"Hassles" on the way to Margaritaville??

[Olwyn]

My 75 year old mom, myself, and my 1 year old niece want to get off the ship in Ocho Rios and walk over to Margaritaville, shopping, lunching and beaching for the afternoon.

 

2 Women and a baby.

 

Will we be hassled and bothered en route, as well as in the village...and how long a walk is it from ship? I am a little worried...

My mother is a slow walker! :o

 

Thanks so much!:D

Olwyn

[TheWog]

I wouldn't think you would be hassled from the pier to Island Village. Although each day is different. We weren't bothered at any time while we walked back to the ship. The walk is probably about 5 mins or so once off the ship. With your mom it may be a little longer. You might ask the ship if they could offer you assistance of some sort.

[Love2cruisegirl]

Olwyn,

 

Hi. My DH & I just returned from the Western Caribbean w/RCCL (NOS) on Saturday.

You will be fine. The walk from the enclosed/gated pier area to the Island Village is only about a 5 minute walk at the most. One the way, you will only pass 1 other small store area. In the pier area, you might encounter someone offering a taxi ride (which we just said 'No thank you' and then right in front of the small store area, another man offered a taxi ride. No one was pushy or rude.

 

I can say that the actual pier area is VERY crowded with vehicles (Tour buses, taxi, etc) early in the morning. It was kindof a zoo when we got off the ship. A lot of the RCCL excursions left out at about 9:30am so there were a LOT of passengers trying to get with the appropriate tour group/bus. If you're just planning on going to the Island Village, you might want to ask the excursions desk on ship when most of the morning excursions take place (what time?) and then plan on getting to the pier AFTER all those passengers have taken off on their adventures.

 

Good luck! I'm sure you'll have a great time!

[peanutzmom]

My husband and I walked to the Island Village in March, and it's a pretty short and easy walk (5-10 minutes). My husband was stopped three times and asked if he wanted to buy pot, which he politely refused, but no one ever approached or hassled *me.*

[sgriff17]

I think they "hassle" men a heck of a lot more than they do women. I've been asked if I wanted pot, but my wife never has been...same for my Brother In Law...

[CessKinKoS]

i def agree w sgriff.

my bro, big guy, was offered ganja every few steps. he said it was worse when he went back to the ship without my mom, cousin, and me. this was btwn the ship and the island village center.

 

at the beach at Margaritaville though, there were a couple people standing IN the water on the very far side of the beach trying to sell things. they were just trying to get our attn and we just ignored them. my cousin found it funny they were in the water trying to get our attn 10+ feet away.

[birthdaygirl]

I agree with Love2Cruisegirl. The dock is VERY hectic right after the ship docks. You might want to wait until the fray dies down before heading into town. The walk to Margaritaville is very direct and safe. Pretty hot, though! 2 women and a baby? No problem, mon!

[Grayce]

I walked to Margarittaville with my DH and my kids. We were only approached and asked if we wanted a taxi. My DS and DH stayed at margarittavilla and my DD13 and I walked back to the ship by ourselves. We didn't have any problems at all.

[Ima_HockeyMom]

Wow...you guys had it easy. We were there this past Friday and it poured like I have never seen. LOL. We were hasseled so much for taxis, pot, hair braiding you name it.

 

At one point, a police man had to come over to the guy that was trying to get us to come to his 'shop' and yell at him to leave us alone. Well, we finally did make it to his shop and then he woudn't let us leave. He basically tried to force me to buy something. There really was nothing in his place I wanted, no T-Shirts, hats, etc. He had some wood carvings and things like that. He got pretty angry when I told politely that I didn't want anything and told me that I owed him to buy something from him for bringing us to his place.

 

I tried to buy something small but then he didn't have change for the $10 I gave him. Finally I had enough, I took the money out of his hands and left very angry. He went behind and then met us back on the street and magically he had the change. I told him I wasn't buying anything from him at that point. I was upset, I had tears in my eyes, etc.

 

A nice lady of a shop stopped me and told me she was sorry that I was upset and was genuinely concerned about my experience. She made me feel much better.

 

By this time, we were both soaking wet....it was REALLY raining. So we decided to just go back to the ship. On our way, we ran into a couple we met earlier in the day and they were also feeling the same way. She was getting very nervous so we decided to all stay together. We managed to find a few stores that people were very nice and did not bother us. I am not kidding when I say we were asked to buy pot at LEAST 20 times. Maybe because we look younger than we are (we are mid 30s) I have no idea. It was crazy.

 

We did continue on to Margaritaville and loved it there although we were shaking from the wet clothes and hair. We hung out there for an hour or so and then managed our way back to the ship. Because it was raining so hard, everything was pretty much closed and most of the tourists had already gone back to the ship.

 

The next time I will either book a private tour with a respected guide or stricly go directly to the Margaritta area and no where else.

 

Don't get me wrong, we are the adventurous types....we dive, snorkel, do the ATV, etc...but we were in no way prepared for what we encountered in Ocho Rios. Next time, it will be different. :)

 

On the plane home, I sat next to a lady that said she has done the all inclusive resport in Ocho Rios and loved it. She said they ventured out one time and vowed to never leave the resort complex again. Jamaica is incredibly gorgeous and I would love to go back and give it another try.

[Kelownabccan]

We were there about 3 weeks ago....sunny in the AM..starting to cloud over in the PM and rained like hell when the ship left...lucky us....take lots of money with you if you go to Margaritaville...prices like in the states.....we had 6 margaritas..two beers and nachos and the bill was $70 US....you can slide down the water slide for free though...ha ha....

[Olwyn]

We just returned from a wonderful week aboard the Star Princess, and a wonderful day at MARGARITAVILLE, on October 13th!

:)

Our ship docked at the south pier, so Mom and I, along with Kate hopped into a cab...$4.00 each, baby was free...for the 5 minute ride over to the Island Villiage Shopping Complex. It was super and safe. No hassles of any kind.:)

 

It was lovely to shop around in such a tropical environment. Waterfalls, pools, fun shops...and an ice cream parlour for the baby!

:D

Little Kate, 20 months, jived and jiggled to the steel band near the beach, much to the delight of the onlookers!

 

We then headed into Margaritaville, for lunch.

Music was loud, but Anthony Hewie, the asst. manager, seated us out on the sand, under big fans in the shade.

Kate played under the table with a bucket and shovel...and eventually had a child's portion...Cheeseburger in Paradise!

 

Mom and I had wondful lunches,enjoyed a couple of Margaritas, and the waitresses, Jackie in particular, danced with Kate in the sand.

It was a wonderful day!:D

 

My strongest recomendation though, is to take a cab, if you are docked at the south pier. It would have been a long hot walk to the Villiage, for an older lady and a baby, and no doubt lots of hassles along the way!:rolleyes:

 

Thanks lots!

Happy Cruising!

Olwyn

[caprcorn28]

You have all made me feel a lot better!!

I would really like to go to Margaritaville for a little bit when in OR and now that I know how close it is, we'll do it!! (Kids can stay on the ship!!)

Looking forward to that Cheeseburger and Margarita!!! Yum!!!

[bluecruisin]

MY DH and I took a cab to Margaritaville. It cost 5.00 for the 2 of us.We met my DD and DSIL there and the 4 of us had a great time. Music, games with small prizes,good photo ops,good food(try the conch fritters) good drinks plus swim if you want. Shopping is reasonable around the village area. My DH and I didn't get hassled but DD and DSIL got asked to buy pot a couple times.Hope you have a great time!

[twinkletoes4445]

You have all made me feel a lot better!!

I would really like to go to Margaritaville for a little bit when in OR and now that I know how close it is, we'll do it!! (Kids can stay on the ship!!)

Looking forward to that Cheeseburger and Margarita!!! Yum!!!

 

If you're going to the Margaritaville in Ocho Rios, it's right next to the port area. It's a short walk across the parking lot to the Island Village complex (where Margaritaville is located). Our ship was docked right next to the beach area. We could see our balcony from Margaritaville.

[caprcorn28]

Thanks Twinkletoes!!!! Sounds easy!!! I can't wait to go!!! That is going to be the plan for Jamaica!!! :D