HELP ! Hearing Spencers Tours have issues

[planb]

We have heard and seen some posts saying that as of late the Spencer tour is either being cut short or that he is coming panicked that "he doesn't understand ship time" and people are being put on boats and racing them back to the dock. Anyone have any info on this or comments? Worried we may need to look elsewhere. Thanks

[kyrisong1]

Plan B, I would simply make sure you have your watch on ship time and then show him at the beginning what time it is on the ship and when you need to be back.

I think it's important to keep an eye on the time during any excursion!!

Just got done reading a review and Spencers tour looked awesome and fun!!!

[Sunseeker11]

We took a tour with Spencer in December, we were tight for time getting back but it was because of some engine problems. I wonder if this is what people are talking about. He got us back at 4:20, we had to be on at 4:30. It wasn't his fault and he had another boat pick us up. Spencer is very aware of what time we need to be back. If he caused people to miss their ship that would be the end of his business.

[Razorback mom go hogs go]

We had a great trip with Spencer.We got back on time and had a little time left to shop.

[Host Faith]

My friends and I have had two great experiences with Spencer. Check out these threads so you can decide whether you would feel comfortable booking with Spencer.

 

spencer ambrose west coast tour

 

Spencer Ambrose - Land and Sea vs. Jaloise Beach Break

 

Also check out the reviews on Tripadvisor. I hope these are helpful to you no matter the decision you make. :)

[khm1]

My friends and I have had two great experiences with Spencer. Check out these threads so you can decide whether you would feel comfortable booking with Spencer.

 

spencer ambrose west coast tour

 

Spencer Ambrose - Land and Sea vs. Jaloise Beach Break

 

Also check out the reviews on Tripadvisor. I hope these are helpful to you no matter the decision you make. :)

 

Thanks for the links! Very informative. I will be taking the land and sea tour with spencer in early February. I will return and post a review!

[TRINK]

Thanks for the links! Very informative. I will be taking the land and sea tour with spencer in early February. I will return and post a review!

 

We are planning the same tour the end of February. Could you let me know if the ship time works for you? I put a thread out there but haven't received any responses. Spencer said the meeting time is 8:30 but our ship (Princess) doesn't arrive until 9:00. I haven't finalized the reservation yet, being worried about the time?? Thanks for any help

[Sunsetters]

We are doing the Jalouise Beach trip in Feb. after reading the negative reviews, I emailed Spencer and asked him these questions point blank regarding, being rushed, crowded beaches, wrong times etc. He replied back and put my mind to ease 100%, he offered me not to pay for the excursion if any of these occurs. This man is totally honest and deeply cares about his business, I now have no worries about doing our tour with him and can't wait!!

[khm1]

We are planning the same tour the end of February. Could you let me know if the ship time works for you? I put a thread out there but haven't received any responses. Spencer said the meeting time is 8:30 but our ship (Princess) doesn't arrive until 9:00. I haven't finalized the reservation yet, being worried about the time?? Thanks for any help

 

Sure, no problem. However, I think that the tour operators are well aware of what time the ships come in and leave each day. I don't think that you need to worry. I read somewhere on this board that a ship came in on a different day due to a last minute schedule change, and Spencer was still there on time.

 

You can check to see what ships are in port the day you are there. I don't think there are often more than 2 in st. Lucia. There are a few websites where you can check this. Do a google search.

[planb]

Well we e-mail Spencer about our concerns and he e-mailed back before I could let the dog out ! He reassured us and we are excited about our tour. He was kind enough to even offer other options if we wanted. So our mind is at rest. :)

[greatwhitenorth1]

As mentioned above by Sunseeker, there may be some confusion about him having problems. We (4) were also on the boat with Sunseeker in Dec. when he had a motor problem. He has 2 boats of his own and we were with him, as was Sunseeker. I had just met her before we left Jalousie beach and was surprised to finally meet someone from our rollcall.We were in the back of boat so we know he had a problem with 1 of the the 2, 250hp outboard motors on his boat. He stopped and looked to see why the temp. gauge was showing above norm. There was signs of a oil leak so he decided to run with only 1 motor so not to ruin the other one. Because of this the speed was half of what it should be. He still fullfilled all the scenic stops as he said he did. His other boat was able to go at full speed so he phoned them and had them come back after dropping off their pass. and come back to pick us up (transfered boats)so we could get back ASAP. Yes we got back with 10 min. to spare but I'm sure he would have cut out the stop through Marigot Bay if he thought he wasn't going to get us back in time.

We did the Land and Sea tour and thoroughly enjoyed our day and would recommend him. He did advise us that the falls were open, but had been hit with more damage with a heavy rainfall the week before. He gave us the option of still going to see it or having more time on the beach. A show of hands showed only 1 couple who still really wanted to go. To keep his word as to what he advertises our tour still went. It was open but as he said showed signs of damge and the water fall pool was murky from the heavy silt from the rain. The food on the beach was OK and the drinks were always available. We had roughly 1.5hrs at the beach.

[LilTink13]

We have toured with Spencer twice now and have had absolutely fantastic times. I don't think I would even bother researching other tour companies at this point we have always had such a fabulous time. Most recently, in October.

 

Spencer will do anything for his customers.

[cjnky]

This was our favorite tour of our week. We hardly saw Spencer - he turned us over to his brother. We were one of 3 couples signed up for tours - but we had all signed up for a different one, so they had to be combined. They tried to charge us for the more expensive of the tours, but I pointed out that we were on the longer tour NOT by our choice, and we got the tour at the original price. To go to Jalousie Beach, we were turned over to a young lady and gentlemen who were so much fun that they became one of the definite highlights of our vacation. I would definitely book with them again.

[dcdiva]

Just back, and our tour with Spencer was the highlight of our trip. We were a large group (60) and chartered a catamaran for our exclusive use for the day. We sailed to the Jalousie Beach for snorkeling, lunch and beach time. Spencer took great care of us -- food, drink, music and service was outstanding. We all felt as if we got great value for the cost, and he was very aware of time and got us where we needed to be with no worries. Our group (Team Cocktail) sails at least once a year and we will definitely be booking with Spencer again. Can't recommend him highly enough.

[Colorado Kat]

We took the Spencer Ambrose Land & Sea tour in early January, and had a wonderful time. Spencer is a real gentleman, and quite concerned for the comfort of his guests. We had a mis-matched group of 16, but really bonded during the day.

 

We had two separate elderly ladies (80s), both named Helen, and the whole tour group babied them, and made sure they had drinks, food, and lounge chairs.

 

My daughter has some unique medical issues, and Spencer was concerned she was not eating. When I explained, he told me I should have informed him of the problems, and he would have made sure she had appropriate food. Very sweet!

 

Loved the tour, and definitely come back via boat!

[scapel]

We used COSOL tours and had Cosol's brother, Yellowbird. He was prompt in picking us up and delivered quite a nice tour with many wonderful picture stop, a nice local assortment of eats and of course always rum punch and beer along the way. We went to Jelousie Beach by local boat, drove down in the Volcano and walked to smell the sulpher. HA!

I thing every so called tour guide has a brother. If he is not a brother, he has to act like one. In any event Yellowbird spoke very loud so everyone in the van could hear. I liked it because I am hard of hearing.

We had about one hour of beach/snorkel time at Jealousie Beach between the Pitons. There is lots to see and Yellowbird made sure we saw and did it all. We stopped for Rum Tasting and though there was a $1 chg posted for tasting, Yellowbird said that was comped and for us to do all the tasting we wanted. I ended up of course buying some hot rum.

Cosol tours did a good job.

[sledhead]

No issues at all with Spencer. We were just on it 2weeks ago. Great time and an excellent value for the money. Lots of drinks and a great lunch too! I highly recommend you take the the land and sea tour as its a great casual ride back to the ship and he will give you a lot of info along the way. Arrived back at ship with still 45 mins left to do a little shopping. Any more questions feel free to ask :)