Jamaica - On your own

Headed to Montego Bay on the Carnival Dream in September 2017. Would like to visit Rick's Café in Negril to watch cliff divers. Has anyone ever ventured on their own to Negril? How far is it? What is the cost of a taxi? Is it safe?

There is a Carnival excursion, but it has mixed reviews with a few stops besides Rick's. Thanks for any information!

Might want to check out the Jamaica forum... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=111

Headed to Montego Bay on the Carnival Dream in September 2017. Would like to visit Rick's Café in Negril to watch cliff divers. Has anyone ever ventured on their own to Negril? How far is it? What is the cost of a taxi? Is it safe?

 

There is a Carnival excursion, but it has mixed reviews with a few stops besides Rick's. Thanks for any information!

It's a long drive !!!! Most taxi drivers don't want to take you just to Ricks , there wanting to include a tour of the island as well ,expensive . When you get off the ship you become a dollar $ symbol to the locals. I think harassment is taught in the schools there. Good Luck !

Jamaica is beautiful but I would not do it on my own. The majority of people are lovely but certain ones that deal with tourists an be pushy by American standards, to the point of threatening. By the way of example, we have had people on stilts block the road for a tip, or tell us that we need to lay them for taking a photo of some rock wall. Ravings on the side of the road that are hundreds of years old When you book a known provider that has positive reviews, they will tell you that it is their job to shield you from the aggression.

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Take the ships tour. DO NOT GO OFF ON YOUR OWN IN JAMAICA.

Would only go straight to say a beach or to Duns Falls that has lots of people there.

My itinerary that visits Montego Bay shows a Carnival tour that takes you to see cliff divers, however, the passenger reviews state it is infrequent that the cliff divers are actually there.

I agree with the others that it is not a good idea to venture off on your own in Jamaica. Safety is an issue. I've never had a problem on a Carnival excursion there though (private beach excursion).

Other than the safety issue, Jamaica is a beautiful island of mountains and beaches and most people are warm, friendly, and laid back. The culture and food are outstanding.

My itinerary that visits Montego Bay shows a Carnival tour that takes you to see cliff divers, however, the passenger reviews state it is infrequent that the cliff divers are actually there.

 

I agree with the others that it is not a good idea to venture off on your own in Jamaica. Safety is an issue. I've never had a problem on a Carnival excursion there though (private beach excursion).

 

Other than the safety issue, Jamaica is a beautiful island of mountains and beaches and most people are warm, friendly, and laid back. The culture and food are outstanding.

What makes you feel that the cliff divers will be there if you go on your own?

We booked a private tour with a company (don't recall the name). Myself and my husband had our own driver and he took us all over the island. Spent a couple hours at Negril and then went to Ricks to see the divers. We had no hassle from anyone and the tour was great. That is the only way I would venture. We used a well known company that lives by referrals. If they had bad things happen then they would not stay in business. They took real good care of us. The only place we had vendor issues was actually in the cruise port terminal. They tried to sell us drugs inside. I would not venture out with out using a highly recommend company.

Our experience in MoBay was not a pleasant one! Nothing major, just had taxi driver try to rip us off and never felt completely safe walking around. We do most ports on our own but MoBay is not one I recommend. Either do an organized excursion or use the day for some relaxation on the ship!

Take the ships tour. DO NOT GO OFF ON YOUR OWN IN JAMAICA.

RUBBISH, Jamaica is a beautiful island with wonderful people. Would I walk around the "hood" at midnight, no, but wouldn't do it in many American cities as well. Do some Montego Bay beaches research. We really like Aqua Sol, a short cab ride, and the beach was lovely. The had massage tables $25 an hour, Jerk Chicken, bar, some fun rental stuff, BTW the beach is free. Taxi drivers are waiting outside the gate, easy peasey. We were asked if we wanted pot once and said no, never saw him again. We stayed 2 weeks land based in Negril, awesome trip, never felt threatened anywhere. Ricks is a little over an hour each way from the ship. It's OK, the jumpers are always there, the food is touristy and just OK

RUBBISH, Jamaica is a beautiful island with wonderful people. Would I walk around the "hood" at midnight, no, but wouldn't do it in many American cities as well. Do some Montego Bay beaches research. We really like Aqua Sol, a short cab ride, and the beach was lovely. The had massage tables $25 an hour, Jerk Chicken, bar, some fun rental stuff, BTW the beach is free. Taxi drivers are waiting outside the gate, easy peasey. We were asked if we wanted pot once and said no, never saw him again. We stayed 2 weeks land based in Negril, awesome trip, never felt threatened anywhere. Ricks is a little over an hour each way from the ship. It's OK, the jumpers are always there, the food is touristy and just OK

Can you tell me where you stayed in negril? We married there 14+ yrs ago and wanted to go back for our 15 Yr anniversary in may next Year. Trying too do the booking on my own. (Used a TA last time).

To the OP I've also been to ricks, we seen a man willing to cliff dive but wanted us to pay him. We declined. This was almost 15 years ago also on a 14 day land based negril trip. I felt ricks was over rated myself.

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We stayed at Couples Negril, best 14 day land trip ever. The staff and the food were fabulous

American here who used to live in Jamaica. I drove nearly everywhere on that island by myself and (gasp) survived! Negril is gorgeous, and the cliffs and beach are worth the trip. Ricks is not the only place to see them, I would say venturing on your own depends on your experience traveling. I highly doubt you will be a victim of murder, robbery, petty larceny, insider trading, or whatever other hysterical fears people might have. Do these happen? Yes, but odds are they will not. Jamaica is a much different place than it was in the 1970s. Today, most of its problems with violent crime are centered in Kingston, and they are Jamaican on Jamaican. As with most anywhere, use some common sense. Don't flash cash and stay on well travelled roads.

American here who used to live in Jamaica. I drove nearly everywhere on that island by myself and (gasp) survived! Negril is gorgeous, and the cliffs and beach are worth the trip. Ricks is not the only place to see them, I would say venturing on your own depends on your experience traveling. I highly doubt you will be a victim of murder, robbery, petty larceny, insider trading, or whatever other hysterical fears people might have. Do these happen? Yes, but odds are they will not. Jamaica is a much different place than it was in the 1970s. Today, most of its problems with violent crime are centered in Kingston, and they are Jamaican on Jamaican. As with most anywhere, use some common sense. Don't flash cash and stay on well travelled roads.

We were on the dream spring break last year. We fell in love with Jamaica. So much we are planning an all inclusive vacation to Montego Bay later this year. We did a private tour to negril with PPP tours and we had an awesome day. I did a trip review with pictures if you want to check it out. Have a great cruise! You can look my trip review under my posts. It's called 1st time on Dream Spring Break review March 13

I am going to try and attach it...

1st time on Dream Spring Break review March 13

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331116

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