St. Kitts Scenic Railway

[pgmrdev]

Took the St. Kitts Scenic Railway and loved it! As for the rocking of the cars, it is felt more on the upper open air decks than the lower enclosed AC part of the cars. Also, they give you all the drinks you want, even those with liquor! Even took a few extra bottles of water back to the ship!

[FuzzyMelton]

I am very interested but sceptical on this tour, could you answer a couple of questions please.

 

Did it tour the entire island?

Where does it go?

Was there narration on the tour?

Do you need to book it through the ship or can you do it as a walk-up?

Was there time to do other activities after the tour was complete?

What was the approx age of the persons who took this cruise?

 

Any additional information would be appreciated.

 

Fuzzy

[pgmrdev]

I believe that it covers about 18 miles of the approx. 30 miles of old sugar cane railroad track. It basically rounds the island with some of the most incredible of scenery I've enjoyed in the carribean. It is very rural in most areas, passing homes, schools, great views of old churches and some of the most picturesque water/beach views that could never be accessed by auto. Each time we passed a school, the children ran outside to wave at the train. There are a number of old tressel bridges that it crosses and those views are certainly worth the price of the ride. Most people rode in the top observation open air portion of the train with few below in the enclosed large windowed AC part of the car. The bathrooms in each car are very clean also. The lower area has rattan furniture. The upper has padded seats running thr length of the car on bother sides. Each car has a drink server. The live "trio" sang music of the island. There is a live narrator who also DJ's her own radio show in St. Kitts on WIN FM there. They also had live entertainment in addition to recorded music played during the breaks of the narrator. The cost to book through the railway direct is only $10 less than the cruise line charged and doesn't include transportation back and forth to the train. The cruise line charged $99 and the railway charges about $89 when booking direct. The $10 extra more than covers the ride back and forth. One of the rides is a little longer since it either begins or ends on one side of the island or the other far side. Where we ended in the late morning, the afternoon tour was bused to that location and started and worked backwards after the train turned around. We were then bused from that location back. The bus driver gave wonderful narratives each way also. It was well worth the $99. It was the most unique excursion I've ever taken. When do you get the chance to ride on a railroad in the Carribean? There was plenty of time for shopping or another excursion. As for the average age of people on this cruise (you did ask for cruise and not excursion average age), Princess tends to attract an older crowd in general, fewer kids. Which is one of the reasons I like Princess Cruises. Hope this helps. If you are interested in some see some photo's I took while aboard the train, email me and I'll upload a few to a webpage for you.

[pgmrdev]

The railway boards right outside Basseterre, the capital city, and is an excellent starting point for most activities.

It either boards outside of Basseterre or the other side of the island where the previous run ended. Not always outside of Basseterre. It no longer makes the complete circuit. I know, I just was on it.

[Coolmama_1]

I totally agree! It was an awesome and unique excursion. We loved seeing the other side of the island, the beautiful shoreline, and would recommend it to others.

[kiefaber455]

The difference in price now is $40 pp. Princess' charge for this excursion is now $129 pp. If I can save $80 by booking directly, it's a no brainer. I'll find my way to the train and back again after the excursion is over.

[Rail Traveler]

Here's the straight scoop on the ticket price: I just went online to the Princess Cruises Shore Excursion site, and the "St. Kitts Scenic Railway Tour" sells on board Princess ships for US $99 per person.

 

It is not US $129 per person. $99 is the current price for 2007 cruises.

 

I just returned from St. Kitts, and the taxi fare to go from the cruise ship dock out to the RR station (which is out by the airport) is US $10 one way. The return is the same amount.

 

If you buy the Railway Tour from the Shore Ex office on the ship it includes all the transfers from the dock to the train and back, and saves you having to pay this added taxi cost. The RR uses their own sightseeing buses for this.

 

The weather was wonderful, and I had a wonderful ride on the little narrow gauge "Sugar Train" (again).

 

Rail Traveler

[MNJewels]

This excursion sounds great! One question...does it move slow enough to take decent pictures?

[Rail Traveler]

The train goes along at about 9 miles per hour average speed, doing the 18 miles between Basseterre and La Valle in approx. 2 hours, so you can take great photos or video of the scenery on the railway as you go along.

[Seal]

The train can be a lot of fun--people are waving at the train from their yards close to the beginning of the trip--you are encouraged to wave to them--there are 5 double-deck trains--a narrator--and some gospel entertainers that go from car to car

 

Don't know about all of the trip because our train derailed and it was necessasry to get some help--(not easy) to get us back to the ship--wherever we were we couldn't see ocean in any direction--just sugar cane

 

Probably 2 hours after this happened some buses came backing toward us on a dirt road and took us back to the ship

 

I will say that they gave us about $60 per person because of the problem

 

No one was injured to my knowledge

 

We will be on St Kitts again this April--probably will not take the train trip again

 

Probably still the best excursion on the island

 

Nancy:D

[reklawr]

Thanks for all of your comments. We're going to take this excursion in early March. It sounds like a really nice excursion.

[Liz Pereira]

"Take a scenic ride on a unique, narrow gauge railroad that was built a century ago to haul cane from the fields to the sugar mills."

 

What you visit:

 

"Board your transportation for the short transfer to the St. Kitts Scenic Railway. Built a century ago to haul cane from the fields to the sugar mills, the railroad features a train of double-decked cars built specifically for touring. Each car's upper level features a spacious open-air observation deck for panoramic views and a lower air-conditioned deck with expansive vaulted windows. Island ambiance is evoked with comfortable rattan furniture, complimentary specialty drinks, island music, and colourful tales of Caribbean history. The track hugs St. Kitts' northeast coastline, passing rippling fields of sugarcane stretching from the shore to the mountains. Cross tall steel bridges spanning deep canyons and wind past small villages and farms as your conductor points out the many sights of interest. During your trip, enjoy a vew of the neighbouring islands which include Nevis.

 

There is no reserved seating; seating is first come, first served. Tour sequence may vary. All passengers have a seat on each level. Restrooms are located onboard.

 

Valid Dates: Oct 1, 2006 - May 15, 2007

 

Duration: Approximately 3 hours

 

Price (USD) Adult $99, Child $79 (12 and under)