Jamaica - Safety

I will be travelling with my daughter on a "girls only" trip to celebrate her HS graduation. We typically travel as a family and I never think about safety as I rely on my husband to think about that for all of us. :)

I am mildly concerned about travelling to Jamaica and doing excursions alone with my 18 year old daughter. Silly?

I will be travelling with my daughter on a "girls only" trip to celebrate her HS graduation. We typically travel as a family and I never think about safety as I rely on my husband to think about that for all of us. :)

 

I am mildly concerned about travelling to Jamaica and doing excursions alone with my 18 year old daughter. Silly?

While there are parts of Jamaica off the main areas that I would keep my guard up with if not in a group, if you are travelling with an organized excursion - in particular if it is ship sponsored - you will be fine. Most of the people we've met there are vey nice and places we've been to have been fine.

Just my personal viewpoint from experience of having visited Ocho Rio and Montego Bay but I would not go ashore alone a mother and teen daughter. If we were not with an organized ship excursion or group of people, I would be uneasy walking from the ship on our own. I would not book an independent excursion in this circumstance.

In Montego Bay we took a tour - felt safe, and it was interesting. I would not walk away from the terminal on my own.

People bring "Blue Mountain" coffee from Jamaica, if you want to bring a "suvenir" for somebody.

If I were you I would definitely stay with a ship sponsored excursion and would not under any circumstances go off on your own. I don't bother getting off the ship anymore in Jamaica.

If I were you I would definitely stay with a ship sponsored excursion and would not under any circumstances go off on your own. I don't bother getting off the ship anymore in Jamaica.

...Agree 1000%......

I am mildly concerned about travelling to Jamaica and doing excursions alone with my 18 year old daughter. Silly?

Looks like you are on Oasis and stopping at Falmouth, Jamaica. The port area is nice; they have many merchants there selling the usual tourist-y stuff, but a few local items caught our eye (Jamaican hot sauce, and the meat patties! We ate 4!). The entire compound is gated. Once you venture past the gates, you will be descended upon by swarms of vendors. If we ever took a cruise that ported in Falmouth again, I'm not sure we would get off the ship; we certainly would not go outside the gates.

As stated, you are better off doing a ship's excursion if you feel you want to. Personally, I would not do so there. Cozumel and Labadee are wonderful beach day opportunities. You might consider Falmouth a shopping stop.

Hope that helps. :)

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Looks like you are on Oasis and stopping at Falmouth, Jamaica. The port area is nice; they have many merchants there selling the usual tourist-y stuff, but a few local items caught our eye (Jamaican hot sauce, and the meat patties! We ate 4!). The entire compound is gated. Once you venture past the gates, you will be descended upon by swarms of vendors. .

Also, within the gated terminal area in Falmouth there is a Margaritaville which is a fun place to go. :D

You will be absolutely safe staying inside of the gates!

LuLu

I'm confused about why folks would not venture outside the "gates", wherever it is in Jamaica you are afraid to go. Are you afraid of the swarms of vendors? If not, what is there to be afraid of? I have never been to Jamaica.

The one time we were in Jamaica (Ochos Rios), we had an afternoon excursion booked through the ship to Dunns Rivers Falls. In the morning, we got off the ship and followed the strong recommendation (from the ship's newsletter) to use taxis that had a special license plate. After talking to the driver, my then boyfriend (now hubby) negotiated a tour with him. He did take us into the hills, showed us where the locals live (definitely not luxury), told us about the local flora, and then offered to pick us back up after our shopping trip in town (which he did) and then return us to the pier. But he also offered us some ganga, which we did turn down.

Would we do this again, if returning to Jamaica? Probably not. I did want to go see Goldeneye (where Ian Fleming wrote many of the James Bond novels), which was about eleven miles away, but that was not to be.

I would definitely suggest doing a ship's excursion just for safety's sake.

I would be more afraid walking around NYC.

If you go to Falmouth, inside the gated compound, go to a shop called the Dragonfly. Its small but their quality of clothing, purses, and etc is much better. And, they do not sell the usual touristy type tee-shirts, wooden bowls, caps, etc.

We were there in December and forgot to bring shorts, just capris and long pants. We went into the Dragonfly and each found a nice pair of non-wrinkle linen shorts. The label inside the shorts said "made in the U.S.A"

I would recommend this shop to all my friends and family.

I would be more afraid walking around NYC.

.....are you kidding me? .........:confused:

I'm confused about why folks would not venture outside the "gates", wherever it is in Jamaica you are afraid to go. Are you afraid of the swarms of vendors? If not, what is there to be afraid of? I have never been to Jamaica.

More than one female tourist has vanished without a trace in Jamaica. Sure, the odds are that nothing that extreme will happen to a mother and daughter wandering about alone, but at the very least they will be seriously harassed by vendors, wannabe guides, drug dealers, etc. if the do go outside gated area by themselves.

There is a fair amount to see/do in Jamaica, but that is one island where it is a good idea to do it with an organized tour.

If you stay within the port you should be fine. If you want to see Jamaica, you should go with an organized tour. There are great suggestions on the Jamaica boards regarding tours. Enjoy your cruise!

More than one female tourist has vanished without a trace in Jamaica. Sure, the odds are that nothing that extreme will happen to a mother and daughter wandering about alone, but at the very least they will be seriously harassed by vendors, wannabe guides, drug dealers, etc. if the do go outside gated area by themselves.

 

There is a fair amount to see/do in Jamaica, but that is one island where it is a good idea to do it with an organized tour.

Can you provide a link or reference to these incidents? I would like to read about them. Jamaica has been on my list of places to visit, but I obviously need to read up on the place...

Can you provide a link or reference to these incidents? I would like to read about them. Jamaica has been on my list of places to visit, but I obviously need to read up on the place...

I do not know of a specific "link", but you can check something like "missing in Jamaica". --- incidents I recall include Claudia Kirschhoch (sp?), Melanie Clark or Barbara Jones - of course not all are missing - some were just found dead.

Sure - most tourists only get badgered by people wanting to sell tours or trinkets - and very few really suffer - but contrary to what some think, you are probably safer in New York.

Trip Advisor has the best unbiased info I've seen about visiting Jamaica. My parents lived there until they retired and I think this description is about the best. Try this link:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g147309-s206/Jamaica:Caribbean:Health.And.Safety.html

Love the line about don't "check your common sense when you check your baggage".

Go and enjoy Jamaica. Just be aware!!!

Thanks to everyone for posting on this. I was doing a search and this really helps.

I would be more afraid walking around NYC.

Now THAT I have done and it was awesome!! Felt very safe there, perhaps due to the sheer volume of people around me. :p

As in every city in the entire world - use caution, be aware, walk with your head up and as my husband says, "walk with purpose".

To SeagoingMom, the vendors are just aggressive and annoying. Yes they are trying to make a living, but in almost every Caribbean port, they are there. Some ports are worse than others. We tend to want to take an organized tour, or spend the day at an all-inclusive beach resort. At least the vendors are either not permitted on the beach, or they are behind a rope or boundary of some sort. :)

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I would be more afraid walking around NYC.

You are totally incorrect!

Now THAT I have done and it was awesome!! Felt very safe there, perhaps due to the sheer volume of people around me. :p

 

As in every city in the entire world - use caution, be aware, walk with your head up and as my husband says, "walk with purpose".

 

To SeagoingMom, the vendors are just aggressive and annoying. Yes they are trying to make a living, but in almost every Caribbean port, they are there. Some ports are worse than others. We tend to want to take an organized tour, or spend the day at an all-inclusive beach resort. At least the vendors are either not permitted on the beach, or they are behind a rope or boundary of some sort. :)

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Thanks. I am actually not afraid to travel anywhere (well, realistically, not most places! :rolleyes:.) I simply wanted to know if there was something legitimate to be aware of in Jamaica. "Aggressive" vendors do not bother me -- well, they do not instill fear, anyway! There's a difference between feeling uncomfortable (or bothered) and being afraid -- just trying to figure out which one applied! I understand that many travelers are afraid of anything that is unlike what they are used to at home. (I am not among them.) I have never felt threatened in any Caribbean port, but I wanted to verify that that would hold in Jamaica, too!

In Ocho Rios, DH and I were walking from the dock to the shopping area and were followed very closely by a man waving a machete. You can bet that was worrisome and we decided we really didn't want to 'browse' the streets of Jamaica all that badly. We headed back to the ship.

In Montego Bay, we were two couples walking within a half mile of the port. A self-appointed guide attached himself to us and would not leave us alone. He demanded 'payment for his services'. DH and the gentleman with us decided it was probably a good idea to simply give him some $$ and not risk trouble. They gave him $20 and he indicated that was not sufficient. His eyes made it very clear, he meant it. He got another $10 and thankfully, we safely walked away and returned to the ship. He was very threatening.

We never again left the ship in any Jamaican port.

We have done a huge amount of travel and rarely have been as nervous as those two incidents made us. Maybe we just were unlucky on those two visits?

Thanks. I am actually not afraid to travel anywhere (well, realistically, not most places! :rolleyes:.) I simply wanted to know if there was something legitimate to be aware of in Jamaica. "Aggressive" vendors do not bother me -- well, they do not instill fear, anyway! There's a difference between feeling uncomfortable (or bothered) and being afraid -- just trying to figure out which one applied! I understand that many travelers are afraid of anything that is unlike what they are used to at home. (I am not among them.) I have never felt threatened in any Caribbean port, but I wanted to verify that that would hold in Jamaica, too!

I've walked around cities like Paris and Rome at night by myself. I've walked through the bazaars in Cairo, Istanbul, even in Syria. Never have I felt more unsafe than walking near the port in Jamaica (Ocho Rios). I know the difference between a persistent vendor and being approached by someone aggressive verging on dangerous. This port is the only place I've encountered the latter multiple times on a single short walk.

Falmouth (at least the port area) is entirely different.

sail7seas and cruisemom42: Thank you for these reports. I now have a better feel for what has occurred and may occur in (well, outside) some Jamaican port areas.

Does anyone have any theories on why locals might be so threatening? In other words, seeing a man walking on the street with a machete in Jamaica (even in the city, frankly) would not seem, on the surface, too strange -- it is a tropical country, after all, and it might be no different than a man walking down the street in an American city with a hammer or an electric drill in his hand -- he's on his way to the hardware store or to work.

But if folks in Jamaica are likely to be high on drugs, for example, or if the Jamaican enforcement and justice systems are absent or so flawed that a local has nothing to restrain him and/or nothing to lose from violence against strangers, those are different matters altogether. (As would be the American man with a hammer, if there was anarchy.)

As I said in a previous post, I guess I had better do some reading up! It is not that I am necessarily tempted to go out and about in these port areas, but I certainly want to know whether Jamaica is even a place I would want to visit on a cruise, if I felt forced into staying on board, taking a ship excursion or shopping inside the gates at the port (which isn't for me...)