Lawrence of Antigua

[madridgirl]

I was hoping to book a tour with Gordon for November. I emailed a few days ago and have yet to receive a response. I guess I'll keep searching:(

[labatsman]

We used Gordon last year and would highly recommend him.Stopped for buttered buns in the morning and for lunch he served hot beef pies.The tour was excellent humorous and informative

[NCTribeFan]

The thing is, most people who have done a tour with a particular guide and enjoyed it won't have used the other, so the comparison threads don't really provide much info.

 

If someone was happy with their tour, they'll give glowing reviews. But if they were, chances are if they returned to the island, they didn't try the competition. Know what I mean?

 

We went with Gordon (but didn't have him as our driver). It was a very nice tour and we visited some very lovely places (Long Bay Beach was spectacular). At that time, I also went back and forth before finally deciding on Gordon. I don't remember why I made that decision (May 2009 Victory cruise).

 

But as Froufie said (hi, Froufie!), I may just try Lawrence or Voyages, just for something slightly different. Assuming, of course, that I don't just end up going to exactly the same places.

 

I won't be there for another 14 months, so I have plenty of time to obsess over my choice! :p

[Froufie]

Hey Joan!!!

 

I have arranged a tour for 29 'roll call' friends with Gordon for our stop in Antigua. I am in fact not joining the tour (as I have toured Antigua before and just want a long 'beach day' - heading to Dickensen Bay)......of course the reviews are so far excellent - and I am sure I will hear all about it after the tour!

[NCTribeFan]

Yes, I want to hear all about it! Both the group tour and the beach day.

 

You can always join me on my solo Conquest repo in 2013. What I'd really, really like to do is a B2B on Celebrity Summit, but simply cannot afford that as a solo. That would just be a fabulous cruise and I'd get all the ports I saw on my Victory cruise. I could afford one leg, but not 2 legs as a solo. :(

[CloudTbird]

Thanks for sharing your video and information about Gordon's tour. We think we will try and book a tour with him.

[Putterdude]

Really - you are angry and critical of Lawrence because he did not know who YOUR tour guides were and where you were suposed to find them? Lawrence some how "failed" by not having memorized the names and locations of EVERY other guide on the island??? How on earth do you know he was "pretending"? FYI there are plenty of tour guides on Antigua and I truly doubt that they all know each other and keep tabs of each others pickup locations for your convenience.

 

As a matter of fact Yes, I was. Antigua is a small island and all of the tour operators know one another and to pretend he didn't was lacking common courtesy and deceitful. If he had been open and honest as most tour operators are on the Caribbean Islands he would have given me directions, as it turned out Voyages, who are execllent operators by the way, were located just out of site around the corner waitng for us. I asked only because I was pushing DW in a wheelchair and didn't want to be all over the port.

[blue_water]

Amazing...:rolleyes:

[Putterdude]

Others recommended to me Lawrence and Voyages Tours, and have checked into both of them. With Lawrence, I especially liked that there is no deposit up front, just cash when tour is completed. I was prepared to book with him for November. price for his full day tour, which includes sightseeing and beach, is $50.

 

Please supply email or web site for "Gordon" if you have it so I can check it out.

 

Thanks!

 

For what it is worth, we used Voyages in January and were extremely pleased with them. As I recall, there was no deposit required. It's a small family run business, the daughter handles the bookings and admin and the father and son operate the tours. In our case the father took the zip-liners on one vehicle and DW and me on another. We were the only people in the van and it was our own private tour. He was very sensitive to the fact that DW has MS and in a wheelchair and did his best to get us as close to the sights and attractions as he could.

[PattyG12]

Thanks for the wonderful comments. We have booked Gordon for our upcoming trip.

[thecatcher]

Took a tour with Lawrence on 27 October and would recommend. Finished by spending time on the beach before returning to St. John's.

[Grimsby]

Thanks everyone for all of your comments about your favorite Antigua tour operator. You've been very helpful in expressing your views. In some cases these were expressed rather passionately with conviction. After careful consideration we have selected Lawrence for our tour when Vision of the Seas stops in that port in February, 2013.

 

Keep posting your reviews on all subjects cruising, they're extremely helpful to those of us with limited, or no experience in a particular cruise related subject or port of call.

[blue_water]

I'm sure that any of the recommended operators would be great. Antigua has some beautiful spots to show off and you will enjoy your day with Lawrence. Do be sure to report back on your cruise and what your highlights were!

[jubilada]

Toured with Lawrence on Nov. 17, 2012. Great tour with a gracious, professional and knowledgeable guide!

[grammyprf]

We will do this tour on the vision in january...wiill give a review when return. Heard nothing but rave reviews.

 

 

 

 

QUOTE=Grimsby;36123068]Thanks everyone for all of your comments about your favorite Antigua tour operator. You've been very helpful in expressing your views. In some cases these were expressed rather passionately with conviction. After careful consideration we have selected Lawrence for our tour when Vision of the Seas stops in that port in February, 2013.

 

Keep posting your reviews on all subjects cruising, they're extremely helpful to those of us with limited, or no experience in a particular cruise related subject or port of call.

[terrirus]

Glad you enjoyed it, the island is beautiful, the views from Shirley Heights amazing. We saw Clapton's old house as well as his new compound. Next time try the Excellence catamaran - even more amazing views along the coast and cruising English Harbor.

 

 

We are thinking about doing the excellence catamaran, can you tell me more about your experience. Just wondering if this is worth it? We are leaving next week, Thanks

[blue_water]

I can tell you that the Excellence is one of our very favorite excursions we've done out of 8 cruises and a ton of different sails and such. We snorkeled a little but we're more into the sailing and enjoying being on the water and we really enjoyed motoring through English harbor and along the coast. The run home is a lot of fun. The crew is excellent and the cat is a nice 2-tiered cat with lots of room. We were vacationing with 3 other couples and we all loved that day.

 

Others have recommend the Lobster and beach excursion and we may try that when we stay on Antigua. But I wholeheartedly recommend the Excellece for a great day on and in the water.

[terrirus]

I can tell you that the Excellence is one of our very favorite excursions we've done out of 8 cruises and a ton of different sails and such. We snorkeled a little but we're more into the sailing and enjoying being on the water and we really enjoyed motoring through English harbor and along the coast. The run home is a lot of fun. The crew is excellent and the cat is a nice 2-tiered cat with lots of room. We were vacationing with 3 other couples and we all loved that day.

 

Others have recommend the Lobster and beach excursion and we may try that when we stay on Antigua. But I wholeheartedly recommend the Excellece for a great day on and in the water.

 

 

Thank you for the info, I think we will be booking, looking forward to a great day!

[blue_water]

Be sure to try your hand at steering under sail, quite a thrill! Enjoy a wonderful day, and I forgot to mention the water was the bluest my wife and I have ever seen, we were mesmerized by the water.

[terrirus]

Be sure to try your hand at steering under sail, quite a thrill! Enjoy a wonderful day, and I forgot to mention the water was the bluest my wife and I have ever seen, we were mesmerized by the water.

 

Thanks so much, we are going!!!!:D:D:D:D

Counting the days!

[grammyprf]

What a wonderful excursion...Devils Bridge and the scenery! Lawrence was not available but we had a great guide named Hazel. Highly in favor of this excursion!

[suite-kitty]

Wow: this thread is a little "hot" under the collar!!! Relax!!!! It's vacation!

 

To add to your experiences.....we paid $139 for the Princess Lobster lunch on the catamaran with 2 beach stops. There were a few people from Oasis of the Seas with us....and they paid $109 !!!! I was NOT happy!!!!

 

The beaches were ok.....but we were hounded the moment we stepped foot on shore to purchase local wares. And I mean "FOLLOWED" for all of an hour!!! Not fun.

 

The lobster was dried out.......lots of rum....and lots of very drunk passengers.

 

Im sure either of the 2 excursions you are all talking about would

trump this big time!!!

 

denise

[Kimmus66]

We had the same experience with Lawrence and his land tour. We did his tour last week with a beach extension to Valley Church. We just did this tour last week of February 2013. I would recommend Lawrence in a heartbeat. It was a great tour and our group of 15 really enjoyed it.

 

 

Toured with Lawrence on Nov. 17, 2012. Great tour with a gracious, professional and knowledgeable guide!

[jacketwatch]

We toured with Gordon in Antigua and had a great time and probably would have had a great time with Lawrence as well. However after contacting Lawrence and getting his prices we decided to go with Gordon and I emailed Lawrence to tell him this. Gordon met us with a name sign and unfortunately Lawrence saw our name and insisted we had a deal him. I tried to tell him of my decision to cancel but he would not hear it and followed us a while arguing nearly all the way to Gordon's van.

 

When I for home I forwarded the original cancellation email to Lawrence a d never got a reply.

 

Yes I am sure Lawrence is great if you hire him but to be fair he was way out of line with us that day. We felt harassed and while what others say is true in terms of his services this is true as well.

 

I do realize this is a business but for me if your business proposal is denied then be courteous about it. It just may get you business the next time.

[blue_water]

That's an unfortunate situation, sounds like your change of mind may not have been communicated clearly to Lawrence. Did he acknowledge your cancellation? He was there expecting to meet you and suddenly he didn't have a fare. That's not a good day obviously.