Ocho Rios vs Montego Bay????

[Bloomin Onion]

We're trying to decide on a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise this year and the Carnival cruises out of New Orleans all stop at Montego Bay while Norwegian stops at Ocho Rios. I was wondering if any of y'all have any experience with one or both ports of call. We are more into nature, beaches, tropical landscapes,, waterfalls etc than urban stuff (I hear Cozumel is better for shopping anyway). If we're already going to Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman in the same cruise, is Doctors Cove Beach still worth it or would a stop in Ocho Rios close to Dunn's River Falls make more sense? Also anyone have any experience visiting the James Bond locations near Ocho Rios? I also see stuff mentioned about visiting plantations in Jamaica and which stop has better plantations. Being from Louisiana we have many beautiful plantations right here and we also found the ones in South Carolina very charming and beautiful, are the ones in Jamaica of a similar style and scale? Is a Caribbean plantation different from one in the US? 

[sunquest76]

I’m frustrated looking for a unique excursion from MoBay. We hoped to do Blue Hole and Dunn’s but the 2+ hour drive is not appealing. For that reason, I would choose Ocho Rio

[Ellusionz]

There seems to be more things to do around Ocho Rio than Montego Bay. But depending on what you want to do there's some interesting things around Montego Bay also.

[Bloomin Onion]

WOuld I also be correct in assuming Ocho Rios has less crime problems, since its a smaller city? 

 

Also I'm a big James Bond fan and I know Ian Fleming's former home is now the Goldeneye Resort, is it open to visitors who are not staying there, and are there other locations associated with James Bond and Ian Fleming in the area? Ironically I know the next 007 film is coming out in April which would be after the cruise and they're filming part of it in Jamaica, perhaps to pay homage to the series beginnings. 

[Capt_BJ]

been to both places and several other spots in Jam' many times.  IMO Ocho is a better stop for cruise tourist stuff with the 'main attraction' being Dunn's River. Search my posts and you'll find many discussions of DRF ... in summary DON'T do the ship excursion ... go on your own for a much more enjoyable experience.  btw DRF was a filming site for Dr No ... and the old bauxite pier too.  And there are other 'attractions' around Ocho like rafting ... more than around MB IMO.

 

going up the middle at DRF ... see the line on the left? Typical cruise excursion .. up once on the marked path and back on the bus.  HOWEVER your admission is for 'all day' and there is no rule that says you must stay on the path OR use a guide . . .

 

 

WRT crime: I went here many times over the years with my ships & by cruise and we never had 'crime' issues in Montego or Ocho or other spots we went to (Kingston, Port Antonio) ... common sense prevails. But remember there ARE cultural differences and what's common in JM is sometimes a lil un-nerving to we Americans:  when a Jamaican 'bargains' (think vendors) they can get a bit animated and sometimes we find that in your face and/or intimidating. And at least last time I was there it was still not unusual to be approached to buy 'controlled substances' ... and there is little discrimination wrt who they make these offers. One day leaving my USCG Cutter in Captain's Uniform I was asked if I wanted to buy some grass and responding no, was asked coke?  🤔  In this case and with aggressive vendors, a smile and a clear no thank you will usually turn them off but showing even the most minimal interest can open the flood gates! 😱

Edited December 8, 2019 by Capt_BJ

[NightOne]

On 11/29/2019 at 3:08 AM, Bloomin Onion said:

We're trying to decide on a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise this year and the Carnival cruises out of New Orleans all stop at Montego Bay while Norwegian stops at Ocho Rios. I was wondering if any of y'all have any experience with one or both ports of call. We are more into nature, beaches, tropical landscapes,, waterfalls etc than urban stuff (I hear Cozumel is better for shopping anyway). If we're already going to Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman in the same cruise, is Doctors Cove Beach still worth it or would a stop in Ocho Rios close to Dunn's River Falls make more sense? Also anyone have any experience visiting the James Bond locations near Ocho Rios? I also see stuff mentioned about visiting plantations in Jamaica and which stop has better plantations. Being from Louisiana we have many beautiful plantations right here and we also found the ones in South Carolina very charming and beautiful, are the ones in Jamaica of a similar style and scale? Is a Caribbean plantation different from one in the US? 

 

If  you want to go to the Blue Hole, Dunn River Falls, Mystic Mountain, Fern Gully, Konoko Falls, James Bond Beach, and Noel Coward's Firefly house then you definitely want to port in Ocho Rios.

 

Plantations I believe are available from either.

 

If you want Doctor's Cave ... or better yet 7 Mile beach (Jamaica one) and Rick's Cafe in Negril (for example) then Montego Bay is what you want.

 

Cozumel is definitely better for shopping.

 

[Bloomin Onion]

Cools replies, I wonder if the water is going to be warm enough to swim in at the Falls, I hear the ocean is still warm year round. 

 

So we've booked the sailing that goes to Ocho Rios on the Norwegian Getaway out of New Orleans for Jan 26. 

[nydney1]

Interested in the answers as well

 

[kcsavage]

We love our stops at Ocho Rios.  We've been twice and both times booked tours with Ricardo Riley from libertytoursjamaica@gmail.com.  The Blue Hole is one of the best excursions we've ever been on.  Sooooo beautiful and lots of fun.  Our entire family loved it.  It wasn't crowded and we weren't at all rushed.  Could stay and enjoy the water and jumps as long as we wanted.  We did an island tour and lunch too.  Just an all around great day both times.