Planning first cruise. Is Jamaica a good place to go or avoid?

[texsailor]

Well, guess we'll find out. We just booked today on Carnival Conquest out of Galveston Sept. 9. One of the ports of call is Montego Bay. I read alot about it on this board and sounds like Jamaica has enough to see and do that something has to be good. Logic would dictate that so many ships wouldn't port there if it was too wretched!

 

JHC

We just returned Sunday from a week on Conquest, the same itinerary you are booked for. We had a great time. I would be happy to give you the full details.

 

For Jamaica, I would recommend a shore excursion through Carnival. We went to Dunn's River Falls, a great place to go. I had been there 18 years ago, and it is still a fun place. the excursion we went on (for $85 a person) brought us back to the City Centre market for some shopping. That is a fairly sheltered environment, with no harrasment. In Grand Cayman and in Cozumel we went on our own and had a great time. Because of road conditions, drivers, etc. I wouldn't advise driving off on your own in Jamaica. Really, like most places, Jamaica is what you make of it. If you go looking to find poverty, chaotic driving, rude people, and pushy vendors, you will certainly find them. If you go looking for friendly people, lush jungles, and exotic locales, you will find that. Have a great trip.

[bird rock]

I've been to Jamaica three times (twice with young children) for week-long vacations. I love the place. Unlike a lot of Caribbean islands, with Jamaica you get a sense that this is a real country, with a real culture -great local arts and music, cuisine and history. The Jamaican accent is one of my favorites and I love to hear it. Of course there's great poverty and crime but it can be avoided. DH and I have spent time off the beaten tourist paths, going to local clubs in Negril to hear music, walking around Kingston, etc., and were never bothered except by pushy vendors. But they're fairly easy to ignore. We are very experienced travellers and we live in NYC, so perhaps Jamaica wasn't as much of a shock to us as it might be to someone who's been a little more sheltered. I wouldn't suggest that you roam around on your own, perhaps, but by all means do an excursion and see what the country's like. People tend to have strong reactions to Jamaica - you'll probably either love it or hate it. But there's no place like it.