Chance of port change 3 weeks out due to safety issues. “Jamaica”

Our cruise is 3 weeks out. One of our ports is Falmouth Jamaica. With all the problems going on there and the US Embassy travel advisories, what are the chances NCL would change this port for the safety of the passengers? Is it even possible this close to cruising.

See other thread on this topic. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2587806

See other thread on this topic. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2587806

Yes I posted there. I guess I should of just asked this question there. Oh well. I thought I would get this specific question answered quicker. Thanks anyway.

I doubt there will be a port change this late...especially with all the shuffling that was done due to the hurricanes. I'd just stay on the ship or limit yourself to the gated port area.

I doubt there will be a port change this late...especially with all the shuffling that was done due to the hurricanes. I'd just stay on the ship or limit yourself to the gated port area.

Thanks. That is our current plan. Now I see many other threads on this topic.

I was just in Falmouth last week port was clean and nice but locals can be rude and aggressive. I always felt safe though and we had no issues.

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Our cruise is 3 weeks out. One of our ports is Falmouth Jamaica. With all the problems going on there and the US Embassy travel advisories, what are the chances NCL would change this port for the safety of the passengers? Is it even possible this close to cruising.

You could have a port change as late as the day you arrive on the ship, or even after you sail. The problems are over blown, so the odds of a port change are slim.

It is no worse there than in New York or Chicago. Stay in the tourist areas, and stay with your group and you will be fine.

We were in Montigo Bay last year and loved it. We did an AI near the port. We were really looking forward to going to another AI as we loved Jamaica. I hope in a months time some of this has worked itself out. We would be sad if we had to stay on the boat.

You better hope so. It's a lawless cesspool. Stay in a large group to lessen your chances of becoming a victim.

We’ve been to Montego Bay twice. You should not wander around by yourself, but if you organize a private tour ahead of time, you can have a lovely time. The waterfalls are incredible, and scotchies is a chain of great jerk chicken restaurants all over the island. We brought our 2 year old last time we were there and felt perfectly safe. We’ve met other people on our trips to Jamaica who did not enjoy the experience since the street vendors are a bit aggressive if you wander around by yourself.

I was there 3 days ago on Carnival. Felt safe the whole time. The port part is guarded. I am willing to bet you will still go.

I was there 3 days ago on Carnival. Felt safe the whole time. The port part is guarded. I am willing to bet you will still go.

Thanks for the update. Did you go on an excursion?

We are on Epic 2/20-2./17 Scheduled to drive an hour through NCL excursion to Dunns River Falls. Not sure if I feel safe driving on those roads feeling vulnerable. ugghh, wanted to do Eastern, not this! I already won't get off boat at Nassau, now this!

We did go on an excursion. No one bothered us. The roads physical condition are crazy rough.

Outside of the port area there are many police to keep everyone safe. I also shopped outside of the guarded port area. No one bothered me (I am 62 year old female single) The area that you load and unload is inside of a gated protected area. No one will bother you. Also, there are tons of nice booths inside the guarded area for you to get souvenirs at. No one will bother you as you shop.

Dunn River Falls was a lot of fun. You will be fine and have fun :)

We are on Epic 2/20-2./17 Scheduled to drive an hour through NCL excursion to Dunns River Falls. Not sure if I feel safe driving on those roads feeling vulnerable. ugghh, wanted to do Eastern, not this! I already won't get off boat at Nassau, now this!

If on an NCL excursion I wouldn't worry about it too much.

At the Falls the vendors are horrible, rude, and aggressive.

Jamaica hasn't been safe for years. Zero chance of a port change.

We were in Falmouth last week and surprisingly, we had a good time. We at first were not going to get off the ship, but then decided to walk around the gated port area. While we did that, we saw they offered an hour trolley tour of Falmouth, so we booked the tour and it was enjoyable. Our tour was followed the entire time by two police officers on bicycles and anytime they got further back, the trolley driver pulled over and let them catch up. One of the tour guides was telling us that a great many of the cruise lines had pulled out of docking in Jamaica because of the crime and complaints from passengers, but then the hurricanes hit and the lines had to look at Jamaica again. So now Jamaica is doing what they can to keep the lines from pulling out again.

3 years ago we did a DCL excursion to an all inclusive resort 40 mins away. The bus driver was aggressive as well as other drivers on the road which was a little scary (like many of these other countries/islands) and we did pass some areas you would Not want the bus to break down. The resort was nice though. Its a shame they dont have the crime under control, they have a beautiful island and are only hurting themselves by driving out tourists.

I was just in Falmouth last week port was clean and nice but locals can be rude and aggressive. I always felt safe though and we had no issues.

 

 

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Rude and aggressive locals but you still feel safe? Interesting

I really dont care for Jamaica although Dunns Falls was nice . Been there 3x. Twice for embark/debark. Once for 7 days in a non all inclusive hotel. Nuff said

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You could have a port change as late as the day you arrive on the ship, or even after you sail. The problems are over blown, so the odds of a port change are slim.

 

 

 

 

 

It is no worse there than in New York or Chicago. Stay in the tourist areas, and stay with your group and you will be fine.

Sorry to disagree here but while NYC and Chicago have their problems like everywhere else on the planet...in NYC you have decent hospitals...people...housing..transportation...an excellent public safety force...a well run government....the list goes on and on....point is....you are actually quite safe in Chicago or NYC and regardless of the media sensationalized issues from time to time...we are not 3rd world...we are not on the brink of any war...we have a very stable government and you know as well as I do whatever is going on in Washington DC now has been going on for centuries so let's be rational with that ok? Nothing new to report there.... also , we are not all out of our minds....we are not a culture that survives on pot smoking....we are not all sitting around living in dumps...we are a vast majority of well educated hard working people and Jamaicans who immigrate here are as well so don't pick on that either...the list goes on and on....but mainly everyone really needs to stop saying that cities like NYC and Chicago are the same as places that most people try to avoid..ok?

Jamaica? Hmmm....seriously never compare that island to the United States.

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You could have a port change as late as the day you arrive on the ship, or even after you sail. The problems are over blown, so the odds of a port change are slim.

 

 

It is no worse there than in New York or Chicago. Stay in the tourist areas, and stay with your group and you will be fine.

That's one hell of a statement to make. In 2017, some areas of Jamaica seen 1100% murder rate increase. In 2005, Jamaica had the "honor" of having highest murder rate in the world. In 2015, murder rate was 42.3 per 100,000 people. Compare to New York, NYC, in 2016, had 3.91 per 100,000 people. in 2016, NYC had 334 homicides. Less than one a day. Jamaica averages 100 homicides monthly. That is with population of 2.8 million people, about third of New York City population.

In short, you are more than 10 times likely to get killed in Jamaica than in New York City based on data from 2015 and 2016.

Let's think before we talk, ok?

Just chiming in that we were there last week and had a nice time on an organized food tour. Never felt unsafe. There was a visible, good natured police presence. That being said, I wouldn't really wander around the city without a solid destination and basic tourist precautions due to likelihood of getting hassled more than anything.

And if you still feel uncomfortable, the secure port area is quite nice. Lots of shops and restaurants.

From the moment it was announced as a replacement port of call - I knew it would be (our own) SEA DAY!

And... the same can be said for GSC and Grand Cayman - as I've no interest in tendering when the port offers so little -- and/or we've been there umpteen times.

But that's OK -- as I love sea days (just wish that all the facilities on the ship were open like they are on true sea days) !

Tom

Yah, how ridiculous. Chicago and NYC are nothing in comparison to the danger in Jamaica. You get off the ship and feel like prey, immediately you feel unsafe, immediately you feel their evaluation..... can snatch your purse, can they snatch your designer sunglasses right off your head, immediately you will be harassed, not asked nicely to buy like in Mexico, you will be harassed to buy.

You go to downtown NYC or Chicago and there are police at every street corner, multiple people don't come up to you and want to sell you drugs. You'd have to search out your drug deal. It's ignorant to compare, even in the liberal left gun infested den of Chicago, still it's safer. And I agree about the falls. You want to stay away, it's scary dangerous, it's not pretty, it's dirty and dangerous. The last time I was at the falls, a big aggressive guy pushed his way onto out tour bus and walked up and down the aisle demanding a tip and this was before we even got off the bus and climbed the falls! He was looking to rob us all! Fortunately a police officer dragged him off, it's almost like they knew what this guy was doing on our tour bus. This was an NCL excursion. A couple minutes later, while at the trinket booths a guy in our NCL tour had his sunglasses yanked right off his neck, stolen. That's how aggressive they are! We then go to Margaritaville and a guy tries to sell pot to my 13 year old daughter while she's standing about 5 feet away from me! In no way, literally no way, is Jamaica like NYC or Chicago!

I do remember about 15 years ago, the crime against tourists did get so bad that NCL stopped going to Montego Bay and only went to Ocho Rios. I've been on Cruise Critic a long, long time. About a year late, there was a hiatus from Ocho Rios also. I think now that the ships are so much bigger and need deep water piers, the islands the ships can dock at are very limited. I remember going to islands like Samona ten years ago with NCL's smaller ships. Now the ships are limited to the deep water ports. Thus Jamaica.

Thank you, Maggie Cruises ,for posting your reply to the posting by zqvol which compared the tourist safety in Jamaica to that in New York and Chicago.

As a native of NYC, I was going to reply to that unfair comparison, but your post was very well written and expressed my thoughts exactly.

Another poster wrote about being on a tour in Jamaica where the tour vehicle was followed by two police officers on bicycles.

That scenario would not add to my confidence level if I had been on that tour.