any ideas about ocho rios?

[lovedeals]

I went last year on a girl cruise of 25. About half of us went river tubing and it was great. We booked it thru the ship. After the tubing our guides hooked us up with someone to take us shopping. I didnt go but the other girls enjoyed it. The guide stayed right with them. They only went for a couple of hours and I think they only paid $5 a piece. This was for transportation and the guide service. The year before we climbed the falls and I loved that. We also went shopping and toured a garden. When we went shopping they stayed with us that time also. When we went to the excursion talk they told us it would be much better not to walk from the ship to shopping and to always take cabs with red license plates. Some of our girls went on their own and said it was very uncomfortable because the vendors just mob you. Didnt say they felt unsafe just not comfortable. I always went with an approved ship excursion and was fine.

[DGryg]

Hey Bubbles. It's Deb and Dave Johnson from the 6/07 Valor. I saw your name and immediately remembered our time at Maho Beach in St. Martin. Dave and I did the river tubing at White River in Ochos Rios and it was one of the best excursions ever! Our guide was professional, knowledgeable and the trip was planned with our safety in mind. Have a great time in Ochos Rios.

 

http://jamaicacruiseexcursions.com/RiverTubingDunnsFalls.htm

[e150club]

The best part of Ochos Rios were the $2.00 Heinekens. That was many years ago.

[mytee4ever]

On our first cruise (1998), we went to Ocho Rios & had a great time. We did the falls & Shaw Park Gardens tour...booked through Carnival. We were also there a little over a year ago. This time we docked somewhere not so nice. The area was fenced with barbed wire & there were armed guards at the gate. We walked as a group to the market & then headed back to the ship. The market seemed okay, but the walk there wasn't the most comfortable thing I have ever done. Another person who was part of our larger group from on board took a taxi alone with the hope of getting photos of more "authentic" things was robbed at machete point. Fortunately, he made it back to the ship with no bodily injuries, but we all yelled at him for going off alone.

 

Stay in a group of more than 6 or book an excursion through Carnival.

 

Towanda

[cruisedawgg]

I guess we can sum it all up to personal experiences with Jamaican ports. We seem to be split down the middle, some love it, some are afraid to leave the 'relative' safety of their ship.

 

I for one have been on 2 Carnival cruises to Ocho Rios, and loved both! I actually got married there during my first cruise -- most beautiful botanical park i've ever seen! And on my 2nd cruise, we did an island tour & Dunns Rivers Falls (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GOING THERE!)

 

And yes, we also walked around on our own, and were hounded by the locals for everything from free handouts to pharmaceuticals (from a cab driver!) It's all in the way you handle the situation.

[chrisa222]

I LOVED Jamaica! I booked the tubing excursion through Carnival. It started with an amazing ride up the mountain through the rainforest, with the guide pointing out the sights along the way and giving us all info about the Island and the people who live there. The ride itself was amazing..then once we got into the tubes it was SO relaxing and beautiful. I have never seen a river with water that clear before.

 

I was not approached for any drugs, and just ignored the venders trying to get me to buy their goods. Just walk right by them, no big deal.

 

Out of the three islands on my cruise last year (jamaica, Grand Caymen, COzumel) Jamaica was the most beautiful island and was the best excursion, it would be a shame to miss it and sit on the boat. How many chances do you get to see a new country and a different culture? Just stick with a Carnival excursion or stay with a group, and you'll be fine. Don't miss out because some people felt "unsafe" to be away from Kansas ;)

[smurfm69]

We have mixed feelings about Jamaica. We booked an excursion with Carnival for the dolphin encounter and Dunns river falls. We enjoyed both, especially climbing the falls, but didn't like the gauntlet of pushy vendors at the end. This is one port I would not venture out alone on and next time would probably do an all inclusive resort.

[cassidyb]

If you have spent in any time in any major U.S. city, Ochos Rios is not that bad.. I felt safer there than I have in Atlanta and New Orleans.

 

We visited Ochos Rios almost two years ago... There were beggers there, but it wasn't any worse that what I see on a daily basis here in Albuquerque. I joked with the beggars about me being dirt poor and they left us alone.

 

If you don't let people scare you into staying on the ship, take a quick cab ride to the Ocho Rios Jerk Centre for lunch.. Some of the best Jamaican jerk food on the island... Go for the chicken or snapper.. Wash it down with a Red Stripe... Frommers.com has a good review of the the Jerk Center... We had a great time just relaxing and eating at this roadside establishment....

 

ALSO, you have to try a Jamaican "patty".... A patty is basically a meat pie in a nice flaky crust. Oh so good!!!!!!!!!! A local took some patties to his girlfriend working at the Jerk Center... They asked if we wanted one... We are now hooked.... Too bad we don't have any Jamaican grocers where we live.

 

So get off the ship, eat a little lunch and people watch....

 

If you go there with an open mind and look at it as an opportunity to learn about other people.. You will enjoy the visit.

 

CassidyB

[BraysMom]

We have been to Ocho Rios a few times. Love the island, love the people we have met. Check out www.knowjamaica.com and use Marva and Javia. They are fantastic people and great ambassadors for their island. Their van was new and clean; they were extremely nice, thoughtful and well-spoken. Last time we went to the falls again - love it here, amazing climb every time, but getting harder every time as we get older, lol.

 

Originally, we thought we might do the river tubing and go to a beach after the falls, but our companions were tired. So we were glad to just tour around with Marva and Javia awhile and be exposed to local sights. We asked them to show us some things they thought we might find interesting. It was election day so they shared a lot of knowledge about their political system, etc. Stopped at a cave where a man showed us different spices and things, even cut some sugar cane for us to try for a snack. Very interesting; learned a lot. We will use them again when we go back to Ocho Rios.

 

Don't stay on the ship if you have never been to Ocho Rios; it will be a waste to miss this stop completely. But use someone reputable and use common sense. While it certainly can be unsafe anywhere, I have never felt threatened here and we have been here four or five times. Our kids (six of them) still recall climbing Dunn River Falls as one of their all time favorite places they have been, and they have been on numerous cruises, both eastern and western caribbean, as well as mexican ports.

[bubbles1209]

Hey Bubbles. It's Deb and Dave Johnson from the 6/07 Valor. I saw your name and immediately remembered our time at Maho Beach in St. Martin. Dave and I did the river tubing at White River in Ochos Rios and it was one of the best excursions ever! Our guide was professional, knowledgeable and the trip was planned with our safety in mind. Have a great time in Ochos Rios.

 

http://jamaicacruiseexcursions.com/RiverTubingDunnsFalls.htm

 

:eek: Of course we remember you guys! How are you?:D We're so excited to go on this trip, dd has been with us 1 time before on Elation, but my son is going this trip and it's his 1st cruise. DH's daughter & her family are coming,

1st time he's seen his daughter in over 10 years, he's gone all out for them, he's flying them to Miami and back & treating them to this cruise just to be with her. He's treating himself to his early birthday present since we couldn't go when he turns 60 in July, it should be a trip to remember. Trying to get some ideas of which way to go so we can show them a nice time. Thanks for the suggestion I had read about the tubing, but wasn't sure if there is rapids involved or exactly what to expect. I see you guys are going on Legend in September, maybe one day we'll run into each other again, after this trip we have Jan. 31st planned on Freedom, and we're trying to figure out which one we want to take next June. Great to hear from ya!:)

[DqALEX]

We're going to Ocho Rios in June, and we're looking for something to do. Not interested in climbing the falls, canopy is out, dd doesn't want to and I have to admit after that accident, I'm a little leary, so any ideas? I've searched the ports of call section and saw some questions I had but none with responses. We're already doing a dolphin excursion in Cozumel, so don't want to repeat that in Ocho Rios. I had wanted to see the Rose Hall Great House, but CCL doesn't offer that excursion for our trip, and I can't find anything on-line. Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.:)

Im going back there on the Carnival Freedom Next New Years. Its a great day to spend on the ship up by the pool. YOU CAN KEEP JAMAICA.

[FunShipFan]

I was in Jamaica in December. I've been there several times before so I didn't want to climb the falls again. I opted for a tour to Prospect Plantation and Dolphin Cove. The plantation part of the tour was much better than I expected. Some beautiful scenery and the tour guide was really funny! Dolphin Cove was also really nice. They do have dolphins and stingrays, but it's also a beach area. The beach isn't very deep but it is pretty if you just want to relax on a lounge chair. They have shops, food, drinks...everything you need to have a nice relaxing day. And since it is private, I felt very safe walking around there, even though I was traveling solo. I'm not sure I would do the plantation again since I've already seen it, but I would definitely go back to Dolphin Cove!

[PrincessDreams4P&B]

At first I thought, "Oh here comes another trashing Jamaica thread" but glad to see so many supporters.

 

I am a huge fan of this island and would advise you to have your wits about you but would tell you that for any island.

 

We used Peat Taylor for our last adventure there with our kids and he was phenominal, if you don't want to do the Dunn's part of the tour I am sure that Peat will oblidge...

 

Have fun!

[luvmygirlz]

Although I have no desire to go back there, I would highly recommend Dunns River Falls. We did an excursion through Royal Caribbean. The excursion included a brief tour (which I could of did without....very depressing and scarry), but Dunns River Falls is unbelievable. They tell you not to bring your camera, but bring it anyway. The guides will have about 5 around their neck at one time and not one will get a drop of water on them. The guides there are a lot of fun.

 

After that we went back and hung out at Margaritaville, which is right by the ship. The shopping was disappointing and scary, other than the Jamaican Rum cream.....Yum, Yum!

 

One important thing told to us by Royal Caribbean. If you do not book an excursion through your cruise ship, DO NOT go with any cab driver outside the gate. When you get off the ship you will see a fenced in area that has cab drivers. They have to pass through a little check in place. Evidentally, they have been checked out.

 

Have fun. Let me know if you have any questions.

Michell

[theisle]

We recently came back from a cruise and booked the bamboo beach club/dunn's river falls tour on board. It was hands down the best day in port we had. The falls were unbelieveable, even though the water was a little cold, and we really liked the fact that the hostess from bamboo beach came with us and was waiting for us at the top of the falls to take us safely through the vendors, who were very agressive, back to the bus. The beach club was nice. We sat under a big almond tree and drank cold beer (all free) and ate tons of food (also free). The same hostess who went with us to the Falls was our hostess on the beach. Her name was Tamara and she was amazing - very kind, professional, and always smiling - and she really looked like she loved her job. The entertainment was also a lot of fun, great music, and even an area to take a massage if you wanted, which I did and it was wonderful. We chose Bamboo Beach Club because we felt that booking something through the ship was probably the safest thing to do in Jamaica, plus we also liked that it was close to the port so if anything went wrong we could head back to the ship. Anyway, it was a great deal for the money and a lot of fun!

[shipmade]

Hi, we've also been to Bamboo Beach Club and had a great time. We were actually staying at a hotel on the island and the beach club was recommended to us by the hotel concierge. Anyway, we love Jamaica and have been there several times, and we think it is the most beautiful island in the Caribbean. We never once had any problems with taxi drivers or shop owners or anyone else. I think like in any other place in the world, you have to be careful not to go to some secluded place alone, or walk down any dark alleys, etc., etc. ... you just need to use common sense.

[truecruiser]

i hear dunns rivers falls is very nice. but, i wasn't sure my youngest cld do it either (he is 6, we went to jamaica in december). so, we did the cruise ship daypass at sunset jamaica grande, an all inclusive -- yes, open bar too (and beach and pool and all non-motorized watercraft, including hobie cats and kayaks)

 

the daypass was very cheap for CRUISERS (you have to specify you are a cruiser to get the lower rate), and the place was absolutely beautiful. we loved it. (there are 2 resorts by the same name. make sure you look at ochos rios if you consider this, not mo bay)

 

 

http://www.sunsetjamaicagrande.com/

 

my post above (from another thread)

[nolaAlive]

There are lots of alarmists when it comes to Jamaica. Many of the bad stories about Jamaica are from an individual poster that has posted the same thing on numerous internet boards over and over and over and over again. I like Jamaica and will be stopping in Ocho Rios later this year. Usually I have gone into Montego Bay.

 

I've done Sunset Beach at Montego Bay and it was wonderful. Took a cab there and walked back. No problem, Mon.

 

I will definitely get off the ship and I may well give the Sunset Grande a try this time.

[truecruiser]

... I may well give the Sunset Grande a try this time.

 

i highly recommend it. here's a link to the post which has all the pricing and info as it existed in december '07.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=11056805&postcount=376

 

p.s. i was so worried about this port after all of those posts last year. it turned out to be our favorite port on this itinerary. just goes to show ya..

[Redheadsmama]

We will be going to this port in November. We would like

to do a bit of shopping and then go back to the ship.

What would recommend? I'm not looking for anything in particular.

[CrazyCruisingCat]

We will be going with Marva Shaw who I hear is wonderful and she can customize to anything that you want to do. Basically what I hear about Jamaica is that you should not go without a guide. But when with a guide people feel perfectly safe. I imagine it's a bit like Haiti only better. When I was in Haiti I felt pretty safe but we had armed guards ;). I think that just being with a local or a tour guide deters the "would be trouble makers" from bothering with you. They'll just go for someone more vulnerable. Something to remember though is that people live there, work there, visit there, and life goes on. You can be attacked or pick pocketed in Jamaica, but that can happen in New York too. But if you don't feel safe then no worries. Just don't go.

[mom2sons]

[quote name=ProwlinNGrowlin;14110142If you REALLY want to do something interesting...try this program

http://meetthepeople.visitjamaica.com/home/default.aspx

 

It will set you up with a family in Jamaica and they will show you around their country and how they live' date=' work, eat, play...etc.

 

Not to be harsh, but step outside the box....the rest of the world is NOT like the U.S. (thank goodness....or life would be so boring on vacation!):D[/quote]

 

Love this idea you posted and thanks for the link. It sounds exactly like what my freind & I were looking for (ages 60 & 42). We would prefer to see the falls and then move on to the non-touristy aspects of the island.

 

One question, though, have you used this service personally? I'm wondering if it would work in a cruise situation where you only have about 5.5 to 6 hours on the island. Or is it geared more towards people for visiting for an extended period of time?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated. I totally agree, we all need to get out of the box once in a while.

 

Thanks for any insight you may have on the "meet the people" experience.

 

Shara

[spikester]

I am going in Sep, with my sister, mother and sister in law.

I don't think that we can do Dunn's since my mom said "no way"

I have been trying to find some fun alternatives as well. As of right now it is going to be Margaritaville. Which my mom is ok, but I would rather do some sort of a tour.

 

Thanks for all the info so far.

Unfortunately all of the Carnival excursions seem to do the Falls.

[BraysMom]

Forgot to add something about Dunn River Falls - you do NOT have to go through the marketplace to get back to the parking area. We had heard about how aggressive it was and didn't want to deal with it. So we just bypassed it every time we have been there. We do always tip the guides for leading us up the falls; they have always been friendly and fun.

[Cruisediva30]

As with any country you will have people that tarnish its image. Jamaica is a beautiful country and I go back year after year and stay for a week. When you are in port for a few hours I can see why you would not like the place. My first advice....get the heck out of the port area....you guys are like chum for the sharks (vendors) and they know it. Check out day passes at some of the NICER resorts (Couples comes to mind). There is a Blue Mountain Coffee Estate tours, the blue mountain bicycle riding, horseback riding on the beach, the 9 mile tour...there is plenty to do besides DRF. Go downtown, buy food from a street vendor...whatever fool said be careful of the frozen drinks was completely incorrect. Jamaica has the same if not better, water filtration as the United States. I have a VERY delicate tummy when it comes to switching water...and I prefer to drink Jamaican water right out of the tap than to touch Florida water with a 10 ft. pole. Yes you will have people offer to see you drugs...a polite no thank you goes a long way. If you are looking for a transportation, ONLY get into cabs with the red juta plates. Negotiate your fare before you get INTO the vehicle.

 

If you REALLY want to do something interesting...try this program

http://meetthepeople.visitjamaica.com/home/default.aspx

 

It will set you up with a family in Jamaica and they will show you around their country and how they live, work, eat, play...etc.

 

Not to be harsh, but step outside the box....the rest of the world is NOT like the U.S. (thank goodness....or life would be so boring on vacation!):D

Thanks couldn't have said better myself. I want people to be more detailed about why they thought a place was unsafe. To me it doesn't make sense when a poster says I got an uneasy feeling, what does that mean? If you told me were rob, chased by locals then you would have reason but to say, they were being pushy or didn't look safe, please tell me what safe looks like? I've been to Jamica at least 5 times and never had a bad experience.