What's wrong with Jamaica?

In multiple posts folks have said they stay on the ship in Jamaica. Why???

Jamaica is one of the most dangerous places on earth. We did an excursion and the bus stopped at a shopping center. armed guards on the entranceway. the resorts are nice and most of the people are nice but the place is out of control.

But you'll also find posts from people that love Jamaica as well. I think it depends partly on personal taste and partly on what parts of the island you visit. While I have never cruised to Jamaica, I have done many land vacations there (probably a couple dozen) and I've loved every trip. But we've always went to Negril, which in my opinion is less "touristy" than Ocho Rios and Montego Bay where the ports are. Mo Bay is also where the airport is as well. I've never felt unsafe there, but I've also never spent any amount of time in either of the port cities that people are complaining about (other than one trip to Dunn's Falls and flying in and out of Mo Bay). We'll be visiting Ocho Rios while on a cruise for the first time in about 2 weeks :D so I'll have a better opinion then I guess.

Different stories I know about Jamaica:

My aunt and uncle were staying at a timeshare or condo in Jamaica. The armed security guard at the place casually waved a gun in their car and asked them if they had any beer or money.

My mother was a travel agent. She had people on a cruise that included a stop in Jamaica. The ship sponsored tourbus was held up by "machetee wielding natives." Not sure of my spelling for machetee or wielding. I just always remember the exact term used.

My aunt and uncle went to Jamaica on their honeymoon. They came back early after the tires of their car were slashed.

A friend of my aunt and uncle went to Jamaica on their honeymoon. The bride was murdered.

BTW - all the aunt and uncle stories are different aunts and uncles from both sides of the family.

My mother collects shot glasses. DH and I were on a cruise and wanted to get her a glass for her collection. There was a strip mall within sight of the ship. Every taxi driver we encountered called us, "cheap Charlie" when we declined a ride. Three different people offered to sell my husband drugs. I remember my husband saying to me, "I don't want to go to jail in the U.S. I sure as hell don't want to be in jail here."

Jamaica is a gorgeous, green, lush island. It's too bad the natives apparently don't want tourists there ruining it for them.

Some people stay on the ship because they are uncomfortable in Jamaica. I have never sailed into Jamaica, but my BF and stayed there at a resort for a week. We did spend the majority of our time at the resort where we were very sheltered from the "outside" but we also walked around downtown MoBay unescorted. We were constantly asked if we needed a taxi, would like a "gift" LOL, did I want my hairbraided, did we want anything? When we went to Dunn's River Falls the exit is a maze of vendors, very persistant vendors. For some people this is very intimidating. And I can understand how this frightens some. It did not frighten us. For us it was just part of the experience of another culture. Again, this is our take, others will disagree.

I am by no means down playing the fact that some have experienced crime in Jamaica. If I were the victim of a crime some where I would be leery of visiting that place again too.

You should always be careful in any port and use common sense. Book an organized tour, don't carry a lot of cash and pay attention to your gut feelings. If you are uncomfortable, leave.

Jamaica is a beautiful island, it would be a shame to stay on the ship.

In multiple posts folks have said they stay on the ship in Jamaica. Why???

Find a good tour guide that will take care of you and nothing is wrong with Jamaica. We loved it both times we were there. Loved Dunn River Falls, Shaw Park Gardens, and the Ruins for Lunch.

Jamaica is beautiful and I never felt that I was in danger...

But, there have been many incidents and the country is unstable. It's possibly better than it has been in recent years but it is unstable. Not the place to venture off on your own....

Different stories I know about Jamaica:

 

My aunt and uncle were staying at a timeshare or condo in Jamaica. The armed security guard at the place casually waved a gun in their car and asked them if they had any beer or money.

 

My mother was a travel agent. She had people on a cruise that included a stop in Jamaica. The ship sponsored tourbus was held up by "machetee wielding natives." Not sure of my spelling for machetee or wielding. I just always remember the exact term used.

 

My aunt and uncle went to Jamaica on their honeymoon. They came back early after the tires of their car were slashed.

 

A friend of my aunt and uncle went to Jamaica on their honeymoon. The bride was murdered.

 

BTW - all the aunt and uncle stories are different aunts and uncles from both sides of the family.

 

My mother collects shot glasses. DH and I were on a cruise and wanted to get her a glass for her collection. There was a strip mall within sight of the ship. Every taxi driver we encountered called us, "cheap Charlie" when we declined a ride. Three different people offered to sell my husband drugs. I remember my husband saying to me, "I don't want to go to jail in the U.S. I sure as hell don't want to be in jail here."

 

Jamaica is a gorgeous, green, lush island. It's too bad the natives apparently don't want tourists there ruining it for them.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Stupid question from extremely unworldly me: was Jamaica always this way or did this scariness result from the hurricane in, what, 88?, that destroyed so much of the island?

My wife and I don't want to ever go back there again. We have been there a few times on cruises.

The last time was on a world cruise earlier this year. We said we wouldn't get off this time around. But, when we got there we decided to take the shuttle into town. We got off and after five minutes got back on and went back to the ship.

Our first time there many years ago we did a tour of the famous falls. At the end of the tour, the person who led the group actually came onto the bus and went up to anyone who he thought had not given him a tip and confronted them. While I don't like to generalize the folks there are very agressive when it comes to tourists. While I feel bad for them, it make us feel very uncomfortable.

Personally, I don't feel safe there, there are big drug issues there and there are too many other nice places around the world that I would prefer to visit instead.

Keith

We found when you leave the port, people -the natives- were always coming up to us to ask us for something or try to sell us something (usually pot). Walking to a beach we saw a man climb over the coiled barbed wire on top of a chainlink fence. On the beach we met another couple and felt we had to watch each others stuff when we went in the water. Jamaca is the only port we feel this way about and we've been to all.

But, my son, wife and baby spent a week at a family resort and had a ball BUT, they never left the resort! If we get off the ship we just stay at the port. Then we go back and enjoy the uncrowded ship!

Our first trip to Jamaica was in the early 80's and there were riots in Kingston on the southern part of the island during elections. We stayed at a resort near Negril and went to Ocho Rios for the falls, took a couple other tours, and Montego Bay to shop. It was OK, but whenever we stepped off the resort, we were immediately approached for hairbraiding, etc.

We were on a tour and one of the other taxi drivers took my husband aside and offered him a girl and the back seat of his taxi for $20.

But usually, we were left alone as long as we stayed near the tour guides.

Drugs were everywhere, and I remember the police with rifles actually opening and closing my lipstick looking for drugs at the airport. (This was 25 years ago.)

We were on the Caribbean Princess about 4 years ago and decided to take a cab into town just to see how the area changed. It was horrible! The streets were so crowded and filthy. We went up and down two streets and caught a cab back to the ship. Jamaica had changed, but for the worse.

It's beyond me why Princess continues to put this port on their itneraries.

we were there over the summer and took a cab to dunn's river falls. we felt VERY safe with our cabbie, who even kept our towels, etc and came back for us. we didn't pay him until we were safely back at the pier.

the guides at dunn's river must have new instructions as far as demanding tips. we asked for and received a private guide, when i asked around as to an appropriate tip to give him, we were told 'please tip what you can afford' by several folks there.

we ended up giving him $50 which i hope was good enough, he seemed happy with it.

the carnival tour group paid WAY more then we did (total) and ended up with about 50 people per guide.

after being dropped at the pier we decided to walk to the straw market down the road.. that's where it got hairy, with peddlers, braiders, bums, and drug dealers.

it felt very UNSAFE to me there. then we went to the shopping area right at the pier and it was very nice.

knowing what i know now, i'd just stay off the streets. get a cabbie and don't let him go!

but, on the other hand, i'm going to avoid cruises that make stops in jamaica as i feel that i've seen enough there.

Just my opinion of course and I'm sure others have a different one but after one visit to Mo Bay I've had enough of Jamaica to last me a life time. If I'm on a cruise that stops there I will definately stay on the ship. Too many pushy, grabby people, offers of drugs, etc. Even our van into town dumped us (about 18 people) when we all refused his "tour", just stopped in town and said "everybody gets out here" even though "here" was not where we were supposed to be. Then vendors and shopkeepers kept grabbing us and trying to make us visit their particular business.

Walking from that location to Margaritaville some guy starts walking with us and talking, but after a ways he spots some friends of his smoking what appeared and smelled like pot. He decides to finally leave us alone but before he goes he demands a tip for giving us a "tour".

Jamaica, no thanks. :mad:

What's wrong with Jamaica? In a word, nothing is wrong. If you've got your head on straight and don't leave your wits and common sense at home, you will be just fine.

To the poster concerned about armed soldiers at the airport etc. I've seen this in more countries than you can imagine, pretty normal actually. Jamaican authorities take the issue of drugs entering or leaving the country seriously. For those who partake of ganja, you won't in all likelihood have any trouble on the island....just DO NOT have it with you anywhere near a port or airport. This a huge no-no. The ports and airports are where the dumbest tourists possible get caught...just unbelievable stupidity.

What is wrong with Jamaica is millions of people with no hope.

As a child, if you are not smart enough to "pass the state test" after the 4th grade...then you don't get any additional education. Heaven forbid if you have a special needs child (like ours)....you are just left to fend for yourself.

Most are not "allowed" to leave the island, so they feel stuck.

Poverty and little hope makes for a dangerous combination.

The country itself is beautiful. We have been many times, but won't get off the ship again.

(and we have walked from Tel Aviv in Israel to Jaffa and back ~ 5 miles one way~ by ourselves ...so we do not frighten easily)

If you have never been to Jamaica, grab a ship tour and see it at least once. Use common sense and you will be fine. We found Dunns River Falls to commercial and really enjoyed floating down "The Great River" on a bamboo raft for two. The guide uses a long pole to propel the raft and the water is generally not to deep. The guide was very informative.

From the State Dept. website -

SAFETY AND SECURITY: Gang violence and shootings occur regularly in certain areas of Kingston and Montego Bay. These areas include Mountain View, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, and Arnett Gardens in Kingston, and Flankers in Montego Bay. Some neighborhoods are occasionally subject to curfews and police searches. Impromptu demonstrations can occur, during which demonstrators often construct roadblocks or otherwise block the streets. These events usually do not affect tourist areas, but travelers to Kingston should check with local authorities or the U.S. Embassy for current information prior to their trip.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Internet web site at where the current Travel Warnings and Public Announcements, including the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, can be found.

CRIME: Crime, including violent crime, is a serious problem in Jamaica, particularly in Kingston. While the vast majority of crimes occur in impoverished areas, the violence is not confined. The primary criminal concern of a tourist is being a victim of theft. In several cases, armed robberies of Americans have turned violent when the victims resisted handing over valuables. Crime is exacerbated by the fact that police are understaffed and ineffective. Therefore, tourists should take their own precautions and always pay extra attention to their surroundings when traveling, exercise care when walking outside after dark, and should always avoid areas known for high crime rates. As a general rule, valuables should not be left unattended, including in hotel rooms and on the beach. Care should be taken when carrying high value items such as cameras, or when wearing expensive jewelry on the street. Women's handbags should be zipped and held close to the body. Men should carry wallets in their front pants pocket. Large amounts of cash should always be handled discreetly.

The U.S. Embassy advises its staff to avoid inner-city areas of Kingston and other urban centers, such as those listed in the section on Safety and Security, whenever possible. Particular caution is advised after dark in downtown Kingston. The U.S. Embassy also cautions its staff not to use public buses, which are often overcrowded and are a frequent venue for crime.

To enhance security in the principal resort areas, the Government of Jamaica has taken a number of steps, including assignment of special police foot and bicycle patrols. Particular care is still called for, however, when staying at isolated villas and smaller establishments that may have fewer security arrangements. Some street vendors and taxi drivers in tourist areas are known to confront and harass tourists to buy their wares or employ their services. If a firm "No, thank you" does not solve the problem, visitors may wish to seek the assistance of a tourist police officer.

Drug use is prevalent in some tourist areas. American citizens should avoid buying, selling, holding, or taking illegal drugs under any circumstances. There is anecdotal evidence that the use of so-called date rape drugs, such as Ruhypnol, has become more common at clubs and private parties. Marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other illegal narcotics are especially potent in Jamaica, and their use may lead to severe or even disastrous health consequences.

Relatives of U.S. citizens visiting Jamaica and U.S. citizens who are prisoners in Jamaica have received telephone calls from people claiming to be Jamaican police officers, other public officials, or medical professionals. The callers usually state that the visitor or prisoner has had trouble and needs financial help. In almost every case these claims are untrue. The caller insists that money should be sent to either themselves or a third party who will assist the visitor or prisoner, but when money is sent, it fails to reach the U.S. citizens in alleged need. U.S. citizens who receive calls such as these should never send money. They should contact the American Citizen Services Unit of the Embassy's Consular Section at telephone (876) 702-6000 for assistance in confirming the validity of the call.

In many countries around the world, counterfeit and pirated goods are widely available. Transactions involving such products may be illegal under local law. In addition, bringing them back to the United States may result in forfeitures and/or fines. More information on this serious problem is available at http://www.cybercrime.gov/18usc2320.htm.

My one visit to Jamaica was to a Montego Bay resort in '88 or '89, so a number of years ago, but we did tours from the resort to Dunns River Falls, Rose Hall, and to a plantation in the mountains.

The drivers of these tours advised us not to wander off alone, to stay in the group. He said the folks on the island make an average yearly salary of what our trip cost us. Now not everyone makes that, they do have doctors, lawyers, etc. and the resort hotels pay a decent salary, but for the average Jamaican poverty is rampant.

We had small children hand us pieces of paper with their names and addresses, asking for money, clothing, shoes, school supplies to be sent to them. My daughter and I had probably 15-20 advances for marriage during our week there, as if they married an American they could come to the States. And that included the bartender at the resort, a police officer, and numerous others off the street. We had to go to downtown Montego Bay to a bank to exchange money, we had a guide, but we arrived at one street corner where there were at least 200 guys trying to be guides to the tourists, I had one approach me and get very beligerent that I wouldn't hire him. My guide finally saw what was happening and intervened, but the beligerent guy had a hold of my arm, I don't know what would have happened had I been alone.

While the scenery of the island is beautiful, and lots of history there, the poverty makes for a bad travel destination for me. I have also been to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Martin. I have no further wish to visit the Caribbean period.

While I didn't feel unsafe, exactly, the hustling in Jamaica put the Cairo street vendors in the shade.

In short, I found it very unpleasant and would not get off the ship if we dock there again. I understand the resorts are different.

Resorts aren't necessarily safe either. We went to a nice resort in Ocho Rio, and there were all kinds of peddlers on surfboards in the water off the main beach.

Many of them offered my husband "girls" with graphic descriptions. When he replied, "I'm here with my wife!", one enterprising fellow shot back, "Doesn't she ever take a nap?"

One guy on a surfboard did get our 11YO son to buy a conch shell. I have no idea what else he was offered:eek:

When we rented a car to drive around, we were impressed by the juxtaposition between the beautiful scenery and the appalling poverty.

We haven't been back since 2001, be we would.

From my cruise review:

I am not disagreeing with the stories on this thread. and Jamaica may be worse than other ports...

But, any Caribbean ports have men that try to sell you drugs, women that offer hair braiding, and vendors that give you the hard-sell. it is also common on each island for people to treat Americans like you make a lot of money, and you had better fork some of it over or you are cheap.

all thatsaid, i an not intimidated by people who try to sell you drugs. but then again, i grew up in New York state, and spend some time in the city.

From my cruise review:

 

Wednesday 9/19 (Ocho Rios, Jamaica)

 

10:40am

Today is the one port day of this cruise where I seriously considered staying onboard beforehand. There is absolutely nothing in the least that has ever really attracted me to Jamaica before. I honestly could care less about its history, people, and most of all - I detest reggae almost as much as hip hop or its un-holy child: reggeaton. My pre-breakfast stroll to the Lido deck observation deck forward (located right on top of the bridge) pretty much cemented this view.

 

We are not docked on the Main Dock that Princess has on its little shopping map. I have to assume that we are therefore docked at the James Bond Dock - perhaps, just because of the name, a saving grace to this rinky dinky excuse of a port. After using my binoculars from the observation deck I'll change my previous thoughts about Cuba: once Cuba opens up to the American Tourist, they'll drop Jamaica for Havana. Another cool possibility would be a cruise touching the 3 ports in the Caribbean with the three El Morro Spanish colonial fortifications: San Juan, Barranquilla (Colombia), and Cienfuegos (Cuba).

 

The Monstrosity of the Seas is docked at the Main Pier. The ship is huge and Royal Caribbean can now deaden the taste buds of 5,000 passengers at a time instead of just 3,000; a crowning achievement in any corporate environment, I'm sure. Loud music was blaring over there (10:15am). As I observed the behemoth, I now knew that my past July cruise was likely to be my second to last one on Royal. My experience on Princess has been like night and day so far. I made a future cruise booking for RCCL in July. Maybe I'll redo that southern route to take advantage of the OBC (that route with Aruba & Curacao were worth it); at least the OBC will cover 5 nights cover at Portofino's, the only place on board worth eating at Royal. I suppose I really don't want to "get out there" much…

 

Anyway, back to Ocho Rios. Since I promised myself, when booking this cruise, I will go ashore to eat some jerk food as part of my "culinary" themed self-tour. Based on posts on the boards at cruise critic, I'm interested at a place called the Jerk Center.

 

Breakfast was at the Horizon Buffet: Smoked salmon, a bagel, some sautéed (canned) mushrooms, and a cup of tea. Plus a discovery: deep fried boiled egg. With a name like that, I just had to try that. Turned out to be a hard boiled egg, with a very slight crust, and served in a sweetish sesame sauce; my guess is that it's an Asian dish. I also saw fried rice for breakfast… We should be thankful that the foods of the world are so wonderfully diverse!!!

 

2pm

Back from a magnificent lunch. The Ocho Rios Jerk Center is on the road towards Dunn Falls. As expected, I got ripped off on the taxi by having to pay $15 for a 5 minute ride (mind you, at first they offered it at $20). If Jamaica didn't have enough of a low score in my book in the first place, this type of attitude toward tourists doesn't exactly help.

 

Amazingly, I met a co-worker there. I knew ahead of time she was going to cruise out of Miami/Fort Lauderdale but didn't know what ship. Turns out she's on the Behemoth of the Seas and that darn thing will be in Grand Cayman and Cozumel at the same time as us as well. Maybe Princess should consider doing the cruise in reverse (start with Cozumel and end with Princess Cays) to avoid overlapping with other ships in port.

 

In any case, I came for the food and what glorious food it was. The Jerk Center is an open air restaurant with a big parking lot in front, and reggae music coming from a large speaker system. You go to the cash register, order, and the food is then brought to you. I had a ¼ jerk chicken, a ¼ lb. jerk pork, and something called a Festival. Both the chicken and the pork had a jerk taste that was not at all overpowering of the palate; terrific stuff. On the table, they had a home made hot sauce which I believe was made of scotch bonnet peppers (should have asked) which I hopefully shall feel tomorrow morning (the mark of a true good hot sauce in my opinion).

 

The Festival was a type of lightly sweet fried dough tied into a simple knot. It acted as a terrific counterpart to the spicy/hotness of the jerk dishes. As a side benefit, since the chemical that makes hot "hot" - capsaicin - only bonds with fat (it doesn't bond with water. Thus sodas/beer don't help when trying to quell "hotness"; milk and ice cream, however, do), this deep fried dough also helps remove the extra hotness that may linger for longer than one might wish.

 

They were showing the World Cricket Championships on TV. England vs. India. With apologies to cricket aficionados: from what I could make out, each "home run" is worth 6 points and every "hit" is worth 1, which explains a bit these extremely high scoring affairs. The only player to use a mitt seems to be the catcher who doesn't get to see too much action as the batters seem to hit every ball. The pitcher hurls the ball toward the batter trying to hit these 3 sticks that are set up behind the batter. I think that if the batter swings & misses and the pitcher knocks down one of the 3 sticks, the batter's out; the same batter seems to keep hitting until he's finally out (either the pitcher hitting the sticks or someone catching the ball). There was actually a camera imbedded in those sticks and sometimes they would show the view from there. Think of it as a camera placed inside the catcher's mitt in baseball. The cricket ball looked like something fairly heavy and encased in some hard looking leather. The outfielders catch pop flies with their bare hands - ouch. Kudos to them. The changeover from defense to offense seemed to take an awful lot of time and the umps seemed to be applauded as they got on the field again, tipping their hats to the crowd. The fans in the stands seem to party a lot more than in baseball. Then again, with so many "home runs" who wouldn't? You're down 60 points; hey, no problem mon, 10 home runs coming up. Party on.

 

The food part was US$10.00 and worth every single Abraham Lincoln. The diet cola was unfortunately diet Pepsi, but I miraculously survived (those that know me are aware that I absolutely detest Pepsi products since having been force-fed them to me in my Babson days). The drinks were a bit expensive at $1.00 but it was nice to drink out of a glass bottle again. Even Pepsi products taste better…

 

The same highway robber of a taxi driver picked me up again (Why not? Sucker the same tourist twice!!!) and hijacked me for another $15 back to the ship. However, he was kind enough to make a pit stop at the Taj Majal shopping plaza and I picked up the obligatory jerk seasoning and marinade. I look forward to experimenting with these back in San Juan.

 

As I got back to the ship it was hard keeping a straight face while I lied through my teeth saying that I look forward to my next trip to Jamaica. This place now positively ranks at the same level as Darfur, Iran, North Korea, and Iraq on my "to do" list…

Great Review!!!

Not to change the subject, but you are cruising with friends of ours on the Crown in December. They are a delightful couple. I am officially jealous!!!

I hope you have met Hank and his wife on the Roll Call. They are a hoot!!

One more voice saying we have no interest in anything ashore in Jamaica.

We no longer get off the ship if we are at either Montego Bay or Ocho

Rios. We've seen/heard too many unpleasant incidents involving tourists to even consider going ashore.

There is nothing there that I want.

What is wrong with Jamaica is millions of people with no hope.

 

As a child, if you are not smart enough to "pass the state test" after the 4th grade...then you don't get any additional education. Heaven forbid if you have a special needs child (like ours)....you are just left to fend for yourself.

 

Most are not "allowed" to leave the island, so they feel stuck.

 

Poverty and little hope makes for a dangerous combination.

 

The country itself is beautiful. We have been many times, but won't get off the ship again.

 

(and we have walked from Tel Aviv in Israel to Jaffa and back ~ 5 miles one way~ by ourselves ...so we do not frighten easily)

 

If you have never been to Jamaica, grab a ship tour and see it at least once. Use common sense and you will be fine. We found Dunns River Falls to commercial and really enjoyed floating down "The Great River" on a bamboo raft for two. The guide uses a long pole to propel the raft and the water is generally not to deep. The guide was very informative.

I'm really not sure how to respond to this. For starters, the population of Jamaica is only 2.8 million people and there are more Jamaican people living off the island than on the island. Jamaica is interesting in that they have a widely diverse population with very little, if any, discrimination. Their education system is getting better and their literacy rates are climbing. While Jamaica is a poor country by our standards there are many other countries in more dire straits than Jamaica. If there is one thing the Jamaican people have, it is a belief in a better tomorrow, they are optimistic, notwithstanding their circumstances. :)

:eek: :eek: :eek:

 

Stupid question from extremely unworldly me: was Jamaica always this way or did this scariness result from the hurricane in, what, 88?, that destroyed so much of the island?

Not a stupid question at all!

We went in 1970 as tourists before they closed the country to tourism. There was definitely a lot of fear then. We (DH to be and I) stayed 1 week instead of the 2 we had planned. When they reopened the country to tourists in 1978, I went back as a working flight attendant with a charter flight of 181 passengers. Not only did the authorities state that we had landing illegally, they held us down on the plane, (that's right, they would not let us into the airport) with no APU (no a/c) in 110 degree weather, stated that we had landed illegally and sprayed the aircraft with that horrible insecticide that made everbody sick. I will never forget that as long as I live. Now, if I go to Jamaica, from a cruise ship, I don't care if I just go to the port and buy a bottle of Tia Maria and a jar of Ackee but DH is determined to go scuba diving there. I am not sure if it's a good idea. Do you have any recommendations anyone?