montego bay and baby/toddler

[cruzinlisa]

I tried this on Jamaica boards with minimal responses. Tor those that have been or going to Montego bay with a little one- what did you do, how did you get there, did you feel safe. Any tips. Would like to do beach; margaritaville and shopping but people have me afraid to hop into a cab. The ship excursions that interest me seem to have long car rides through mountains and seems like carseats are not always an option do I am Leary. I cruise in 11 days

[kitty9]

I think you'll find that many passengers elect to stay on the ship rather than getting off in Jamaica. It's not a safe place, imho, and you have to be very careful. The main problem will be finding a taxi to take you everywhere, where you'll feel safe. I know the cabs that you get in port area are OK, but when you have to find a taxi to go back to the ship, you might have problems. Personally, I'd stick to ship tours in Jamaica just for the safety issue.

[crusinmama06]

Oh geesh, the one place I have ever cruised and have not felt safe. And that's saying a lot since I have cruised ALONE with my girls and had no problems walking right through Nassau with them.

So, I agree with the previous advice. Stick with a ship tour. I know that many people say that a simple "no thank you" to the drug dealers is all you need but it is totally unnerving when you are traveling with kids and they become more aggressive (which they DO)

This is one of the few places that I always recommend a ship tour.

[mcfam5]

I will begin my response by saying ~ our family's view may differ from many other. But, many people think we are also nuts that we drive to downtown Detroit with our kids looking for homeless people to give supply backpacks to, as well. LOL

We were in Montego Bay at Thanksgiving and really enjoyed it. We took a taxi to Doctor's Cave Beach (beautiful) where we hung out for three or four hours. We then walked on foot to Margaritaville (probably about a 1/4 mile walk or less) for lunch and to use the water slide. From their we took a taxi back to the port, did a bit of shopping and got back on the ship. No problems to speak of really. We did have people offering us "the fun stuff" but we just declined and kept going. To us, they were no more aggressive than the ladies in the Bahamas trying to get you to allow them to braid your hair (maybe even less aggressive LOL)! "Mama, braid your hair? Braid your hair, mama? MAMA?!?"

Just our opinion and experience. If you are nervous, I would stick with a ship tour. That way, you can still experience the port!

[ginger123snaps]

We were in Montego Bay this past week and we went to Aquasol aka Walter Fletcher Beach. By the way we have 4 year old twins and a 2 1/2 year old. There was a guy (totally gave me the creeps) who was swimming under water and popping up next to me and my kids and other kids. I had to tell all the kids to stay away from him. He asked me if it was my first time in Jamaica and then asked me if I came off the boat. The area was somewhat crowded so I replied very loudly to him. Then I kept an eye on him the whole time...I had chills down my spine the whole time. My husband was watching him also (he was sitting on the beach as he wasn't feeling good).

Here's my take...depending on the age of your little one...I would just stay on the boat. With mine...we spent so much money taking them to/from the beach and they were done in 1 hour.....actually less but we made them stay. In Cozumel we stayed on the boat and enjoyed the pool all to ourselves and had the most fun that day. Having said that DH and I have been to these ports before we had kids so we have seen the highlights....and weren't that interested in taking our kids as they wouldn't remember.