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I’m so sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this excursion as much as we did! I feel bad because I suggested the excursion! We had a very different experience. We didn’t find any of it strenuous—we enjoyed all the physical parts of the day. We also didn’t experience any of the crowds you did. Maybe because we were there during Presidents week and not Spring Break. The beach was fairly empty when we were there, and we only had 9 people total on the excursion. The only part of your day that was the same for us was Javin leaving the water and shore before we were all out of the water. I didn’t like that either. But other than that, we had a fantastic day. So sorry it wasn’t the same for you! 

Hi! Yes you just download all the photos for free. We really liked this feature of the excursion. We got some great shots of our family that we would never have had otherwise. 

I’m sorry to hear you found the hike and swim strenuous! Hopefully not so much that it put a damper on your day. 

Following. Excited to read this since we will be on Freedom in September! 

2 hours ago, gratamama said:

I emailed them 5-6 days ago, still no response, so I guess I will try resending.....

We are looking at the full day tour for our fam, which includes a 14 yo boy and a 4.5 yo boy. For those of you who've done that tour, you think my younger guy can take it?

Yes I think your 4.5 year old would be just fine. All kids are different, but knowing my kids at that age, they would be fine. 

20 minutes ago, LStepp84 said:

We are booked with Javin in May. My only concern about this excursion is the snorkeling with my young son. He has been practicing in a pool but has never snorkeled in open water. Does the water drop off fast or if need be can  me or my husband stay back with him in a more shallow area? If my son doesn't last long snorkeling is there much of a beach at the snorkeling site? 

I don’t recall the water dropping off fast. I’m sure one of you could stay in shallower water with him, yes. There isn’t a sandy beach at the snorkeling site—it’s all rocks. 

47 minutes ago, Gatordad815 said:

Fantastic review and pics-thank you for the effort! We will be on the Allure next week stopping at all the same ports so seeing your review of a similar trip is definitely awesome! We are also planning on staying on ship in Nassau, West Bay Beach in Roatan and Parasise Beach in Cozumel so your review is particularly relevant.

 

Thanks again for the enjoyable read-looking forward to the remainder!

Hey Gatordad! I see you are taking another cruise, so your cruise last year must have been a success celiac-wise! (I didn’t go back on cruise critic after our sailing last year, so if you did a review I missed it.) We just did another cruise as well over February break on Adventure, and it was another 5 star gluten free success! Have fun on Allure! 

19 minutes ago, jossur0166 said:

Sounds like so much fun!! How do I book this excursion?

You can book through his website. Just google My Island Tours by Javin and you should find it easily. Have fun! 

Following. Loving this review!! 

Following along—someday we will make it on Symphony! My kids are similar ages to yours, so I’m looking forward to reading your experience on the ship. 

8 hours ago, Westbank is bestbank said:

How much time did you spend at the beach?

We spent about an hour at the beach. If you do not want to snorkel, then you can spend that whole time at the beach. Javin gives you the choice. One lady in our group did not want to snorkel, so he dropped her off at the beach first, then took us to snorkel. When we went back for her, we spent about an hour there before heading back to the port. 

Following—looks like you’re having a wonderful cruise! 

18 minutes ago, EeyoreRN said:

Did you drive up to that lookout point in all the famous photos of St. Kitts, where you can see the ocean and the sea?

Yes! I believe it’s called Timothy Hill, or something like that.  We stopped to take photos. It was beautiful! 

3 hours ago, ppfqp said:

We were in St. Lucia a few weeks ago and did the Cosol tour. I absolutely 100% recommend it!!!!

It is a lot of time spent in the van ... BUT ... there's no other way to get around the island! We were amazed at how much we got to see and do, and without feeling rushed. The roads are hilly and winding -- not my favorite type of drive -- but there are ample stops and you spend plenty of time out doors at various sight-seeing stops, on the boat ride to Sugar Beach, at the beach, at the mud bath, at the water falls, etc. Also, I was happy that they do not cram the vans to max capacity (or at least they did not on our day. It was roomy and comfortable. The stops are well worth the drive!!! St. Lucia is an incredibly gorgeous island - jaw dropping sights at every turn. 

Our guide was also Yellow Bird (Cosol's brother), but we also interacted with the other guides at the stops, and they were all friendly and gracious and hospitable. 

Also ... the food ... WOW! You will not go hungry! There is food and drink at every turn, and the food is really delicious. It is a feast. That bread and cheese towards the end of the tour ... Why is something so simple so utterly delicious? 

I will advise to consider the drive as you imbibe -- the rum punch and the very cold Piton beer is offered at every stop. I don't know, it might make the drive worse or maybe better! You'll have to decide for yourself! 😀

I HIGHLY recommend this tour. It was a fantastic experience and we were so glad we got to see so much of St. Lucia on our visit to the island. First, but definitely not last - it is now at the top of our list for a return trip.

Wow, I’m thrilled to keep getting such great reviews of this excursion! I can’t wait to experience this! Thanks for the photos too—they are beautiful! 

25 minutes ago, JES11583 said:

Hi!  If you don't mind my asking...what sailing are you on in September and when?  We will be there in September, as well! 🙂

I don’t mind at all! Our cruise is 9/29–10/6. The day we are in St Lucia is 10/3. 

17 minutes ago, Fairgarth said:

Short answer:  no.  But Beach Limerz has Fort James right next door.  Free entry, come and go as you please.

Thank you! The fort sounds great for something to see before we head back to the ship! 

We just did My Island Tours with Javin in St Kitts. It was a FANTASTIC day. A little bit of everything—rainforest hike, climbing on the lava rocks by the ocean, a fantastic lunch provided by Javin, snorkeling, then beach time! And you travel around between activities in a nice van and see so many sights! Javin shares so much information—I feel like we saw all of St Kitts. And Javin has a pet monkey that comes on the tour—“Peaches”. She’s adorable and sits on your shoulder! He also takes photos of you on your adventures the whole day and shares them with you online for free. A truly wonderful day—our favorite of all our stops. It’s the best! 

For our upcoming cruise we have booked Beach Limerz in Antigua. We have read so many great things! 

24 minutes ago, flcruising89 said:

Hi! I have a few questions if you don't mind:

Were you able to swim in the tide pools of the lava rocks?

Was there a lot to see in the snorkel area you went to?

At the beach time, were you able to snorkel there too and if so, was there anything to see? 

How long was the rainforest hike and was that part interesting?

Thank you for your help!

 

Hello! Here’s my answers:

No, you couldn’t swim in the tide pools at the lava rocks. 

When we snorkeled, we saw a lot of huge starfish, and different colored fish around the shipwreck, which was really cool to see. 

For the beach time we just went in the water and hung out on the sand and took it all in. So I’m not sure if there was snorkeling there. I think it was Cockleshell beach, so maybe google “snorkeling at cockleshell beach” and see if anything on trip advisor or cruise critic comes up. 

The rainforest hike was probably an hour or so. That part was so interesting! It was my son’s favorite part of the day. Javin gives you so much information, and quizzes you on plants and things—it’s fun. We saw wild monkeys too which was cool. And the best part? No one else is there. It’s not a touristy spot. Javin created the trail himself, dug steps and made railings out of bamboo. No one else goes there. So it was just our group of 9. So fun and so beautiful and peaceful. 

Oh no—sorry to hear that. The first time we emailed we got a response quickly. The second time we emailed, just to confirm our reservation, it took several days and another email to get a response. I’m sure they will respond—he was very professional and organized on our day there. Try to email again. I reeeeeally want this to work out for you! 

Following—have a great cruise! 

2 minutes ago, juneholaday said:

YES! My husband who has been sailing offshore for 30 years really regretted not taking it. We were in the last seat in the back of the van and I, who get carsick in my own driveway, did fine. Him, not so much 

Oh wow, ok. Thank you for the definite warning! We will make sure we take it that morning. 

6 minutes ago, juneholaday said:

I'd like to weigh in on this topic for just a moment. We just cruised last week on the NCL Dawn and we booked COSOL tours in St Lucia. I have been cruising for 20 years and this Cosol Tour was absolutely one of the best tours I have ever been on in any country.  Not liking the price gouging by the cruiselines on shore ex, we usually hire a taxi when we arrive in port and have them take us wherever we like. However, this being my first time to St. Lucia I didn't want to miss anything. Cosol offered all the highlights I wanted to hit (as opposed to the cruiseline that offered only some of the sites. 

 

These guys are very organized. Each van holds about 12-15 passengers and we had 3 vans in our "caravan". We were going right from the start at 8:30am. We drove through Castries to get out to the countryside. Our guide YELLOW BIRD (brother of Cosol) was fantastic.  He tells the history of the island as we are driving through the city into the countryside. He answered every question we asked. Stopping for beautiful overlooks, we could get out and take some pix.  Once in the countryside, the real fun begins and the feasting. The food on this tour was amazing. I was never hungry or thirsty. First stop the banana plantation. After a quick history lesson on bananas and how they grow, we sampled banana ketchup and banana bbq sauce on banana chips. Yum. Then we each got a whole banana to try. We washed it all down with a few homemade spiced rum shots - wow 10 am here I come!

 

Then on to see two different fishing villages. In the second village we stop for breakfast. All 3 vans together was less than 50 people and did not feel crowded at all. In fact most of the time we were getting out on the shoulder of the road for photos and we were not a big group. I won't spoil it for you but breakfast was an amazing variety of local foods all cooking right there. One of the vans had the "mobile bar" in the trunk. Water, beer, rum punch, soda, juices. As many as you wanted. I won't detail too much more because you should be surprised and delighted as we were. The water taxi to the beach between the Pitons was quick and the beach is wonderful. Be sure to swim on the hotel side for softer sand. You just cannot use any hotel chairs. We had a full hour there - lovely.

 

Back on the water taxi and on to the volcano. We only had 3 of our van who wanted to go into the mud baths so YellowBird set them up where they needed to go. Then he drove the rest of us up the hill to hear a guide speak about the volcano and sulfur springs. That was not part of it, but he gave us a great tour so we didnt just sit around waiting for the mud pit folks. And he paid all the entrance fees. Then we picked up the mud folks and headed to the waterfall. So beautiful. After working up an appetite we stopped for hot baked bread and cheese. Loving the homemade food on this trip plus of course more  drinks from the mobile bar. 

 

We started to head back to Castries. On the way a car came roaring up beside us honking their horn. Yellow bird got out to meet a woman. He came back into the van with baggies of homemade cookies for the ride back! This tour was absolutely the best bang for your buck and I feel like I got to see the whole island. Oh, and did I mention that it rained for most of the day? Anyone on that tour would agree with me. We were having so much fun that the rain didnt even matter. If you're on the fence, just go for it. You won't forgive yourself if you miss out. Only warning I have, take a dramamine before getting in the van. The hairpin turns are numerous. Ask your driver to show you the one stretch of straight road on the island... it's pretty funny. Have fun!

Thank you so much!! This really helped answer any doubts I had about the tour. I am very excited! Do you recommend Dramamine for folks who don’t usually get carsick/motion sick? 

My Island Tours by Javin is also a wonderful choice! We took his tour at the end of February. 

We were recently in St Kitts and took this excursion. It was me, my husband and two kids, ages 14 and 12. It was the best excursion out of all we have taken so far! Such a wonderful day—a rainforest hike, climbing on lava rocks by the ocean, a drive through the island, learning so many island facts, a wonderful lunch provided, followed by great snorkeling and some time at the beach. A little bit of everything. And Javin’s pet monkey was on the tour with us and was so hilarious—a really unique and fun part of the excursion! Never thought we’d have a monkey sitting on our shoulders! Many wonderful family memories made that day. I highly recommend it for your stop in beautiful St Kitts! (Javin also takes pictures of you the whole day and puts them on his website for you for free. We have so many awesome family photos from our great day.) 

On 2/9/2019 at 8:27 PM, mickeyhereicome said:

So who did you pick?

We picked Billy Bones because the kids really wanted to go on a speedboat! It was a big hit. But my husband and I have a cruise coming up for just the two of us and we scheduled Random Wind.