Jamaica as Cruise Destination

[Lovefuninthesun]

Found this snippet online, from a Jamaican point of view -- thought it interesting.

Thanks.

 

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Opposition-warns-of-threats-to-cruise-ship-sector_16878906

[ryansmith18]

Good! I'm glad to see there are folks there that are fighting to make it a better destination. Right now when I'm looking to book a cruise, I just don't even bother price checking them if I see they stop in Jamaica. It's a shame really. In my mind it used to be the epitome of a tropical destination... and now it's the Caribbean Ghetto. I hope they can turn things around.

[loubetti]

Indeed, now how about Cuba?

[soccersharon]

Beautiful island - but I think too many people feel it is unsafe.

 

Sent from my phone. Typos are inevitable.

[SMSACE6]

Interesting article. I may have missed something, but I dont think it addresses what might be the reason for that decline in cruiseship dockings. I agree that Jamaica is a beautiful island and has so much potential as a cruise destination as well as a land vacation destination. It used to be THE place to go, back in the day, but I hardly ever hear anyone going to Jamaica anymore other than as a cruiseship destination. I am glad I went at least once.

[poundcake09]

I've been to Jamaica two or three times. I search for Cruises that aren't going to stop in Ocho Rios. I found the people to be very aggressive and rude towards tourist. Although, there were some parts that I enjoyed, they didn't out way the negative experiences. Carnival should find a replacement port to attract more business.

[Fergus]

She is right to be raising the alarm, but (in my opinion) she's pointing out the wrong reason............she says the problem is that cruise passengers want to experience well-kept facilities, but I feel the real reason, as several have mentioned above, is that their interactions with the people at the cruise ports have not been positive. People don't tend to give rave reviews when they've been hounded to death to have their hair braided or buy a necklace, or when they've repeatedly had weed pushed on them at every turn.

 

My first trip to Jamaica was my honeymoon 32 years ago and it's gotten worse with every repeat trip since then. Count me as another passenger who won't even consider an itinerary that includes Jamaica.

[cruizinisthebest]

I enjoyed Jamaica when we went. The locals are very pushy. My only complaint. Lovely island with some really nice resort locations. Nicer to visit as a land based vacation in my opinion.

 

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[LambKnuckles]

I have been to Jamaica on MANY cruises. I've always debarked, and enjoyed my stay!! I have taken tours, I have taken the Hop on Hop off bus, I have wandered off on my own, I have shpped. Never had a problem or been frisked. I've been approached with offers of drugs and parties, but "NO" has worked.

 

I hope Jamaica stays on the itinerary, and I know I will keep cruising there!!!

[Cruise life]

I enjoyed Jamaica when we went. The locals are very pushy. My only complaint. Lovely island with some really nice resort locations. Nicer to visit as a land based vacation in my opinion.

 

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I was researching AI day passes for our upcoming Ocho Rios stop, and the TA reviews of the hotels/resorts are mixed. Like a pp, we honeymooned here, but we did hire a driver and explore for a full day off-site. Even back then, poverty was rampant and there were lots of people trying to sell us anything and everything. We stayed at the Sandals after that experience, but I'm glad we did it once, and before children entered the picture.

 

We are thinking of taking the kids to climb the falls, but are hesitant to hire a driver and travel back and forth. May end up taking them with us on the cat rum trip to the falls, just for increased safety. Honestly, in Cozumel and other locales there are some pushy vendors, just to be fair.

 

 

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[slickrick64]

We were in Falmouth last year, it is a beautiful island and port. However , it it has such poverty and criminal elements to it . We did an excursion to Montego Bay, I had never felt so uneasy on an excursion. Spent the entire time in Margaritaville.

 

 

 

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[cruzeluver]

We avoided Jamaica for years but last year we really wanted to do a back-to-back and our best option included a stop in Falmouth. I did my due diligence and booked a great private tour that allowed us to see and do a lot during our time there and left having had a terrific experience.

[StaceySteveDMB]

I was researching AI day passes for our upcoming Ocho Rios stop, and the TA reviews of the hotels/resorts are mixed. Like a pp, we honeymooned here, but we did hire a driver and explore for a full day off-site. Even back then, poverty was rampant and there were lots of people trying to sell us anything and everything. We stayed at the Sandals after that experience, but I'm glad we did it once, and before children entered the picture.

 

We are thinking of taking the kids to climb the falls, but are hesitant to hire a driver and travel back and forth. May end up taking them with us on the cat rum trip to the falls, just for increased safety. Honestly, in Cozumel and other locales there are some pushy vendors, just to be fair.

 

 

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We have been to the falls twice with our children 12 and 10. Both times we took a cab for $10 pp round trip and paid at the falls to go in. No trouble either time. If you can handle Cozumel then Ocho Rios won't be a problem either.

 

 

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[FireEater]

I have been Jamaica once and totally enjoyed the experience. I was not bothered by anyone.

 

Now Nassau is another story. You can not even get to the entry building before being accosted for tours, taxi rides, and boat rides. Then getting on the street, it becomes 10 fold....

[StaceySteveDMB]

I would absolutely love if Port Antonio became a cruise ship stop! The more ports is Jamaica the better!

 

 

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[Towel Critter]

Ocho Rios is the only port I know of where taxi drivers and bead sellers will literally follow you for half a block after you've said a polite, no thank you. For this reason I'll only book a cruise if the itinerary I'm interested in only exists with Ocho Rios as a part of it. If there is an alternative I'll take it. Grand Turk is about at the same position on my personal totem pole of ports of call, but for the opposite reason. The people of Grand Turk are very nice, but the island is covered in litter. I find that a huge turn off. You don't have to be affluent to pick up litter. I'm surprised they don't take more pride in there otherwise lovely island nation. It's a pity.

[Lovefuninthesun]

She is right to be raising the alarm, but (in my opinion) she's pointing out the wrong reason............she says the problem is that cruise passengers want to experience well-kept facilities, but I feel the real reason, as several have mentioned above, is that their interactions with the people at the cruise ports have not been positive. People don't tend to give rave reviews when they've been hounded to death to have their hair braided or buy a necklace, or when they've repeatedly had weed pushed on them at every turn.

 

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I agree with this - they're not looking at the root problem

 

 

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[Illyria]

Beautiful island - but I think too many people feel it is unsafe.

You get worsening levels of poverty - infrastructure suffers; people start avoiding the country as a vacation destination. You start getting fewer tourists, which leads to fewer tourist dollars to maintain that infrastructure (whether that be physical upkeep of docks, security personnel, etc.) Locals that depend on tourist souvenir sales get fewer opportunities to sell, so they start pushing harder. Even fewer people start coming there on vacation...it's a vicious cycle.

[cruizinisthebest]

I was researching AI day passes for our upcoming Ocho Rios stop, and the TA reviews of the hotels/resorts are mixed. Like a pp, we honeymooned here, but we did hire a driver and explore for a full day off-site. Even back then, poverty was rampant and there were lots of people trying to sell us anything and everything. We stayed at the Sandals after that experience, but I'm glad we did it once, and before children entered the picture.

 

We are thinking of taking the kids to climb the falls, but are hesitant to hire a driver and travel back and forth. May end up taking them with us on the cat rum trip to the falls, just for increased safety. Honestly, in Cozumel and other locales there are some pushy vendors, just to be fair.

 

 

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I've been to Cozumel and other places where the vendors were pushy, but the discussion was about Jamaica. I actually don't think the vendors are pushy in Cozumel but Nassau is heck going through the terminal. I didn't enjoy my 500th visit there last year. lol. Maybe that was part of the problem. Been there too many times. I've only been to Jamaica once by boat; once staying at the Sugar Hill Resort or whatever the name is. I enjoyed my AI stay better than the port stop. But the port stop is when I climbed the falls, which was awesome! I think Jamaica gets a wrap overall. I would go there again.

[cruizinisthebest]

Ocho Rios is the only port I know of where taxi drivers and bead sellers will literally follow you for half a block after you've said a polite, no thank you. For this reason I'll only book a cruise if the itinerary I'm interested in only exists with Ocho Rios as a part of it. If there is an alternative I'll take it. Grand Turk is about at the same position on my personal totem pole of ports of call, but for the opposite reason. The people of Grand Turk are very nice, but the island is covered in litter. I find that a huge turn off. You don't have to be affluent to pick up litter. I'm surprised they don't take more pride in there otherwise lovely island nation. It's a pity.

 

Wow. Never heard about this in Grand Turk. From pics it looks pristine.:(

[Lovefuninthesun]

Ocho Rios is the only port I know of where taxi drivers and bead sellers will literally follow you for half a block after you've said a polite, no thank you. For this reason I'll only book a cruise if the itinerary I'm interested in only exists with Ocho Rios as a part of it. If there is an alternative I'll take it. Grand Turk is about at the same position on my personal totem pole of ports of call, but for the opposite reason. The people of Grand Turk are very nice, but the island is covered in litter. I find that a huge turn off. You don't have to be affluent to pick up litter. I'm surprised they don't take more pride in there otherwise lovely island nation. It's a pity.

 

We were in Grand Turk only once, and that was a few years ago.

I remember it as beautiful. I either didn't see the litter, or it has changed....

But I never felt unsafe in GT, whereas I certainly did a couple of times in Ocho Rios! :(

[Towel Critter]

Wow. Never heard about this in Grand Turk. From pics it looks pristine.:(

As long as you don't mind hanging out at the cruise port area all day, it isn't a problem, but that isn't Grand Turk. Cruiselines will always make sure these cruiseline sponsored shopping areas are clean. If you venture out onto the island itself there is litter, junk, and abandoned vehicles everywhere you look. It's a shame. There is a lighthouse on the opposite end of the island (only a few miles) worth seeing, some interesting old architecture, and a couple of beaches. But the litter and junk along the way pretty much spoils the ride. :(

[Towel Critter]

We were in Grand Turk only once, and that was a few years ago.

I remember it as beautiful. I either didn't see the litter, or it has changed....

But I never felt unsafe in GT, whereas I certainly did a couple of times in Ocho Rios! :(

No, nothing to feel unsafe about on GT. The people are nice and the crime rate is low. I don't know what to tell you about not seeing litter, as opposed to seeing it everywhere. Perhaps your taxi, or excursion, took a different route. If you are talking about the modern, well kept cruiseline sponsored shopping area right by the ship, then yeah, it's very clean. I think of those areas as being almost like a foreign embassy. They aren't really locally owned and usually don't reflect the nature of an island much. They are pretty much an extension of the ship.

[luckyprincess]

When I went to Montego Bay on a cruise years ago I was so nervous after hearing all the bad reviews of it being unsafe. I have to say, there were lots of officers with weapons everywhere but I'm not sure if that made me feel more or less safe! Every single woman I passed asked to braid my hair but I said no thank you and they all were fine. We did have a couple of people try to sell us pot and only one was super pushy. He was very enterprising though lol - he literally snorkeled up to us in the ocean and asked if we wanted to buy! Crazy!

 

I'm going to Ochos Rios this time and I'm going to do a cruise sponsored excursion I think. I'll just feel safer. We did Samana recently and I was afraid it would be awful but it was totally lovely and the people were wonderful, imo.

[Lovefuninthesun]

As long as you don't mind hanging out at the cruise port area all day, it isn't a problem, but that isn't Grand Turk. Cruiselines will always make sure these cruiseline sponsored shopping areas are clean. If you venture out onto the island itself there is litter, junk, and abandoned vehicles everywhere you look. It's a shame. There is a lighthouse on the opposite end of the island (only a few miles) worth seeing, some interesting old architecture, and a couple of beaches. But the litter and junk along the way pretty much spoils the ride. :(

 

We were all over the island -- lighthouse, salt ponds, museum, Cockburn Town, Jack's, -- didn't "hang out at the cruise port" at all. Still don't recall a big litter problem..... :confused: