Montego Bay, Jamaica

[FunFishingTrips]

I am very nervous about our first port of call in Montego Bay. We leave on the Conquest on the 8th and we are with a large group including young children. I really need to hear from someone that has recently returned from there and what they think obout it.:confused:

[Yazoo cruiser]

We have been there 5-6 times and absolutely love it. I'm sure you will get a lot of replies that have had some unpleasant experiences there. We never have, but we make sure we stay in the recomended areas and do not get away from the cruise ship crowds. Some of our favorite tours have been in Jamaica, climbing Dunn's river fall and rafting down the Martha Brae river,just to name two. When we go there, we approach it just like we would in a large city in the states, stay in a populated area and don't wander away from the suggested areas of the cruise ship. HAVE A GREAT CRUISE.

[wildcatksu]

I am very nervous about our first port of call in Montego Bay. We leave on the Conquest on the 8th and we are with a large group including young children. I really need to hear from someone that has recently returned from there and what they think obout it.:confused:

 

We went with our 6 and 9 year old and it was our favorite stop. I really enjoyed going. As long as you are with a guide there should be no problem. It was our least expensive stop and we had an all day guide. Unfortunately Carnival has no good excursion except for an all day beach trip which is high dollar. Email me if you want the name of the company we used. It was outstanding and very economical.

 

wildcatksu@hotmail.com

 

Robin

[spoiledkraut]

I am very nervous about our first port of call in Montego Bay. We leave on the Conquest on the 8th and we are with a large group including young children. I really need to hear from someone that has recently returned from there and what they think obout it.:confused:

 

We're cruising on the 8th also. Been to Jamiaca two times and we loved it everytime.

[nowendy]

We went there 3 yrs ago and we went directly to Sunset Resort which is an all inclusive resort. Very nice. It was our favorite spot. We still talk about it. you can research it on these boards.

[FunFishingTrips]

Thanks so much. This makes me feel somewhat better.

[mouche]

Went to Montego Bay to and all Inclusive Resort and loved Jamaica our resort left little to desire, but had a great time anyway, even walked to Margaritaville a couple of nights with no problem mon!!!:D

[G'ma]

I love Jamaica.....and both ports of call.

 

Don't listen to the horror stories......most are simply not true, are exaggerated or simply false.

 

Many people find the Jamaican culture too different from their own. With no understanding of the people there, no understanding of their way of life, no interest at all in learning anything about Jamaica or the people there, they are simply frightened...... Fear comes from ignorance....

 

You will be fine.

[Kurbanfan]

Just don't go without doing your research. Being naive will get you in trouble......and it has nothing to do with knowing the culture.:rolleyes: They have alot of problems there but if you are in a large group and stay in the tourist area you will be fine........

It is a beautiful island with great people.....glad I experienced it, but I won't be going back anytime soon. Too many other beautiful islands with less crime IMO....

[sun~]

Just returned from the Conquest Jan 11-18 cruise. In Montego Bay we went over to Doctor's cave beach. It was about $5 entry, $4 for a chair, $5 for a large umbrella. Really good value. I had a terrific cheeseburger and fries ($10?) and some drinks (I brought a rum runner as well). I think between my friend and myself it was less than $40pp for food, drinks, shuttle (lots of them BTW) and a great beach. There are no beach vendors, just a trio of old fellas playing old songs for a few bucks. The beach was very clean and the facilities were very nice.

 

It is a great day with kids as most just like to run around, swim and make sandcastles.

[restasured]

Like many others we have been to Jamaica on the Carnival and on Norwegian. It has been an okay stop for us, probably more because of the apprehension of the reputation of Jamaica. I have done the raft on Martha Brae 3 times and Dunn's River Falls once. All were fun but on the river raft trips each time the "captain" spent as much time talking about how poor they are and how much work they have to do for little pay, etc that it was a little annoying. I realize they work as much for tips as they do for a salary, but hinting around about a tip once is okay just not the whole trip. I have to admit the last one we went on, Oct 2008, the "captain" did not do it nearly as much and stopped a couple of times to get pineapple and coconuts to prepare for us to sample on the raft. It added to the trip for sure. I consider myself to be a generous tipper and gave him $20, the trip was about $45 a person, I think. I did see a number of people that handed a single $5 bill to the guys and I thought that was pretty cheap, but everyone has to do what they think is right. I would prefer they took Jamaica off and added Cancun or Key West back on but as long as you stay with a group and go on a Cruise excursion it is safe enough. The only real problem there has been that I am aware of was about a year ago on one of the sugar cane or pineapple or one of those type excursions some armed bandits held up a group while riding on a tractor pulled wagon. The Jamaican police were notified quickly and one of the bandits was killed and the other one or two were captured and I think most if not all the people got their passports and money/jewelry back. Unless things have changed in the past 4 months you do need to take your passport with you when you leave the ship, your sign and sail card is all you need to get back on the ship.

[texgen]

I am very nervous about our first port of call in Montego Bay. We leave on the Conquest on the 8th and we are with a large group including young children. I really need to hear from someone that has recently returned from there and what they think obout it.:confused:

 

Hi Fun......We've been to Montego Bay 3 times....the last one in May and will be going again in May and in September !!! We've always had a great time in Jamaica. If you stick with the tours you won't have a problem. Last time we went Rafting on the Martha Brae and had a ball !! It's a beautiful country.....just use common sense.....stick with the group. The only thing we've ever taken off the ship was our S&S card to get back on the ship.. we have a copy of our passports but we leave the passports in the safe in our room and have never had need of them. Have fun and take lots of pictures !! :D

Ginnie