The "Major" Tour Operators out of Ocho Rios/MoBay

[J & G]

Thank you for the list. It has helped tremendously on just trying to figure out what to do in Jamaica and it gave me some "direction."

 

I am finding that in trying to book a tour with some of the names listed that some respond a lot quicker than others. I don't know how busy these companies or individuals are but some are quick to respond while others haven't responded at all. Just to share with everybody...Marva Shaw was pretty quick and answered my questions and gave great suggestions--we went back and forth for some time. Barrett Adventures was also quick and Carolyn from Barrett Adventures answered all of my questions in great detail. Peat Taylor and Trevor Hudlin also responded but it took them a few days. I still appreciate them responding though. Some of the other names on the list haven't responded and part of me is thinking that because I am cruising out of Montego Bay and not Ocho Rios may be the issue.

 

I'm sure that the ones who get positive reviews are all good, but I can say firsthand that Trevor is FANTASTIC! We picked a Jamaica itinerary for Feb. just to tour with him again! BIL and SIL want to give their kids the best cruise ever and they LOVE Trevor! We all do..........

 

So many of my coworkers have toured with him (we can all cruise from Galveston....) that we have started taking him company logo stuff...:D Every one of them has come back raving about what a great time they had with him...even in areas that were not as "comfortable". Everyone in Jamaica seems to know and respect Trevor and he is VERY protective of his passengers.

 

I highly recommend him! (I guess you can tell I am a "Trevor cheerleader"! HEEHEEHEE!!!!)

[BirdmanBilly]

I'm sure that the ones who get positive reviews are all good, but I can say firsthand that Trevor is FANTASTIC! We picked a Jamaica itinerary for Feb. just to tour with him again! BIL and SIL want to give their kids the best cruise ever and they LOVE Trevor! We all do..........

 

So many of my coworkers have toured with him (we can all cruise from Galveston....) that we have started taking him company logo stuff...:D Every one of them has come back raving about what a great time they had with him...even in areas that were not as "comfortable". Everyone in Jamaica seems to know and respect Trevor and he is VERY protective of his passengers.

 

I highly recommend him! (I guess you can tell I am a "Trevor cheerleader"! HEEHEEHEE!!!!)

 

I wish I saw your post sooner.

 

Trevor made me an offer but I was torn in deciding between him and another company. Trevor was more expensive but you mentioned something that you could never put a price on and that is safety--he is very protective of his passengers as you said. If I read your post sooner I would have committed to Trevor Hudlin no doubt. Oh well...Thanks for posting that though....:confused:

[rtfnl]

I'm booked with Marva Shaw on 12/18/08. She was very quick to respond to all of my e-mails, I had read about her last year when I had a cruise booked on the Carnival Victory; however I didn't schedule a tour with anyone. About three weeks ago I contacted her regarding a tour and the places that my group would like to see and not see. I will post a review when I return from my cruise.

[TexEm]

Our family has used Trevor Hudlin's services twice in the past, once out of MoBay and once out of Ocho Rios. We had 11 the first time and 20 plus the second. Each time our family members said it was the best tour they had ever taken! They love Jamaica because of Trevor. He's going to give my sister and me a tour for just the two of us in April out of MoBay as a special celebration of her 10th anniversary of breast cancer survivorship. So he can do small or large groups.

 

We've definitely found him to be reliable, fair-priced, safe and just a pleasure to do business with. I have two email addresses for him: trevorhudlin@hotmail.com or cooltrev@yahoo.com. (Please remember when contacting people/businesses on the islands that sometimes people can't get back to you immediately for many reasons (having lived in the islands myself, I have a lot of personal experience with that fact). Sometimes it's the power supply going down. Sometimes there is bad weather. Be patient.)

 

I'd be glad to answer any questions about the tours we took, the first was to Mayfield Falls, the second was river tubing out of Ocho Rios.

[mongo85]

Thank you for the list. It has helped tremendously on just trying to figure out what to do in Jamaica and it gave me some "direction."

 

I am finding that in trying to book a tour with some of the names listed that some respond a lot quicker than others. I don't know how busy these companies or individuals are but some are quick to respond while others haven't responded at all. Just to share with everybody...Marva Shaw was pretty quick and answered my questions and gave great suggestions--we went back and forth for some time. Barrett Adventures was also quick and Carolyn from Barrett Adventures answered all of my questions in great detail. Peat Taylor and Trevor Hudlin also responded but it took them a few days. I still appreciate them responding though. Some of the other names on the list haven't responded and part of me is thinking that because I am cruising out of Montego Bay and not Ocho Rios may be the issue.

 

We used carolyn with barrett adventures in march this year and were very happy with her . I had a great time meeting the locals having lunch in the mountains and just getting away from the tourist traps

[2CoolCanucks]

We just got back from our cruise and had a great time with Phil Lafayette and his daughter Tammy. We took the tour to the Dunn's River Falls and then went River Tubing.

Phil is a very knowledgeable person and has a huge vocabulary. He also has a passion for plants and we had some first hand experiences to view and sample the scents of some of the local flora.

The weather was a bit cloudy and so the river tubing was a bit cold but there's nothing any of us could do about that. It was no problem mon. :)The scenery was beautiful.

Dunn's Falls was a great experience. We loved it. Would do Dunn's Falls again but probably would not do the tubing again... our own personal preference for prioritizing what we would do should we have Jamaica on our (limited time on a cruise) itinerary again.

I am grateful for having a better understanding and appreciation for this beautiful island.

There was an other couple who took the tour with us and they did not do the water activities. They chose other options that worked simultaneously with ours. That is a great feature with this tour.

[Christapie]

We just got back from our cruise and had a great time with Phil Lafayette and his daughter Tammy. We took the tour to the Dunn's River Falls and then went River Tubing.

Phil is a very knowledgeable person and has a huge vocabulary. He also has a passion for plants and we had some first hand experiences to view and sample the scents of some of the local flora.

The weather was a bit cloudy and so the river tubing was a bit cold but there's nothing any of us could do about that. It was no problem mon. :)The scenery was beautiful.

Dunn's Falls was a great experience. We loved it. Would do Dunn's Falls again but probably would not do the tubing again... our own personal preference for prioritizing what we would do should we have Jamaica on our (limited time on a cruise) itinerary again.

I am grateful for having a better understanding and appreciation for this beautiful island.

There was an other couple who took the tour with us and they did not do the water activities. They chose other options that worked simultaneously with ours. That is a great feature with this tour.

 

 

Please tell me why you would not do tubing again? We are doing tubing when we go and it will be our first time. Thank you

 

Christapie

[2CoolCanucks]

Like I said, it would be for our OWN personal prioritizing but here are those reasons why we would not do that river tubing adventure again. Please remember, this is an independant part of the tour and Phil Lafayette is not involved in it except that he drives you there. I do not fault Phil for our disappointment in the river tubing.

 

1. We did the cave tubing last year in Belize with Major Tom and it was fabulous all the way round. It was a longer ride, saw more variety in the scenery, and the weather was hot and sunny. This one was less exciting than the first one... still nice but a little disappointing when the first experience was outstanding. As well, when you go tubing for the first time, you have nothing to compare it to. If this will be your first time, it should be fine. It cost us $20 USD per person for the 20 minute ride (we did not stop at the halfway point because it was cold and raining)

 

2. We also were the only ones tubing with a guide on this tour which you know what they say, "two is company, three is a crowd." The guide kept the 3 of us "strung" together for the whole ride where we would have liked to free flow. He said it was for our safety which I can respect but we are not fearful, we are physically fit and we love a challenge.

 

3. It was raining and cold.

 

4. We live in Canada and have excellent white water tubing here locally. (Elora Gorge) We can do that anytime in the summer here for a lot less $.

 

5. So to sum it up, it was a "been there, done that, got a better t-shirt last time" type of experience for us which is why we would not do it again.

[J & G]

Please tell me why you would not do tubing again? We are doing tubing when we go and it will be our first time. Thank you

 

Christapie

 

We tubed the White River and LOVED it!!!!!! And we do have other tubing trips to compare it to.....

 

We are going back in Feb and looking forward to that excursion again.....we always use Trevor Hudlin as a guide, but I'm sure several of the guides provide this trip.

[Debik]

Hello

 

We went on a cruise in October 2004 and we booked with Peat Taylor, he was excellent.

 

We just returned from another cruise Dec 7 - 14 and this time we booked a tour with Marva Shaw, comparing the two tours Marva Shaw is the best.

 

Her son took a group of us (8) on a tour, I had pre-booked it months before our cruise, our main focus was to visit nine mile, He went out of their way to show us Jamaica and even stopped at various points to show us the culture. Jamaica was the highlight of our trip because of this tour. I highly recommend Marva Shaw for any tour in Jamaica.

 

We felt really safe and anywhere we asked him to stop he did.

[QTMichele]

Just saw this thread and wanted to add my positive comments about Marva. We used her in February 2007 - LOVED her and the tour! Marva is very warm, accomodating, informative and professional - I wouldn't hesitate to use her again. In fact, my parents and siblings are cruising next week and will use Marva's services because of my positive (and EXCITED) comments about our experiences. (You can read more, if you'd like, by reading my review - link in my signature.)

 

As for some questionable posts - I agree - there are several. As much as I do not like them, I can understand the urge of those that are posting them to generate business. As PPs have suggested, the touring industry is highly competetive. The guides must have business to survive. It's hard to fault them when what they are doing is for their own survival. :(

 

My advice, continue reading reviews and always (or most of the time) check other posts by these users. Posts shouldn't include information about one subject (i.e. specific tour guide), rather, they should include a variety of information (examples: ship information, destinations, questions, general comments). This helped me tremendously in making our plans for our last cruise - and is how we found Marva.

 

Good luck to everyone!!!

[Valp41]

Hello

 

We went on a cruise in October 2004 and we booked with Peat Taylor, he was excellent.

 

We just returned from another cruise Dec 7 - 14 and this time we booked a tour with Marva Shaw, comparing the two tours Marva Shaw is the best.

 

Her son took a group of us (8) on a tour, I had pre-booked it months before our cruise, our main focus was to visit nine mile, He went out of their way to show us Jamaica and even stopped at various points to show us the culture. Jamaica was the highlight of our trip because of this tour. I highly recommend Marva Shaw for any tour in Jamaica.

 

We felt really safe and anywhere we asked him to stop he did.

I had been in touch with Marva for a while before touring with her and have to say she is wonderful. Although she was not our driver, Lion King was she made sure she was at the pier to meet us and there to see us back onto the ship. She wanted to hear all about our tour. My husband, myself my sister from England and two friends from Ontario were on this tour and we all admitted it was the best tour of the cruise. We learned so much about Jamaica,visited with local people and got a real insight to Ocho Rios. Our thanks to Marva Shaw and we would recommend her to everyone going to Jamaica. She is a gem!!! Love you Marva and your crew.!!!Thank you.:):):D

Val. Phillips,

Ontario

Canada.

[stevesul]

Just wanted to post from my experience with Trevor Hudlin. We used him in Feb 2008 and he was FANTASTIC. My wife has reservations about Jamaica but it ended up being the best part of our trip. Our 15 year old daughter was with us as well and she loved it.

 

Trevor is awesome...a great guy who makes your day in Jamaica one to remember. We did the MoBay tour to Mayfield Falls and the city. Awesome jerk chicken at the pork pit (which we are now hooked on Jerk chicken).

 

The bus was spotless and the service was awesome....go on YouTube to see him singing some authentic Jamaican songs (not my video BTW).

 

I can't speak for the others but I am sure they are good as well and you'll have a great time. I'm just going by my experence.

[Loki_77573]

Not that he was mentioned and not that I have watched the board this last year, but I had a group tour set up with Chef Thompson (sp?) the second week of July of 2007. I heard of him on this board and he sounded great and even had a little part of his website set up for donations of school supplies to the local school. I am a sucker for good causes. After the necessary emails to concrete the plans once our ship released us he was a no show. The Conquest docked at the same time our ship, the Rhapsody however we were moored at a shipping dock and had to take a shuttle to the cruise ship dock. Granted both ships were easily seen together so there was no question that there were two ships in at one time. We were told he solicited up a group from the Conquest curbside before we could have possibly gotten there. His wife said he was told we took up with another tour operator. After the long delay of trying to find him we did eventually take a tour with who ever was next in line. His name was Steve and he was a real nice guy the only problem on the drive back to the dock the van experienced mechanical problems and would die at stops and would not operate out of first gear. It was a bit nerve threading however Steve did what he had to and got us back to the ship on time. We wound up giving Steve the gifts we had brought for the local school children to do with as he saw fit. So, say NO to Chef Thompson if he is still in business. All I can say is I am now more leery of booking tours outside the cruise line.

[cheeky cruiser]

Has anyone toured withMcBeam at Maxie Tours? We've booked a tubing and DRFs through Shore trips and that's the company and name listed.