Jamaica - good or bad?

[ZoneOrr]

Been there twice. Different parts. I'll never go again. Very dirty and the venders and store owners there were very aggressive.

[tinkerone]

minority here. i think jamacia is by far the most beautiful island i have ever been to. yes, lots of poverty, its a third world country. pan handlers? yup but i get that in mexico and dominican.
we have never cruised to the island but we have stayed there 6 times, even taking our children. we have stayed in falmouth and have not found it any more dangerous than any other place. you always need to pay attention to your surroundings. we have walked along the highway alone. i worry more about the cars than the people but we are still careful. the water is the bluest green i have ever seen.
all in all i'm excited about that stop. and really, anyone think costa maya is worth a stop? but they do that one.

[jdb in AZ]

Originally Posted by tinkerone

minority here. i think jamacia is by far the most beautiful island i have ever been to. yes, lots of poverty, its a third world country. pan handlers? yup but i get that in mexico and dominican.
we have never cruised to the island but we have stayed there 6 times, even taking our children. we have stayed in falmouth and have not found it any more dangerous than any other place. you always need to pay attention to your surroundings. we have walked along the highway alone. i worry more about the cars than the people but we are still careful. the water is the bluest green i have ever seen.
all in all i'm excited about that stop. and really, anyone think costa maya is worth a stop? but they do that one.

Jamaica is replacing Costa Maya on several cruises -- definitely an improvement.

[Gigi22]

I have mixed feelings about Jamaica.

Some areas are simply dangerous. Lots of crime and drugs. The locals who are trying to sell things are very aggressive towards tourists, to the extent that cruise lines have created at least one port shopping area where locals have to register to enter, and undesirables are kept out (not sure if this is Falmouth or another area).

That said, DH and I have been on a couple of really nice shore excursions. One to the home of relatives of Elizabeth Barrett Browning (a branch of her family were planters in Jamaica), and one to Noel Coward's Firefly estate.

The island itself is beautiful.

[tinkerone]

Originally Posted by jdb in AZ

Jamaica is replacing Costa Maya on several cruises -- definitely an improvement.

might i say 'YIPPY'

[codex57]

Nope. Wouldn't go again if I had a choice.

I climbed Dunn River Falls. It was just ok IMO. We got hit up with the "would you like me to take your picture" by a guy wearing what looks kind of like a uniform for the area and then charging a dollar before handing the camera back. Btw that and the other aggressive sales people, it's just not worth it. Don't like most of the Western Caribbean to be honest.

[elaine amj]

We were in Falmouth in March with Royal Caribbean. We decided to rent a car - with Island Car Rental - travelled with 2 families and got a 9 passenger minivan. Everyone told us we were nuts and our friends thought we grew two heads. We researched it carefully and even found a blog showing the drive and pictures of the road.

We arrived - the new port was clean and felt very safe. The rental place is within the port. We got the car within half an hour and drove to Dunn River Falls. A very easy drive along good condition roads that felt safe. The Falls were awesome - admission was around $20 for each adult. We absolutely loved climbing it - the highlight of the cruise for me. Very fun if you like adventure. A lot harder than I thought. We enjoyed it much more because we chose not to join a big group. So we didn't climb up holding hands with all those people.

Afterwards we drove back, stopping to buy some coconuts from a roadside stand. They cost $US1 each. My DH and girlfriend got out to buy them and we were slightly nervous because the guy was using a machete! No worries though and the coconuts were delicious!! (They were $3/$4 inside the gated compound). We then stopped at a restaurant - we chose one that looked bigger, well-established and touristy (not a shack). Got some jerk chicken and curry goat - pretty good. Headed back to the ship, got slightly turned around in port, but no real problems getting back to drop the car off.

The gated compound turned out to be very pleasant shopping with no aggressive vendors that you find everywhere else. The vendors just sat and let us approach them. Souvenirs were decently priced. My DD got some very cool necklaces at a steal -one stall had the ones she wanted at half the price of the other stalls - so it paid to shop around.

Very pleasant visit and I wouldn't hesitate to go back.

[luv2sleep]

Originally Posted by SnowWhite2

Another in the camp of "been there, done that, won't do it again".

Dunns River Falls was very nice. I climbed it when I was in my 20's and it was a great time. 25 years later I am not interested in going up it again

The Falmouth port was built by Royal Caribbean. There was nothing interesting there until the RCCL came in. As others have mentioned, it is too far from the one good feature - the Falls.

I'd stay on the ship if we went there.

Same story here. Went in my 20's. Stayed at a very nice all inclusive on Runaway Bay. Hiked Dunn's River Falls, bike rode through some caves, learned how to scuba dive and windsurf. Really fun at the resort. Made the mistake of taking the bus into town. It was so sad, depressing, dirty, etc. People were understandably begging for money and haggling badly at the market place. I've never wanted to return to that island and have no desire to cruise there. Since it sounds like Falmouth is on the other side of the island it wouldn't seem appealing unless there was an excursion to a beach resort.

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Add me to the list of been there, done that, never again. I've traveled extensively and Jamaica is my least favorite destination of all. It is the only time I have felt uncomfortable and unsafe. I'd much rather go to Costa Maya.

[Four Bears]

I went to Jamaica on a Celebrity Cruise. We left the gated area on a van and the van driver dropped us off at one of the towns (not sure which one). I will never go back. The locals followed us from store to store, the shop people were in your face aggressive. And when I refused to have my hair braided by a hawker they got very aggressive, yelling out racial slurs I actually felt physically threatened. Instead of waiting for our van to return, we took a taxi back to the ship.

The only way I would EVER go back if I was on an all-inclusive resort, but there are other islands with beautiful resorts that I can venture off the resort without feeling physically threatened.

I am going to really have to think about Cruises for 2014. Although we leave in January on the Western and I hear Costa Maya is nothing special either.

[lzmom_of_twins]

Originally Posted by jdb in AZ

Jamaica is replacing Costa Maya on several cruises -- definitely an improvement.

Originally Posted by tinkerone

minority here. i think jamacia is by far the most beautiful island i have ever been to. yes, lots of poverty, its a third world country. pan handlers? yup but i get that in mexico and dominican.
we have never cruised to the island but we have stayed there 6 times, even taking our children. we have stayed in falmouth and have not found it any more dangerous than any other place. you always need to pay attention to your surroundings. we have walked along the highway alone. i worry more about the cars than the people but we are still careful. the water is the bluest green i have ever seen.
all in all i'm excited about that stop. and really, anyone think costa maya is worth a stop? but they do that one.

Hmmm I havent been to either. After this thread Im not sure what I should book. I have been on 6 cruises, but never on the western side.

[SleepyDeb]

Jamaica is the only place I have ever been to that I will never go back to, even for free. Was there on a company trip with 50 insurance agents and spouses. We were in a gated resort in Montego Bay. Three of the women in the group had their purses stolen. We took the resort's shuttle downtown and it left us off in front of a bank. About 30 seconds later an armored car pulled up to a screeching stop and three guys with machine guys got out and pointed the guns at the ppl on the sidewalk. Apparantly a delivery or pick up was being made. We bolted and didn't stay to find out. I was with DH and DD who was then 15. We went for a walk along the beach and as we approached the edge of the resort's beach where there was a stonewall, three men popped up from behind the wall learing at us. We turned around and they popped back down.

The worst event was one of my agents and her husband went for a walk across the street from the resort on the golf course. A man with a machete came out from behind a tree and threatened their lives.

All of this was in a 4 day trip.

Conversely, I have heard that "everyone knows you don't go to Montego Bay, you go to Negril". Not willing to check that out. Glad we have a western cruise booked for 2013.

[leahmichl]

I last cruised to Jamaica with Celebrity in 2011. Loved it! Got a cab right outside of port and chatted with driver about where to head. Our group spent the day at a place called caliente where we were the only tourists. Ate, drank, played on the beach, perfect day and absolutely beautiful. No peddlers on property, but there were some close by and we walked over to get my daughter's hair braided. Clean bathrooms, too!

ETA: can't remember where these itineraries are going, but this was in Ocho Rios.

[rance]

Very violent island. I would not feel comfortable going again especially with my children.

I have a friend who lives there and to give you an idea on how cheap life is there there are approx. 1200 murders per year on an island with a population of 2.8 million.
Mind you I'm sure they stay away from tourists but that is a crazy statistic.

[jodical]

I used to be a corporate event planner and I took groups of executives and clients to the island 4 different years. The one year we took a break and brought them to Playa del Carmen instead and they wondered why we didn't go back to Jamaica - so we brought them back the next year!

I've found Montego Bay to be a very nice, safe area. Our group stayed on a resort less than 20 minutes from the Montego Bay airport. The island's main industry is tourism - something like 80% are involved somehow with the hospitality/tourism industry. A recession here hurts them too and they had less far to fall - some a lot less than others. I sympathize with those who are trying to support their families.

That being said, I have made wonderful friends there during my trips and I continue to keep in touch. I've traveled extensively and it is by far my favorite island in the Caribbean - well, Castaway Cay is probably my first choice to return to now that I've finally been there (last month).

As far as excursions go, can you beliebe I've never even been to Dunns River Falls? I've always enjoyed rafting/swimming on the Martha Brae. There is something so serene and peaceful about it. I'm a sucker for it every time!

Anyway, as someone who doesn't like to venture too far off the beaten path, I don't believe there is any reason to avoid debarking the ship in Jamaica. Take a sanctioned tour if you are worried but don't outright dismiss an absolutely wonderful port!