edwin was VERY accomodating with them and did everything he could to make sure everyone got exactly what they wasnted. We toured for more than 4 hours - Edwin took us to some beautiful spots and historic places. He served us drinks from the back of his van too! Then it was beach time for us - Edwin suggested Dover or Accra and we chose Accra based on Aplmac's suggestion on this board - Edwin was so nice - he showed us Dover beach first - then took us to Accra and said if we wanted to go back to Dover he would take us. We decided to stay at Accra, although Dover looked great too!. Before he left to drop the other ladies in Bridgetown to shop, he made a point of talking to one of the nice men renting chairs on the beach and told him to take good care of us, which he definitely did. He then arranged to pick us up later. He was there as promised when we were done and then we made a stop in Bridgetown to pick up the other ladies and then back to the ship.

 

All in all - we spent way more than the promised 4 hours on tour. Edwin was VERY nice, knowledgeable and really wanted to make sure everyone had a good time. This tour was well worth the money ($30 PP!) and I would recommend Edwin to anyone. Barbados is beautiful, everyone we met was very friendly and we would love to go back!

 

If anyone had specific questions - ask away!

[swom]

:D

 

We booked with Edwin Lovell as stated before and we were in Barbados last week - I made the reservation with him via e-mail instead of using his on-line form and did not have to pay in advance.

 

One note - we messed up on where to meet him - It was a bit unclear from his e-mail - when you get off the ship - you have to walk through the terminal building and then you get outside to a parking lot where other people are meeting tours and getting taxis - you have to cross the parking lot and go through the secure gate at the end and that is where Edwin will meet you with a sign with your name on it. We just exited the building and waited there in the parking lot - until I talked one of the nice port greeters into calling Edwin's cell phone number which he included in his confirmation e-mail as we did not have a phone - Edwin explained where he waiting for us. After that - we were off.

 

It was just my DH and I and two other ladies traveling together from our ship. The tour was supposed to be 2 hours tour and two hours beachtime - but the ladies did not want to go to the beach - Edwin was VERY accomodating with them and did everything he could to make sure everyone got exactly what they wasnted. We toured for more than 4 hours - Edwin took us to some beautiful spots and historic places. He served us drinks from the back of his van too! Then it was beach time for us - Edwin suggested Dover or Accra and we chose Accra based on Aplmac's suggestion on this board - Edwin was so nice - he showed us Dover beach first - then took us to Accra and said if we wanted to go back to Dover he would take us. We decided to stay at Accra, although Dover looked great too!. Before he left to drop the other ladies in Bridgetown to shop, he made a point of talking to one of the nice men renting chairs on the beach and told him to take good care of us, which he definitely did. He then arranged to pick us up later. He was there as promised when we were done and then we made a stop in Bridgetown to pick up the other ladies and then back to the ship.

 

All in all - we spent way more than the promised 4 hours on tour. Edwin was VERY nice, knowledgeable and really wanted to make sure everyone had a good time. This tour was well worth the money ($30 PP!) and I would recommend Edwin to anyone. Barbados is beautiful, everyone we met was very friendly and we would love to go back!

 

If anyone had specific questions - ask away!

Where exactly did you go and does he have a website?

[sbharr]

Where exactly did you go and does he have a website?

 

Hmm, I don't remember the exact order, but we made several stops including St. James Church, at some scenic overlooks for pictures, past Sandy Lane where Tiger got married, through Bathsheba (really cool!) , to another church where there were nice gardens and a sundial on top of an overlook, through some fishing villages, past several beaches, both Atlantic and Caribbean coasts, to an old sugar plantation, and finally to the beach before dropping our shipmates in Bridgetown for shopping. Edwin would incldue anything you wanted really....

 

Here is his webpage for the tour we took:

 

http://www.scenicbarbadostours.net/cruise_tours1.html

 

Have fun!

[Aplmac]

.. we made several stops including St. James Church, at some scenic overlooks for pictures,

past Sandy Lane where Tiger got married, through Bathsheba (really cool!) ,

to another church where there were nice gardens and a sundial on top of an overlook,

 

...that would be here?

 

 

at St.John's Parish Church?

 

 

.

[NCTribeFan]

I'm booked with Glory Tours on 5/20, but really am not liking what I'm reading, so I'm looking for other options.

 

Thing is, I really want to see Harrisons Caves.

 

Think I'll email Mr. Lovell and see if it's possible to add the caves to the cruise package. We'll be there from 8 am to 5 pm, and his website shows the caves as being 8:30 (2-1/2 hours), so I would hope maybe this can be done.

 

I booked Glory because I wanted the caves and an island tour and the sea turtles, but it's just so expensive, and I don't like the issues people have been having.

 

Guess I can live without the turtles, if I can get the rest.

 

Has anyone combined any of the Barbados Scenic Tours?

 

Did you contact him via the website's "contact us" form or do you have a private email address?

[NCTribeFan]

He responded right away and said, yes, we can combine the two into a 6 hr tour for $65 per person, so I said OK, and sent an email to Glory Tours to cancel with her.

[dz63]

Thanks NCTribeFan for the idea of combining Harrison's Cave with the Sightseeing and Beach Tour. I also asked about this option.

This tour departs at 9:30 and returns around 3:30.

 

This is the email message from Mr. Lovell describing the sightseeing and beach part of this tour.

"This tour includes a trip to the oldest church on the island, then a drive along the west coast of the island, where all the expensive homes are. Then to the rugged eastern side of the island, with stops in Batsheba, and the old St. Johns church on top of the hill.

 

The tour then go to the beach for 2hrs there, and there you can enjoy the calm waters and have a rum punch."

 

Mr. Lovell offers a slight discounted rate for families. Overall for a 6 hour tour, this excursion seems like a very good value.

 

For those of you that have already toured with him, approximately how many people were on the tour with you?

What kind of vehicle does Edwin Lovell use for the tour--a bus or van?

Anyone have any more pictures?

 

sbharr--When you booked your tour via email rather than using the online form, did you have to give out your credit card information?

[jst]

Can anyone give me Mr. Lovell's e-mail address? :) We had a really bad tour from a local operator on a previous trip, so would appreciate to be able to contact someone that is reliable.

Thanks in advance

[dz63]

Can anyone give me Mr. Lovell's e-mail address? :) We had a really bad tour from a local operator on a previous trip, so would appreciate to be able to contact someone that is reliable.

Thanks in advance

 

We booked a tour with Edwin Lovell from Scenic Barbados Tours for this upcoming July.

 

Here is his website address:

http://www.scenicbarbadostours.net/

 

This is his email address:

info@scenicbarbadostours.net

 

From our experience he responded back to our inquiries anywhere from 24 hours to 5 days.

[cjtravel]

I was able to cantact him at this address benox265@hotmail.com