I am going to Jamaica in February on Carnival. Any one been there? Any suggestions? Any problems while there? I would appreciate any advice. I have been to Cozumel and the Virgin Islands, but never to jamaica and dont know what to expect when getting off the ship there.
Thanks so much !!
Hi, you will get many opinions about Jamaica, I have gone into town a couple of times, but now I stay on the ship, it is very poor, and a short walk in from the ship, but every few feet, the people are offering a tour or cab ride, but very irritating, some will even follow for a few feet trying to change your mind!! I don't get angry, just say "No thank you", but I feel bad cause I know they are poor, Several will also approach men to buy drugs!! So I just enjoy the ship for the day!!
My one time in Jamaica was back in 1994 while on the Sensation. I will agree with the above. We were docked in Ochos Rios and had a ship's excursion to Dunns Rivers Falls in the afternoon. We were going to take a taxi into town to do shopping in the morning and my hubby was talking to the driver on the way. At some point a tour was negotiated. Derby (or Herby, I can't remember) took us around, up into the mountains, showed us vegetation, showed us the shanties that the townspeople lived. He took us to an overlook for taking photos of the beach below. On the way to the marketplace, he offered ganja, but of course we turned him down. He came back at the agree time to pick us up after shopping and took us back to the ship.
What I would have loved doing was going the 11 miles or so to Goldeneye. That was the home of Ian Fleming when he wrote the James Bond books (some of Dr. No was shot around DRFs). You can tour there (or at least at that time you could). And nearby is also Firefly, Noel Coward's Jamaica home.
I've been to both Montego Bay and more recently Ochos Rios. As previously stated, the country is poor, but it lures the tourist to the shopping areas, Fern Gully Rainforest and Dunns River Falls. If you just say no, they leave you alone. I took a taxi on a local tour, shopping, Fern Gully and some frollicking on the beach for $20.00 pp. which was half of the ships tour price. Gift/T-shirt shops love giving out samples of coffee and booze. I'm talking about large shot glasses of whatever brand and flavor of rum you want to try! Get out and enjoy yourself and stay away from the "Tree Mon"!
At Ocho Rios we took a catamaran excursion (Princess) to Dunn's River Falls and a beach. It was excellent!!! The catamaran got to the falls before any of the land excursions got there so there was no crowd. It was great!! Then we sailed to the beach...it was a great day!!
Montego Bay -- JMO -- it is the worse -- have to walk by a lot of run down buildings to get to the shops -- and you will be pestered by the locals for everything -- braid hair -- buy drugs -- buy this -- buy that -- take you on a tour of the island (don't do this -- some of the drivers are pretty shady andmay drive you to a location, rob you and leave you behind).
Ocho Rios -- you are handy to a mall and the Island Village -- both within walking distance. You will still get pestered here as well.
Thanks to everyone for the help! I forgot to mention we will be stopping in Ocho Rios. I really love the feedback and look forward to fun on this next adventure!
Hi Happy! A suggestion I have is the Canoy tour which is a fancy name for zipling throught the Jamaican jungles We booked it through the ship, a bus picked us up at the pier and dropped us back off leaving us plenty of time to walk over to the Island Village and a stop at Margaritaville. It is one of the best excursions I've ever done and will do it again in a heartbeat. I don't know your age but I'm a gramma if that helps My friend Nita posted some pictures of it in the Off Topic section in the Rogue's Gallery on pg 37. The gallery is next to a red sticky in Off Topic. I HIGHLY reccommend it
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I have been to Cozumel and the Virgin Islands, but never to jamaica and dont know what to expect when getting off the ship there. 
We booked it through the ship, a bus picked us up at the pier and dropped us back off leaving us plenty of time to walk over to the Island Village and a stop at Margaritaville. It is one of the best excursions I've ever done and will do it again in a heartbeat. I don't know your age but I'm a gramma if that helps
My friend Nita posted some pictures of it in the Off Topic section in the Rogue's Gallery on pg 37. The gallery is next to a red sticky in Off Topic. I HIGHLY reccommend it
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