Nervous about crime in Antigua - should I be?

[torontogal70]

Hi all,

 

Let me start by saying that my husband and I are world travellers and this would be our 5th cruise. This would be our 1st visit to Antigua and considering we are travelling with 2 small children and 2 seniors - I am nervous about the crime rates.

I would like to know from others who have been there whether you ever felt nervous in Antigua and whether you ever felt your safety threatened?

I heard about the several recent murders including the couple who were robbed from their taxi (they were passengers of the Victory0.

Would love to know your thoughts....

[Aplmac]

We Caribbean people are nervous about the TO crime rate!

Is it true what we hear? Vietnamese gangs? Jamaican Mafia? :eek:

 

 

Trust me...Antigua's generally quite safe for cruisers going ashore for 6 hrs.

particularly since this is during daylight hours.

 

So is Barbados and St.Lucia.

Have your street-smarts turned on, as you would anywhere in the world these days

--it's 2009 now...no longer 1979-- and you'll be okay.

[DougYWG]

There are bits of Toronto you would not go to. If you walk down Main Street in Winnipeg at midnight with a six-pack in your hand, you are asking for trouble. I have been in Antigua off and on over the last twelve months and have never felt unsafe. So I have been on island for a lot longer than you will be and therefore far more exposed without any hint of trouble of any kind. Quite the opposite, the locals are friendly. If there is any trouble, which is rare, it tends to be after dark and you will be gone anyway. So don't worry, go ahead and enjoy. Tourism is 80% of the economy and the island simply can't afford to scare you off.

[DougYWG]

Look at it the other way Torontogal - if an Antiguan was reading The Globe and Mail regularly he might be afraid of going to Vancouver these days.

[torontogal70]

Thanks for your replies. I guess I was a little nervous because I am travelling with 2 young kids and a senior who walks with a cane..can someone say "TARGET!" LOl

 

Thanks again...

[dcrow72]

we were in Antigua 2 years in a row on Princess. I'm an early bird and like to get off the ship and walk around port a bit before the hubby is up and moving. I can't explain it, but it was the only port we stopped at that I quickly returned to the ship. When the rest of my family was up and moving we headed off the ship to find a nice beach that we could take my aunt in a wheelchair to (bathrooms, food, shade etc). Well 2 cab drivers got into an arguement over which beach was better and the language they were screaming at each other made me very nervous. We went to Runaway beach for the day and headed straight back to the ship after that. This year I booked a catamaran excursion through the ship rather than worry about roaming on my own with 3 kids in tow. Don't get me wrong, it's a stunningly beautiful place, but first impressions are lasting impressions and unfortunately for me, they weren't good. By the way we did the 5 star catamaran tour on the Walidali cat and it was beyond excellent. almost 7 hours, great swimming, snorkeling, lunch, dancing, etc. We're going back in Oct 09 and will probably book the same sailing. Kids had an absolute blast.

[sunsurf]

Well 2 cab drivers got into an arguement over which beach was better and the language they were screaming at each other made me very nervous. .

 

lol..we experienced the same thing. Ours was between a woman & man cabbie. I think they all want the cruiseships pax business and that's where the arguements start. Many of them are pushy--but its how they make a living. You talk to one cabbie and they think you're their pax.

 

To the op..as soon as you get off the ship, there will be a ton of them around trying to get your business. Go with the person you feel most comfortable with.

 

Most of all enjoy and be safe!!

[woodofpine]

Hi all,

 

Let me start by saying that my husband and I are world travellers and this would be our 5th cruise. This would be our 1st visit to Antigua and considering we are travelling with 2 small children and 2 seniors - I am nervous about the crime rates.

I would like to know from others who have been there whether you ever felt nervous in Antigua and whether you ever felt your safety threatened?

I heard about the several recent murders including the couple who were robbed from their taxi (they were passengers of the Victory0.

Would love to know your thoughts....

 

I would not let the recent highly publicized (deservedly so) crimes the island suffered prevent one from visiting. The reason they were highly publicized (brutality aside) was that they are highly out of character to the island overall. That said, inter-island immigration and a population jump on Antigua over the past decade combined with harder economic times means that one needs to exersize what I would call 'typical urban caution' in an otherwise idyllic place.

 

I was on Antigua in November for several days. Drove around at night, etc. and I drove around with kids and seniors off Crown Princess during the day in November '07. While there most recently, the owner of the small hotel where we stayed on Flamouth Bay (next to English Harbor), the Catamaran Hotel, sponsored a local civic group presentation promoting an internet connected community crime watch program. In sum, the locals are aware of the emerging crime problem - and they don't like it! That's really the character of the island; hopefully, their efforts will be fruitful. Antiguans are friendly people; unfortunately, some bad apples have emerged but it is not a widespread problem. Antiguans are a lot 'friendlier' from a cruiser perspective than Jamaicans (whom don't deserve the bad rap they get) or St. Lucians (ditto). In sum, I don't feel insecure on Antigua and I've never been threatened there. (I did have a guy change my pot hole busted tire there unsolicited! They got world class pot holes!:))

 

If you haven't visited Antigua before - not getting down to Nelson's Dockyard and Shirley Heights overlooking English Harbor would be a shame.

[Karysa]

The last time that we were in Antigua was for a 2 week family vacation in March of 2007. We rented a villa off of the internet and rented a car for the entire two weeks. Other than not going any great distance at night due to the roads not being well marked and a lack of street lights at that time (which has improved since the World Cricket championships in 2007) we went anywhere and pretty much everywhere without any incidents at all.

Antigua is a lovely island and I look forward to vacationing there again in the future.

Karysa

[janniebabe]

There are bits of Toronto you would not go to. If you walk down Main Street in Winnipeg at midnight with a six-pack in your hand, you are asking for trouble. I have been in Antigua off and on over the last twelve months and have never felt unsafe. So I have been on island for a lot longer than you will be and therefore far more exposed without any hint of trouble of any kind. Quite the opposite, the locals are friendly. If there is any trouble, which is rare, it tends to be after dark and you will be gone anyway. So don't worry, go ahead and enjoy. Tourism is 80% of the economy and the island simply can't afford to scare you off.

Doug,

I know this is a little off topic, but I am trying to find out how much the taxi fare would be (approximately :) from the port to the Carlisle Bay Resort - sounds like you have some experience on the island - any idea?

 

Jan

[aloisia]

Hi Torontogal70,

 

Have you seen this web site?

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/menu-eng.asp

 

Antigua is one of the stops for our upcoming cruise. We are looking forward to visiting this island but will exercise common sense and care.

:)

[forecastle]

You may want to check www.Antiquasun.com 2/20/09 iusse

[dcrow72]

here's the link to the article today; the previous one didn't work. This seals my feelings that I wasn't safe even a short distance from the ship. We are returning to Antigua on our next cruise, but I'll be sure to stick with a ship's tour and stay away from the beaches. We went to Sand Haven last year; scary.

 

http://www.antiguasun.com/paper/?as=view&sun=260935028202212009&an=182315046302202009&ac=Local

[Heirloom]

Rosie,

 

Planning our Freedom trip in April, this local newspaper article was clearly what we needed to answer our question of " How Safe" for a cruise stop.

 

Will now only check the ship's excursions, vs. the go-independant-and-save-money routine......THANK YOU !

 

Heirloom

[aloisia]

here's the link to the article today; the previous one didn't work. This seals my feelings that I wasn't safe even a short distance from the ship. We are returning to Antigua on our next cruise, but I'll be sure to stick with a ship's tour and stay away from the beaches. We went to Sand Haven last year; scary.

 

http://www.antiguasun.com/paper/?as=view&sun=260935028202212009&an=182315046302202009&ac=Local

 

:eek:....I had not seen this before. Thanks for posting.

[dcrow72]

if you can afford it, try one of the catarmaran sails. We did 5 star w/Bird Island and friends of ours did Circle Antiqua by sea. We all loved our sails; good food, beautiful beach stops and snorkeling. We'll be trying another one in Antigua next year. Skip the Pirate ship excursion unless you want drinking and partying in which case, that's the excursion for you!

[Aplmac]

here's the link to the article today;

This seals my feelings that I wasn't safe even a short distance from the ship.

We are returning to Antigua on our next cruise, but I'll be sure to stick with a ship's tour

and stay away from the beaches.

We went to Sand Haven last year; scary.

 

http://www.antiguasun.com/paper/?as=view&sun=260935028202212009&an=182315046302202009&ac=Local

 

This is so typical of how we 'run' things in the Caribbean. Not too well,sometimes!

 

When it reaches crisis proportion

then will the door to the horse's stall be shut -after the horse is gone..

after the cruise ships have taken the decision to bypass.

[Aplmac]

Have you seen this web site?

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/menu-eng.asp

 

Antigua is one of the stops for our upcoming cruise.

We are looking forward to visiting this island but will exercise common sense and care.

:)

Here's what the Canadian Gov't. website above...says.

 

 

Canadians should exercise a high degree of caution in Antigua and Barbuda

due to limited medical resources, generally poor road conditions,

unreliable public transportation, and moderate crime rates.

[travellovers2]

Hi all,

 

Let me start by saying that my husband and I are world travellers and this would be our 5th cruise. This would be our 1st visit to Antigua and considering we are travelling with 2 small children and 2 seniors - I am nervous about the crime rates.

I would like to know from others who have been there whether you ever felt nervous in Antigua and whether you ever felt your safety threatened?

I heard about the several recent murders including the couple who were robbed from their taxi (they were passengers of the Victory0.

Would love to know your thoughts....

 

 

We felt very safe in Antigua. We walked to the church, went to the post office, ate at a local restaurant and enjoyed talking to the people. One local lady told us that their main problem are the dominicans that are coming over to their island. Antigua was one of the ports we enjoyed the most.

[DougYWG]

Jan, been travelling, just got home. I paid $43 from the airport to St. James's Club so your trip would be a bit less. I have not arrived in Antigua on a cruise ship so maybe others can explain the taxi thing at the port and just how negotiable rates might be. You need to have some figure in mind that is reasonable for comparison.

[woodofpine]

Here's what the Canadian Gov't. website above...says.

 

 

Canadians should exercise a high degree of caution in Antigua and Barbuda

due to limited medical resources, generally poor road conditions,

unreliable public transportation, and moderate crime rates.

 

Thanks aplmac... I think there is at times an inclination to become overly alarmist. I think the government evaluators in Ottawa have it pegged pretty well... As a two time driver on Antigua, I was far more concerned (rightly) about some of the molar loosening pot holes in the roads and the deep exposed 'box' style rain gutters adjacent the roads [axle eaters] than about crime. Not to say crime isn't a legitimate concern - but I think 'moderate' is an appropriate characterization, particularly for daytime visitors.

[janniebabe]

Jan, been travelling, just got home. I paid $43 from the airport to St. James's Club so your trip would be a bit less. I have not arrived in Antigua on a cruise ship so maybe others can explain the taxi thing at the port and just how negotiable rates might be. You need to have some figure in mind that is reasonable for comparison.

Doug, thanks so much! Now a stupid question- would this be for one or two? Also, what do

you think about the thread this is on about the possible dangers for tourists in Antigua? Yet

another question- are the taxis safe and is there a way to tell who we can trust?

 

Jan

[baseball16]

Why would the cruise ships not change this port if it is so bad?? Maybe they will now??

 

This is really scary when you have your family with you. We are doing the sting ray swim and hope it will be ok.

[rtarter]

Hi, I live in Antigua. Taxis fares are generally non-negotiable. The Ministry of Transport publishes rates. The published rate for St. John's to Carlisle Bay is $26 US for one way, with 4 people. Each additional person is 25% of $26.

[Aplmac]

One local lady told us

that their main problem are the dominicans that are coming over to their island.

Antigua was one of the ports we enjoyed the most.

I'm guessing that by 'Dominicans'....it's meant people from the Dominican Republic

-as opposed to ppl from the nearby rainforest island of DOMINICA

who are considerably more mellow in their approach to life ;)

 

 

Criminals ex-Dom. Republic infiltrating the smaller islands to the South of Hispaniola is a known factor.

Here in Barbados

our Immigration Dept. routinely rounds up the good-looking Dom.Rep prostitutes and sends them home

(and they're by far the lesser of the Dom.Rep. Evils, trust me!)