Thread: Jamica as a cruise stop

Just an opinion poll.

We found some great deals in Jamaica And I felt safe with my hubby, but I would not go in alone!! It is a very poor country so they can get a little pushy trying to get you to take a taxi or to buy from them.

We had an abasolutely wonderful time on our one stop in Ocho Rios - VERY memorable!
We reserved a private guide ahead of time, and it was well worth it. Saw just what we wanted to see, skipped what we weren't interested in, stopped any time we saw a photo op, got great personallized service, wonderful information delivered in an informative and entertaining manner, and felt very safe the whole time.

Our guide even arranged for us to end up with some private snorkel time... three of us on the boat, with a driver and in water guide all to ourselves, and our guide there to hand us towels, or whatever we needed.

It was fabulous!!!

It has been a while since we have been there. The last time we were there we did not get off the ship. I am not sure yet what we will do when we get there 9/08.

I have no opinion, since we have never made it to Jamaica! Our cruises that had it scheduled as a port of call either had to cancel because of weather or changed the itinerary before the sail date. So the jury is still out.

I voted for better security. I certainly wouldn't get off the ship by myself or with another female. I didn't feel exactly cozy there last year.

I was just there last month. Even walked back to the ship. No problem, mon. Guess I should write that up in the Jamaica section, huh?

As a cruise destination, Jamaica is only going to get bigger. They are building a new cruise ship dock in between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios to accommodate two of the huge RCL Genesis ships.

The new dock will be at Falmouth and I couldn't help but notice that the population of each ship is more than the population of Falmouth.

For some details about the environmental impact and some of the design I found these to be somewhat interesting:

http://www.nrca.org/eias/Falmouth/Fi...ersion%202.pdf

http://www.nrca.org/eias/Falmouth/marine-report.pdf

Originally Posted by zydecocruiser

I was just there last month. Even walked back to the ship. No problem, mon. Guess I should write that up in the Jamaica section, huh?

As a cruise destination, Jamaica is only going to get bigger. They are building a new cruise ship dock in between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios to accommodate two of the huge RCL Genesis ships.

The new dock will be at Falmouth and I couldn't help but notice that the population of each ship is more than the population of Falmouth.

For some details about the environmental impact and some of the design I found these to be somewhat interesting:

http://www.nrca.org/eias/Falmouth/Fi...ersion%202.pdf

http://www.nrca.org/eias/Falmouth/marine-report.pdf

I, for one, would be thrilled if you did.

Picked "NO, Too Much Crime"!

In fact there is too much crime there to be considered a Good Cruise Stop. Very sad because it's a beautiful island with many nice friendly people.

Does that make us stay on the ship.... Certainly not! We just don't go roaming around off the beaten path alone. I never wear any jewelry whatsoever and we take only the money we need for fun ... never more than $100 or so in small bills.
(When we spend our $100, we have quit having fun! )

We have a port stop in Ocho Rios in January and are looking forward to it. While we are always careful, we are more so in Jamaica.

Have only been twice, both times on the radiance and we went to Ocho Rios. The Bus driver we had the first time took us to Dunns River falls and then on a bit of a tour and back to Ocho Rios.

His name was Dave and he was an excellent driver / guide. He told us about the market on the way out of the falls and that he could get us better deals down in town. My son who was 17 got ripped off by someone when he paid too much for something he did not really want but could not say no, Dave went back in to the market and got my son a full refund.

We even managed to find him the second time we went. Love Dunns River falls and the last time we were there my son and I climbed the falls 6 times on our own.

I have never been anywhere else on the island but have worked during my career in the British Army for 2 people who were both stationed in Kingston for 3 years each as the Assistant Defence Attache.

Both advised me that there are certain places you should not go after dark. From what I can remember those places are not normally where you would expect to find tourists.

I will continue to get off the ship if it goes to Jamaica, but I do understand how hanna feels.