St Kitts Scenic Railway...boring???

[BarbaraP]

Okay I have heard Yah and Nay about the Scenic Railway Tour. Is it boring or fun...........please help me decide.

Thanx, :confused:Barb

[bzbob]

Well, it ain't Space Mountain! If you love beatiful scenery with unbelievable seascapes and lush tropical vegetation, this is for you. The "locals" aboard are proud of their country, and are proud to tell you about it. For my DW & I, it was truly memorable. Enjoy!!!!!

[TakeMeAway1001]

I too have heard good and bad reviews, some of our roll call friends did this tour and didn't enjoy it. We booked an island tour with Rose & Jim, a local couple and had a fabulous time. We enjoyed the history and having the opportunity to get out and walk around and take pictures and the price was very reasonable, $41 p/p. There are a lot of pics in my review posted below if you want to see the sights we saw :) Have a great cruise!

[Aplmac]

We were just there -on the island for a day- in early December.

 

We didn't do the train but I noticed

that the cost per person had dropped from an overpriced US$99

to $64 I think it was.

That may indicate something, value-wise ?

.

[BarbaraP]

Well, it ain't Space Mountain! If you love beatiful scenery with unbelievable seascapes and lush tropical vegetation, this is for you. The "locals" aboard are proud of their country, and are proud to tell you about it. For my DW & I, it was truly memorable. Enjoy!!!!!

 

Well, it ain't Space Mountain!

Now that's funny......thanks for the review!

[5:00_Somewhere]

Well, it ain't Space Mountain!

Now that's funny......thanks for the review!

 

LOL! Yeah, it's a bit more like "It's a Small World" than "Space Mountain", but enjoyable. ;)

 

We did this in October and we quite enjoyed it. It is, indeed, very slow and mellow, but the scenery is stunning and the people are incredibly friendly. And, as mentioned above, the tour guides are very informative and proud of their island. It was a nice way to get an overview of the island.

 

However, I will offer one additional piece of advice: we were on a Princess sponsored excursion and we chose a 2-parter that started with the train ride and finished with a catamaran sail back to the ship. The train goes about 2/3 of the way around the island. But, you have to take a bus back to the ship if you stop there. On the other hand, we took about a 5 minute bus ride to a pier and sailed back to the ship. It was a fantastic way to get a contrasting perspective of the island, from the sea. Also, it afforded amazing views back at the fort and the entire coastline. And, again, the crew of the boat was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and proud of their island. Great fun.

 

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. We found St. Kitts to be absolutely beautiful and the people wonderful.

[bobandsherry]

We were looking for info on this excursion - Lots of threads with opinions on this cruise. Here's some of the ones with the most posts (just did a search for "rail"):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=470238

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=490512

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=164449

[nononsense42]

They were so disappointed and expected more with the cost of the ride. The first hour was interesting, the remaining hour, totally boring. The young children liked it very well. They are in a drought there right now and it is very dry where the train passes through. I suspect if they had the normal rainfall it would have been much nicer. Our other son was there last year and thought it was beautiful and lush. I'm glad my husband and I hired Rosevelt for the day. He provided us with a beautiful tour and then we went to the beach at Frigate Bay after.

[mlerc3]

We just returned from St. Kitts, one of my favorite islands. When we were there 7 years ago, there was a sugar cane refinery, and no railway ride. Now no cane refinery, and entire island's economy depends on tourism.

 

Railway ride was wonderful. Five cars with lower a.c, and upper open windows and canopied with open seating. Great opportunity for photos with marvelous terrain. Hostess in each car offering drinks from pina colada to water. Guide with microphone narrated for over 2 hours about flora and fauna, education, economics, different types of beaches and the place where Atlantic and Caribbean came together. She stopped only for the 4 person a capella group that moved from car to car to entertain. There was a 40 minute bus ride thru the town and countryside to get to starting point. We paid $59 on NCL Dawn and worth every cent IMO. If you wish to see older part of Basseterre, you can walk two blocks from tourist mall that has been built next to the ships since we were last there. At that time we hired a private guide in SUV who showed us the fort and other stops on normal tour. Island is only 58 square miles.There is only one road around the island. (Since that time, we had a negative experience with a private guide, and to pacify my husband, we only book thru the cruise line. Your choice, obviously)

 

If you take a look at the type of railway car, you would never expect it to be Space Mountain or Copper Canyon, again, IMO.

 

mlerc3

[vervet]

Boredom is in the eye of the beholder. If you think you need a faster pace and higher activity level, then don't book a tour or the Scenic Railway, but opt for the zip-lining, hiking tours, or water sports. However, for those who love a bit of history and scenery, the Scenic Railway goes through areas that are no accessible by car, so you will see sugar cane fields, old sugar plantation ruins, lush hillsides, lots of beauty and history. This is an excursion that is quite unique and not available on most of the other islands.

[Megnolia]

In my mid-twenties, and I generally take very active hiking/kayaking/snorkelling tours. The Scenic Railroad was one that was on my "to do" list. On day 6 of a "7 ports in 7 days" cruise, it was just perfect for DH and me. The scenery was beautiful and it was the perfect, relaxing way to spend the day and see as much as possible.

 

However now that I've done it, I will not be doing it again when I return, although my travel companions will be (DH not included). Time for something new :)