Montego Bay Help

My husband, myself and our best friends will be sailing on the Carnival Dream in July. Our first port is Montego Bay and we have absolutely no clue what to do. Out of the 4 of us, 2 of us have been there once and the other 2 have never been to Jamaica. The two who have been there have done Dunns River Falls but that's it.

I know whatever we decide to do, we need to do it through the cruise line or through a reputable tour company rather than just grabbing a cab. Other than that I am clueless.

I'm the primary researcher so I'm reading anything and everything I possibly can.

Tell me what you've done in Mo Bay that you've enjoyed, what you haven't enjoyed, what you would do again, etc.

To give a little background on us. We're between the ages of 29 & 32, love to have fun and have some adventure but at the same time love to relax and chill on the beach. We've already got a beach day planned and a snorkeling adventure planned for the other two ports but we're definitely up for pretty much anything that y'all might suggest.

I know this is a very vague post but at this point I'm just looking for some direction to get me started. We've discussed going to the Blue Hole but that's about it.

We did the zipline extreme offered by Carnival. We LOVED it. Our bus driver was a blast, the crew at the zipline were hysterical but very safe, and then after our zipline the bus driver offered to take us to Margaritaville instead of back to ship, for 90 minutes ($5 per person). We all jumped at that option, had a great time and got to go to a few shops in area, then back to ship in plenty of time. (traffic was horrible, so it took twice as long as you would think)

We got a lunch of jamaican jerk chicken at the zipline place, think it was about $8. Also, if you go, take some cash for the lockers, tips, and in case you want to buy something at the little shop.

my video:

That looks like a blast! Thank you for sharing!

We ported in Montego on our cruise in November. I had arranged a private tour with Chris from Chris Jamaica tours. He took us to Ocho Rios to The Blue Hole. It was a blast! My boys had the time of their lives! It is a falls area where you cliff jump, rope swing, and I hear there is a cave of sorts. The only minus to the whole day was that Ocho is a 2 hr drive from Montego. Chris made it go by very quickly by telling us about the area and sharing history along the way. The Blue Hole is an amazing place! The tour guides there do a great job! They will even take all of your pictures for you along the way! Look at all of the awesome reviews on Trip Advisor for Blue Hole and Chris.

After Blue Hole, Chris took us to Scotchie's for lunch. The jerk chicken and pork was sooo good!

I can send you some Picts of Blue Hole if you want to see them... I just don't know how to post them here :)

We did the Catamaran Sail & Snorkel through Carnival. LOVED IT. best snorkeling excursion we've ever had, they use a great location.

We booked Sunset Beach Resort (All inclusive day pass) through Resort for a Day when we were in Montego Bay a few years ago. We loved everything about the resort.. the buffet lunch was great and so were the drinks. We spend the morning on the beach then sat by the pool in the afternoon until it was time to get picked up to return to the ship.

Jamaica is not one of our favorite places to visit ;) so we were delighted to spend a relaxing day at this resort and not be bothered by any vendors selling trinkets , etc. :)

We go in a couple of weeks, and have booked a driver through Courtney Taylor, to do the Bob Marley Tour followed by lunch.

Another option if you like adventure would be rafting or kayaking.

I also did the same Zip line a couple of years back and had a fantastic time. I leave in a week and booked this same excursion again, you will love it.

Hancogran - I'm thinking of booking Sunset Beach through Resort For a Day. Quick question, did they arrange to pick you up or did you have to grab a cab? TIA!

We booked Sunset Beach Resort (All inclusive day pass) through Resort for a Day when we were in Montego Bay a few years ago. We loved everything about the resort.. the buffet lunch was great and so were the drinks. We spend the morning on the beach then sat by the pool in the afternoon until it was time to get picked up to return to the ship.

 

Jamaica is not one of our favorite places to visit ;) so we were delighted to spend a relaxing day at this resort and not be bothered by any vendors selling trinkets , etc. :)

Hancogran - I'm thinking of booking Sunset Beach through Resort For a Day. Quick question, did they arrange to pick you up or did you have to grab a cab? TIA!

 

When I booked through Resort for a Day, I paid the extra for transportation to and from Sunset Beach.. I would NOT do that again! We waited at the port for about half an hour for a scheduled pickup . Our driver was supposed to return to the resort for us and another couple at 2:30 and we waited till three but nobody showed up. We ended up getting a taxi and it was only about $2.00 or $3.00 each (4 of us sharing) This resort is very close to the port so it only takes minutes in the cab. If we ever go back, I'd just go with the taxi and forget about booking transportation through Resort for a Day. :mad:

We did the Extreme Ziplining excursion through Carnival last November and would definitely recommend it. Here's my review: Extreme Ziplining.