Height Limit on St. Lucia tour question.

[Vegan Cruiser]

My husband and I are interested in signing up for the Celebrity Millenium St. Lucia excursion (copied below). The only problem is that there is a maximum height limit of 75" (6'3" and my husband is 6'4 1/2"). According to Celebrity, height limits are imposed by their vendors.

 

Questions: I can't imagine why there's a height limit on this tour. Size of the bus ceiling? (There are no caves that I know of on this tour). Is it a matter of safety, or comfort? How strictly do they enforce height limits?

 

The Island's Delights - SL46

 

Visit the wonders of St. Lucia's southwestern shore. This trip gives you the opportunity to indulge in natures delights. The drive to Soufriere takes you across the island, through small fishing villages and acres of banana plantations. Your journey will take you up along the curving road to Morne Fortune for dramatic view of the city, the harbour and its environs. Your journey then continues down into the Cul de Sac Valley, where the largest banana plantations can be seen. Then a stop is made at the Marigot Bay viewpoint before setting off once again driving through two fishing villages and many small communities before arriving in the town of Soufriere. Once the island's French capital, Soufriere has great vistas of the famous towering Pitons. Explore the natural wonders of the Soufriere area, including the Diamond Waterfall and Mineral Baths. Walking through the Botanical Gardens, you will see the falls immediately in front of you, tumbling through mineral streaked rocks and jungle thick ferns. The water forms a stream that flows through underground pipes to a series of baths at different temperatures. Louis XVI built the baths in 1784 as the waters were found to have curative properties. The gardens themselves are quite beautiful. Then its onto the world's only drive in volcano, The Sulphur Springs. The road leads you right up to the remnants of a volcanic crater, a moonscape of barren earth and gravel where pools of muddy water bubble and belch out clouds of steam. Your next stop will be the Your next stop will be at a local restaurant located on an estate in Soufriere for a delicious buffet lunch. Your return journey will take you back along the west coast into Castries.

Note Minimum age to participate is 5 years old. Maximum weight limit is 265 pounds. Maximum height is 75 inches.

[marylizcat]

They don't seem to use full size buses in St Lucia, presumably because of the narrow winding roads. The cruise ship tours seem to use small buses, bigger than minibuses but smaller than proper buses. So I can only assume that the head height is lower on them and that is the reason. Provided your husband is prepared to duck and doesn't sue them for bumping his head, I can't see them actually measuring each passenger before they are allowed to board the bus!

 

By the way, I don't think you will get the botanical gardens and waterfall part of this tour. We were there a couple of weeks ago and were told on our Cosol tour that they were destroyed in the hurricane, so we didn't go there.

[reedprincess]

They don't seem to use full size buses in St Lucia, presumably because of the narrow winding roads. The cruise ship tours seem to use small buses, bigger than minibuses but smaller than proper buses. So I can only assume that the head height is lower on them and that is the reason. Provided your husband is prepared to duck and doesn't sue them for bumping his head, I can't see them actually measuring each passenger before they are allowed to board the bus!

 

By the way, I don't think you will get the botanical gardens and waterfall part of this tour. We were there a couple of weeks ago and were told on our Cosol tour that they were destroyed in the hurricane, so we didn't go there.

 

The busses are mini-busses that seat 14 and are tight. If he doesn't mind scrunching a bit or being folded up like an accordian, they are not standing outside measuring people!

As for Diamond Falls and the Botanical Gardens, they are open and running, the Falls were only somewhat damaged during Tomas and that has been mostly cleaned away and they are as beautiful as ever, as are the gardens.

Other waterfalls in the area, including Toraille Falls - which was a major cruise stop - were wiped out completely. Those are the tours that are no longer operating. Diamond Falls and Botanical Gardens though, is open for business.

Enjoy your tour!

[Vegan Cruiser]

Thanks. Both replies were quite helpful. I'm glad I signed up for this forum. :)