Celebrity Reflection January 14 to 21 2017

[Bimmer09]

I marched on ahead through the dock village so that if the bus left on time I could hold it while Carol caught up. No time to stop and take pictures, just walking fast.

 

When I got to area 4 where our bus was to load there was no one with a sign showing our tour number so I asked one guy who sent me on to another guy who sent me on to our tour guide Zachary.

 

Carol followed just a couple of minutes later and we both were on time thanks to our hustle. I was still thinking of that tasty sausage and was disappointed that no smells of Jamaican food were encountered on the brisk walk out to here.

 

My two regular bar waiters at Sunset Bar were both Jamaican and both getting time off the ship today to visit their homes. Tadfy and Jingle Bells if you recall. Tadfy told us that tonight in the buffet there would be a Jamaican food station and so that's where we were going to dine which would be Carol's first taste of the OceanView cafe.

 

Here was the bus we'd be spending the next 6 hours getting in and out of.

 

 

We sit close to the front door the better to hear our guide.

 

We had arrived on time for our 8.45 meet up but now we'd sit until 9.15 before the wheels started turning. We waited for a couple who came late and then still sat there without explanation for another 10 minutes. What about that Jamaican punctuality I was boasting about? Then I realized I must have been confusing Jamaica with Switzerland, as one often does.

 

Lovely weather for a drive and who cares if we leave late? No Problem, maaan!

 

We learn our itinerary from Zachary as we drive on lovely smooth roads blessed with views of greenery and distant mountains.

 

We'll stop first in the Parish of St Annes to visit a church and have 15 minutes off the bus before driving through Fern Gully then up onto a viewpoint high above Ocho Rios then down to Barefoot Beach for a 90 minute stop including lunch which we can order from a menu he'll pass around. Prices will range from $17 to $22 depending on which of the 3 meal offerings you choose. There will be appetizer, entree and dessert. You an even order your beers/drinks in advance and have them waiting. We learn that there are $125 Jamaican dollars to one U.S dollar. Food will be paid for in U.S.

 

Zachary gives us a lesson in speaking Jamaican Patois which sounds like lazy English. He kept up a busy, informative and witty banter as we drove.

 

Our first stop at the church was a chance to get off the bus and stretch my legs (euphemism for smoke a cigarette as my legs are exactly the length I require and need no stretching). I move away from everyone else so as not to offend.

 

It's a nice quiet stop in a beautiful setting.

 

 

Oops! That's not the church but rather my smoking view as I stood away from the group who were now wandering around the gardens.

 

This is Our Lady of Perpetual Help church

 

 

Carol is probably lost in thought with memories of Jamaica from her teen years

 

 

Nature's beauty abounds

 

 

We can't go in the church as it's locked

 

 

Gentle spots of soft rain fall on my lenses. Full rain doesn't develop and so it doesn't spoil this tranquil, restful experience in the garden.

[Tedferg]

I had no idea what you were all complaining about re the forum change...until just now. Yikes it's really weird. Wonder why mine only just changed over?

 

 

Mine just changed too - must say I think it is OK - only see it on Desktop so far.

[Bimmer09]

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

 

 

 

 

 

Carol spotted some dogs at the back of the garden, perfecting the art of chillin'

 

 

It was time to get back on the bus and move on...

[Buckcruise]

The manufactured and sanitized cruise port and would we have it any other way?

 

 

 

I see tour buses parked way out there...mmmm....long walk.

 

 

Some fine looking buildings out there....not a shanty town at first glance

 

 

You are fortunate to have not gone to the alternate port on this itinery....Ocho Rios. We had a wonderful view of cargo terminals, very dirty looking. I did not get off the ship as I had no desire to do anything on offer in Jamaica. My husband walked a few minutes into town and was offered all kinds of goods and services by taxi drivers and propositioned by women on the side of the road!

[british lady]

"Raindrops keep falling on my head"

From Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid sound track.

Burt Bacharach?

Thanks British Gentleman.

I wish you and your good wife could cruise the Equinox and report back before my upcoming trip!

[Bimmer09]

The church stop wasn't Krakatoa nor the Aurora Borealis and the church wasn't even open but we did enjoy those few minutes of quiet in the fragrant garden before returning to the bus for our next highlight. This would be a restroom stop at a gas station a couple of miles down the road.

 

I moved further back in the bus to a free seat so I could have my camera bag beside me rather than on my lap. Now I could take photos out of the window if need be.

 

On the way to the gas station we noticed a crowd gathered by the side of the road and the Police were there. The traffic slowed to rubberneck.

 

 

We drove onwards. It was nice to see the trash in containers in this next shot as it was often just strewn on the ground. The little shacks were dark inside and either had no electric lighting or they were saving on the bills.

 

 

We pulled off the road into the gas station where folks could use the restrooms. I stayed outside smoking. There were newly arrived Police there with machine guns looking for someone so maybe there was a hold-up back where the crowd was gathered at the Farm Supplies Store?

 

I made sure not to point the camera at the Police Officers so kept them out of shot.

 

 

Once everyone had used the facilities we loaded the bus again and proceeded though the main town in the Parish of St Annes-called St Annes.

 

As some shots will show you later Jamaica is one of the most naturally beautiful islands you'll find. Mountains, beautiful white soft sand beaches and vibrant flowers abound. You'll also see decay in the hovels and businesses people go to work in, so if you are flipping through the pages of a Tourist Brochure inviting you to come to St Annes and spend a week you might want to put the brochure down.

 

I'm on a bus trying to take photos through a window with raindrops on it as we are moving but I've always done this in the islands to get a flavor of what's outside the scenic spots.

 

I've never been in Jamaica after dark even though I've been to Ocho Rios 45 times now and I can only imagine doing so if I was staying in a nice beach resort with gates and security and some Government mandated hygiene standards in the kitchen. There are a lot of poor people there and new coats of paint may be beyond their means. Nothing though excuses the trash laying around and being lived among, day after day. It reminded me of the beautiful islands of Roatan and Belize.

 

 

I believe this was a "restaurant"....

 

 

A trim and tidy building

 

[Bimmer09]

You are fortunate to have not gone to the alternate port on this itinery....Ocho Rios. We had a wonderful view of cargo terminals, very dirty looking. I did not get off the ship as I had no desire to do anything on offer in Jamaica. My husband walked a few minutes into town and was offered all kinds of goods and services by taxi drivers and propositioned by women on the side of the road!

 

We will pass through there later but I've already been to Ocho Rios 44 times before this cruise and am familiar with what your husband described in his walk.

 

Although I am a roll with the punches guy and always up for a laugh and bantering with the locals it wore me out in Ocho every Tuesday when we docked and I would walk into the dingy town. Shop keepers would grab my arm and try to drag me into their store to see their baskets and although I was good natured and laughing it wasn't a good way to treat a tourist and sell baskets and get repeat business as one can never have too many baskets, can one? A little business-savvy can go a long way. But you need training for that.

 

So after a few taxi rides (hair-raising) I found a driver I could trust and get along with named Jerry and used him going forward as he would meet me by the dock gates and drive me to my refuge-the Sans Souci Hotel which had a private beach with waiter service and no beggars or people trying to sell me the sand I was sitting on. Or ganga.

 

Before then I had people walking alongside me wanting to be my guide but they often ended up wanting to know how I could get them aboard the ship so they could get the hell out of Ocho.

 

Many are desperate for money as they are not working in the tourist industry (or working at all) which all these islands have helped their economies with. When a ship comes in that's their chance to put food on the table or (today) buy an iPhone, and I can understand their desperation but they turn so many tourists off by their pushiness.

 

There, but for fortune, go you or I.

 

Thanks for the comment!

 

Norris

[MisterMet]

El Crucero-the big problem with baseball caps is they don't come with instructions and although baseball is an obscure game in the USA (but slowly catching on) just watching a game would show the potential user the reason behind its design-it's basically to stop the sun shining in a baseball player's eyes located at the front of his head, which would make its very wearing, backwards or forwards, in a dimly lit dining room at night, shall we say Moot?

 

 

 

The torn jeans- there's no excuse as there are seamstresses in every Dry Cleaners throughout this great land. They may be a sign that the person is a rebel, a free thinker who goes his own way or has a particularly fine pair of knees that need to be seen.

 

 

 

The only thing missing from your description are the Masai tribesmen expanded circular earlobes that are the rage in Chicago. Animal bones through the nose cannot be far behind as can deliberately carrying tainted water from ten miles away each morning in a giant clay jug perched atop the head.

 

 

 

I may give the MDRs a miss when pajamas, bed hair and underwear worn outside the trousers become commonplace, but until then I'll still dress like a good dinner among convivial company in elegant surroundings is a treat. As long as the cruise lines who make the guidelines allow them to be so elastic that Circus Clowns feel appropriately garbed I will allow them that right.

 

 

 

Norris

 

 

 

Well put sir!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[wallie5446]

I had no idea what you were all complaining about re the forum change...until just now. Yikes it's really weird. Wonder why mine only just changed over?

 

same here! it's terrible!

 

Just did the change yo me! Yuk! What is CC thinking? Did the majority of members really ask for this like LS said?

Change it back!

[uncleboo]

hi odo you have any daily programs to post or any menus thanks so much

[DJSchib]

I am second guessing getting off the ship in Ocho Rios. Doesn't sound like one of the more delightful relaxing ports. Definitely don't want to be heckled or see machine guns while on vacation [emoji15]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Bimmer09]

hi odo you have any daily programs to post or any menus thanks so much

 

No to the Daily Programs-Celebrity Today it's called but I have twice given a link to them to other posters. Search for David Cane

as he started a thread full of them. He was on the same cruise as us-Jan 14 to 21. His thread has dropped back in the page count so the search under his name is best.

 

I have the Dailies but am not intending to post them here.

 

I have given menus for some of the restaurants we have eaten in; Luminae, Qsine and there will be one for Murano. We can usually find something good to eat in the restaurants-they are not serving anything unusual or esoteric as they cater to the American palate.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I am second guessing getting off the ship in Ocho Rios. Doesn't sound like one of the more delightful relaxing ports. Definitely don't want to be heckled or see machine guns while on vacation [emoji15]

 

Well it's not ALL bad....for instance you could do as I used to do and taxi to a nice hotel like Sans Souci if it still exists after 30 years and have a fine lunch, use their private beach and maybe get a cab up to the beautiful Shaw Park Gardens high over the town or go horseback riding in the mountains which I enjoyed. You can avoid the hustlers this way.

 

You'll see machine guns in Cozumel but that's the world we live in and they are a means to guarantee your safety. I think the USA is more dangerous than any of these islands.

 

Get off the ship in Ocho but don't walk into town. You won't get beaten and robbed, you'll just get pestered if you walk.

 

Norris

 

[Bimmer09]

Our next highlight after our bathroom break at the gas station was a partial drive through Fern Gully where 540 species of ferns live but it was just a dark hilly road as the sun was blocked by the dense overhead growth of the trees and the ferns not obviously apparent from a speeding bus. Had there been a stopping point where we could have gotten out to stroll through a cathedral of ferns it might have been worth the detour from the road to Ocho Rios. As it was we turned the bus around after going half its 3 mile length.

 

It's one of those places where in years to come your grandchildren might ask "Gramps do you remember where you were when you first drove through Fern Gully?" and the answer will be "No".

Some enterprising wood carvers had set up shop where we turned

 

 

Back down to the main road and heading for Ocho until we turned off to climb again to see something I will remember.

 

 

Up a steep narrow road where I was excited to see signs for Shaw Park Gardens a botanical garden I enjoyed visiting in the 1980's. We were headed to an overlook and soon were parked among other sightseeing buses. Shaw Park would have afforded a similar viewpoint.

 

 

Another brief break of maybe 20 minutes. We had passed through a gaggle of souvenir sellers before parking. People trying to sell their wood carvings, Bob Marley tee shirts and other sundries.

 

There was a bar area on the viewing platform

 

 

 

I stayed back from the group, smoking, before going down to the platform below.

 

The scenic beauty is what I like about Jamaica

 

[Bimmer09]

[

 

 

 

 

Beautiful looking beach down there

 

[Bimmer09]

Moving down to the platform I see the Norwegian Epic below

 

 

 

 

That jetty wasn't there in 1986. We would tie up beside a huge warehouse on the concrete dock, which I believe is seen in the 1962 Bond film Dr No. (don't you hate negative people?)

 

 

I didn't leave time for a beer and a sit down listening to some Marley (Bob, not Jacob)

 

 

I had pre-ordered beer for our next stop at Bamboo Beach and Carol was looking forward to her authentic Jamaican lunch. Soon we were back in the bus, anticipating...

 

[silkismom]

Jacob Marley--bah humbug--if I remember correctly

[Bimmer09]

We retraced our steps, er, um, tire tracks back down the lofty hill/wannabe mountain and headed for Bamboo Beach Resort on the outskirts of Ocho Rios. I took some pictures from the bus of buildings that were not shanty shacks.

 

 

Schools were letting out when we got to the streets as they split the day in two for the overpopulation of students-there's a morning shift and an afternoon shift. They wear school uniforms which is a left over from the days of British rule and I heartily approve. I had to wear one myself in high school and they looked smart and the have and have-not kids all looked the same.

 

 

 

It's not all grim poverty for sure

 

 

]

[Bimmer09]

Jacob Marley--bah humbug--if I remember correctly

 

The full line, before Dickens' editor got to it was "Yes I, bah humbug, cool runnin'"

 

He's my favorite writer- Dickens, not Bob Marley.

 

Norris, welcoming you.

[El Crucero]

I think the USA is more dangerous than any of these islands.

 

Isn't that the truth! I live part time in Mexico. There is more crime in my neighborhood near Palm Springs, California than my neighborhood in Los Cabos, Mexico. I have visited Jamaica once several years ago. Met some very nice locals there, but it is not a priority to visit again, as are the tourist sections of the Bahamas, Mexico, Morocco, Miami, any location where tourists congregate. I always remain vigilant regardless of the country I am in.

Edited February 11, 2017 by El Crucero

[Bimmer09]

Life's a beach and in this case Bamboo Beach, Ocho Rios. This would be our lunch and laze spot and we all trooped off the bus. Towels were administered.

 

 

Reggae riddums were playing through some speakers among the trees to set the mood. Nice!

Or not nice if an after lunch nap was on your schedule. I thought it fine as we only had 90 minutes planned here.

 

Oh- there are shopping opportunities

 

 

That beach looks nice

 

 

oh wait!-we're going over here says Zachary pointing North and we troop off away from the beach to a big food stand with a shady thatched roof 50 yards away. I smell food... Lunch! When we get there Zachary talks to the staff behind the counter and then leads us back towards the beach as apparently we are not eating here.

 

We tramp back past the entrance towards the beach

 

 

Oooh! Chairs! No sitting in the sand for us!

 

 

Carol is happy now that the walking back and forth is done and we can relax

 

[CruiserRob]

I'm really late for this party:eek:

Another great review Norris

 

Robert, missing the classic rock in Norris reviews

[Bimmer09]

I hadn't ordered any food as I was skeptical about the hygiene standards of beach cooking and besides my favorite Jamaican food-the hot spicy meat Patties, weren't listed. As we sat on the beach in our red chairs shaded by some trees....

 

 

....I wondered aloud to Carol-How are they going to do this?

Do what?

Serve us lunch. We've just been to the only kitchen I can see, where the food is served from steam trays-how are they going to get it to us over here? Is there a troop of waiters who will walk it over and know who ordered what? They can't roll it over on a big cart keeping it hot as there is no pathway here, just uneven sand with tree roots in the way.

 

Good point she said.

 

Then Zachary came over to our group to say that indeed lunch was being served at the thatched kitchen we had left 10 minutes before and we should troop back over there.

 

Doh! Make up your mind or "here's $10, buy yourself a clue"

 

I'm not schlepping all the way back over there for a plate of food, said Carol.

 

A few minutes later the Guest Relations man, Clayton, stopped by to see how we were doing.

Carol told him of the confusion over dining and all the walking back and forth and uncertainty.

 

He had a clipboard and asked if we would write out a statement.

 

No thanks, said I, looking at acres of form to fill out . We'll just sit and enjoy the view.

 

I will have your lunch brought over to you ma'am! said Clayton. Nice gesture. "Why certainly!" said Carol and sat back awaiting the delivery of her fried fish, akee, rice and peas (which are actually beans and something we argue about at home. Next time we go to Jamaica I am taking some green circular sweet peas to show them.) She was so looking forward to some authentic Jamaican steam table vittles! (she hadn't seen the steam tables)

 

It's been 3 weeks since we came back from the cruise and Carol is still waiting for her beach lunch to arrive.

 

It was nonetheless pleasant here. Before Zachary's arrival at our chairs I had gone to find him to see about the beers I had ordered and found him at the kitchen. Do I get my beers here, Zachary? No you go to the bar by the entrance. Back I went and got me a Red Stripe and a plastic cup as I don't drink out of bottles and haven't since I was a child and the bottle was full of milk. Gimme a glass or I'll pass. I was wondering what the point was in pre-ordering my beer on the form Z gave us on the bus on the way here?

 

Life was better once I had a cold refreshing beer and I used it for a Facebook update to show friends my situation.

 

 

This man was an Italian in our group and was making the most of his photo opportunities. We liked to listen to him and his wife talk on the bus. She was shooting video on her phone and doing a commentary in Italian. Sounds like music.

 

 

A great place to relax and we both wish we had longer to linger.

 

 

 

Some aids to relaxing on a beach but we didn't partake

 

[Bimmer09]

Isn't that the truth! I live part time in Mexico. There is more crime in my neighborhood near Palm Springs, California than my neighborhood in Los Cabos, Mexico. I have visited Jamaica once several years ago. Met some very nice locals there, but it is not a priority to visit again, as are the tourist sections of the Bahamas, Mexico, Morocco, Miami, any location where tourists congregate. I always remain vigilant regardless of the country I am in.

 

I second your last line absolutely. Always aware, looking around, listening-especially as I take my walks in the dark in a new place carrying a few thousand dollars of easily sellable cameras.

It will be my own fault if that ever backfires but I always have an escape route in mind if I feel uneasy. In the USA you can be sitting in a classroom or in a movie theater and .....

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I'm really late for this party:eek:

Another great review Norris

 

Robert, missing the classic rock in Norris reviews

 

Ron, I have been writing this for 3 weeks and you are late?

 

You have a note from your mother, I take it?

 

Alas, Rob, the new forum has lost the titles where my music teasers used to dwell and I and several other posters have complained to Laura S with so far no result. The new forum was rolled out with all the kinks and defects intact and they should be embarrassed at how inept the change was made. They are working on it though so fingers crossed.

 

Great to see you join us here. I went forward today to look at my photos up ahead....lots of ship coming up soon.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris