Published on May, 2024
I typically do a lot of research ahead of a trip but with a 9-day cruise, I just got bogged down and ran out of time to put a lot of focus on St. Lucia which was our last island to visit.
Now, we had been to St. Lucia once before way before kids but didn't end up getting a chance to see the southern part of the island and the Pitons so I really wanted to book a tour that included a visit south.
My wife and I are now 51 and we were traveling with our two children, ages 11 and 14.
We were aboard the NCL Bliss and the ship's tour that caught my eye was well over $700 for the four of us and I felt that price was nuts.
So we braved it on our own and I'm sure glad we did. Typically, I always avoid the pushy salesmen right outside the cruise or airport terminals and I felt like a sucker when one of them had a sign showing all the things that the ship's tour offered and got me into their office right across the street from the terminal. Actually, the fellow was nice, polite and not pushy at all.
And the price was right...HALF of the price the ship offered. Now, there's always that chance of missing the ship but I wasn't too concerned. Honestly, I don't know what else we would have done had 'What a Vision' not been there.
It was a little confusing determining that there were two groups on the boat that we met just a short walk from the terminal.
One of the groups, I believe, paid $20 less and they just had the boat ride to and were dropped off at Anse Chastanet Beach and came back with us later in the day. It's a lovely beach for spending the day and there is an amazing hotel that my wife and I actually considered staying at way back around 2007 when we were last there. I don't know what prices are like at the beachside restaurant but it looks very nice and you can have food and drinks there. I think I recall some of the reviews saying the prices were a bit high so beware, however, it's a stunning location.
For the $20 more, the rest of us continued by boat on to Soufriere and were met by a minivan. The minivan took us up to the nearby volcano where we were able to apply volcanic mud to our bodies and take a dip in the REALLY hot springs. This was a lot of fun and there are several pools, the last of which was certainly more tolerable. The one closest to the spring is insanely hot yet some folks were able to handle it. The springs were a bit crowded but our driver was able to help us get a bucket of mud to dip our hands into.
After the volcano, we had a short ride to a beautiful waterfall where we were able to rinse off. The water was cold but not the worst I've experienced and we were able to go underneath the falls for a little massage as well. The rushing water wasn't too hard. You gotta do it.
After the falls, we headed back to meet the boat at the dock in Soufriere and then headed back to Anse Chastanet Beach where we had an hour for snorkeling. I had to rent a mask and snorkel from the Activities Hut; it was just $12 so that was ok. It afforded me the opportunity to snorkel with my kiddos for the hour. The snorkeling was fantastic, too.
After an hour, we were back on the boat heading home.
The staff were all polite and did what they needed to do very efficiently. If you're looking for a bunch of history of the island and narration along the way, this isn't for you but since we were not, we were really pleased by our luck in finding 'What a Vision' Tours!
