Jewel of the Seas Review 3-10 May So. Caribbean

[surfnsun]

This is our favorite island, having been here once before on our first cruise together 10 years ago and falling in love with the island. One of these days, we're going to do an all-inclusive here, if I can ever get over missing my balcony on a cruise ship. Anyway, this is the first island I concentrated on for booking an excursion. As much as I've read cruise critic, I wasn't really comfortable trying to figure out on my own how to book a customized tour. We had already done an island tour to the typical locations, i.e. plantation, sulphur springs, etc. This time I wanted to get closer to the Pitons...and that we certainly did as you will see in the next several posts.

 

So...as I'm trying to figure out the excursion, a crazy dentist from Canada (otherwise known as docsdriller) pops up on our roll call and I immediately liked his sense of humour. (That extra "u" is for you docsdriller because I KNOW your out there and you need to get out of the straightjacket and help me with this review). :p:p Docsdriller's profession as a dentist was apparently inspired by the movie Marathon Man, which ought to tell you something about his sense of humour. He and I conversed and he offered to help with a customized tour for the five of us (including his lovely wife and daughter). After much back and forth emails (me with Cosol and he with Spencer Ambrose Tours) we settled on a tour with Spencer that would take us to the Tet Paul Trail and then to Jalousie Beach.

 

Doc also recommended the camera I purchased for this cruise and used to take all the photos you've been enjoying, so please don't hesitate to give him a round of applause. :):D

 

Doc and DH and you can tell who is winning the big bucks here: Oh! And I just realized another friend is off to the left of this photo with his arms folded and you know who you are! :-)

 

Edited May 14, 2014 by surfnsun

[surfnsun]

You may recall I cancelled all water excursions that involved any type of boat at my doctor's urging due to some neck disc issues. Well...I decided this one was not to be cancelled and I would "suck it up", as the saying goes. After all, we understood the boat part to be a water taxi and those are easy to just lay down in the seat and take some pressure off the spine if the sea got a little rough. Easy peasie, right? :rolleyes:

[surfnsun]

Here is Spencer and his cute little water taxi:

 

 

And here is one quick video of a ride in his water taxi :eek::): It's worth watching if only to get you in the mood for the rest of the review:

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcOZll1F6khbp4h4l5k2TGxc#.U3PxxWdOWP8

[surfnsun]

So as we're in the water taxi headed for Soufriere where we would catch a 10 minute taxi ride to Tet Paul Trail, I'm praying Doc knows about an immediate fix for neck issues and not just how to drill on teeth. :eek::D

 

Pulling away from the ship:

 

 

Yay! Getting closer to the Pitons:

 

 

Pulling into Soufriere:

 

[surfnsun]

Some shots while walking the trail. Pretty easy trail, actually, and not very long and we took it slow. Beautiful scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

[surfnsun]

 

 

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Wow that looks great. It reminds me of our day in Cozumel at Nachi Cocom. Did you just show up and pay or did you reserve online? I couldn't find a spot on the website that mentioned just staying for the day. All I saw was the spot to reserve a room at the hotel.

Oh and do you happen to know if (well behaved) children are allowed?

Thanks.

 

I reserved in advance thanks to others on CC that told me how to do it. I don't have access to my old email but if memory serves me right (not so good these days but I think its right), I emailed reservations@coconutbeachclub.com and Delvanise (sp?) replied with a description of what was included and they had us on the list when we checked in. We had to take a taxi there which was fairly easy. I think it was about $20 for the 2 of us but some taxi's were like $4/pp so its hard to remember how much we paid where but we never paid more than $10/pp for a taxi.

Edited May 14, 2014 by AZ Karaoke Girl

[surfnsun]

And we round the corner and find the Stairway to Heaven. I'm thankful the stairs aren't too terribly steep at the same time I'm having a Led Zeppelin flashback:

 

 

Oh my gosh, look everybody! It's that woman that kept asking me to take her picture at El Convento and it appears she's having a very bad hairday! :eek::D Perhaps a little frazzled from that nice, gentle water taxi ride. Please just focus on the scenery in the background:

 

 

In the next two photos, where the boats are at the base of the Piton is Jalouise/Sugar beach and our next destination:

 

 

[surfnsun]

And here is a video taken from the top of the Stairway to Heaven that shows the view of both Pitons. I think I still had the zoom on the camera but you get an idea:

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcPuMvJ%2BI5xweYh4l5k2TGxc#.U3P6WmdOWP8

[surfnsun]

We leave the Tet Paul trail satisfied that we got as close to the Pitons as possible without having to actually climb them :eek: and headed back down to Soufriere where Spencer returned to pick us up and take us to Sugar beach. His timing was perfect:

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcPP%2FObYLY4x%2BIh4l5k2TGxc#.U3P7GWdOWP8

[surfnsun]

To the far left of this picture where the thatched umbrellas are located the complimentary, what I will call the "cheap loungers". Your typical plastic slats and some had seen better days, but there were sufficient for what was needed and served the purpose. Sorry I don't have any close up shots of those:

 

 

Underneath the shade trees to the slight right in this picture are better loungers you can rent for $20.00 each:

 

 

And if you are really feeling the need to be pampered, you can rent these for $50.00 each from the beach resort:

 

[surfnsun]

 

 

 

 

[surfnsun]

The snorkeling wasn't nearly as clear as Long Bay but it did have a larger variety of fish. It was rocky and getting into the water in the snorkeling area can seem difficult so watch your step. Snorkeling video:

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcNLYU48a8CRlYh4l5k2TGxc#.U3QBDGdOVMs

[surfnsun]

We ran into Bob and his family who had elected to do one of Spencer's regularly scheduled tours. They had a quick stop at this beach following an island tour in the van. As many have mentioned, the roads in St. Lucia are very windy and long and can cause motion sickness. Bob's wife had an issue and asked Spencer if they could stay there at the beach and just ride back in the boat and he happily accommodated. So...here is a video of the "water taxi" ride leaving the beach. It was even more exhilarating than the ride to the beach. I think he had it on full throttle:

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcPWxFpJb0KQmIh4l5k2TGxc#.U3QCMGdOVMs

[surfnsun]

Guess I should tell you before I forget and get too much further in the review, the price of our customized tour with Spencer was $90.00 each and included all transportation, admission to Tet Paul trail (I think if not it's $5.00 each), snorkel gear and lunch. Lunch was right on the beach and yummy (isn't all food right on the beach yummy? :)) Here is a photo of lunch chicken, rice and beans and plantations:

 

[surfnsun]

Spencer took the scenic route back as we all relaxed in the water taxi. Here, he pulled the boat up very close to a bat cave where you could see the bats, if you were seated up front:

 

 

 

[purplethorn]

amazing pics of St Lucia

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited May 15, 2014 by purplethorn

[surfnsun]

Some more scenic shots during our ride back as the Pitons faded into the distance :(:

 

 

 

 

Spencer also pulled into an absolutely beautiful cove that contained some very upscale celebrity homes and beautiful catamarans and the like. I'm sorry I didn't get pictures. At this point, I might have been pulling my inflatable neck traction device out of the backpack which also can be used as a flotation device and looks especially lovely in the Solarium pool on Jewel. :D:D

Edited May 15, 2014 by surfnsun

[surfnsun]

We ran into these brave, young souls on the way back who wowed us with their diving proficiency and you could tip them by throwing money into the water:

 

 

[surfnsun]

amazing pics of St Lucia

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Ohhhhh yeaaaaa!!!! I would take another 7 day cruise just to go back to that one single island again! :):):) Thanks!

[Darkwolfe]

Great review! I have to say I think Spencer Ambrose is probably the best for tours in St Lucia. Got a good team and they know how to get the most out of your time ashore.

[surfnsun]

After an absolutely glorious day, Doc invited DH and I to join his family for dinner in Portofino's. (p.s. it was formal night) A gentlemen by the named of George and his lovely wife joined us at the table:

 

[surfnsun]

Great review! I have to say I think Spencer Ambrose is probably the best for tours in St Lucia. Got a good team and they know how to get the most out of your time ashore.

 

Absolutely concur! :) It's amazing how small his team really is and how they can juggle it all.

[surfnsun]

Food porn from Portofinos...

 

 

[surfnsun]

What a wonderful, memorable day with great company! We didn't get back to the stateroom until very late, nearly midnight. But I still took time to go out on our aft balcony and I was rewarded with a great view. The moon on the wake and another ship came into view. Sorry if these are a little grainy: