Disgusting Sapphire Beach excursion

How is such an absurd and idiotic question helpful or pertinent? Someone took the time to communicate their experience, why don't you try to refrain from some feeble put down?

It was not meant as a put down. Many people do not know that they could just take a taxi to any beach (or a shuttle) and save money as well as not have to come back when the excursion does. Also if you get a day pass from resort for a day for a hotel, many times you are saving money and having a wonderful day.

It was not meant as a put down. Many people do not know that they could just take a taxi to any beach (or a shuttle) and save money as well as not have to come back when the excursion does. Also if you get a day pass from resort for a day for a hotel, many times you are saving money and having a wonderful day.

Sometimes people have excess OBC to use. That makes shore excursions cheaper since they're not reaching into their pocket.

People should have some compassion, the priorities are not you but the citizens of the islands, I got back to the US on 4/10/18 after volunteering 12 weeks of my time on the USVI, we rebuilt 5 schools and helped 4 families rebuild their houses, I am going back in 3 weeks, I am a carpenter that is 60 years old and retired, the money my wife and I were going to use for cruising this year has been used to buy generators, battery operated power tools and hand tools that I had shipped down at my personal cost. Sure you paid a lot of money for your cruise but right now you are not their priority........ When you have people crying while thanking you, you feel humble to the core.....you have no idea of the destruction and disruption to peoples lives.

We once went on a RCCL excursion in Manzanillo .... it was horrible .... much like what you experienced.

Nearly the entire bus full of people asked to go back to the ship and they said the most they could do for us was to call us a cab. Well, that is what we did ... just took a cab back. When we got back onboard, we went to guest services and our money was refunded immediately (after explaining our disappointment and the failures of the tour company) and not only did they do so, they even refunded us the money for the cab ride back to the ship. I wasn't expecting that. We didn't need a receipt or anything, they just asked us how much we paid and it was credited back to our onboard account.

They stated that they won't be using that tour company anymore. I get that this might be a little different situation but they shouldn't be selling an inferior product ... period! If the area is not ready for visitors, they shouldn't offer it. For those that want to volunteer there, that's wonderful, but it's not for everyone to spend their hard earned vacation dollars in that environment ... and I'm sure it wasn't advertised as such when the tour was purchased.

How much pp were they charging for this? We were on a cruise last week with Princess and for St Martin, Princess clearly stated in their description of one beach/island tour that folks would be taken to a “rustic” beach, nothing fancy, basically.

If X lead people to believe that everything was in good working order, then that is just wrong.

If it was on St Thomas I am surprised. We have been going to Sapphire Beach for years and were there in January and early April. It was the same as it always has been - the same chairs and the same beach and the same rest rooms (a little rustic as always).

“RUSTIC” is a very poor description for disgraceful and dirty. We also have been there previously and expected some storm damage, however, this was way beyond what anyone should expect at the least they could have picked up the trash lying around on the beach and tidy up an entry for appearance sake. Bad first impression....

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People should have some compassion, the priorities are not you but the citizens of the islands, I got back to the US on 4/10/18 after volunteering 12 weeks of my time on the USVI, we rebuilt 5 schools and helped 4 families rebuild their houses, I am going back in 3 weeks, I am a carpenter that is 60 years old and retired, the money my wife and I were going to use for cruising this year has been used to buy generators, battery operated power tools and hand tools that I had shipped down at my personal cost. Sure you paid a lot of money for your cruise but right now you are not their priority........ When you have people crying while thanking you, you feel humble to the core.....you have no idea of the destruction and disruption to peoples lives.

You are 100% correct. Most of us have no idea of the destruction and disruption to peoples lives but you are missing the point. No one expects anyone to disrupt the rebuilding effort to focus on tourist destinations. The point is that it's irresponsible of the cruise lines and tour providers to send tourist to regions. Don't send excursions to areas that are not ready to accept tourists and are ready to provide the relaxing and luxury experience that the tourists expect. The reality is that it is a balancing act. The islands must rebuild the islands for the inhabitants but they must also rebuild tourist areas to generate income. Many reports indicate that many areas are simply not ready for tourists and we expect the cruise lines inspect and confirm the tourist areas have been rebuilt prior to scheduling tours.

People should have some compassion, the priorities are not you but the citizens of the islands, I got back to the US on 4/10/18 after volunteering 12 weeks of my time on the USVI, we rebuilt 5 schools and helped 4 families rebuild their houses, I am going back in 3 weeks, I am a carpenter that is 60 years old and retired, the money my wife and I were going to use for cruising this year has been used to buy generators, battery operated power tools and hand tools that I had shipped down at my personal cost. Sure you paid a lot of money for your cruise but right now you are not their priority........ When you have people crying while thanking you, you feel humble to the core.....you have no idea of the destruction and disruption to peoples lives.

I just want to thank you for what you are doing. The world needs more folks like you.

Did you ask for your money to be refunded? I would have.

I agree 100%.

You went on an excursion to a storm ravaged area. Did the excursion staff state that the area was fully restored and functional? We went to the beach in St Croix and it was basically in the same condition. I expected this as I knew that the area was hit hard by the storms. That is the choice we made by going on a cruise to an island that was recently hit by a hurricane

 

 

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To this comment I say baloney! If the ship is offering an excursion there, at what I am guessing was at full price, the consumer has a right to expect decent conditions. Some areas are cleaned up nicely and some are still in disrepair (obviously based on pictures this was the latter). As a consumer I would expect that a reliable cruise line like Celebrity would not be booking excursions to take someone to anyplace with conditions like this.

People should have some compassion, the priorities are not you but the citizens of the islands, I got back to the US on 4/10/18 after volunteering 12 weeks of my time on the USVI, we rebuilt 5 schools and helped 4 families rebuild their houses, I am going back in 3 weeks, I am a carpenter that is 60 years old and retired, the money my wife and I were going to use for cruising this year has been used to buy generators, battery operated power tools and hand tools that I had shipped down at my personal cost. Sure you paid a lot of money for your cruise but right now you are not their priority........ When you have people crying while thanking you, you feel humble to the core.....you have no idea of the destruction and disruption to peoples lives.

First, thank you for your work and generosity. But I am not sure your comment really addresses the point of the post. No one has said priorities should be vacationers. That is really not at all what the OP is responding to. The point of the post is that if one buys a shore excursion from Celebrity, one should expect to receive what they are paying for, and the conditions pictured are of an area clearly not ready for visitors yet (OP -correct me if I am wrong on this). That does not mean the OP or anyone else visiting the islands impacted are not compassionate and it is really not fair of you to imply that. Two completely different issues.

It was not meant as a put down. Many people do not know that they could just take a taxi to any beach (or a shuttle) and save money as well as not have to come back when the excursion does. Also if you get a day pass from resort for a day for a hotel, many times you are saving money and having a wonderful day.

It may not have been meant that way, but it definitely came across that way.

I went to my favorite little beach’s website (Secret Harbour) that’s very near Sapphire Beach. They are saying their beach will be closed until June. Have no idea why excursions are being sold to Sapphire, it’s a mess. Hope you get a refund.

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People should have some compassion, the priorities are not you but the citizens of the islands, I got back to the US on 4/10/18 after volunteering 12 weeks of my time on the USVI, we rebuilt 5 schools and helped 4 families rebuild their houses, I am going back in 3 weeks, I am a carpenter that is 60 years old and retired, the money my wife and I were going to use for cruising this year has been used to buy generators, battery operated power tools and hand tools that I had shipped down at my personal cost. Sure you paid a lot of money for your cruise but right now you are not their priority........ When you have people crying while thanking you, you feel humble to the core.....you have no idea of the destruction and disruption to peoples lives.

You are obviously committed to your mission of aid...but that is your choice and your priority. We all contribute in our own way to causes we support...far away or close to home. But that is not the issue here,

Many save up their hard earned dollars for a vacation, and have safety, cleanliness and enjoyment as excursion priorities, Esp when Cruise line charges more, you expect something decent or better. Shame here belongs to Celebrity, not those who were brought to substandard locations under false pretenses

I'm not sure what happened, but we did this exact excursion with Celebrity on February 27, 2018. The site was fine, we had a good time, and there was even access to a bar on the beach. I'm disappointed that this is what you experienced, as the hurricane is not the excuse. Maybe they decided on renovations and didn't communicate it. You are at the Sapphire Beach resort, and the hotel does manage the majority of the changes. I understand your frustration and would definitely have discussed this with the excursions desk upon return. We have beautiful photos from this day and it was a highlight of our cruise.

Sad you had a bad experience.

We were on Silhouette this month on the Eastern Caribbean and the ports were very bad. In St. Maartin we did the Chef's Market tour and the restaurant and food market tours were not as described. The market was a one card-table setup and the restaurant was not on the water and we had to walk down broken streets and over construction equipment to get to this dark alternate restaurant.

While I know it is an awful situation for the islanders, I would have expected Celebrity to advise us of the conditions especially since we each paid $250+ for this experience. It did include a dinner on ship at night with a chef but the atmosphere during the day was so depressing. Made us feel like we were so wrong to spend money on ourselves instead of donating to such a need.

Guess we needed to do our homework and not depend on Celebrity.

We were on Silhouette this month on the Eastern Caribbean and the ports were very bad. In St. Maartin we did the Chef's Market tour and the restaurant and food market tours were not as described. The market was a one card-table setup and the restaurant was not on the water and we had to walk down broken streets and over construction equipment to get to this dark alternate restaurant.

 

While I know it is an awful situation for the islanders, I would have expected Celebrity to advise us of the conditions especially since we each paid $250+ for this experience. It did include a dinner on ship at night with a chef but the atmosphere during the day was so depressing. Made us feel like we were so wrong to spend money on ourselves instead of donating to such a need.

 

Guess we needed to do our homework and not depend on Celebrity.

Did you request for a refund?

I am confused - I don't see the "disgusting" part. It looks like the beach building suffered and hadn't been repaired yet. I would call that non functioning but not disgusting. However.... the pictures posted were only one part of the excursion, the facilities. How was the bach itself which is really the focus of the excursion? So far, the only negative I have seen was a non functioning bar and restaurant.

My friends and I were at Sapphire Beach just two weeks before you. The beach was lovely; the chairs were comfy; staff was helpful and I had one of the best hot dogs from the beach bar that is situated closeby the facilities. Looks like the building that housed some of the beach activities is being renovated. When we were there, we used it only to ask for help with the chairs when we arrived.

Sorry you had a bad experience.

That looks like Sapphire has always looked. It's been a wreck for decades.

I used to live there.

No, I did not. I mentioned to TA and he said "sorry, you were so looking forward to it". We are sailing in October and there is another Chef's Market as a tour and I am tempted to try again.

i went to Sapphire Beach and snorkeled for about an hour and a half last Sunday, April 22. Seemed fine to me, though nowhere as good as the southern Caribbean or Galapagos. Did get to see one decent sized turtle among the sea grass area. I don’t know how to post a photo here using my iPhone, but the one I shot from the beach got a lot of likes on my Facebook. I didn’t take the Celebrity excursion so don’t know what was promised to the OP. I was satisfied with the excursion I took using a random local operator on those “open” buses.

The bar was up and facilities as others described were not “first-world”, but I have seen worse elsewhere. It’s not a quiet beach scene, if that bothers some. The snorkeling gear shop was open, I was able to rent fins and more if I had wanted to.