Jamaica: Gunfire, fire bombs

[TexasGLS]

Just FYI...

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100523/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_jamaica_slum_standoff

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_jamaica_emergency

[Traveler353]

Jamaica can be a very exciting place to visit.:D

[Nunu]

Sounds like a Friday night in most places.

[jessemon]

Geez...I'm shocked. To think something lke this would in Kingston....LOL...

[MiddleAgedBroad]

Violence in Kingston is nothing new; it happens all the time. Cruise ships port in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay -- far away from this or any other incident. Capeche?

[TexasGLS]

Violence in Kingston is nothing new; it happens all the time. Cruise ships port in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay -- far away from this or any other incident. Capeche?

 

You're right...the 121 miles between Kingston and Montego Bay couldn't be covered in this modern era...thank goodness they don't have any form of transportation in jamaica...

 

I don't know why people get so bunched up because others are trying to shed light on all of the events in a country that could influence thier vacation. It is OK if you like visiting a third world country, I do, but some may want to know what they are getting in to if they haven't had as many opportunities to travel...

[bobnsons]

Bummer, we were really looking foward to the Kingston Slum Tour this year.

 

This may be a deal breaker. :D

[BecciBoo]

You're right...the 121 miles between Kingston and Montego Bay couldn't be covered in this modern era...thank goodness they don't have any form of transportation in jamaica...

 

 

Actually, when I spoke with our steward on Majesty one day about the roads and infrastructure in her home country of Jamaica, she said she had never been to the other side of the island in all her 36 years...one reason...because of the bad condition of roads and bridges. Evidently, not many have cars, more have bikes and scooters and no one likes to transverse the island because of the roads. Just sayin:cool:

[MomLovesToCruise]

I'm cruising to Jamaica next week. These articles you linked to are from May 23 and May 27. Do you know what the status of the unrest is at this point?

[TexasGLS]

I'm cruising to Jamaica next week. These articles you linked to are from May 23 and May 27. Do you know what the status of the unrest is at this point?

 

The US Embassy warning expires June 23, 2010. The fact that it hasn't been extended may be a good sign.

http://kingston.usembassy.gov/warden_information.html

 

However this may be bad news in the future, apparantly the Jamaican Govt is going to start engaging the gangs across the ENTIRE island...apparantly this isn't isolated to Kingston...

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06/01/jamaicas-prime-minister-says-government-plans-island-wide-assault-deeply/

 

This is a little more recent, just says that curfews are occasionally put in place, just shows it is still going on

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06/06/jamaica-imposes-hour-curfew-gang-heavy-slums-bloody-raid-killed/

 

This article does state that tourism is down overall

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-03/jamaica-seeks-1-billion-to-rid-island-of-drug-gangs-update1-.html

 

However, I have not seen anything bad on the Carnival boards regarding Jamaica, most of the recent stuff people are saying is that it is bussiness as usual. Which was bad enough for some, never really bothered me. We are there in two weeks, we aren't cancelling our excursions at this time but will decide for sure next week.

 

Statistically the odds of something happening are probably low, but contrary to popular belief they are raised when visiting Jamaica...it isn't just like visiting ANY US city as people mention. But if you are on a reputable excursion, which most ship excursions are, you should be fine. I would not lose sleep over it yet, just do a news search on yahoo or google 5 or 6 days before you leave, if there is nothing that scares you I wouldn't worry about it and just have a good time.