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Shore Excursions When Ship is not Docking


57eric
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Our upcoming cruise is calling on St. Lucia and the cruiseline’s shore excursions are not appealing. We would like to book an excursion independently and have been in touchwith three companies so far. Two werenot able to comprehend that not all ships dock in St. Lucia and the third said “We’rescheduled to leave at 8:30 but don’t worry”.

I looked at the port authority ship schedule. While most ships dock, it is not at alluncommon for larger ships to anchor. Ifind it hard to have any confidence in an operation that lacks this basicawareness.

We anchored in St. Lucia last year with the same ship andthe tendering process took forever, despite our ‘priority’ in that we hadbooked an excursion through the cruise line. I would hesitate to commit to being on the dock any earlier than9:30.

What would you do?

  • Book an excursion in advance and trust that theywill wait or us?
  • Make arrangements once we get to the dock?
  • Give up and take what our cruise line isoffering?

We’re interested in inland activities/attractions south ofCastries.

Thanks.

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All tour operators are away of the timing of ships who anchor out and do take that into consideration when accepting a booking. I would suggest you speak with whomever you book and express your concern. The most I believe they can offer is perhaps allowing you to do your excursion private. Can I ask what you are intend on doing?

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Our upcoming cruise is calling on St. Lucia and the cruiseline’s shore excursions are not appealing. We would like to book an excursion independently and have been in touchwith three companies so far. Two werenot able to comprehend that not all ships dock in St. Lucia and the third said “We’rescheduled to leave at 8:30 but don’t worry”.

I looked at the port authority ship schedule. While most ships dock, it is not at alluncommon for larger ships to anchor. Ifind it hard to have any confidence in an operation that lacks this basicawareness.

We anchored in St. Lucia last year with the same ship andthe tendering process took forever, despite our ‘priority’ in that we hadbooked an excursion through the cruise line. I would hesitate to commit to being on the dock any earlier than9:30.

What would you do?

 

  • Book an excursion in advance and trust that theywill wait or us?
  • Make arrangements once we get to the dock?
  • Give up and take what our cruise line isoffering?

We’re interested in inland activities/attractions south ofCastries.

Thanks.

 

What line/ship? Are you at anchor in Rodney Bay/Pigeon Island, or Soufriere?

There have been dock improvements since last year - some ships that formerly had to render are now able to dock due to the new longer extra pier.

 

Please provide that info so we can guide you to tour companies accordingly..

Also, and idea of what it is you want to do would help so we can steer you right .

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I'm perplexed by the consistent reaction that there is something novel or unusual about anchoring in St. Lucia. Go to http://www.slaspa.com/contentPages/view/cruise-schedules and click on October (which includes future months). In December alone there are 19 ships scheduled to anchor.

Yes, well aware that some ships do anchor, hence asking above whether you would be anchoring for PI, Rodney Bay or Soufriere.. Also, some ships that formerly anchored now dock due to the pier improvements at Pointe Seraphine. Hence asking what ship, so I could help with better suggestions, for instance if you were anchoring in Soufriere, I'd have different companies than anchoring in Rodney Bay, etc.

No worries, for whatever reason you're keeping that a secret. That's cool, glad you found a company to work with.

And no, it's not 19 ships anchoring, it's the same couple ships anchoring multiple different times over the course of the season... FWIW...

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  • 3 weeks later...
On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 12:45 PM, reedprincess said:

I'm perplexed by the consistent reaction that there is something novel or unusual about anchoring in St. Lucia. Go to http://www.slaspa.com/contentPages/view/cruise-schedules

 and click on October (which includes future months). In December alone there are 19 ships scheduled to anchor.


Yes, well aware that some ships do anchor, hence asking above whether you would be anchoring for PI, Rodney Bay or Soufriere.. Also, some ships that formerly anchored now dock due to the pier improvements at Pointe Seraphine. Hence asking what ship, so I could help with better suggestions, for instance if you were anchoring in Soufriere, I'd have different companies than anchoring in Rodney Bay, etc.
No worries, for whatever reason you're keeping that a secret. That's cool, glad you found a company to work with.
And no, it's not 19 ships anchoring, it's the same couple ships anchoring multiple different times over the course of the season... FWIW...

FWIW, "the same couple ships anchoring multiple different times" in December are Club Med 2, Queen Mary 2, SeaDream 1, Star Pride, Wind Surf, Royal Clipper, Serenissima, and Celebrity Silhouette.

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