Why Montego Bay??

[amusea]

Our Viking Sky cruise last December included Montego Bay in the itinerary and the Viking Star cruise we are taking next October is also stopping there. Government warnings have been issued about this port and a few weeks ago two Canadian citizens were murdered there. Considering that Viking cancelled Casablanca and Tunisia due to safety concerns and after reading of several recent incidents in Jamaica on the boards of other cruise lines, I do not understand why Viking does not consider the Jamaican port of Falmouth which is considered less dangerous or changes to a different island altogether. We will just stay on the ship since there is no way I would feel safe just walking outside the port and I am not interested in another guided excursion at that port.

[CharTrav]

Our Viking Sky cruise last December included Montego Bay in the itinerary and the Viking Star cruise we are taking next October is also stopping there. Government warnings have been issued about this port and a few weeks ago two Canadian citizens were murdered there. Considering that Viking cancelled Casablanca and Tunisia due to safety concerns and after reading of several recent incidents in Jamaica on the boards of other cruise lines, I do not understand why Viking does not consider the Jamaican port of Falmouth which is considered less dangerous or changes to a different island altogether. We will just stay on the ship since there is no way I would feel safe just walking outside the port and I am not interested in another guided excursion at that port.

 

On our cruise on the Sky 2 wks ago we had to skip Montego Bay because of sea conditions deemed severe enough to prevent a safe docking. Which may have been serendipity esp when I read an article on BBC News the following day about a state of emergency declared that day: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42757023.

 

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[amusea]

Here is a partial excerpt from the article in a Jamaican paper which includes warnings from the Canadian and US governments:

 

According to the Jamaica Observer, Thursday's declaration of a state of public emergency was immediately supported by the People's National Party, the official opposition in Jamaica's Parliament. The state of emergency will remain in effect for at least 14 days or as long as three months, the news outlet reported.

The Jamaican Chamber of Commerce backed the move, according to the Observer.

"The implementation of the state of emergency under the nation's constitutional provisions is appropriate in light of the grave danger posed by gangs and individuals who have, for too long, been holding the country to ransom, and threatening the gains arising from the difficult but necessary economic policies put in place by successive administrations," the chamber said.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has told Jamaicans that the security forces being deployed to St. James have extra powers and some rights are being suspended but that the rule of law still applied.

"Crime and violence, in particular murders, have been escalating in the Parish of St. James," Holness said in a public address."I have been advised by the security forces, in writing, that the level of criminal activity experiences, continued and threatened, is of such a nature, and is so extensive in scale as to endanger public safety."

 

 

 

The U.S. embassy in Kingston has issued a warning advising U.S. citizens that the 1966 Emergency Powers Act allows Jamaican security forces in St. James Parish to "arbitrarily detain and deport suspicious persons, enter premises and seize property with a warrant."

"Expect to encounter increased police and military presence, checkpoints, and searches of persons and vehicles within the borders of St. James Parish," the U.S. embassy said.

The embassy is advising its citizens to co-operate with police and military forces, monitor local media for updates on the situation and to expect travel delays.

Anyone witnessing criminal activity in Jamaica should use local emergency numbers including the crime stopper hotline 311 or the security forces hotline 830-8888, the Observer reported.

[philw1776]

Sad to read as we'd spent years vacationing in Jamaica at resorts and walking Negril Beach.