St Kitts Scenic Railway

[Cyber Kat]

DH and I will be in St Kitts on 3/20/2018 and we really wanted to ride the train. DH is a big train buff and was all excited about it. We are on Viking Ocean and they have changed the itinerary, swapping St Kitts and Antigua - neither of which were badly damage in the hurricanes. At least not that I have read anywhere. They have no excursions listed at all for St Kitts. I'm not having much luck with getting info from Viking on this - their reps keep telling me it's due to hurricane damage. There will be no excursions because of the damage - yet they have excursions listed for St Thomas, St Maarten & Tortola.

 

The rep I just spoke to suggested that we book it on our own. I'm okay with that except their web site says you have to book through a cruise line. I checked Viator and it's listed as one of their tours, but not for March 20?

 

Is there anyone here who knows about this train and how I can book it?

[paul58]

This is the web site for the train: http://www.stkittsscenicrailway.com/contact-us.html

[OCruisers]

Since you aren't going until the end of March, hopefully excursions with the ship for St. Kitts will be listed in the next month or so.

[kokopelli-az]

This isn't the same ship, but in January we will be on the Celebrity Summit visiting St Kitts and here is their scenic railway excursion. Maybe your ship will offer something similar when your cruise gets closer:

 

Take a ride aboard the St. Kitts Scenic Railway, built nearly a century ago to transport sugar cane from the fields to the sugar mill in Basseterre. These days, with air-conditioned cars, the railway provides the most panoramic journey on St. Kitts – one that circles the entire island. Sip a tropical rum punch (or virgin fruit punch) and marvel at views of forested volcanic peaks rising 4,000 feet above sea level. Rumble through rustic villages and island farms on a ride that takes you across deep “ghuts” (canyons) by way of steel bridges. Along the way, your local guide will point out landmarks, including long-abandoned sugar cane plantations where nature has taken over, climbing the old chimneys and windmills. After the train ride, relax on a sightseeing drive along the southwest coast that provides views of Brimstone Hill Fortress and neighboring Nevis, birthplace of American statesman, Alexander Hamilton.

Highlights:

 

 

 

• Listen to the rhythmic sounds of island music sung by the Scenic Railway Choir on your train ride.
  
• Discover the island’s lush landscapes, notable landmarks, and historic sugar cane estates from the train’s open-air observation deck.
  
• Take a scenic drive through the villages to the capital city of Basseterre onboard a sightseeing bus after your railway adventure.
  

[paul58]

The rail excursion operator has agreements with many of the cruise lines but not all. I am guessing that they do not have an agreement with Viking.

[Cyber Kat]

Viking has the train trip listed on the general port excursions for all the cruises on this itinerary. They had it for our itinerary on the My Viking Journey page, but now ALL the St Kitts excursions are gone - not just this one. Every other port on the cruise has excursions listed and it's nearly time for some cabin categories to start booking. They are about 10 days out, we are 20 days out.

 

The website for the train says to book through cruise ship - you can't book otherwise unless you are staying at a hotel where you can give them a contact. Viator has it listed but there's no open slot for the day we will be there. I thought maybe someone knew of another tour operator who books this train.

[paul58]

There is no other way to book the train if you are on a cruise ship that has an agreement with the excursion operator.

[Cyber Kat]

There is no other way to book the train if you are on a cruise ship that has an agreement with the excursion operator.

 

 

I’m aware of that, but we don’t know if Viking does have an agreement with them. This excursion is not listed for our stop at St Kitts.

 

 

 

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[paul58]

On the trains web page there is a tab getting here, click on that and select by cruise ship. It will list the cruise lines that they have agreements with.

[JRice]

Two Hours of Torture !!

We booked this through our cruise ship.

We had no complaints with the “Drive” portion of the tour. Our driver, Winston, was friendly, informational and interesting. The problem was the “Scenic Railway Ride” which could be summarized in four words, “Two hours of torture.” Rail cars were loaded by van number, our van and one other were assigned to car #1. We had to sit inside because the upper outdoor seats were taken. The ride was a problem from the get-go. As soon as we left the station there was very loud screeching noise coming from the wheels contact with the tracks. I thought for sure it would only last a few seconds while the train gained speed and rounded the first curve but it continued for 2 hours straight without a let up. It was a high pitched noise that reverberated though your body, worse than finger nails on a blackboard. I went upstairs where the noise was bearable but there were no seats. I asked if we could walk to another car but the attendant said “no” because it is hazardous to walk between cars. The ride was unbearable, given the opportunity we would have paid to get off and walk. We had to ask the narrator twice to increase the volume of her speakers so we could hear her above the noise. My wife was told by passengers in other cars that it was “not as noisy” as ours.

Also, the “Scenic” adjective in describing the railway ride is quite exaggerated. The scenic ride started by going past the island’s sanitary treatment plant, the junkyard with cars, washing machines, etc. and then the rock quarry. For us passengers inside the car who could not see above the berms much of the rest of our scenic view was of grass and dirt.

Yes, we did have a few moments of scenic views of the Atlantic but those were visible only for a few seconds and we did see sugar plantation after sugar plantation. However, much of the view was of shacks and low-income housing.

[Something fun!]

Two Hours of Torture !!

We booked this through our cruise ship.

We had no complaints with the “Drive” portion of the tour. Our driver, Winston, was friendly, informational and interesting. The problem was the “Scenic Railway Ride” which could be summarized in four words, “Two hours of torture.” Rail cars were loaded by van number, our van and one other were assigned to car #1. We had to sit inside because the upper outdoor seats were taken. The ride was a problem from the get-go. As soon as we left the station there was very loud screeching noise coming from the wheels contact with the tracks. I thought for sure it would only last a few seconds while the train gained speed and rounded the first curve but it continued for 2 hours straight without a let up. It was a high pitched noise that reverberated though your body, worse than finger nails on a blackboard. I went upstairs where the noise was bearable but there were no seats. I asked if we could walk to another car but the attendant said “no” because it is hazardous to walk between cars. The ride was unbearable, given the opportunity we would have paid to get off and walk. We had to ask the narrator twice to increase the volume of her speakers so we could hear her above the noise. My wife was told by passengers in other cars that it was “not as noisy” as ours.

Also, the “Scenic” adjective in describing the railway ride is quite exaggerated. The scenic ride started by going past the island’s sanitary treatment plant, the junkyard with cars, washing machines, etc. and then the rock quarry. For us passengers inside the car who could not see above the berms much of the rest of our scenic view was of grass and dirt.

Yes, we did have a few moments of scenic views of the Atlantic but those were visible only for a few seconds and we did see sugar plantation after sugar plantation. However, much of the view was of shacks and low-income housing.

 

What a disappointment! In the description and other reviews, it says that there is enough space to have your own seat both up and down. Did you happen to complain to the ship about this and the fact it was overbooked? You should be entitled to some refund as it is inaccurately presented.

[Cyber Kat]

Two Hours of Torture !!

 

We booked this through our cruise ship.

 

We had no complaints with the “Drive” portion of the tour. Our driver, Winston, was friendly, informational and interesting. The problem was the “Scenic Railway Ride” which could be summarized in four words, “Two hours of torture.” Rail cars were loaded by van number, our van and one other were assigned to car #1. We had to sit inside because the upper outdoor seats were taken. The ride was a problem from the get-go. As soon as we left the station there was very loud screeching noise coming from the wheels contact with the tracks. I thought for sure it would only last a few seconds while the train gained speed and rounded the first curve but it continued for 2 hours straight without a let up. It was a high pitched noise that reverberated though your body, worse than finger nails on a blackboard. I went upstairs where the noise was bearable but there were no seats. I asked if we could walk to another car but the attendant said “no” because it is hazardous to walk between cars. The ride was unbearable, given the opportunity we would have paid to get off and walk. We had to ask the narrator twice to increase the volume of her speakers so we could hear her above the noise. My wife was told by passengers in other cars that it was “not as noisy” as ours.

 

 

 

Also, the “Scenic” adjective in describing the railway ride is quite exaggerated. The scenic ride started by going past the island’s sanitary treatment plant, the junkyard with cars, washing machines, etc. and then the rock quarry. For us passengers inside the car who could not see above the berms much of the rest of our scenic view was of grass and dirt.

 

 

 

Yes, we did have a few moments of scenic views of the Atlantic but those were visible only for a few seconds and we did see sugar plantation after sugar plantation. However, much of the view was of shacks and low-income housing.

 

 

 

Wow! This was not our experience at all!

 

We were finally able to book this through Viking and we loved it!

 

We were not in the first car, though, so I can’t speak to that. And we were able to get seats upstairs. I think we were in the third car back.

 

I mentioned before that we are railfans, so we are familiar with the various areas trains travel through - generally not upscale neighborhoods [emoji16]. We are also used to riding on old trains, though the cars were very nice and kept up.

 

We thought the view of the mountains and the coast and countryside were fantastic. We learned a lot about the country of St Kitts. The guides were informative and entertaining. We enjoyed the local a cappella group that sang Caribbean songs. And the rum drinks were tasty.

 

We were very happy with the tour.

 

 

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[JRice]

What a disappointment! In the description and other reviews, it says that there is enough space to have your own seat both up and down. Did you happen to complain to the ship about this and the fact it was overbooked? You should be entitled to some refund as it is inaccurately presented.

 

 

SOMETHING FUN - Yes, I did complain to the cruise line (Princess) HQ office by email.

They responded very quickly, expressed their apology and stated that they would certainly look into the noise issue in the first car.

In addition they offered a full refund for the excursion in the form of On Board Credits for each of us.

I am very satisfied with their offer because as frequent Princess cruisers we will use the OBC by year end.

[Something fun!]

SOMETHING FUN - Yes, I did complain to the cruise line (Princess) HQ office by email.

They responded very quickly, expressed their apology and stated that they would certainly look into the noise issue in the first car.

In addition they offered a full refund for the excursion in the form of On Board Credits for each of us.

I am very satisfied with their offer because as frequent Princess cruisers we will use the OBC by year end.

 

I'm sorry you won't get that day back, but at least Princess stood by you. Some people swear off ship excursions, but it is nice to know when these things occur you have some recourse.