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1st Time to Jamaica

firstcruise2007

By firstcruise2007,
in Jamaica

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1milehi

1milehi

Posted
Posted

firstcruise2007, Unless you want to be hassled, swindled,made to feel like you owe your last dime to Ocho Rios; my advice is to stay on the ship. Save your money and spend it at another port of call where you and your money are more appreciated.

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firstcruise2007

firstcruise2007

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I was reading reviews of this port last night and cannot believe the mixed reviews. Those who did not like it, really hated it. This is the one port I think if I was to get off the ship I would go with a tour guide. Does'nt sound to enticing to do on your own. I really want to see Dunn's River Falls

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Jandcbrown

Jandcbrown

Posted
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If you really want to do Dunn's Falls, then you best do it. No regrets at a missed oportunity!! I think that you almost have to go to Jamaica "one" time...and figure out if you like it or not. I know now....so it's settled with me. But I might not have been happy to have "missed" my opportunity. :)

 

We will either stay on the ship or do a couples resort type thing...

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Barva

Barva

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First time cruiser - Relax! The boards have been hopping lately with very strong opinions on both sides. I am one of those who didn't like Jamaica on my first visit but loved it on my second visit. You are correct when you say that Jamaica is best seen with a tour guide. We used a ship's excursion on our first visit and didn't enjoy Ocho Rios except for Dunn's River Falls. This summer, we booked our own guide (Marva Shaw at knowjamaica.com) and loved Jamaica.

 

If you are the adventurous type, you will love climbing Dunn's River Falls and tubing down the White River. The falls are beautiful. I adored the tubing and would have done it all day if I could have! We also went to the Enchanted Garden. The resort is closed but visits of the gardens, waterfalls, and aviary can be arranged. My family adored it.

 

Here are pictures from our day in Jamaica.

http://community.webshots.com/album/552503449pdjGlW

 

Have a great trip!

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ravij9

ravij9

Posted
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I have been to Jamaica twice now. I highly recommend going to Dunns River Falls. If you are adventurous, go for Dunns River Falls. During our last visit to Jamaica, we pre-booked a tour with a private company online. The tour was excellent. We paid around $55 per person but that included admission to the falls ($20 admission to falls otherwise), river tubing, and tour of the city and shopping. The link to the website that we booked through is :

 

http://www.ocho-rios.com/tours.php

 

The lady that runs the tours, Ionie McBeam, is very good. She will take you wherever you want to go.

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TINGnVODKA

TINGnVODKA

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Admission to Dunns is $15 and it is a short ride to the falls from the pier.

 

Hire a private driver for the day, go to Dunns, do whatever you wish. You will spend less than doing something through the cruise ship tours. Just be sure to hire a JUTA driver with the red license plate!!

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jazzlvr57

jazzlvr57

Posted
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I agree with TingNVodka, hire a private driver. That is what I did on my first trip to Jamaica and I fell in love with the country. We did Dunn's River Falls, drove through Fern Gully, and went to several other places that were definitely not tourist stops. If you would like a driver recommendation I know a few in Ocho Rios who would take very good care of you. A good driver/guide will take care of you and make sure you are not hassled - and yes, the driver's I recommend you can leave your belongings in the car when at places like Dunn's. :cool:

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jazzlvr57

jazzlvr57

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I agree with TingNVodka, hire a private driver. That is what I did on my first trip to Jamaica and I fell in love with the country. We did Dunn's River Falls, drove through Fern Gully, and went to several other places that were definitely not tourist stops. If you would like a driver recommendation I know a few in Ocho Rios who would take very good care of you. A good driver/guide will take care of you and make sure you are not hassled - and yes, the driver's I recommend you can leave your belongings in the car when at places like Dunn's. :cool:

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TheWog

TheWog

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Posted
www.peattaylor.com is a great tour guide. There are many here, but we used Peat. We will gladly use him again when we return for our 4th time in Jan 08. Climb the falls and love it. There is also river tubing on the white river. You can zip line through the trees. Horse back ride. Lots of different things. Go with an open mind and a sense of adventure and you will have a great time. Be wary as you would be on the streets of New York or even Portland, Maine, but don't let someone else ruin your experience for you.
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amu

amu

Posted
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Tmmull,

I am going to be in Ocho Rios in 4 weeks and I have a few questions...

 

Can you leave your cameras etc..in the van when you go on a tour with Marva? Does the tour guide stay with you the whole time or do they leave and come back?

Which tour did you do?

I am looking at the 5 hour tour-Dunn's River Falls, Tubing and Reggae Beach. It puts us back at the ship at 2pm and we leave at 5 pm. I am presuming I shouldn't worry about NOT making it back on time...

 

Thanks! I was all set to book with Phil Lafayette but he never wrote back to me.

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Tmmull

Tmmull

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Amu, Marva customized a tour just for us. We went to Enchanted Gardens (a closed resort with fantastic gardens , waterfalls and an Aviary, our 10yo loves birds) Coyoba(sp) gardens, Tubing, lunch at the Ranch (an authentic jerk shack) and shopping. Marva stayed with us the entire trip. We left our belongings in the van which was locked and secure. If you've read the posts from Barva, she's my DW. She's better at spelling and writing. Here's a kink to our pics.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/552503449pdjGlW

Have a wonderfull time in Jamaica.:)

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poppycat

poppycat

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I just returned from the Caribbean Princess and booked a tour with Marva for Oct. 10th to Dunn's River Falls, river tubing and beach and it was wonderful. The cost, $60 pp. So much less than the cruise line tours. My daughters and I got off the ship and walked down the pier and asked the pier supervisor who personally escorted us to Marva. She was very pleasant and asked us to wait a little bit since she had about 12 others who were also doing the tour. We waited out of the sun for about 20 minutes, by that time another couple was also waiting and still her big group of l0 were not there yet. She then decided not to hold us up anymore, so we were given our own air conditioned bus (very nice) and the 5 of us went to the falls with Kenisha as our tour guide on the bus. We were told we could leave all our belongings on the bus and they would be safe. Once at the falls, we joined a dozen others with a couple of guides and we're the first group to climb the falls. After climbing the falls and a little bit of shopping we met up with Kenisha and the bus. Marva's larger group of l0 were there now at the falls doing the climb, but instead of making us wait, the bus took just the 5 of us to the tubing. We had our own guide and just the five of us went down the river. It was great. A little bit in front of us there was a group of about 15 so we waited a few minutes so we wouldn't be on top of each other. I loved the tubing, it was very refreshing and the scenery was just beautiful. The other couple we were with were so nice, we had a good time just our little group. After the tubing, the bus took just the five of us to the beach and it was picture perfect. I think there were only 6 other people on the beach, no chairs or umbrella's, some shade under trees, just bathrooms and beach bar. Kenisha asked what time we wanted to get back to the ship or if we wanted to do shopping. We opted to be picked up at 2:00 since our ship was leaving at 4:00 and they wanted you back by 3:30 at the latest. The bus was there to pick us up right at 2 p.m. and we were back on the ship around 2:30. It was a perfect day and Marva made sure we were never held up. When I decided to book with Marva she e-mailed me right away and answered any of my questions and never took a credit card to hold our reservations, just had our names. I would recommend her in a heartbeat, very friendly and professional. Pat

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DomPel

DomPel

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We were also on the Caribbean Princess last week. We were a group of 18 and also booked Dunn's River Falls and tubing with Marva Shaw (knowjamaica.com). We climbed the falls first and were able to leave valuables on the bus. Tubing was great and we will definitely book with Marva again in Jamaica. We all had a great day!!! Nancy

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TINGnVODKA

TINGnVODKA

Posted
Posted

You can reach Chris Wilson by email or phone.

WilsonTours@yahoo.com

876-366-1607

 

you can see a pic of him on this website

www.myvillajamaica.com

 

He and his father run the business and both are EXCELLENT tour guides for traveling around Jamaica, especially from Ocho Rios.

 

You really dont want to limit your stay in Jamaica to Margaritaville and the shops. Plus, Carnival prices are WAY too high compared to what you can do on your own.

 

Enjoy.

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big_schots

big_schots

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After reading all the horror stories (drugs, pushy vendors, poverty) about this island and Montego Bay, I decided that I needed to plan ahead for my shore excursion. The island is gorgeous; from the sandy white beaches, the cool blue water, to the lush tropical mountains. After extensive research, from all the online boards, I heard great things about the tour company, A-Z Jamaica Planners. After a few e-mails, back and forth to the company, I had decided to give them a whirl. We had decided on a private tour, in an air-conditioned van, that would be solely at our disposal. This included a tour of the island, a trip to the Rose Hall Great House, lunch, shopping, and finally a stop at Doctor’s Cave beach. It ended up costing me $60 pp, but they paid for $25 worth of entrance fees per person. After getting off the ship, we found our tour guide/driver Mark, waiting for us. To quickly sum it up; he made us feel very comfortable, was a wealth of information, had a great sense of humor, and steered us away from any problems. We were never hassled by vendors, never offered drugs, and always felt safe. We had a super time, and really loved this island. Doctor’s Cave beach is absolutely AWESOME. White sand beach, calm, cool, clear blue water. We only stayed less than two hours, but you can make a day of it, since they have beachside waiter service from the restaurant. Please note that this is a pay beach ($5 entrance fee) and it does cost extra for chairs and umbrellas ($5 each). Use lots of sunscreen, else you will fry. Rose Hall Great House was interesting, as were privately escorted and told the tale of the White witch, Annie Palmer. We were also taken to a semi-private shopping area, where we were never hassled and got a great deal on an expensive watch, and some T-shirts. We even had lunch with the driver at a local air-conditioned restaurant (The Pelican), which had excellent jerk chicken. All in all, a wonderful day. I, for one, will not bash Jamaica like so many others on this board. We met some other people, on the cruise, that hated it since they just winged it while there. Of any port that I have ever been to, this is NOT the one to play by ear.

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cruisin zonies

cruisin zonies

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Thanks to Barbara's recommendations (aka Barva) when I asked this same question, our group of 15 have booked a custom tour for Montego Bay for next Wednesday 11/1/06 with Marva Shaw and she has been absolutely wonderful. Because of our group size, she is charging us $30/pp plus the cost of entrance fees and the tour will last about 6 hours. We are all first-timers, too, and have never been to Jamaica, either, but I have no worries at all. We are starting at YS Falls and from there, wherever the wind takes us. She knows some of the things we want to see and experience and between our ideas and hers, we're leaving it in her hands and everyone is good-to-go with that plan. We're all pretty laid back, but there were so many things to do, no one could make up their mind, so we're leaving it to the people who best. I will be happy to write a review when we return. The question is where do I post it? :)

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