Is being the only ship in port in MoBay a good or bad thing?

[luckyprincess]

Hi,

I'm not sure Jamaica sounds like the type of place I'll enjoy. I plan on doing something super lowkey and safe there. (Please no 'sissy!' type replies, I lived in brooklyn and Miami and just value safety and no hassles). So I'm not sure if being the only ship in port that day would mean less locals acting like lunatics trying to roughly get me to buy their stuff or more.... Any ideas or experience with this? If it may be more pleasant I feel like venturing into the shopping area might be fun. But if it just means 'less prey' and more hawking, I'll go to Doctors Cave Beach... Thanks!

[Sue L]

Use common sense, don't go anywhere by yourself and I have found that in even the most aggressive places a simple, firm "NO, thank you" works. I have been to Jamaica several times and loved the Dunn's river falls tour.

[bilyclub]

There is a small run down, half empty shopping area at the port in Mo Bay, which they keep the locals out of. To go anywhere else you would need transportation.

[luckyprincess]

Thanks for the replies so far. Sue, you've been such a big help with planning this cruise I feel like I know you!! I don't want to be bothered with having to firmly say no thank you in that way on vacation, lol. I have to do it constantly when I'm living in Miami Beach or Brooklyn and its highly annoying. I know people aren't as pushy or in your face or rude in a few of the other itineraries, thats why I'm not sure what I want to do in Jamiaca. I'm sure its not traveling in a bus somewhere for a long while, though. I was going to do the canopy tree top but just have 0 desire to go that far....

Thats why I was thinking Doctors Cave beach. I checked and it doesn't seem too far and sounds like not a lot of folks plying their wares there. I would like to check out the main town if its not out of control - thats why I was wondering if people don't come out to sell as much if theres only one ship in port or if they sell harder for the same reason.

Thanks bilyclub - I don't mind traveling a close distance as long as I'm not constantly hassled....

[Sue L]

Thanks for the replies so far. Sue, you've been such a big help with planning this cruise I feel like I know you!! I don't want to be bothered with having to firmly say no thank you in that way on vacation, lol. I have to do it constantly when I'm living in Miami Beach or Brooklyn and its highly annoying. I know people aren't as pushy or in your face or rude in a few of the other itineraries, thats why I'm not sure what I want to do in Jamiaca. I'm sure its not traveling in a bus somewhere for a long while, though. I was going to do the canopy tree top but just have 0 desire to go that far....

Thats why I was thinking Doctors Cave beach. I checked and it doesn't seem too far and sounds like not a lot of folks plying their wares there. I would like to check out the main town if its not out of control - thats why I was wondering if people don't come out to sell as much if theres only one ship in port or if they sell harder for the same reason.

Thanks bilyclub - I don't mind traveling a close distance as long as I'm not constantly hassled....

 

 

I tend to do ship's excursions so I would wait for someone to answer you that has the experience with the things you want to do. And it is not like the no, thank is yelled it is just firm. Don't go anywhere by yourself though.

[ziggypup]

Hi,

I'm not sure Jamaica sounds like the type of place I'll enjoy. I plan on doing something super lowkey and safe there. (Please no 'sissy!' type replies, I lived in brooklyn and Miami and just value safety and no hassles). So I'm not sure if being the only ship in port that day would mean less locals acting like lunatics trying to roughly get me to buy their stuff or more.... Any ideas or experience with this? If it may be more pleasant I feel like venturing into the shopping area might be fun. But if it just means 'less prey' and more hawking, I'll go to Doctors Cave Beach... Thanks!

 

 

I have been to Jamaica a few times and never had any issues. Maybe on the days that I was visiting the lunatics had off. I also worked in Brooklyn for many years and did see the locals acting like lunatics.

[luckyprincess]

I have been to Jamaica a few times and never had any issues. Maybe on the days that I was visiting the lunatics had off. I also worked in Brooklyn for many years and did see the locals acting like lunatics.

Haha! Yeah, the Brooklynites can be nuts, too. That was my point in the parenthesis....:D Don't need to deal with it on vacation, you know?

[Snoozeman]

You've made a good choice with Doctors Cave beach. Private beach. Enjoy!:)

 

Probably best to be only ship.

[cot427]

Do they offer Doctors Cave through ship, or on our own?

[Kruzeagain]

There is an excursion through RCI to Doctor's Cave Beach. Sure, you can do it on your own, but the RCI deal guarantees you'll get back on board.

 

We were just there, and lucked into a private cab right at the pier. Driver lived in the US for 20 years and was solid, safe, courteous and predictable...and he only asked us once if we wanted to check out a local "market" (and when we said "No, thanks" he replied that if we change our mind we'd better tell him because he only asks once).

 

All that PLUS he found my brand new camera and returned it after I'd scurried through terminal security on my way back to Liberty. This was DD's very first trip with me, so I would have been heartbroken if I lost the pics.

 

His name is Norris Douglas (Dougie) and his MC JUTA number is 765.

 

Happy Cruising,

Alan

PS... Dunn's River Falls is a looooooong day when travelling from MoBay. Better to save that for the new cruise pier in Falmouth.

[MJL]

You can also take a JUTA bus ( they are relatively new and safe). They charge about $12 pp and you can ride to Margaritaville, Doctor's Cave and shopping if you desire. It' s simple and safe.

 

As far as the OP question about being the only ship in Mobay on any give day, to the best of my recollection they can only handle one ship per day. I could be wrong, but I only remember one pier.

 

Mike

[njoyndride]

That's what we're doing. Drs. Cave is pay entry so no vendors on the beach. It's a 10 minute drive from the Mo Bay cruise pier. If you want to see some of the scenery grab a driver and negotiate a fare for a tour. The driver will keep people from bugging you. Last time the driver took us past his grandmothers house and pointed out some kind of tree and explained on Sundays his grandmother would make pie from the fruit and it was one of his favorite memories. Might have been a load of you know what but I thought it was touching and added to our experience. We had a great time, don't be afraid to venture out some!

[Snoozeman]

You can also take a JUTA bus ( they are relatively new and safe). They charge about $12 pp and you can ride to Margaritaville, Doctor's Cave and shopping if you desire. It' s simple and safe.

 

As far as the OP question about being the only ship in Mobay on any give day, to the best of my recollection they can only handle one ship per day. I could be wrong, but I only remember one pier.

 

Mike

 

I only paid $4 pp on the bus to Doctors Cave, and $4 + $1 tip pp in cab on another trip.

 

They can handle more than one ship.

[linswi]

I was going to do the canopy tree top but just have 0 desire to go that far....

 

oh, please do try the canopy tour! We did it in Ocho Rios, though I believe it is run by the same company. The ride is a little long, but our tour guide was very entertaining and that helped. We also got some very pretty picture ops along the way. The traverse lines themselves were great but went by fast. I have been told that the lines in MoBay are a little longer. The scenery is really gorgeous.. maybe a couple pictures will help ;)

 

below is a my absolute favorite shot of my boyfriend just starting down the last traverse line and then a couple of my fave shots of gorgeous Dunn's River

[MJL]

I only paid $4 pp on the bus to Doctors Cave, and $4 + $1 tip pp in cab on another trip.

 

They can handle more than one ship.

 

For some reason I could not remember all the details. Could have been the day at Margaritaville.

[Melba1024]

How much do they charge for entry to Doctors Cave? And whats included in the price??

[negc]

The admission fee is pretty reasonable and floats, lounge chairs and umbrellas are available for rental also for reasonable fees. If you check out their website, the current charges are most likely posted. I'm not sure that there is much, if any, advantage to booking this through the cruiseline. It is very easy to get a taxi when you exit the terminal building and the fare is quite low. You can usually arrange a time for the driver to return to pick you up and if you can keep track of time you should not have any concerns about not getting back to the ship prior to departure time. The beach is quite nice, and as others have said, free of vendors selling their wares. Frankly however, we have been in Montego Bay in the area of Margaritaville and Doctor's Cave beach and found that the street vendors accepted a firm "No thank you" quite well and we never felt harrassed. We did experience some more aggressive vendors when we were exiting Dunns Rivers Falls but again a firm 'no thank you' while continuing walking was sufficient.:)

 

The cruise terminal in Montego Bay can handle at least two ships at one time. We spent a week there a couple of years ago and frequently saw two ships at dock.

[Snoozeman]

For some reason I could not remember all the details. Could have been the day at Margaritaville.

 

 

That can happen.....i did go back to reread my reviews to confirm.

 

Love your avatar

[MJL]

Thanks, Snoozeman. BTW, nice job on the blog. I marked it for stumbleupon.

 

Mike

[Snoozeman]

Thanks, Snoozeman. BTW, nice job on the blog. I marked it for stumbleupon.

 

Mike

 

You have a good eye. There's two REALLY good tips about Doctors Cave from my Conquest review.

[ziggypup]

Is being the only ship in port a good or a bad thing.

 

Well, that depends on one thing.

 

Are the the Predator or the prey?

 

Are you the Hunter or the Hunted?