Excursions in Anitgua and St. Lucia?

[CruisanSusan]

Is Cosol's tour too strenuous for an 87 yr old? Mom is treating my sister and I to our third cruise. This tour sounds like fun but I wonder if it would be tooo much for Mom.She gets around pretty good but does get tired. Of course, we won't be snorkeling. Also, Cosol's website states that the tour takes 5.5 -6 hours. What time does it leave the port and did everyone get back to the ship by 4-5 pm?

Thanks,

Susan

[lovemylab]

In St. Lucia we did Cosol's tour. It was the highlight of our cruise. I can't remember what time we got back but I remember it was plenty of time before sailaway as we had time to go in the shops at the pier.

 

In Antigua we rented a car. We looked into some of the island tours but couldn't find one that offered everything we wanted to do so we decided to rent a car and do our own thing. Driving in the city was a bit nerve-wracking as the streets are narrow with cars parked on both sides (and driving is on the left) but once out of the city it was very easy. There was very little traffic - we saw more donkeys and goats than oncoming traffic :D I am sure we went through some of the intersections iincorrectly but since there was no traffic it didn't matter anyways :p

[cruisingbooboo]

Cruisan Susan,

I think your Mom could do the tour, I went with Cosol and had a GREAT time!!! My friends and I did nap a little between stops here and there ( vacationing can be soo tiring!!!) and we're only 38!!!

The streets of St. Lucia are VERY hilly, I was a bit motion sick in the van, I have NEVER been motion sick before so I don't know why but I was thinking if I come again I will take some Dramimine or ginger pills... FYI

Enjoy the trip.

[Kaboochi]

Antigua is a fantastic island and there is so much to do. If you are adventurous you must do the ZIP LINE in the rain forest. The employees are extremely experienced and, if you are afraid, they the ride the line with you. We had a group of 20 that went and it was well worth it. If you are looking for a nice beach that has an open air cafe, try Jolly Harbour Marina. It is a beautiful beach. It is about 20 min from port. If you like history, go to Nelson's Dock Yard and tour a 1700's fort that defended the island from European invasions. A more out of the way beach is Half Moon Bay. It is a wonderful island. This is one place you do not want to stay on the ship. They say they have 265 beachs, one for each day. Enjoy, Kaboochi

 

PS - I speak with passion about this island because we have been there several times visiting life long friends who were born and raised there. If you have questions please ask. If I do not have an answer I will email them and get one for you.

[Sanlj]

We just returned from this itinerary on Vision a few weeks ago. Although we're usually a more active group, we did the "Antigua Experience" RCCL ship tour and enjoyed it very much. We saw some interesting things, the tour guide "Big Worm," was engaging and eager to please, and the beach was amazingly quiet and beautiful...and we had plenty of time to swim and enjoy! The lunch was delicious, and we even got a fun dance lesson that had everyone laughing. We seem to have had a different experience than some posters on this board.

 

There were only two women selling necklaces on the beach and politely left when we declined to buy. Someone else did purchase something and the women sat down and made her earrings to match at the buyer's request.

 

Maybe a bit pricey at $75 per person, but a very nice day and recommended.

 

Also did the Cosol tour on St. Lucia with Bompy, our guide. Great day, but I agree that motion sickness is a definite possibility, simply because of the endless hairpin turns and the length of time in the van. Just take some precautions with ginger and/or Dramamine and enjoy the day!

 

Sandy

[elliekate]

We just returned from Serenade and we did the Cosol tour. After reading so many good things on the boards, we were very disappointed! Our group thought it was the worst tour we have ever done. I would advise checking to see how many other ships are in port the day you are there. Five or six ships were there on our day and it was total chaos. There must have been over 20 vans just in Cosol's group and people and vans were everywhere. I even took pictures of the crowds and will post those pictures when I do a review! In addition, Cosol hires taxi drivers to fill the number of vans needed. It is the luck of the draw as to who you get and we had a nice driver, but he didn't talk to us! Maybe if we had a better driver, it would have distracted us from the chaos of the crowds. Also, make sure you take a copy of correspondence with Cosol as we were confirmed for 55/person and they tried to charge us 65/person. Also, we had to skip a stop due to time problems. So, we did not get any beach time. Even skipping a stop, they still tried to charge us more! St. Lucia is a beautiful island and you definitely need to see it. Maybe hire a private taxi driver!

 

In Antigua, we did the Eli's Xtreme tour and it was great. We had already done his Eco tour and loved that as well.