Review of Discover the Real Jamaica an RCI Excursion

[EggDropErin]

We did the RCI excursion called Discover the Real Jamaica. The excursion took us along the beautiful countryside and up into the hills. We ate lunch at a plantation, which was an authentic Jamaican lunch. We had jerk pork, chicken, and many native fruits and vegetables. We got a tour of the important plants that are in the country, what they use them for (ie. food, medicine, etc.). Before our lunch, we ventured to a pineapple farm where we sampled pineapple and coconut fresh from the fields. You got to taste the coconut milk, the meat, and the water. We then ventured to a local schoolhouse. The children there are sooo cute and photogenic. They were around 3-7 years of age, if I remember correctly. After that we went to a church and walked around its grounds. Then we took another drive back along the countryside back to the ship. It was nice to do something so cultural. The people were friendly and the food was delicious.

 

If you aren't into the falls, the beach, shopping, etc. this was a WONDERFUL trip to take to actually see a country beyond the general tourist areas. This excursion comes highly recommended by myself and all of my family members who joined me. :)

[Bebet]

You used the ships tour for this right? How many people were in your group?

[EggDropErin]

You used the ships tour for this right? How many people were in your group?

 

Yes, we used the ship's tour. I'd say we had about 15 people in our group. Not crowded, which made it nice and seem more personable.

[EggDropErin]

Yay! DH finally edited my pictures and got them all facing the right direction for me. :D Below are the pictures from our Freedom cruise in January. Most of these pictures are from our excursion, Discover the Real Jamaica. Please keep in mind that I took some of these from a relatively fast moving bus. LOL

 

http://www.stormaster.com/cruise2007/

[EggDropErin]

Has anyone else taken this excursion? I am curious to know your thoughts.

[donaldsc]

Jamaica is a country that suffers from poverty, poor education, and health problems. Don't kid yourself - you did not see the real Jamaica.

 

DON

[travellovers2]

We took this tour, but it was called John Pass Plantation. The drive through the downtown was kinda scary. They say that Jamaica has 45% unemployment and I think everyone unemployed was in downtown that day. We saw a lot of police officers with rifles in their hands and people kept trying to look into our van. There were about 15 people in our tour. When we got to that schoolhouse where they say 90 kids were going to sing for us, there were only 3 kids. Ok, it was raining, but 87 kids didnt come in that day? Humm... Did you see 90 kids? :cool:

 

They kept trying to get us to take a picture with two kids on our lap. That was sad because the kids didnt look like they wanted to be there and I felt they were being used. We refused to do it when we saw the pushy attitude of the photographer. Then you're handed a piece of paper with an address where you can send donations/supplies. :rolleyes:

 

After that we went to a house they called plantation that was up a hill. The steps were in terrible condition and I am surprised nobody got hurt. The food was terrible, so that was a waste of money for us. The only thing we enjoyed was sampling the fruits. But you were given one little piece to taste and that was it. Overall I would not take this tour again. For the $53 each that we paid, we expected to see more of Jamaica.:cool:

[EggDropErin]

We took this tour, but it was called John Pass Plantation. The drive through the downtown was kinda scary. They say that Jamaica has 45% unemployment and I think everyone unemployed was in downtown that day. We saw a lot of police officers with rifles in their hands and people kept trying to look into our van. There were about 15 people in our tour. When we got to that schoolhouse where they say 90 kids were going to sing for us, there were only 3 kids. Ok, it was raining, but 87 kids didnt come in that day? Humm... Did you see 90 kids? :cool:

 

They kept trying to get us to take a picture with two kids on our lap. That was sad because the kids didnt look like they wanted to be there and I felt they were being used. We refused to do it when we saw the pushy attitude of the photographer. Then you're handed a piece of paper with an address where you can send donations/supplies. :rolleyes:

 

After that we went to a house they called plantation that was up a hill. The steps were in terrible condition and I am surprised nobody got hurt. The food was terrible, so that was a waste of money for us. The only thing we enjoyed was sampling the fruits. But you were given one little piece to taste and that was it. Overall I would not take this tour again. For the $53 each that we paid, we expected to see more of Jamaica.:cool:

 

 

We did not go to the John Pass Plantation on our excursion. We weren't forced into any sort of photography scheme. We couldn't have been more pleased with this tour. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but I don't think you went on the same tour.