Getting in touch with Phil or Marva (tours)

[budg63]

We're back, and all went very well using Marva. She was waiting just outside the port building in Ocho Rios, we asked someone as we got off the ship and they took us right to her. We had met some people on the ship that wanted to tour with us and it was no problem, Marva had an entire bus reserved just for us. Our tour guide's name was Bridgette, she and the driver did a great job. I highly recommend using Marva for any Ocho Rios tours, especially the Nine Miles tour. You can reach her at http://knowjamaica.com

 

Thanks Marva, we hope to see you again soon!

[TMWOOD1012]

Don't Use Phil...see My Recent Post "rethink Phil Lafayette"

[dodukes]

I have emailed Marva about our tour in Ocho Rios, I had previously asked Phil some questions about the tour and then just received an email (nto answering most of them) confirming us on the excursions. I was fine with that for the most part cuz we are wanting to do those but then emailed again with my questions and havent heard back. I know my fault for not trying again, but after reading some things i want to ask Marva about what we want, we might just cancel Phil and go with Marva at this point if she can actaully answer my questions without a pre written confirmation email.

[Jandcbrown]

Just take lots of $1 bills in Jamaica for all the tipping you will do. You need to plan to tip Marva really well...or she won't be happy. Otherwise, she is very nice and pretty prompt.

 

The driving in Jamaica is unlike anything I've EVER seen...and I live close to the Mexico Border! LOL! Wear your seatbelts!!!!

[drfeelgood]

Just take lots of $1 bills in Jamaica for all the tipping you will do. You need to plan to tip Marva really well...or she won't be happy.

 

What kind of "tip" does Marva expect ??

 

We used her a couple of years ago and I tipped her my last $40 or $50 for 2 adults and 1 child and she acted like I was being cheap. Our day in Jamaica went way over budget and not on souvenirs but mostly on over-priced food and tips..........yes tips !!

 

Jamaica is just not worth the price or hassle.

[dodukes]

I posted on the other thread as well, I think right below yours. I am interested in seeing what kind of tip she expects as well because i am nowhere close to $40-50 for both of us but I dont want to be left stranded cuz she thinks im cheap....

[Jandcbrown]

This was for 2 adults:

 

We paid Marva $60 PP/did not include any drinks/food. It basically paid for her to taxi us to and from Tubing, Dunn's Falls, and Reggae Beach (including their entrance fees). We were the only ones she was taking care of that day. We paid her $37.00 in tips and she frowned.

$120.00 Excursion

$37.00 Marva Tip

$6.00 Tubing tip

$5.00 Tubing Photo

$2.00 for some man at Dunn's to rip us off and take a horrible photo with our camera (he took the change...and ran)

$10.00 small amt of food at Reggae Beach/no drinks

$5.00 tip (for leaving us alone...and not being pushy!!!) very nice...

________

$185.00 for the day with only one small meal and our own water....PRICEY!!!

[dodukes]

Wow, i got a reply from her and so far we would be the only ones too if we scheduled, but i dotn want to get into an argument over tip but in my opinion $37 is too high, i mean she's alredy getting $40 to drive us and I think $20 is a good tip, but i guess i am wrong,..WOW...i may have to rethink this,

 

Does anybody know how much Phil expects? We are currently booked with him but I cant get him to reply to my questions qhich is what prompted me to try to email marva,....i may go with a cruise excursion even f it means we dont get to do everything we wanted, ...

[1milehi]

What kind of "tip" does Marva expect ??

 

We used her a couple of years ago and I tipped her my last $40 or $50 for 2 adults and 1 child and she acted like I was being cheap. Our day in Jamaica went way over budget and not on souvenirs but mostly on over-priced food and tips..........yes tips!

 

You could have given her a $200 tip and she would not be thrilled, this is typical Jamaican modus operandi. Its just a way to try and make you feel like a cheapskate to swindle a bigger tip.

 

Jamaica , Just don't do it !

[budg63]

We paid $40 per person to go to Nine Miles, take pics of Dunn's River Falls, and to be dropped off at Taj Mahal for shopping. We paid an extra $15 per person to get into Nine Miles. We paid our tour guide Bridgette $20 as a tip and also to our driver we gave $20 as a tip. So, total for two people was $150. We had free beer and free bottled water to drink, I thought it was an excellent deal. We rented a car in Grand Cayman, that was a great choice. But in Jamaica, I think you really need a good tour guide unless you get a day pass at one of the resorts (by-passing the real Jamaica). We had a bus of eight people and I believe everyone felt the price and the service was exceptional.

 

I'm writing a review of our trip and will submit it shortly (and link this thread to it), we felt Marva was very friendly and dependable. Her tour guide Bridgette and the driver spent the entire day with us and took very good care of us, $20 each seemed too little.

 

Marva has written me twice since we got back, telling me how much she appreciated us using her services and that she would be thrilled to handle a tour for us again in the future. The negative comments about Marva in this thread do not at all reflect the kind and helpful Marva we met in Jamaica.

 

As far as tips in Jamaica, we only needed to tip the tour guide and driver, and a few people at Nine miles. We brought 30 one dollar bills and a few fives for tipping, since we didn't have to tip much we gave the tips out to some of the children and disabled people we came across, and tossed a few single dollar bills out the window of the bus as we passed elementary schools on our way to Nine Miles.

 

And no, I don't work for Marva. I'm just a satisfied customer. You can check me out by visiting my website at http://planet-zeppelin.com/vb - I'm known as Bud there and my wife is known as Gypsy.

[Lightsluvr]

We would look forward to reading your review. Please come back and leave a link here.

 

LL

[Jandcbrown]

 

Marva has written me twice since we got back, telling me how much she appreciated us using her services and that she would be thrilled to handle a tour for us again in the future. The negative comments about Marva in this thread do not at all reflect the kind and helpful Marva we met in Jamaica.

 

I thought Marva was really nice til we gave her a tip! Then it put me out that she acted that way. But also, this was slow season for her....only us to take care of her and tip her!!!! So that might make a huge difference in the amount of tip she expects.

 

As for tips....the meaning of a tip...is based on the service given....I think that has been long forgotten!!! It's now demanded. (everywhere, it seems)

[airbusdrvr]

To many people have posted that Marva acted as though they did not tip her well enough. If Marva is upset maybe she should charge more for the tour guide service or at least post what she considers a reasonable tip for her services upfront. The only negative thing I've seen about Marva is her unappreciative attitude when it comes to tipping her.

 

Since you seem to know her on a personal level maybe you could tell her to be gratefull with whatever tip she gets or at least post what a customary tip should be on her website. I'm sure she gets a varied group of customers, some are wealthy and some have saved for several years just to go on a cruise. I know a family of 4 that will take a cruise next summer and they have been saving money for the past 2 years just to go on a cruise.

 

$5 to some may be like $100 to another. Just a thought:)

[MCManders99]

I booked with Phil in April and after all these different posts I decided to email him regarding this. I emailed him last night late and I had an answer back this morning. He was really courteous and addressed my concerns. I am still going to keep my tour with Phil and I am looking forward to it.

 

OTOH I do believe there has been email problems all around. When I was researching my Ochos Rios Tours I emailed several companies that were referred from this board and NONE of them got back to me. I clicked on their contact me link on their website. Next time around I cut and pasted their email address and sent it directly through my email. I received answers from some, and I also put I tried to contact them before. They all stated they never received my first email. Don't get discouraged when not getting an answer. Try different ways to contact them, and ask if they received your first contact. They might not have.

[Tmmull]

"To(o) many people have posted that Marva acted as though they did not tip her well enough"?

I went back through the posts and found only THREE posters that said Marva wasn't happy with her tip. One recommended Marva, then posted the tip problem. One suddenly mentioned there experience "a couple of years ago". And the last just joined in yesterday.

We used Marva back in July, after much research on this board. I never read any negative tipping problems. We also had NO tipping problems with her.

YES, I'm a Marva supporter! She went above and beyond our expectations! We enjoyed our stay in Jamaica with her so much we booked another cruise to go back!

[airbusdrvr]

"To(o) many people have posted that Marva acted as though they did not tip her well enough"?

I went back through the posts and found only THREE posters that said Marva wasn't happy with her tip.

 

You need to take another look at the other threads in this forum. Its more than three.

[Donnask8pro]

I agree, I saw negative on other threads. I'm looking for more positives for any tour at this point. Its getting hard to choose.

[Jandcbrown]

I want to clarify something on my comments. I thought Marva was very nice, informative, and took care of us as "contracted". I just felt mis-informed (I might could have better researched that) as to the "extreme" tipping expected by everyone we came into contact with in Jamaica...and wanted people to know that it is "expected" to an extreme IMO. More than our normal 15%-20% in the US. As I said, we were in slow season and alone. So I'm sure we would feel more "harrassed" than those in groups.

[Tmmull]

You need to take another look at the other threads in this forum. Its more than three.

I did a search for the word "Marva". There are 166 Threads that include posts with her name(In ALL C/C forums). I went through the latest 75 Threads(I got tired of reading all the positive recommendations) Here's the brake down, TWENTY-EIGHT individual posters recommend Marva with no mention of any thing negative! THREE posters had negative comments! All THREE had the same comment and all Three made the negative comments after September 26th.

There may be other negatives in the older 91 threads, but I'm not going to dig that far.

Two things I'd like to add;

1) Marva can not post and defend herself, It's not allowed!

2) airbusdrvr, Have you ever used Marva's services?

[budg63]

I want to clarify something on my comments. I thought Marva was very nice, informative, and took care of us as "contracted". I just felt mis-informed (I might could have better researched that) as to the "extreme" tipping expected by everyone we came into contact with in Jamaica...and wanted people to know that it is "expected" to an extreme IMO. More than our normal 15%-20% in the US. As I said, we were in slow season and alone. So I'm sure we would feel more "harrassed" than those in groups.

 

Understood Jandcbrown, the tipping might seem excessive depending on the excursions involved and the people it requires to make it happen. I agree it can be a bit of a shock if not researched first. Jamaica is a developing country and as such many of the people rely on tourism dollars to survive. So it's not uncommon to give a dollar to someone that points you to the bathroom for instance, something unheard of in the US. I'm not wealthy by any means, my wife has spent the last two years battling a rare form of cancer and we were only able to go on this cruise due to the generosity of family and friends who raised the funds needed. I researched our stop in Jamaica and came to the conclusion that a portion of our spending money would have to be set aside for tips. And to tell you the truth it felt good being able to do it, some people have so much less than I.

 

I did a search for the word "Marva". There are 166 Threads that include posts with her name(In ALL C/C forums). I went through the latest 75 Threads(I got tired of reading all the positive recommendations) Here's the brake down, TWENTY-EIGHT individual posters recommend Marva with no mention of any thing negative! THREE posters had negative comments! All THREE had the same comment and all Three made the negative comments after September 26th.

There may be other negatives in the older 91 threads, but I'm not going to dig that far.

 

Thank you Tmmull, I was just about to point out something similar. You summed it up nicely and saved me a lot of typing.

 

I did a search for "Marva Shaw" on this board and gave up after I read 30 great reviews in a row without finding a single bad review. I personally found her friendly, dependable, and professional, as did our entire tour group. Everyone, do the research yourself. If you still feel uncomfortable about it then email many guides and choose the one you feel most comfortable with. I felt very comfortable with Marva after talking to her via email. Email her yourself and see what you think.

[Tmmull]

Just look at ds0909 posts.

I just did, gee another satisfied customer!:)

Then I checked yours, ALL negative about Jamaica!:eek:

So, have you ever used Marva, I don't think so!:rolleyes:

[Tmmull]

If I were an anesthesiologist I would be able to spell the word. If I were an automotive technician I'd be able to spell that word too !;)

 

 

Now back to subject. Look at all the other port of call forums and none have as much negative post in them as does the Jamaica forum. Nassau has a few but not like Jamaica. Do I have a gripe with Jamacia ? Yes I do.

 

The island of Jamaica is very nice, Dunns River Falls is a must see. It's the actions of a lot (not all) of the Jamaicans that ruin it. In fact I truly feel sorry for the good people of Jamaica that try to make their beautiful island a nice place to visit. I have been off the ship three times in Ocho Rios and had a bad experience each time. Had a guy ask if he could take our picture with my camera last time, and the ahole ran off with my camera. That was the last straw for me.

 

I notice some mention how poor and oppressed the Jamaican people are. Many in Ocho Rios should be making a good living from the cruise tourist. And who is oppressing them ? They are a sovereign country. I've been to several poor countries , three in Africa. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and the Haitians don't harass you all the time. I just want people that get off the ship in Jamaica to beware of what lies before them. I'm glad to see many here enjoy Jamaica, but no more Jamaica for me.

 

Thanks for pointing out MY mistake:o It's been there almost three years and no one, not even myself has noticed

 

Well back to the subject. Yes, there are many negative posts about Jamaica. Not everyone has a prefect experience! But, many are multiple posts by single individuals, like yourself! And then you say in the last paragraph "I'm glad to see many here enjoy Jamaica":confused: ? Let me add my first trip to Jamaica wasn't perfect, yes pushy sales people. Pushy yes, but not nearly as bad as our experience in Cozumel!

Next I would NEVER, repeat NEVER, give my camera to someone on the street, Not even in Denver!

 

Yes the people of Jamaica are very poor and oppressed. And who is oppressing them? Talk to the Jamaicans and they will tell you, Their corrupt government!:(

 

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, not every one dose! So warn people what to look out for. You don't need to tell them (over and over) to avoid Jamaica altogether!

 

One last thought, Did I spell every thing right this time?:rolleyes:

[airbusdrvr]

2) airbusdrvr, Have you ever used Marva's services?

 

To answer that question, YES I have !!

[Jandcbrown]

Barva and TMMull, I see that you are man and wife???

 

This thread was for Jamaica. For reviews and such. I think we need to tone it down and keep it to just that. I have not name-called. Obviously, we can all have differing opinions. Doesn't make me right or wrong. You either. But personal attacks just simply are uncalled for. Could we maybe have a truce??? :) I mean this forum is all about cruising and what a wonderful world it opens for those who can do it. Let's not forget that!

 

I'm timed out now on this board...as I never meant to get things stirred up. Just wanted to advise those to think about tipping as to not get themselves into a trap....to be aware. Happy cruising to all of you!!!! It's an awesome thing! See Jamaica or don't! It's all up to you! Happy seas!

[1milehi]

 

One last thought, Did I spell every thing right this time?:rolleyes:

 

NO ................... you asked :D