Courtney Taylor?

[mebecindi]

We have a tour booked with Courtney for Sept. 2012.... This will be our first cruise and we are very excited. But since I have booked this tour with Courtney I am even more excited.

[Raynor10]

I visited Jamaica for the first time June 2011. I was cruising with my 8 yr old son and wanted to do as much as possible with the short time we had at port. The "on board" tours were all very expensive with only getting to do one thing. I was alittle wary of booking a tour as a single mom with a young son, but after doing considerable research on Courtney I decided to give it a go and boy am I glad I did! Courtney met us at the port and was very polite, kind and welcoming, putting me right at ease. His van was nice and cool and he brought waters along as I requested so I didn't have to worry about bringing extra along. Our first stop was Dunn's River falls and another concern I had was being approached by lots of people trying to get you to purchase things as that just makes me uncomfortable. Courtney walked us right in and talked to the guards about letting us leave without having to go thru all of the vendors. We left our stuff in the van so we didn't have to worry with getting lockers or anything and he was waiting for us as soon as we were done. Afterward, my son was getting hungry so we went to Margaritaville for lunch at my request and Courtney even joined us which was nice since my son was busy in the pool & water slide so I had some company. He then took us to The Blue Hole which is Definitely off the beaten path but Beautiful! My son had the best time on the rope swing and cliff jumping. Courtney was always aware of the time and made sure to leave plenty of time to get back to the ship so we could just relax and enjoy our time. I would Definitely say Jamaica was our favorite port and one of the highlights of our cruise. Courtney Taylor was great and once back on board, my son kept asking when we would see him again and that he really missed him. I will definitely use him for our next visit to the Island and highly recommend others do as well. You will NOT be disappointed!

[ibcnusoon]

I visited Jamaica for the first time June 2011. I was cruising with my 8 yr old son and wanted to do as much as possible with the short time we had at port. The "on board" tours were all very expensive with only getting to do one thing. I was alittle wary of booking a tour as a single mom with a young son, but after doing considerable research on Courtney I decided to give it a go and boy am I glad I did! Courtney met us at the port and was very polite, kind and welcoming, putting me right at ease. His van was nice and cool and he brought waters along as I requested so I didn't have to worry about bringing extra along. Our first stop was Dunn's River falls and another concern I had was being approached by lots of people trying to get you to purchase things as that just makes me uncomfortable. Courtney walked us right in and talked to the guards about letting us leave without having to go thru all of the vendors. We left our stuff in the van so we didn't have to worry with getting lockers or anything and he was waiting for us as soon as we were done. Afterward, my son was getting hungry so we went to Margaritaville for lunch at my request and Courtney even joined us which was nice since my son was busy in the pool & water slide so I had some company. He then took us to The Blue Hole which is Definitely off the beaten path but Beautiful! My son had the best time on the rope swing and cliff jumping. Courtney was always aware of the time and made sure to leave plenty of time to get back to the ship so we could just relax and enjoy our time. I would Definitely say Jamaica was our favorite port and one of the highlights of our cruise. Courtney Taylor was great and once back on board, my son kept asking when we would see him again and that he really missed him. I will definitely use him for our next visit to the Island and highly recommend others do as well. You will NOT be disappointed!

 

Thank you for the review. We are using Courtney Taylor for our upcoming cruise in November i Ocho Rios. I am also traveling alone with my 14-year old daughter so your review was very comforting to know.

[BIG_Steve]

We booked CT after reading the reviews here. We must have caught things on an off day I guess. Was not impressed, and I'm no hard nose when it comes to that stuff.

[mjthecruiser]

What didn't you like about the tour?

[BIG_Steve]

What didn't you like about the tour?

 

Well, we booked a private tour, we didn't take the group tour. We agreed to meet at the pier at a particular time. After he was 20 minutes late we made an expensive international cell phone call to him. He said "they" were coming. About 15~20 minutes later, a driver who has his own tour company showed up on Courtney's behalf. I assume CT was driving his group tour around (??) and certainly couldn't be in 2 places at once. Okay, an alternate driver was no biggie.

 

At Dunns Falls, the driver gave us specific instructions where to meet him. After he was no show for another 20 minutes, we walked out to the tour bus parking, and there he was. Waiting for us in the wrong place.

 

At Mystic Mountain we agreed to meet at a spot in 2 hours. We were right on the dot, he was 15 minutes late. We had a short port day, and it was frustrating losing more than an hour waiting around, when I was paying for a private tour.

 

The driver was genuinely friendly, and had a fairly new van in meticulous condition. As a life long resident, he had lots of interesting information and stories to tell. The rest of the day went well.

 

I'm not mad or anything. But if I go back, I'll use a different company.

[BIG_Steve]

Well, we booked a private tour, we didn't take the group tour. We agreed to meet at the pier at a particular time. After he was 20 minutes late we made an expensive international cell phone call to him. He said "they" were coming. About 15~20 minutes later, a driver who has his own tour company showed up on Courtney's behalf. I assume CT was driving his group tour around (??) and certainly couldn't be in 2 places at once. Okay, an alternate driver was no biggie.

 

At Dunns Falls, the driver gave us specific instructions where to meet him. After he was no show for another 20 minutes, we walked out to the tour bus parking, and there he was. Waiting for us in the wrong place.

 

At Mystic Mountain we agreed to meet at a spot in 2 hours. We were right on the dot, he was 15 minutes late. We had a short port day, and it was frustrating losing more than an hour waiting around, when I was paying for a private tour.

 

The driver was genuinely friendly, and had a fairly new van in meticulous condition. As a life long resident, he had lots of interesting information and stories to tell. The rest of the day went well.

 

I'm not mad or anything. But if I go back, I'll use a different company.

 

Courtney saw this and sent me a very nice email. I just want to make it clear that these things were just annoyances. We still had a very nice day in Jamaica.

[sun2meshine]

I booked him for Oct 4 2011 we are docking in Montego bay not sure what we are going to see yet but he does do tours from Montego as well-

[thinkers2332]

two more weeks till we get down to Jamaica MON

[E46M3]

two more weeks till we get down to Jamaica MON

 

my wife and I also booked Courtney on our upcoming Oasis cruise. We'll be in Falmouth on 9/6. are you on the same cruise? If so, what activities have you planned?

[Hedy1967]

My husband and two boys- ages 8 and 11- toured for two days with Courtney and his trainee, Kameka, on 8/2/11 and 8/3/11.

Both days Courtney was right on time, and ready to go. The 1st day we toured the Southern Coast, touring the Appleton Rum Factory, then taking a boat ride on the Black River to see the crocodiles. We then went to Rick's Cafe to cliff jump and see the sunset. Kameka and Courtney toured the factory with us; Kameka went on the boat ride.

Lastly, we had dinner at a hotel in Negril called Seasplash, where we had dinner right on the beach.

The second day we stopped at Discovery Bay, then on to Nine Mile, the falls, horseback riding and Lumination Lagoon.

We were with Courtney for 12 hours both days and he was very accomodating-sharing all about his country, answering questions, etc. He even made a special stop for us at a daycare to drop off some toys/books we brought for some of the Jamaican children.

His assistant, Kameka, was also very friendly and informed. She shared much of the history of Jamaica with us, and even "quizzed" us at the end of the day to see what we learned! She was VERY good with both our boys too. They liked her alot, because she was very outgoing and friendly.

Spending 2 days with Courtney and Kameka was the highlight of our trip. We were able to see and do MUCH more than if we had booked a formal excursion. We left them feeling like we had a very good view of Jamaica, its culture and people.One we would not had gotten otherwise.

I highly recommed them and would not hesitate to use them again when we return-we'll just have to find new adventures!

I hope to see them both again sometime-maybe when they come to visit the states??!?!

Southern Coast:

Black River Safari

Appleton Rum Tour

Rick’s Cafe

Lumination Lagoon

Ochos Rios:

Dunn’s River

9 miles

Horseback Riding

Shopping

[PizzaFryGirl]

My family toured "with" Courtney Taylor August of last year in Ochos Rios. I saw the recommendations for him on these boards as well and decided to email him.

 

He was very prompt with his responses and answered all of my questions before the cruise. I am very uncomfortable with change and with people with whom I have had no prior contact. So it was very important for me to have some sort of "back and forth" communication with my tour guide ahead of time so that my time in port would be enjoyable.

 

Well we got to the port at the agreed upon time and there was another family who was also waiting for Courtney. Hmm . . . I'm thinking how is he planning to juggle two families of four?

 

So we follow him to his nicely air-conditioned van only to stand there while loaded the other family into his vehicle. He then walked us out of the port gate and had my family of four (which included a 5 and 2 year old) wait in the hot sun with some man for his cousin to shuttle us around. (I guess I took it a little personal as if my family wasn't as important as the one that was already sitting in air conditioned comfort).

 

Well, like I said I hate change. It ruined my whole experience because it was not what I had expected. His cousin did an O.K. job but charged us a little more than what Courtney quoted me.

 

Basically, Courtney and his people will keep you safe. They took us where we wanted to go and had an air conditioned vehicle (which we needed after standing in the sun) but I guess you should ask ahead of time to find out who will be driving you around. I wish that I could say that Courtney did a great job but we never got a chance to tour with him specifically.

 

I have been keeping that in for a whole year and had to get it out. BTW, I did email him after the cruise to find out why he passed us off to someone else but never got an answer.

[Hedy1967]

PizzaFryGirl-Courtney asked me to post this for you...

 

"My Personal Service has grown because of my increase in reviews therefore i cannot do all the tours on my own. I have however hired persons i know and can trust.They offer the same personal service as i do.

I have no preference with the group that goes with me, i just decide based on who comes first or the size at times. I am sorry you were uncomfortable with not doing the tour with me but try to understand these guys work with me and i keep regular checks on every one on my tours. So even though i wasn't present with you i knew where you were at all times.

My main objective of my service is to offer personal service. If i should book only one small group each time i work then i won't be benefitting too much from offer this kind of service"

I am really sorry for what happened and that you waited this long before getting a reply"

thank you

[PizzaFryGirl]

Thank you Courtney (via Hedy1967) for the response.

 

The purpose of my post was just to inform any one interested in Courtney's service that you may or may not actually get Courtney as your guide (as he also mentioned in his response).

 

And as I mentioned in my previous post I did feel safe and his cousin(s) Mario and Tevin (I checked the old email that I sent Courtney) did their jobs.

 

I just would have liked to have known ahead of time that booking with Courtney doesn't necessarily mean that you will get him as a guide.

[PizzaFryGirl]

Courtney sent me an email letting me know how sorry he was that I was disappointed not to work directly with him. He even offered to refund the difference in the overage that I paid.

 

He also let me know that the individuals that drove my family around (who by the way still did a good job) are no longer with him. He was just beginning to expand his business. But after screening several drivers, he now has a team of very qualified people that he works with to give an authentic personalized Jamaican tour.

 

If you want to be driven around and do exactly what you want to do while you are in Jamaica (and be safe while doing it) then I recommend that you use Courtney. He is in great demand so you should book him as soon you know you'll be in Jamaica. If you have any questions, then you should send him an email and he will give you a quick reply.

 

Courtney Taylor Tours Jamaica

Tel: 1876 4751476

"courtney_tay@yahoo.com"

Edited August 29, 2011 by PizzaFryGirl

[NOLA GIRL FOREVER]

Courtney met us in Falmouth and took me and my 4 children to Dunns River Falls. He was delightful and informative the entire time sharing interesting history about Jamaica. Also my kids did not want to go shopping or eat off of the ship, and he was great to make his tour work for us. We just went to the falls, climbed them and then back to the ship. I highly recommend Courtney Taylor as a tour guide.

[E46M3]

My wife and I are going to falmouth via the oasis. We leave 9/3 this saturday. Almost there! If anyone care to join? Might bring cost down if we get more in the group... :)

[kool-keith]

i have emails with negative reviews......not sure how it happened but i had emailed him about a price quote, he must have put me on some kind of reply all email list because i now get all the negative reply emails too :( not a very smart business decision

[tayball89]

I booked Courtney to pick my wife and me up in Falmouth and take us around for the day. He was very easy to find at the port--we just asked for him and we were directed to him.

 

We went to Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios, sightseeing, shopping, and ate jerk chicken and pork at Scotchies. Courtney watched our stuff for us in his van and took us wherever we wanted to go, as well as telling us Jamaican facts the whole way. He was very easy to work with and was very pleasant. We will certainly book him again!

[jessiee]

Two families of us landed in Montego Bay on 8/1, knowing only we should meet Courtney Taylor to start our tour in Jamaica. As soon as we went out of the arrival area of the airport, we found the daughter of one of their drivers, Marvin, holding their sign. They had been waiting for our delayed flight patiently. They sent 2 cars, one for all the people and another for our luggage. We had a pleasant conversation with Marvin on our way to ocho rios, where our hotel was. He introduced us to everything Jamaica, all the places we drove by, the music, its people and faith, history of the landing of Columbus, etc. Marvin made the long drive fun.

We spent 2 days in Ocho Rios and had a great time. Another driver, Errol, from Courtney Taylor Tours drove us to Negril, where the white sand beach is among the best in the world. We toured a light house, watched locals cliff dive next to it, visited Rick's Cafe and watched more cliff diving before we headed back to our hotel.

On our third leg of the trip, we went back to Montego Bay. Errol also drive us to Glistening Waters, which was a pretty unique experience. He explained to us why the water didn't glow that much that night. He also told us stories ouf Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, and where he lived.

We all loved Jamaica and want to go back soon. We were very happy with Courtney Taylor Tours. We look forward to seeing them again next time we go to Jamaica.

Edited September 8, 2011 by jessiee

[peaches84]

i have emails with negative reviews......not sure how it happened but i had emailed him about a price quote, he must have put me on some kind of reply all email list because i now get all the negative reply emails too :( not a very smart business decision

 

I set up a tour with Courtney as well and got the replies about bad experiences. My cruise is a month away now I have to decide if I stay or try to find someone else.

[cam1998]

My family used his services last week. I think he was good we did the Bob Marley Tour. Not actually sure what I was expecting but he gave us a nice tour on the way there and back and at diffrent locations he was always there he would sit back in the cut but when you look for him he was right there. so I would say he services were good But I think I had more hopes of what Jamacia would be like. LOL We would use his services again probably to see the prettier side of Ocho or to see MoBay.

[loveJake]

I set up a tour with Courtney as well and got the replies about bad experiences. My cruise is a month away now I have to decide if I stay or try to find someone else.

 

I also got the replies, we are booked with him in January and I have no intentions of cancelling. I have read cruise reviews from the same cruise I was on and had not of the problems, some people just like to find fault. I found a lot of positive reviews, that's why I booked with him.

[E46M3]

My wife and I just came back and we used Courtney. He was great, we found him at the port with ease and we were on our way to tubbing and ziplining. No complaints what so ever, would book again!

[anniejoel]

We used Courtney (and his co-pilot Mr. Westley) twice while we were on the east side of the island, and Courtney was quite conscientious and a pleasure to spend time with. He's a very hardworking, decent guy and we'd strongly recommend him - with or without co-pilots - to anyone who needs a reliable driver while in the Ocho Rios area.