Safety in the islands

[xhoosa]

I heard about an incident in Chile where a tourbus went over a mountain. My in-laws are concerned because we are planning on visiting Montego Bay, Jamaica. In the St Thomas tour up the mountain it was scary sometimes. Some of those drivers are so used to those roads that they race up that mountain with the tire practically being on the edge. :eek:

 

Has anyone had this experience taking the tours in Montego Bay, Jamaica? Is it an uphill mountain ride? :eek:

 

Thank you in advance for taking the time to respond :D

[xhoosa]

:cool: ut of 37 people that have read this post so far, nobody has gone to Jamaica??:eek: :eek: :eek:

[dforeigner]

:cool: ut of 37 people that have read this post so far, nobody has gone to Jamaica??:eek: :eek: :eek:

 

Try posting your question on the Jamaica port of call thread for a better answer.

[Aquahound]

The people on the Jamaica board aren't having any luck either.

Xhoosa, I was just in Mo Bay. I did the Mountain Valley Rafting excursion which required a bus ride up the moutain. It wasn't bad at all. I didn't hold my breath once. The road was in pretty good shape.

 

As for the incident in Chile, that was a private excursion not booked through Celebrity. The cruise line never evaluated that excursion for safety issues.

[cruisinbuddy]

Now I don't know the full story, but i did read that, that excursion was not a "ship sponsored" excursion. In fact I believe they didn't even have a tour licence, don't quote me on the last part. It was a while ago so try some searching on it in the CC boards. Try googling it, funny how google is a verb now.:)

[xhoosa]

Thank you for your responses. In the Jamaica board nobody responds to anybody so at least there I didnt take it personal. j/k:D

 

I dont know much about the incident in Chile, but you know how older people are, once they heard this, they think all bus rides up the mountains are dangerous. They were terrified in St Thomas, but nothing happened so I hope they will be okay in Jamaica.

 

Thank you again for your responses.:D

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've been in some parts of the world with drivers so crazy it's almost beyond belief ( Cairo!!! Hanoi!!!) so Jamaica seemed relatively tame to me. However, they definitely do drive with a different style than here in the US.

We have had some fairly wild rides in the Caribbean, but not so bad that we were terribly afraid.

 

When we were in Jamaica last year we did a tour with Phil Lafayette. I felt very safe with his driving; not fast and crazy at all. We didn't go very far up in the mountains, however.

 

You might check reviews of tours on the Jamaica board for more insight into this.

[Gingee]

I have taken tours in Jamaica (Montego Bay) and St. Thomas. St. Thomas was definitely a higher road. Of course in Jamaica we just went downtown and to the Rosehall Mansion.

[samtig]

Went from Montego Bay to Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios on an excursion but didn't go in mountains. Somewhat crazy drivers & very bumpy roads. Montego Bay has a lot of traffic.

[Capt_BJ]

Not meaning to be rude or flippant but the answer to your question is 'it depends' ....

 

I depends on which tour .... where it is going. And on the driver...

 

I've traveled a bit in Jamacia - Ocho, MB, Kingston, Port Antonio .... and the roads in between.

 

If you get into the mountains the roads are often narrow and steep with nice tight turns.... If you stay along the coast they are pretty flat.

 

{my middle of the night trip from Kingston to Port Antonio over the mountains remains particularly memorable}

 

Are the drivers 'crazy' .... it depends. But I can assure you that unless you are an experienced NYC cab driver, you'll have a decent probability of finding the drive in downtown MoBay entertaining :rolleyes: Maybe not an "E ticket ride" .. but often a D ..... This is why, altho Dunns River is really not that far from the Ocho piers I never recommend walking. You must be wary of the drivers and what's "normal" there. (Altho I'll walk it and ride my bike...) And why I NEVER recommend riding a moped on any island) even if you ride a Harley everyday at home.

 

To steal an old slogan: "the rules are different here."

 

I've never been tempted to rent a car in JA - I always hire a car and driver for the duration of my stay. It doesn't cost that much and I have much less stress.

 

One difference I'll note about St Thomas tho - many of the tours use open air buses that when coupled with those narrow mountain roads can be very interesting :eek: . I have never had a ride on one of those in JA ... almost always small enclosed van type vehicles

[Jim Gallup]

Most of the world's most dangerous ports are in America. If you can survive Miami, New York, Boston, New Orleans, St Thomas, San Juan, or L.A., you shouldn't have to worry too much elsewhere.

[caviargal]

Most of the world's most dangerous ports are in America. If you can survive Miami, New York, Boston, New Orleans, St Thomas, San Juan, or L.A., you shouldn't have to worry too much elsewhere.

 

I totally agree with that statement:).