Should we really be stopping in Jamaica

[Steveaustrale]

WE are docking 10 miles from St James Parish Please read

 

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/10-murders-over-12-hours_123749?profile=1373

[ColinIllinois]

If you search for "Jamaica" in the forum search you will fined several threads about this from the past few weeks.

 

Here is just one of them:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2588639

[BirdTravels]

There are several active threads on this topic. Go ahead and read them. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2589078

[tunaman2011]

Greetings

 

You can always pretend it's another sea day and just stay on the ship. No one forces you to walk the gangplank.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

[bbixler18]

WE are docking 10 miles from St James Parish Please read

 

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/10-murders-over-12-hours_123749?profile=1373

 

It is not as if these criminals just appeared overnight and then a travel warning was issued. This has been ongoing.

 

No different than the south side of Chicago or neighborhoods near the French Quarter of New Orleans...just two of an infinite number of examples.

 

Go on a ship excursion that does not go to Montego Bay and have a great day.

[Pappion]

Just got back last night from our Epic cruise. Didn't feel in danger once in Jamaica. If you're that scared, stay on the ship. Plenty to do onboard.

[czimm]

The Department of State has issued a level 2 travel advisory - which is the same as the Bahamas, Cozumel or Costa Maya has been for a few years. As in any foreign country, exercise caution, protect your valuables and do not travel alone.

[Steveaustrale]

Its Interesting some of the replies. First off I'm a Veteran and not scared. Secondly when we booked the cruise there was no State of emergency 10 miles from where we will dock. Look it up Falmouth is 10 miles from the parish that's in a state of emergency. Thirdly I would not book a cruise that docks in the southside of Chicago or the eastside of Detroit or Compton ca. Those comments are inane. I would think a company as large as NCL would seriously consider changing to keep up with "current events". Anyone not sailing to Falmouth in the near future has no dog in the fight. The state of emergency is until at least Feb 15th we are do to dock the 13th. I appreciate the well wishing comments Not the critical ones that are not sailing there. If we go we will do the gated area only we have a group that includes elderly and small children

[Paul Bogle]

Steve, this article has better information on the events in St. James Parish.

 

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/200_arrested_in_St_James_state_of_emergency

 

The actions all seem to be in Montego Bay suburbs, not ten miles from Falmouth.

 

Given the slow speed of ships and the geography of the Caribbean substituting a different port seems unlikely. A sea day is an option but passengers tent to get upset when ports are skipped. Skipping Montego Bay might make more sense than skipping Falmouth though I doubt any ships will divert due to these events.

The port area in Falmouth is quite nice with all the usual tourist traps. If you choose to go no farther I'm sure your group will still enjoy the day. If the ship stayed at sea you would not have the option to stroll around in the secure area of the pier so that seems a better outcome to me.

[bbixler18]

Its Interesting some of the replies. First off I'm a Veteran and not scared. Secondly when we booked the cruise there was no State of emergency 10 miles from where we will dock. Look it up Falmouth is 10 miles from the parish that's in a state of emergency. Thirdly I would not book a cruise that docks in the southside of Chicago or the eastside of Detroit or Compton ca. Those comments are inane. I would think a company as large as NCL would seriously consider changing to keep up with "current events". Anyone not sailing to Falmouth in the near future has no dog in the fight. The state of emergency is until at least Feb 15th we are do to dock the 13th. I appreciate the well wishing comments Not the critical ones that are not sailing there. If we go we will do the gated area only we have a group that includes elderly and small children

 

Well guess what? You did book a cruise that docks in Jamaica.......has always been known as the southside of Chicago, eastside of Detroit, or the Compton of the Caribbean.

[smplybcause]

I was just at the same port in Dec, going again next month. Still doing an excursion unless something drastically changes. From what I can tell the status is more to let the government deal with a problem that's been ongoing with a stronger hand than it had.

 

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[tallnthensome]

I'm sailing to Jamaica in April with MSC ...... I work in Detroit every day. If I can survive Detroit, I'll easily survive Jamaica. I've sailed to Istanbul and Cairo, again, I'll easily survive Jamaica. This discussion is going on in most every forum on Cruise Critic. Mexico isn't any better or worse. It will be fine, don't worry ......

[lostone65]

Its Interesting some of the replies. First off I'm a Veteran and not scared. Secondly when we booked the cruise there was no State of emergency 10 miles from where we will dock. Look it up Falmouth is 10 miles from the parish that's in a state of emergency. Thirdly I would not book a cruise that docks in the southside of Chicago or the eastside of Detroit or Compton ca. Those comments are inane. I would think a company as large as NCL would seriously consider changing to keep up with "current events". Anyone not sailing to Falmouth in the near future has no dog in the fight. The state of emergency is until at least Feb 15th we are do to dock the 13th. I appreciate the well wishing comments Not the critical ones that are not sailing there. If we go we will do the gated area only we have a group that includes elderly and small children

 

I completely agree with you. There are so many who hide behind the keyboard on this forum and try to make others look stupid, silly, or ridiculous. We sail Saturday on the Epic with Jamaica as one of our ports, our group of 9 will not be leaving the secure area as a precaution, I believe in being pro-active and we can't control anything once out in the country. Jamaica has always been a wild card for me, I was there in the late 90's and the crime then was bad and the harassment was awful I am older now and choose not to subject myself and my group to that or worse.

[Newbea11]

I have been very worried about this but the more I read the more comfortable I get. We will be with a tour company during the day time. We are going to a resort and will be back on the shift before dark. I think we will be okay. We are from small town Idaho and we are just going to be smart and aware of our surroundings.

[sumonami]

Its Interesting some of the replies. First off I'm a Veteran and not scared. Secondly when we booked the cruise there was no State of emergency 10 miles from where we will dock. Look it up Falmouth is 10 miles from the parish that's in a state of emergency. Thirdly I would not book a cruise that docks in the southside of Chicago or the eastside of Detroit or Compton ca. Those comments are inane. I would think a company as large as NCL would seriously consider changing to keep up with "current events". Anyone not sailing to Falmouth in the near future has no dog in the fight. The state of emergency is until at least Feb 15th we are do to dock the 13th. I appreciate the well wishing comments Not the critical ones that are not sailing there. If we go we will do the gated area only we have a group that includes elderly and small children

 

 

 

The same level warning was in effect when I went there with my 9 year old daughter a few months back. Whenever I'm in unfamiliar territory, I research and find a driver (of course it's much more costly than any tour but can't really put a price on safety) who knows the area, knows what I want to do and will keep me out of the bad areas which are located in most towns across the world. Having said that, I'm street savvy, always aware of my surroundings and definitely leave all my jewelry onboard. The gated tourist area in Falmouth is of the largest I've ever seen so you'll be safe and entertained staying within the fences if that's what you decide.

 

 

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[Gimmiethebeach]

The Department of State has issued a level 2 travel advisory - which is the same as the Bahamas, Cozumel or Costa Maya has been for a few years. As in any foreign country, exercise caution, protect your valuables and do not travel alone.

 

 

 

And the British Virgin Islands are currently at a level 3.

 

 

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[czimm]

Its Interesting some of the replies. First off I'm a Veteran and not scared. Secondly when we booked the cruise there was no State of emergency 10 miles from where we will dock. Look it up Falmouth is 10 miles from the parish that's in a state of emergency. Thirdly I would not book a cruise that docks in the southside of Chicago or the eastside of Detroit or Compton ca. Those comments are inane. I would think a company as large as NCL would seriously consider changing to keep up with "current events". Anyone not sailing to Falmouth in the near future has no dog in the fight. The state of emergency is until at least Feb 15th we are do to dock the 13th. I appreciate the well wishing comments Not the critical ones that are not sailing there. If we go we will do the gated area only we have a group that includes elderly and small children

 

I'll be there in a week..

[zqvol]

Not any worse there than it is in every large city in the US.

[dacsmom]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I leave on Saturday on the Escape that is stopping in Falmouth, so I do have a dog in this fight. If you are not comfortable getting off the ship then don't. Some of us sail often throughout the Caribbean and these warnings are very common. No need to get defensive to others who post that they are not worried. It is a personal decision to get off the ship or not. There are multiple threads about this topic and everyone has their own opinion. It all comes down to what you are comfortable with. Falmouth has a nice port area with a Margaritaville if you do not want to leave the port area but do want to get off the ship.

[tallyho8]

If the cruiselines stopped going to places with a level 2 or higher travel warning like Jamaica has,the Caymans would be awful crowded as they are one of the few places in the Caribbean with a level 1 warning and most 7 day cruises would be 6 or 7 sea days.

 

The Bahamas, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Nicaragua, Haiti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Columbia, Cuba, Anguilla and Belize all have level 2 or level 3 travel warnings.

[Pappion]

Its Interesting some of the replies. First off I'm a Veteran and not scared. Secondly when we booked the cruise there was no State of emergency 10 miles from where we will dock. Look it up Falmouth is 10 miles from the parish that's in a state of emergency. Thirdly I would not book a cruise that docks in the southside of Chicago or the eastside of Detroit or Compton ca. Those comments are inane. I would think a company as large as NCL would seriously consider changing to keep up with "current events". Anyone not sailing to Falmouth in the near future has no dog in the fight. The state of emergency is until at least Feb 15th we are do to dock the 13th. I appreciate the well wishing comments Not the critical ones that are not sailing there. If we go we will do the gated area only we have a group that includes elderly and small children

 

 

 

I am from the East side of Detroit and I guess I should be offended by your comment, But I’m not. Perhaps you have the same amount of knowledge of Detroit as you do about Jamaica.

 

Stay where you feel safe, but keep in mind there is unrest in Mexico too, doubtful you would stumble into those areas, but it depends what excursions you plan to take. Perhaps Eastern Caribbean itinerary would be better for your group.

 

 

 

 

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[jennybenny]

I worked in Jamaica for almost 6 months in 2016. I lived in Bog Walk. Yes it was unsafe to leave the property, we felt caged in. We got away about 4 weekends to Montego Bay and otherwise spent weekends in Kingston and both were a welcome relief from the compound.

Yes, Jamaica has unsafe areas but as others have said, the USA has similar areas of concern where you don’t want to be walking alone, with wallet out, to get mugged or killed. There is a desperation in Jamaica. A lot of people are not very wealthy. They don’t have a lot of vegetables to eat (difficult to grow there and must be shipped in) no cars or even homes. I saw crazy people talking to themselves and walking the streets. It’s the desperation that causes people to steal and rob.

 

Jamaica is beautiful. My favorite all inclusive resort is there, which I never would have found unless the company sent us there.

 

I would vacation in Jamaica if it didn’t take so darn long to get there. Jamaican spices are great! It’s beautiful there.

 

Now, would I go out of my way to include or exclude Jamaica as a port stop? Probably not, but I don’t really do Western Caribbean cruises anyway.

If I didn’t feel comfortable getting off the ship then I would stay on board, but the bob sleds are awesome on Blue Mountain, Margaritaville in Montego Bay is awesome, and if you get a taxi for the day, they take you and pick you up, just a call away.

 

 

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