Least Favorite Ports of Call: Caribbean

[flashdog_1]

I'm not sure how to approach this subject since opinions are obviously so subjective.

 

I live within a few hours of Gulf Coast beaches, so the allure of the beach excursions is not something I am ever attracted to because it is routine at land based vacations from home. I do go to the beach in Hilton Head and various places in Florida, though.

 

When i cruise I am paying to "see the world" IMO. As others have stated, most of the beautiful islands in the Caribbean are poor in comparison to the way we live. As far as their having "abandoned farming" this is not necessarily the case. One of the reasons certain islands are poor is because their land will NOT grow much because of the volcanic soil and lack of rivers and irrigation methods therefore. For instance, in St Thomas, with no rivers, (and I lived there for 7 years), if it did not rain, you had to import water by barge from San Juan!! You would see people in the barrios running outside when it rained. That might be the only shower they got that week!

 

So I am saying that some of the poverty we witness is due to water problems, or lack thereof. A laborer who can't shower daily is not pleasant to be around.

 

If a person has to buy vegetables from a boat that's brought stuff from a neighboring island (or even the grocery store) there goes a large part of his earnings. therefore many people forego their vitamins because of money, and that creates malnutrition etc. There's a cycle of poverty that it is hard for us who have access to off season vegetables and certainly water, can't even think about understanding.

 

When I lived in Guatemala City I saw a school girl, perfectly clean and groomed, emerge from one of the barancas where her family lived. This was really amazing because at the time, at least, water was not available at certain hours for those who had plumbing, and her famiy did not have plumbing. To obtain water, someone in the family would have had to carry buckets from some pubic facility back down into the gully.

 

When we see tourist areas we do not see that kind of thing, nor appreciate what a person who lives there has to go thru just to get to his job of selling a trinket.

 

When we got back from Nassau recently and spent a day in Ft Lauderdale we realized we really liked Ft Lauderdale better. No one was trying to get us to go to Atlantis! Seriously, though, these are FOREIGN countries we are visiting and should be viewed as such. You can possibly learn something about the countries before you go which will ease you into understanding their plights. They are not America and cannot be.

[usha]

It's a tie: Jamaica and Nassau. The locals love your money and hate your guts, and don't try very hard to disguise the fact.

[woodofpine]

And these places you describe are beautiful places with people that couldn't conceive of complaining about a day on a cruise ship - even if it was sinking!

[superjerryw]

It's a tie: Jamaica and Nassau. The locals love your money and hate your guts, and don't try very hard to disguise the fact.

That sums it up perfectly.

[RhondaPerr]

I would say hands down Martinique. Second Ocho Rios..

[nmtraveler]

CoCo Cay!

[hogwildcruzers]

Jamacia has to be the worst, after that would be St. Thomas( too crowded and dirty away from shopping area) and I could do without going back to Grand Cayman, been there done that.

[Riba]

Dominica is the worst, and Casa de Campo is next.

[Hondu]

[quote name='spearmint'][quote] I must say I'm surprised to see anyone suggesting that Cozumel is a waste of time.

We did not enjoy Cozumel; somewhat scruffy town, and we got tired of being badgered on the sidewalks by barkers/hawkers as we passed every single commercial establishment. We stayed about an hour and then went back to the ship; will never go there again.
We,too, do not leave the ship in Jamaica and we have docked there twice in the last 5 years; we were in Ocho Rios for a week about 30 years ago, and see no reason to return; anyone we meet now tells us the same thing, "The people are just too pushy and in-your -face." Who needs it?
We did enjoy Casa di Campo, however, as we went to the latin show at the outdoor colliseum-style theatre, on a warm, full-moonlit night. What any other part of the area is like, I cannot say.[/QUOTE]


Cozumel tops the list.
Too crowded, hawkers, and just haven't found anything of interest here. It seems like most poeple who enjoy this port go for excessive drinking at Carlos and Charlies and similar establishments.

[TechKnowBabble]

[quote name='Hondu'][quote name='spearmint']


Cozumel tops the list.
Too crowded, hawkers, and just haven't found anything of interest here. It seems like most poeple who enjoy this port go for excessive drinking at Carlos and Charlies and similar establishments.[/quote]

I would have to disagree on that one, just because my boyfriend bought me the most beautiful blue topaz and diamond ring there. :D But the taxi drivers are INSANE there WHEW! :eek:

[TSCOTT]

Without a doubt, Casa de Campo.

[MizzCard]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Bahamas is the worst for me so far! It's on our itinerary for our next cruise. I wouldn't even bother to get off the ship, but we're sailing with others who've never been...so we'll let them form their own opinion. I've been to Grand Cayman's twice. Been there, done it..it's great, but not worth tendering for the "three-peat". San Juan used to have a bad rep, but they've really cleaned up their act....just gorgeous and a fun port.[/FONT]

[HappyCruiser383]

Jamaica isn't all bad! Sure, you should probably be fully armed at port area and downtown shopping. A little Desert Eagle or a cattle prod would make me feel safer but there are nice areas!

The first time we saw Mo-Bay we were almost robbed. We learned our lesson. We went in on our own to do some shopping. Big mistake! Later we went to a beach that charges to get in. No locals there either!

The second cruise we took a Carnival ship tour. The Appleton Rum Estate. A 2 hour, white knuckle drive into the hills showed us the real Jamaica. Did you notice that ALL of the children were in clean, pressed school uniforms? No stray cats anywhere! Even if you look at their dump homes, there's really no trash to speak of. The real Jamaican people are just desperate for American money.

As for the tour, we had a great time and were never aproached by ANY locals. The country side was beautiful!

I guess it's just like any other downtown city. There are homeless and beggars and low-life. You just need to find a way to get past it so you can see the real country and the real people.