Jalousie Beach or Rendezvous Day pass?

[rach1fun]

The resort day pass looks relaxing, price is right, close to port...but am I gonna kick myself for not seeing Jalousie Beach and the Pitons?

 

Thought about the other land and sea tours, but am trying to find things where we dont end up sitting in a vehicle all day...

[Host Faith]

I would strongly consider heading to Jalousie Beach. There's nothing like swimming up close to the Pitons. Once in a lifetime type of experience.

 

Spencer Ambrose has a Jalousie Beach break, where you can get to Jalousie by water taxi. Much quicker, and a scenic way to get to the beach. I've toured with him, and my family has toured with him (on the island tour), and we all highly recommend him.

 

http://www.spencerambrose.com/island-tours/jalousie-beach-break/

[balcony bound]

I would strongly consider heading to Jalousie Beach. There's nothing like swimming up close to the Pitons. Once in a lifetime type of experience.

 

Spencer Ambrose has a Jalousie Beach break, where you can get to Jalousie by water taxi. Much quicker, and a scenic way to get to the beach. I've toured with him, and my family has toured with him (on the island tour), and we all highly recommend him.

 

http://www.spencerambrose.com/island-tours/jalousie-beach-break/

 

I went on this "beach break" with Mr.Ambrose last week. Please be aware of the following information if you do this, because we were totally unaware --

 

After a lovely boat ride to the beach, shown all the sites along the way (very nice)... you pull up to Jalousie Beach, and are told you may not enjoy the expanse of beach, it is for the hotel guests. Nor may you use the bar or any of the other facilities. You have to stay in a very narrow pie-wedge area of the beach off to the side by a small snorkeling area.

 

There are roughly 20 or so lounge chairs scattered about, yet every 20 to 30 minutes or so another boat pulls up and offloads another 30+ people from other excursions/tours into the area to snorkel for a short while. Very cramped and uncomfortable.

 

I had no idea this was the case or I would not have booked that particular excursion. The picture on his website for that tour shows the beach in front of the resort - and you are not allowed to use it.

 

All I am saying is make sure you are aware of what you are buying -- 6 hours on a cramped small space of a beach with no way to leave is not fun.

 

I learned one more lesson on this tour. Never book a private tour or excursion outside of the cruise ship for things that are going to take you that far away from the port without an alternate way back to the ship (45 minutes by water - perhaps 1-1/2 hours by land).

 

On the day of our tour, there was a mechanical problem with one of their boats - and not enough boats for the people they had taken to this beach area. We were standing on the dock with no boat and after many promises of a boat coming (every 15 minutes it was supposedly on its way) a very last minute repair that got us back to the ship literally minutes before sail time instead of a couple hours before sail time as scheduled. Yes, I'm grateful we got back to the ship, but it was surely a lot of stress that I could have avoided.

 

I went on this tour with the comforting thought that lots of people on cruise critic use this tour person, or have gone on this tour -- I didn't do enough research to find out the conditions of this beach nor did I have a backup plan for getting back to the ship - my bad.

[Host Faith]

I went on this "beach break" with Mr.Ambrose last week. Please be aware of the following information if you do this, because we were totally unaware --

 

After a lovely boat ride to the beach, shown all the sites along the way (very nice)... you pull up to Jalousie Beach, and are told you may not enjoy the expanse of beach, it is for the hotel guests. Nor may you use the bar or any of the other facilities. You have to stay in a very narrow pie-wedge area of the beach off to the side by a small snorkeling area.

 

There are roughly 20 or so lounge chairs scattered about, yet every 20 to 30 minutes or so another boat pulls up and offloads another 30+ people from other excursions/tours into the area to snorkel for a short while. Very cramped and uncomfortable.

 

I had no idea this was the case or I would not have booked that particular excursion. The picture on his website for that tour shows the beach in front of the resort - and you are not allowed to use it.

 

All I am saying is make sure you are aware of what you are buying -- 6 hours on a cramped small space of a beach with no way to leave is not fun.

 

I learned one more lesson on this tour. Never book a private tour or excursion outside of the cruise ship for things that are going to take you that far away from the port without an alternate way back to the ship (45 minutes by water - perhaps 1-1/2 hours by land).

 

On the day of our tour, there was a mechanical problem with one of their boats - and not enough boats for the people they had taken to this beach area. We were standing on the dock with no boat and after many promises of a boat coming (every 15 minutes it was supposedly on its way) a very last minute repair that got us back to the ship literally minutes before sail time instead of a couple hours before sail time as scheduled. Yes, I'm grateful we got back to the ship, but it was surely a lot of stress that I could have avoided.

 

I went on this tour with the comforting thought that lots of people on cruise critic use this tour person, or have gone on this tour -- I didn't do enough research to find out the conditions of this beach nor did I have a backup plan for getting back to the ship - my bad.

 

I'm sorry it wasn't what you expected. I would have been so stressed out regarding the mechanical issues. Please email Spencer and let him know what you thought, if you have not done so already. He really appreciates honest feedback.

 

I'm curious- were you allowed to rent chairs at the hotel for $20 each, or did they not give you that option? That's what's stated on his website. We're considering the beach break ourselves for a future visit to St. Lucia.

[balcony bound]

I'm curious- were you allowed to rent chairs at the hotel for $20 each, or did they not give you that option? That's what's stated on his website. We're considering the beach break ourselves for a future visit to St. Lucia.

 

No we were NOT allowed to enter the hotel beachfront nor rent chairs (there are even signs posted saying the facilities are for hotel guests only).

 

People were called back if they were seen straying toward that area in any way!

 

The website also says that you will stop at another area to snorkle before arriving at Jalousie -- that didn't happen....

[msliv]

If you had missed the ships departure, would the company you toured with, arrange for you to meet up with the ship on its next port of call?:confused::confused:

[rach1fun]

OMG! I would be freaking out if the boat was having probs. The tour companies usually have disclaimers on their websites that frees them from being responsible for any problems. Thats the gamble you take for not using the cruise excursions....

 

I am thinking I do want to see the pitons, but guess I have to look into it a little further before I decide! thanks for your input!!

[TOlson70]

I went on this "beach break" with Mr.Ambrose last week. Please be aware of the following information if you do this, because we were totally unaware --

 

After a lovely boat ride to the beach, shown all the sites along the way (very nice)... you pull up to Jalousie Beach, and are told you may not enjoy the expanse of beach, it is for the hotel guests. Nor may you use the bar or any of the other facilities. You have to stay in a very narrow pie-wedge area of the beach off to the side by a small snorkeling area.

 

There are roughly 20 or so lounge chairs scattered about, yet every 20 to 30 minutes or so another boat pulls up and offloads another 30+ people from other excursions/tours into the area to snorkel for a short while. Very cramped and uncomfortable.

 

I had no idea this was the case or I would not have booked that particular excursion. The picture on his website for that tour shows the beach in front of the resort - and you are not allowed to use it.

 

All I am saying is make sure you are aware of what you are buying -- 6 hours on a cramped small space of a beach with no way to leave is not fun.

 

I learned one more lesson on this tour. Never book a private tour or excursion outside of the cruise ship for things that are going to take you that far away from the port without an alternate way back to the ship (45 minutes by water - perhaps 1-1/2 hours by land).

 

On the day of our tour, there was a mechanical problem with one of their boats - and not enough boats for the people they had taken to this beach area. We were standing on the dock with no boat and after many promises of a boat coming (every 15 minutes it was supposedly on its way) a very last minute repair that got us back to the ship literally minutes before sail time instead of a couple hours before sail time as scheduled. Yes, I'm grateful we got back to the ship, but it was surely a lot of stress that I could have avoided.

 

I went on this tour with the comforting thought that lots of people on cruise critic use this tour person, or have gone on this tour -- I didn't do enough research to find out the conditions of this beach nor did I have a backup plan for getting back to the ship - my bad.

 

My wife and I took the Jalousie Beach Break and had a great time. Clint and Capt Kirk hit all the sites as promised including the Anse Chastenat (snorkel stop) and we had no issues using the other side of the beach, they even sought out the manager to rent chairs for people who wanted to sit over there. We chose the left hand side because it had some nice shade trees and the snorkeling was right there. Seems like for every 4 good reviews he gets one bad one. Dunno, we loved it. Great lunch, all the beer and rum I could handle. Nice relaxing day.

[cort43202]

If you pass up going to Jalousie beach, you'll miss one of the most beautiful beaches. We went with Spencer Ambrose on the Land and Sea tour and had a great time. When we pulled up, a lot of people are crowded on one side of the beach so we went to the other side by the resort and put down a blanket. I even talked to one of the security guards to find out the name of the resort, Jalousie Beach Plantation, and he didn't ask us to move. We didn't try to use the facilities of the resort but there was a restroom that was available. Spencer has three tours, if you want the most beach time, take the beach break, if you want to see the island as well, I would recommend the land and sea.

[jennvinn]

Did the Jalousie Beach break last week with Spencer Ambrose. What a great time! The view is gorgeous between the Pitons! My sister and family did the tour to the volcano and banana plantation and they equally loved it. The lunch was also very delicious!

[jennvinn]

We were allowed to rent the beach chairs and umbrellas if you wanted to at the resort. they were 20.00

[balcony bound]

We were allowed to rent the beach chairs and umbrellas if you wanted to at the resort. they were 20.00

 

That would have been great - I wonder if something has changed since you went that is no longer an option?

 

It is a gorgeous resort.

[balcony bound]

If you had missed the ships departure, would the company you toured with, arrange for you to meet up with the ship on its next port of call?:confused::confused:

 

No, the tour operators are not under any obligation to help you meet up with your ship if you miss getting back on time - it's all up to you. I am sure that some tour operators are, or would be, as helpful as possible to assist you with arrangements (your $$, I'm sure).

 

We were lucky enough to get back on time and I didn't have to find out, but it was dang close:eek: There were, I think, about 17 of us that almost found out. I'll be more careful, as I said, about considering backup plans if things don't go well. Ship happens, as they say!

[1stcruiser1]

We were there last week also (Mar 10) on the land and sea tour with Spencer- don't know if that was the same day you were there balcony bound. When we got to the beach we were told we could put our towel anywhere on the beach and if there were no "free chairs" we could rent some for $20.00. There were chairs for the ones in our party that wanted them and the rest of us were swimming and didn't need them.

 

People we were talking too had ordered drinks from the bar there with no problem of anyone telling them they couldn't walk over there. Its strange that there are reports of being told different things, maybe certain workers at the resort don't like the tours stopping there.

 

We did have a delay getting back to the ship and we were told that we would make it on time because Spencer was not going to pay $400.00 per person to get us to the ship at the next port, so I guess that meant they would pay if they made us miss it. When we did get back, I did have enough time to make about 5 purchases and look around in the stores. We even ordered some drinks after that.

 

It was a great tour and I would not hesitate to book it at all. St. Lucia is a beautiful island that has alot to see. We were very happy with our tour, we had Spencer for our driver at the beginning, then Small took over for the the rest. They both did a grest job.

[luv2bcruzng]

We did the Rendezvous all day pass a couple of weeks ago. Since this was at least our fourth trip to St. Lucia we decided to simplify things. This resort is about 10 min. from the port - I think it was about $10 taxi ride. Everything at the resort was perfect, plenty of available chairs or cabanas, all the drinks you want and lunch was great. Most important was my husband was able to take a hobie cat out before lunch and once again after lunch. We would certainly return here in the future.

[JoFromFL]

We did the Rendezvous all day pass a couple of weeks ago. Since this was at least our fourth trip to St. Lucia we decided to simplify things. This resort is about 10 min. from the port - I think it was about $10 taxi ride. Everything at the resort was perfect, plenty of available chairs or cabanas, all the drinks you want and lunch was great. Most important was my husband was able to take a hobie cat out before lunch and once again after lunch. We would certainly return here in the future.

 

Reba:

Would you mind telling us the cost of the day passes? I wonder if the prices posted (from 2008) have changed. We are goingf to St Lucia soon and are still trying to make final plans. Thanks!

[LilTink13]

We returned from Spencer's Jalousie Beach Break on Oct 13th,2011 and we were able to wander wherever we wished, in fact we spent much of day all over the beach!

 

In March of 2011 we did Spencer's Piton climb and also was able to enjoy some Jalousie Beach time. We had the same experience then. I can't believe that happened and I'm so sorry to hear it was a disappointing. Spencer and his crew are always the highlight of our cruise.

 

Just FYI to anyone out there: all the beaches on St. Lucia are public beaches, so whether the hotel wished to sell you a chair or beer is up to them, however, you can wander and park your towels anywhere you want. So telling you you can't wander along the gorgeous Jalousie Beach is completely false.

[reedprincess]

Reba:

Would you mind telling us the cost of the day passes? I wonder if the prices posted (from 2008) have changed. We are goingf to St Lucia soon and are still trying to make final plans. Thanks!

 

Rendezvous day passes are running $60US for a "half day" pass, which, if you contact the resort, can be 10-4 or 9-3. Definitely contact the resort in advance. Also, you can check for more info on the "Rendezvous" thread on this page.

Enjoy your visit!