A real taste of Jamaica: need advice

[GJClay]

Has anyone been on the RCI sponsored tour "A real taste of Jamaica?" I booked this tour because I have been to Dunn's falls once and it was SO crowded, it just didn't seem like authentic Jamaica.

 

I've spent more time in the MO Bay area and am a little more hesitant to book an independent tour in Ocho RIOs just because it's more unknown to me (yes, I was at Dunn's River, but it was just a little afternoon trip which could explain why it was so crowded; afternoon being the key word).

 

However, I keep reading about this fabulous woman, Marva, with a private company, and am considering cancelling the ship's tour for something with her.

 

My bottom line is that Jamaica is such a beautiful country if you get away from all of the touristy areas, but I'm not sure that taking an RCI excursion will accomplish that. I'm slightly nervous, though, about getting back to the ship on time,etc. etc.

 

I appreciate any advise

[arlodog]

We booked a tour with Marva and her son Javia took us around in Grand Cayman (he was living there at the time). I can't say enough good things about them! They took us to places off the beaten path and went out of their way to explain the islands and show us how wonderful the people are. I read a lot of reviews before booking with them and would not hesitate to book again with them. They will customize your day for your needs. We had my mother with us who has health problems and waiting for her was never a problem...we never felt rushed and they both were very gracious in answering our questions and showing us their towns. We were back in plenty of time to make the ship...please don't hesitate to use Marva's company. You will not regret it! We have taken other cruises, but this was the first time we didn't book through the ship...I don't think we will book excursions through them any more! They are overpriced and you are herded around like sheep; not the quality service you can get with a good independent contractor!

[tddragoon]

I have done the Discover the Real Jamaica RCI excursion. I'm not sure if it's the same thing though. We went to the Hilton plantation (not those Hiltons) and toured a small Jamaican village. If they are the same tours, I will go into more detail. And I would not hesitate to book this again, I saw parts of Jamaica that most don't get to see.

[GJClay]

We booked a tour with Marva and her son Javia took us around in Grand Cayman (he was living there at the time). I can't say enough good things about them! They took us to places off the beaten path and went out of their way to explain the islands and show us how wonderful the people are. I read a lot of reviews before booking with them and would not hesitate to book again with them. They will customize your day for your needs. We had my mother with us who has health problems and waiting for her was never a problem...we never felt rushed and they both were very gracious in answering our questions and showing us their towns. We were back in plenty of time to make the ship...please don't hesitate to use Marva's company. You will not regret it! We have taken other cruises, but this was the first time we didn't book through the ship...I don't think we will book excursions through them any more! They are overpriced and you are herded around like sheep; not the quality service you can get with a good independent contractor!

 

I've read a lot about this company and actually e-mailed them yesterday in case I decide not to use a ship excursion. How many employees are there at this company, do you know?

[GJClay]

I have done the Discover the Real Jamaica RCI excursion. I'm not sure if it's the same thing though. We went to the Hilton plantation (not those Hiltons) and toured a small Jamaican village. If they are the same tours, I will go into more detail. And I would not hesitate to book this again, I saw parts of Jamaica that most don't get to see.

 

This tours states we visit Walkers Wood Factory (jerk spice garden), Wassi Art Studio, Village Island, Reggae Explosion Museum, and Margaritaville. I don't see one available on the Navigator called Discover the Real Jamaica, but there is a tour that stops at a Harmony Hall. I don't see a Hilton plantation on any of the tours offered on this cruise, however,.

 

Did your tour stop at any of the other places I mentioned?

[rhumney]

We were in Ocho Rios last week and booked with A-Z Jamaica Planners.

Our guide & driver for the day was Walter. How fortunate were we to have such a well versed and polite man. I had a number of first time visitors to Jamaica in our party and they all left having had a wonderful and positive experience.

We traveled in an extremely clean, air-conditioned, new passenger van to Nine Mile. Fabulous. Went tubing on the White River. Lots of fun. Ended our day with a late lunch at a great seafood restaurant.

Walter was a delight and I will definitely request him as our guide next time we visit Jamaica with A-Z Jamaica Planners.

[GJClay]

Thanks for all replies. To those who have used the private tour companies; Marva and A-Z; was there always a guide with you?

 

It's my assumption that you never felt that you might not make it back to the ship on time, due to your positive reviews of these two companies; I'm just interested in the logistics of how these private tours work (i.e., are some people dropped off at different locations, with the driver agreeing to return?). I normally don't have a problem with this, but since I'll be with my 14 year old daughter, I'm being extra cautious.

[rhumney]

I can only speak to our experience with Walter (A-Z Jamaica Planners).

One week prior to sailing Belinda (A-Z JP contact) emailed me. She outlined the min-max $ tipping for each of the 3 guides we would have, the name of our driver/guide (Walter) and instructions on how to join up with him.

 

Walter did not join us on our tour through Nine Mile. It was not necessary as our guide for this tour was Benjii. At the White River Tubing, Walter kept all our belongings in the bus with him. He dropped us off at the beginning of the river where we met our guide for the next hour. Walter was waiting at the end of the trip.

 

Walter made note of the time frequently and adjusted our day accordingly.

We enjoyed his company so much that we invited him to join us for lunch.

 

The roads to Nine Mile are narrow, windy and have many potholes. Granted he does not want to damage his vehicle but his careful navigation got us there and back safely. A blown tire or broken axle would have resulted in us missing our ship.

 

The young adults we took with us thought it was their best experience of the entire voyage.

[arlodog]

I can only speak of our experiences with Marva and Javia-both stayed with us the entire day. I have heard from others that Marva does not go with everyone and sometimes the trips are combined, but we had 5 in our group so there would not have been much room to take anyone else along. Marva took us to Dunn's river and waited for us at the gate and made sure that we got inside, took us to the botanical gardens and made sure we had a guide and waited and then we were going to go to fern gully, but it was raining so hard that she told us it would not be safe due to flooding. We went shopping and she told us what stores to were good to go into; you could tell that she is well known in the community! She stayed with us the entire day and at the end my mother wanted to go back to the ship so she dropped my DH, myself and our kids at Margaritaville and then took my mom back to the ship. She offered to come back for us, but we just walked back to the ship on our own. Javia also stayed with us the entire day and took us around Cayman so we could see rum's point and showed us around the island where the locals hang out. Both of them took us to local restaurants for lunch so we could try some of the local food and ate lunch with us and shared time with us. I think this is what makes it so enjoyable to meet people on a personal level. We never had to worry about the time; we were able to let them know when we wanted to move on and we wanted to stay a little longer somewhere. They answered all our questions about the islands and the people. These were our favorite excursions that we have had!

[tddragoon]

No my tour didn't go to those places. After checking the excursions again I see that there are two separate excursions with real and Jamaica in the title. I also reread your post and realized that you are not docking in Mobay (at least from what I could tell) and the excursion I mentioned departed from Mobay.