This was our first time using Viator and booking an excursion outside a cruise company. We were hopeful for a good experience but were extremely disappointed with how things unfolded. We booked the Nevis Beach Getaway, operated by Blue Water Safaris: “Make the most of your time on St. Kitts-Nevis with an easy beach transfer to explore the beach at Nevis. Ride a power catamaran to the neighboring island's famous Pinney's Beach, where you'll be set up with a welcome drink, a beach chair, and a shared umbrella. Spend your four hours of free time how you like, then catch your transfer back to the port at St. Kitts. Fast beach transfer to Nevis from St. Kitts Round-trip transportation from the St. Kitts cruise port Welcome drink, beach chair, shared umbrella Four hours of free time at Pinney's Beach.”
The only accurate parts were the beach chairs, umbrella, and the fact we did make it to Pinney’s beach after being transferred to multiple different tour guides who increasingly knew less and less about where we were going or what we were supposed to do. There was never a ride on a catamaran at any point. The tour described a 30 minute ride to and from the beach. That did not happen.
Upon arrival to the marina, our group was informed the boat was running late, but eventually we were told the best way for us to get to Pinney’s beach would be to take a cab to another location to meet the boat. We were told the cab would be at no cost to us. We had to walk back in the opposite direction we came from to get to the cabs. The group was split into several vans run by different operators and set off to the opposite end of St Kitts to meet the boat. After a long ride, we were taken to a small beach where a water taxi, run by yet another different company, met us. He took us to Nevis Island, about 10 minutes, where we thought we would be at the beach finally. No such luck. We asked the boat operator what we needed to do to get picked up and go back to the cruise ship port. He said he would come back to get us, but he didn’t know if the taxis would be there. He also wasn’t sure where we were supposed to go on Nevis Island but said there should be a tour guide to meet us at the top of a hill. We were met by a bus driver who told us he would take us on a 40 minute tour. The entire group was frustrated by that point, and he agreed to take us straight to the beach, about 15 minutes more. During the ride, one person in our group called Blue Water Safari directly, who promised the return trip back would be as expected with the boat picking us up at Pinney’s beach and taking us back to the Cruise port. However, upon arrival at the beach, the bus driver said he would be back to get us at 2pm and take us back to a different boat. Each person we spoke with gave us a different answer. The guide who was supposed to meet the group at the beach also told us we needed to take the bus back. So someone called Blue Water Safaris again, and they insisted there would be a boat to pick us up at Pinney’s beach. Our final time to reach Pinney’s beach and get chairs was about 11:15am (we were supposed to be there at 9:30am). During the time on the beach the group of 21 people remained concerned about how we were getting back to the cruise ship port on time - all aboard for the 3 cruise lines was 4:30pm. Blue Water Safaris told us it was 6:00pm, but we checked our itineraries and needed to be back before 4:30pm. During the time on the beach, another call was placed to Blue Water Safari. In the end our group of 21 decided to stick together in case we needed to arrange our own transportation back. The bus returned at 2:00pm, not a boat as promised, which gave us 2 hrs, 45 min at the beach. We spent almost equal time being shuffled around to different modes of transportation as we did on the beach itself. So, on the way back, the bus driver took us to yet another dock with a different company’s water taxi, which took us back to the cruise port. The only time we met the original tour operator was when we first arrived in the morning and during phone calls. All they did was pawn us off on multiple other transportation carriers. There was never anything close to a catamaran, just hot sweaty rides with people crammed in to taxis and busses. The last trip we had with a water taxi on the way back to the cruise port seemed ok. The crew was friendly and offered us drinks. However, when we got to the final drop off spot, there was no good way to get off the boat. The water was rough and the boat was moving up and down from the dock about 3 feet at a time. The men lifted the women out, including a woman who just had knee surgery. This was unsafe and unacceptable. The day prior, at a neighboring island a man lost his leg and life trying to board a water taxi. Instead of a relaxing excursion, this was stressful and unsafe. I would not recommend this to anyone.
ontheroad24601
16 Apr 2023
Cruise excursion tour, booked directly with Blue Water. We opted for lunch the add-on local tour of the town and the add-on lunch. We were the only ones who got the tour. After the water taxi ride to Nevis, the local tour consisted of our driver taking us to the Hamilton birthplace museum for 5 minutes (closed on Sunday, only saw the outside) and a local therepurdic hot springs, while sharing his view of history while driving while talking a lot on his walkie-talkie-phone. If it sounds ferentic, well, it was -- although it was interesting.
The beach was beautiful and clean. Although we were the last in our group to arrive at the beach, there were plenty of loungers and shade available. Drink service was frequenty and prices fair.
The on-site staff wasn't aware that we prepaid for lunch. After some active back and forth, we received the pre-paid lunch menu. Limited choices, but delicious. There was also an a la carte menu available.
Our tour driver told us that we were supposed to leave the beach @ 2:30 to get the water taxi back to St. Kitts. So we had a 2:30 pick-up. Everyone else in our group was told the correct time, 3:00. As a result, we sat in the water taxi for a half-hour when we could have spent that time on the beach.
My suggestion: Just go with the flow. Don't get the add-ons. You can order a la carte at the beach.