Jamaica - Should Carnival take it off it's roster??

[vpwood]

Ocho Rios is a beautiful place, we booked thru carnival and had a great time.

Did have to beat off the vendors at Dunns falls.

But the "Hemp"sign in middle of the down town shopping plaza is what cracked me up

[wesheltonj]

Dump Mo Bay and replace with OR like the rest of the cruise ships.

[goofytoo]

No do not drop it. I booked a cruise specifically for a stop at Ocho rios. I think it was one of the most beautiful ports we have been to.

 

As for the person who stated that they were held captive at the exit gate from the falls by the guide I know what you mean. To avoid that problem we go to the guide area and try to find a guide that will just take our group for a private tour and discuss price before our hike up the falls. Much more relaxing.

 

I was also offered drugs on one of our trips and I did notice a police man standing right across the street from us. If you saw me, you would certainly know that I would not be interested in drugs. (Old and frumpy:D) I too thought that it must be a set up.

 

Needless to say, still love Jamaica and am going back.

[zippybossrock]

I've been to Jamaica once....Ocho Rios while on a Western itinerary.

I have no desire to ever return and would avoid an itinerary with a Jamaica stop.

[Lady D.]

NOOOO! I'll admit I'm worn with the peddlers but I've learned to say "respect" and they leave you alone ;):confused:. They are desperately trying to make a living...I'd rather give a couple of 2.00 bills away than to be harassed for the same ole souvrnirs...shoot I could take some back and sell some as my fellow cruisers exit the ship...hum...Naaaa! LMBO!!!:p Seriously, DH and I love JAH and wouldn't want to cruise w/o it. Grand Cayman is a little pretentsous for me but as long as the water is turquoise...I love to be there.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Ocho Rios is a beautiful place, we booked thru carnival and had a great time.

Did have to beat off the vendors at Dunns falls.

But the "Hemp"sign in middle of the down town shopping plaza is what cracked me up

 

Funny. Of course, Jamaica is nothing like Amsterdam with coffee bars and even legal Absinthe. :eek: I guess it must have something to do with cheese. :D

[richstowe]

It would be nice if the cruise lines used their leverage to stop the human rights abuses in the country. If they pulled out of stopping in Jamaica until they protect their citizens and visitors, that would be worth it. It's a beautiful country, but they shouln't be rewarded with tourist dollars until they clean up their act.

I get people not wanting to stop in Jamaica because they don't want to be hassled or annoyed. What I don't get is thinking how

an economic boycott is going to make the lives of ordinary people any better. How does pushing a poor country even further down the economic drain help the

ordinary Jamaican. Do you really believe

you can punish the "evil doers" but not those struggling to survive.

[glassmates]

We had a great time in Ocho Rios. A group of 6 of us from the Freedom cut a deal with a red plated taxi driver named Eggy Leroy. Eggy took us to see the real Jamaica. We rode up the mountain and into the jungle, up to a waterfall and an open air bar. To our back was a fantastic view of the ship in port.

 

While we were parked at the waterfall Eggy went a short way into the jungle and returned with a basket of leaves. He called us all together and grabbed several items from the basket asking us each to smell them. One of the items was spearmint, another was lemongrass and the final was allspice. The aroma of fresh spices is really amazing compared to what you get here at home!

 

Later in the trip he took us to a local place past Dunns River that sold "Potato Pudding". He went in and came out with 3 aluminum foil pouches that contained some of the most wonderful spiced bread that man ever baked. They were baked in dutch ovens inside old truck tire rims. The man took good care of us and he treated us like friends. We tipped him well and if I ever go back again I will be looking him up.

 

We did get to see the real Jamaica and its working people. I gained a whole new outlook on life that day and a true appreciation for everything that I have here at home.

 

Has anyone met up with this guy? On our way up the mountain this guy was blocking our path in the roadway on stilts. The only way to get him to move was to stick some money out of the window of the cab. It was well worth the $5 to see a man dance on stilts!

 

I would do Jamaica again and feel everyone should see it at least once.

 

Richie

[Frygirl23]

I am booking my cruise just for Jamaica. I have been wanting to go for years!

[LCTXcruiser]

Thank you all for your input. This has been a very interesting topic/discussion (better than Rep/Democ convention - LOL).

[halos]

I'm booked on that same itinerary for Dec.

We are likely going to stay on the ship.

 

This is very much NOT like me. I've gone to other ports that have been deemed 'dangerous' and never had an issue. Why I am not 'feeling it' for Jamaica is something I can't rationally explain. All I know is my instincts are telling me to make this a sea day for us and I try to heed my gut feelings.

 

Do I think CCL should remove Jamaica from their itineraries??

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Many people love it there.

 

The people there need tourist revenue and we have choices. We can book the ships that stop in Jamaica or not...and we can stay on the ship or not. There is no reason to expect CCL to stop going there.

 

I did some Googling and saw some horrific stories. One of which was a travel blog by a cruise passenger who was robbed on a bus during a ship sponsored excursion....the one man held a gun to his daughter's head.

I know this can happen anywhere...but I'm just getting too old these days and worrying about crap like this is not somethign I want on a vacation.

[wildcatt99]

I don't think they should remove it from the ports of call, but we'll never go there again. If it's on our cruise, we use it as a ship day.

 

We were robbed leaving Dunns river falls 3 years ago, (don't expect any help from the Jamacian police.:mad:) That being said, it's a beautiful place and I'm sure not everyone there is a crook or looking to rob you. I'd feel the same way if I were robbed in any city in the states. I wouldn't vacation there either. That's our choice.

[jessemon]

we just avoid cruises that hit jamaica

 

been there once...no need to return

I agree. Been there and done that.

I feel the same way that I just won't book a cruise with Jamaica on the itinerary.

There are many people that like it there and as usual some don't like something and they want everything to change for them.

I say it is simple. If you don't like a port either don't book a cruise with that port involved or stay on the ship and treat it like a sea day....;)

[mdrobtx]

Yes, stop going there.

I want to be able to rent a car and drive around an island during the day without fear.

[paulandfran]

I say it is simple. If you don't like a port either don't book a cruise with that port involved or stay on the ship and treat it like a sea day....;)

 

I agree with this.

[Sunshine-lady]

On our one and only trip to Ocho Rios DW was pretty much held captive in the exit area of Dunns River Falls until I forked $10 over to get the hell out of there. No way will I ever go back to Jamaica.

 

I believe they're playing with fire and its only a matter of time before something really bad happens there so I say they should leave before someone is killed.

 

Same thing happened to DH and I when we went to Dunns River Falls. We were on a "ship" excursion. We were surrounded by locals until we forked over $40 for some trinket, and then we got the hell out of there also.

 

But, we just don't book any cruises that go there anymore.

[lele100]

NO DEFINITLY NOT, I love Jamaica, love Ocho Rios, yes they try to sell you dope and whatever, just say no thank you and thats it. I went to Europe quite a few times, you have all sorts of people trying to sell you stuff, in Rome I was approched constantly I think they were from Morrocco and living in Italy, and gypsys trying to rip you off all the time. Just neet to go with the flow

[halos]

I say it is simple. If you don't like a port either don't book a cruise with that port involved or stay on the ship and treat it like a sea day....;)

 

I agree with this.

Me too.

 

I love the other two ports this ship (Liberty) is stopping at. I actually booked this itinerary because I found inexpensive air to MIA and found a cruise that coincided with the air travel :p

AND the ship is in Coz from 8 am until 10 PM..so I don't care if it's stopping in jamaica and I will be staying on the ship

 

...besides I love ships :D:D

Give me sunshine and a bar waiter and I'm happy.

[ehfl]

I get people not wanting to stop in Jamaica because they don't want to be hassled or annoyed. What I don't get is thinking how

an economic boycott is going to make the lives of ordinary people any better. How does pushing a poor country even further down the economic drain help the

ordinary Jamaican. Do you really believe

you can punish the "evil doers" but not those struggling to survive.

 

If you think it's about being hassled or annoyed, then you haven't been reading the news. I'm used to aggressive vendors, and it has nothing at all to do with that.

 

It has to do with their laws. Countries that support human rights abuses should not be rewarded by the community of nations. When a nation says that it's OK to murder innocent citizens for being who they are, then it's time to do something.

 

Do you really believe that you can punish the evil doers by staying silent, and continuing to support these murderers?

[Tree Hugger]

You guys have me worried.

 

When we booked our 9/12 Conquest cruise we knew that MoBay would definitely be the one stop where we would do a Carnival Excursion or nothing else. We booked the Martha Brae rafting trip, hopefully we will have no issues. I think anything we take onshore will be minimal, and most cash will be well hidden.

[kenrod]

I went to Jamaica/Ocho Rios for the first time last October on the Liberty. We did a tour through the ship which was fine. Nobody bothered us to buy things etc. Im glad I saw it once. It is a very scenic island, but I have to say my overall impression was not that great. If my cruise ever stopped there again, I might give it another try, or I might just stay on board. this is just my opinion. I dont think Jamaica should be dropped as a cruise destination, because a lot of people really do like it. So to each their own. I didnt hate it, ( havent yet been to a place I hated ), but it is just not memorable to me.:)

sparky8 couldn't have said it better. We were in Ocho Rios last November. We weren't hassled by the locals, and we took a private tour from the dock, which was fine. Ocho Rios is a nice place, but it wasn't a memorable visit to us.

 

If we took another cruise with a Jamaican port, we would try a different place like Montego Bay, just to see how it is like.

[big_schots]

I'm on the fence with this one. We just returned from the Carnival Conquest, and was in Montego Bay last Wednesday. This was our second time in Montego Bay. Our first trip (10/08) we took a tour with A-Z Jamaica Planners and had a great time. This trip, my son and I just wanted to go to Doctor's Cave Beach. What a freakin hassle. No cab driver wanted to take us, since the fare wasn't high enough. I heard the phrase "I need to make some money, mon." from 10 different people. We finally got a bus to take us, but he pushed going to Aerosol Park to all on the bus. I knew he got "kick-backs" since he told me to keep quiet about going to Doctor's Cave Beach. Half the bus got off, and half stayed on. Upon arriving at the beach we had a good time, beyond people pushing bracelets, conch shells, and weed on us. They even followed us into the water to continue their sales pitch. My 20 year old being offered weed I can understand, but I (47 year old male) was offered it three times in a 2 hour period. No problem just saying no, but I can see where some folks would be a bit freaked out. We walked to Margaritaville from the beach and was solicited for both weed and prostitution. Again, a quick no and fast feet kept us from being bothered further. After 1.5 hours at Margaritaville we called for a cab. We were told the fare was $20 for the four miles, of which I accepted, even though it should have been less. It was raining, I was tried, and I was ready to get back to the ship. The day was OK, but the experience wasn't really worth the $90 it cost me for the day. I would go back but will do a tour that takes the "hussling" locals out of the equation. If no tour interested me, I would just stay on the ship.

[rocketmom09]

On our one and only trip to Ocho Rios DW was pretty much held captive in the exit area of Dunns River Falls until I forked $10 over to get the hell out of there. No way will I ever go back to Jamaica.

 

I believe they're playing with fire and its only a matter of time before something really bad happens there so I say they should leave before someone is killed.

 

Just wondering, did you book your excursion thru Carnival? We're leaving next Saturday on the Freedom and we've booked our Dunn River Falls/Dolphin Cove thru Carnival. I'm hoping we have a better experience since it's not an independent booking.

[kcjbo3535]

no!

[SeldomCruiser09]

I don't think that they should unless they deem it to be unliked or unprofitable. I personally will not ever be returning in my lifetime.