Jamaica

[shashi883]

Does anyone know why Princess is no longer stopping in Jamacia on the 7 day cruises for 2010?

[spongerob]

Probably because it gets the lowest ratings of the various cruise ports visited. Which it too bad, because Jamaica is beautiful, but you have to go beyond the dock to find that out.

[shashi883]

Thanks. What a bummer. We love Jamaica. It is a great island to visit.

[jfv379]

Probably because it gets the lowest ratings of the various cruise ports visited. Which it too bad, because Jamaica is beautiful, but you have to go beyond the dock to find that out.

 

I totally agree. Having been to Jamica many times, mostly land vacations, you definately have to get away from the port to enjoy the island. Beautiful island and fun people.

[FTLAUDER]

Does anyone know why Princess is no longer stopping in Jamacia on the 7 day cruises for 2010?

I never felt safe in Jamaica. We stayed at Negril Beach at the Grand Lido and they had armed guards at the gates of the walled in resort. The workers there advised us not to travel abound the island. Its too bad because the catamarand tour we took years ago is one of my fondest memories of that island.

If the political leadership changes and the poverty issues are addressed we would go back .

[cruzzers]

Jamaica is probably not well liked by many. We always take a boat tour and have had some pretty fun times doing that. (Good rum punch!) It is a very pretty island but I could definately skip it.

[Fairport]

I think that there is a perception of danger there. We have only been there once, enjoyed it and always felt safe.

[Colo Cruiser]

I think that there is a perception of danger there. We have only been there once, enjoyed it and always felt safe.

 

 

No perception, we were in Ocho Rios on the Ruby in Nov and made the mistake of walking downtown and back. :eek:

[kellor]

No perception, we were in Ocho Rios on the Ruby in Nov and made the mistake of walking downtown and back. :eek:

 

I agree; we are just back from there and the amount of hustling we had to put up with was overboard. Plus, we felt like criminals the way they serached some peoples bags (the local police/agents). From the ship the island look beautiful, I just wish we had felt safer walking around and touring the island.

[Tatka]

I don't understand why so many cruiselines fell in line with Samana/Cayo Levantado in Dominican. This will be our third cruise that calls this port, and one that we cancelled had this stop too.

 

I wish all these ships stopped in Jamaica, much more to do there.

 

We had a great trip booked in Jamaica, unfortunately winds were too high (56 k.miles) and we missed it. :(

[MaryPoppinz]

I like Jamaica, but I do thnk you need to, like pretty much everywhere, get beyond the port. I live in Austin, which I think is a great city, but if you visit here and never get beyond the area surrounding the airport, you may very well walk (or fly...) away thinking it's a nasty place.

 

Get a private guide, see the country...it's great.

[dot73]

I spent a week in Negril some years ago. As long as you didn't leave the hotel premises, it was a lovely vacation spot as the hotel, staff and beach were excellent. There is also beautiful scenery in the rain forest and once you get out of the cities, the people are different than the ones you meet in the ports and are not aggressive. On my first two cruise visits I got off the ship. The third time, I just stayed on the ship. The harrassment by vendors and the men was disgusting and as a solo female traveller, I felt unsafe. It's the only Caribbean island where I felt unsafe walking in tourist areas. Per capita, Jamaica is one of the most violent countries in the western hemisphere and the violence against homosexuals is despicable. Sometimes people and corporations need to take a stand. However, in Princess' case, I think the passengers' dissatisfaction with the ports is making them stop going there. They actually do read those comment cards. For whatever reason Princess decided to bypass Jamaica, in my opinion, it was the right one.

[Host Caroline]

I am closing this thread