Has anyone done Jamaica for a day?

[Roberta Kimball]

I have used JamaicaForaDay last year w/a stop in Ocho Rios...it was a blast! The resort used was SUNSET JAMAICA GRANDE. I had excellent service & quick responses to my email questions.

I was so impressed that my extended family is using JamaicaForaDay again when we stop in Falmouth during out cruise on the ALLURE of the SEAS in October! In Falmouth the resort used is HILTON ROSE HALL.

We have all climbed the Falls multipule times & done all the "touristy" things during our numerous stops to jamaica over the years, it is great to just have a nice all-inclusive day (that is much more cost effective than the cruise line's excursion options);)

What did your family think of their trip to the Hilton Rose Hall in October? We are going to be in Falmouth in March and are still unsure if we should use Jamaica for a day? I have heard several bad reviews about the transportation.

[jaxflygirl88]

Hi! Thinking of booking this all inclusive day, we will be on Oasis, arriving Falmouth on May 1st. Has anyone had any positive experiences with arranging transportation with Jamaica for a day?? Does anyone know cab prices from Falmouth to the resort in Montego Bay? Is is difficult to get a cab back to ship if you don't get transportation w/ the company? Thanks!!

[jaxflygirl88]

does anyone know the cost of a cab from hilton rose hall back to Falmouth port? Trying to decide whether or not to book the transfer pkg w/ jamaicaforaday.

 

thank you!

[mikeriv79]

I know many of you are looking for info on a different port, but my girlfriend and I booked through Jamaica for a day in Feb 2012. We went to the Jewel Dunns River and everthing went well. We had to ask around a bit before a representative came to meet us at the port. He showed up quickly and shortly after, our driver arrived. When we got to the resort, the driver introduced us to a tour representative at the lobby that we could contact if we had any problems. We checked in at the front desk, paid the difference and had a very relaxing day on the beach. When we left in the afternoon, we went to the tour rep at the lobby and he called the driver. Our driver came back quickly to pick us up and dropped us off downtown so we could look at some of the shops. Everthing worked out much easier than we expected. Hope this helps for anybody considering a tour from Ocho Rios.

[jaxflygirl88]

I really want to book hilton rose hall through JFAD but your transportation issues really concern me. We had a bad experience in ST Thomas in 2010 and almost didn't make it back in time. I had heart palpitations and got sick from the stress!! not worth it. I really want to go to rose hall, I saw where cabs on your own is $110 r/t for 4 people. Just mom and I will be going, Oasis, Arriving may 1. Falmouth. Any other input would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

Here is the website of the cab prices

http://i43.tinypic.com/35ksydj.jpg

[beachmama]

I know many of you are looking for info on a different port, but my girlfriend and I booked through Jamaica for a day in Feb 2012. We went to the Jewel Dunns River and everthing went well. We had to ask around a bit before a representative came to meet us at the port. He showed up quickly and shortly after, our driver arrived. When we got to the resort, the driver introduced us to a tour representative at the lobby that we could contact if we had any problems. We checked in at the front desk, paid the difference and had a very relaxing day on the beach. When we left in the afternoon, we went to the tour rep at the lobby and he called the driver. Our driver came back quickly to pick us up and dropped us off downtown so we could look at some of the shops. Everthing worked out much easier than we expected. Hope this helps for anybody considering a tour from Ocho Rios.

 

 

Great to hear!!!! We will be there next month, and can't wait... :D

 

Terri

[DJ56]

In Ocho Rios you can see the resort (Sunset Grande Resort) from the ship. You could actually walk there if you wanted to. I was advised not to though so we paid for the shuttle that met us at the pier as soon as we got off. My daughter and I really enjoyed our day there. We primarily played in the ocean. We did rent kayaks for a short time. In their advertisement it said they had kayaks, however, they didn't. There were some locals near the water with kayaks so we rented from them. I got some beautiful pix of the ship from the resort. Drinks flowed freely!! Iwill try to post a few pix. I actually have been to Ocho Rios two times. The first time went to Mystic Mountain and rode the Sky Explorer to the top! The Jamaican bobsled ride was so much fun too!! Then I was there for the second time this past May of 2011. Would I go back to the resort again....Yes!! It is not my favorite port however I did have fun both times. ;)

[jaxflygirl88]

Thanks DJ, but we will be at Falmouth which from what I can tell is in the middle of nowhere, you have to take a cab to anything worthwhile :(

[Maggs07]

Just booked this for my hubby and I in May and am really looking forward to it! Decided to get our own transportation though but I am sure we are going to love it, photos I've seen look lovely :p:p:p

 

 

 

I know many of you are looking for info on a different port, but my girlfriend and I booked through Jamaica for a day in Feb 2012. We went to the Jewel Dunns River and everthing went well. We had to ask around a bit before a representative came to meet us at the port. He showed up quickly and shortly after, our driver arrived. When we got to the resort, the driver introduced us to a tour representative at the lobby that we could contact if we had any problems. We checked in at the front desk, paid the difference and had a very relaxing day on the beach. When we left in the afternoon, we went to the tour rep at the lobby and he called the driver. Our driver came back quickly to pick us up and dropped us off downtown so we could look at some of the shops. Everthing worked out much easier than we expected. Hope this helps for anybody considering a tour from Ocho Rios.

[3412mom]

We used Jamaica for a Day for a trip to Hilton Rose Hall out of Falmouth. I had a problem, because I accidentally put the wrong date we would be in Jamaica. (That will teach me NOT to book things at 2 am just because I have insomnia!!) I spoke with Stuart via email and he corrected my problem immediately, even though it was my mistake and not his. He was extremely responsive and wonderful to work with. We enjoyed the day at this all inclusive and everything went smoothly. I would recommend this company without reservations.

 

Just FYI--a few people on our bus were saying the bus driver was over an hour late to pick us up in the morning--but this was not actually the case. Be sure that you check the times you are given for excursions that you book yourselves--the times given were local Jamaica time which was an hour later than "ship time"....this was clearly stated on the material we received. I made sure to verify the time difference, but it could be confusing if you did not realize there was a difference!

[jaxflygirl88]

Went on R/C Oasis in late april/may and did the Jamaica for a day excursion to Rose Hall Hilton at Montego Bay. Beautiful resort. Food was awesome! Transportation was on time and perfect. I would recommend this company.

We ate at the restaurant there that faces the beach, beautiful view, open air under porch type place. I had the jerk pork, it was soooo good!

[unionville3]

Just returned from our cruise yesterday - the JamaicaforaDay excursion to Hilton Rose Hall was our favorite day. We docked in Montego Bay - sailed from Galveston so ship time was the same as Jamaica time. Walked off the ship at 9 and saw the sign for the excursion as soon as we entered the building. We purchased transportation and were glad we did. We showed our confirmation and minutes later we boarded a wonderful air condition bus - no long wait! The bus driver of course encourages tipping but that was the only encounter that we had of anyone asking for money or trying to get us to purchase something.

 

Once at the resort, we checked in with the concierge. We paid our remaining balance and received wristbands and a map of the resort. We were also told of a dressing room and lockers if needed. Towels are provided and we hung out at the waterslide/lazy river area all day. Swim up bar was awesome and we floated around the lazy river many times. Our son loved the slides and pool games. The beach area is small, but we didn't book for the beach. Jerk chicken and jerk pork was yummy - red stripe on tap and lots of frozen drinks. Our son enjoyed being survived a grilled cheese and fries while hanging out in the pool. We were surprised that it really wasn't very crowded and the servers were great! We had way too much the sun the previous two days and were thrilled at all of the shade!

 

We were told that our transportation back to the ship was at 3. Our "back on board time" was 5:30 so we would have loved to stay longer - oh well! Based on the distance the resort is from Montego Bay, I feel a taxi drive would have been very expensive. We waited for our transportation under the nice covered resort area and chatted with one of the valets about life in Jamaice and the resort.

 

We really had a fun day! I book the majority of our cruise excursions independently and this was probably one of the easiest since transportation was included.

[disneyfan68]

Thanks for your review. We will be there in a few weeks and are really looking forward to it. Thanks again!

[MissRabbit]

Just booked this for my hubby and I in May and am really looking forward to it! Decided to get our own transportation though but I am sure we are going to love it, photos I've seen look lovely :p:p:p

 

So how was it? Which of the two Ocho Rios resorts did you go with?

 

We've only been to Ocho Rios once, but we really didn't care for the place, so i'm looking at an AI option just to get away from it all.

[kcparrothead]

I know many of you are looking for info on a different port, but my girlfriend and I booked through Jamaica for a day in Feb 2012. We went to the Jewel Dunns River and everthing went well. We had to ask around a bit before a representative came to meet us at the port. He showed up quickly and shortly after, our driver arrived. When we got to the resort, the driver introduced us to a tour representative at the lobby that we could contact if we had any problems. We checked in at the front desk, paid the difference and had a very relaxing day on the beach. When we left in the afternoon, we went to the tour rep at the lobby and he called the driver. Our driver came back quickly to pick us up and dropped us off downtown so we could look at some of the shops. Everthing worked out much easier than we expected. Hope this helps for anybody considering a tour from Ocho Rios.

 

I'm thinking about going here also. It says it's just 20 minutes from the port, but when I look at the Google map, it looks like it's past Dunns River Falls. Did it just take you 20 min. to get there like they say? How were the drinks & the Jerk Chicken (if you tried?)

[kjacruiser]

I know many of you are looking for info on a different port, but my girlfriend and I booked through Jamaica for a day in Feb 2012. We went to the Jewel Dunns River and everthing went well. We had to ask around a bit before a representative came to meet us at the port. He showed up quickly and shortly after, our driver arrived. When we got to the resort, the driver introduced us to a tour representative at the lobby that we could contact if we had any problems. We checked in at the front desk, paid the difference and had a very relaxing day on the beach. When we left in the afternoon, we went to the tour rep at the lobby and he called the driver. Our driver came back quickly to pick us up and dropped us off downtown so we could look at some of the shops. Everthing worked out much easier than we expected. Hope this helps for anybody considering a tour from Ocho Rios.

Thanks for the post...going in Dec. on the Indy....

[MississippiMom]

I wasn't sure what to expect, but we were all very pleased with the Jamaica For A Day arrangements at Hilton Rose Hall. Less than twenty of my fellow Conquest cruisemates went on this laid back excursion. There appeared to be twice as many boarding the bus for Sunset, though.

 

It was about a thirty minute drive out to Hilton Rose Hall. The driver took a different route back to port, which gave us a chance to see other areas of Montego Bay. He told us bits and pieces about the places we were passing, which was nice.

 

When we arrived at the resort, we were sent to different lines at the hotel check-in, they collected our remaining balance, and they gave everyone a wrist band, map of resort and quick description of where to go. We chose to hunt down chairs (for 5), first and then worry about finding the lockers. We wanted to be near the lazy river/slide area for the kids, and we really, really lucked out. One of the waiters saw us and found us five chairs with one large umbrella, right near the swim up bar area. It was perfect! After the nearby restaurant opened for lunch, he came by and took our lunch orders and we ate by the pool, while he continued to fill our bottomless drinks. The food was nothing special, although I would recommend that you try the Jamaican meat pattie.

 

The beach wasn't anything special, but we had not planned on hanging out over there. We wanted the lazy river and water slides, which were a hit with everyone.

 

All of the staff were nice and appreciative of us being there, even though we were day pass folks. My only complaint is that they clean on Jamaican time (slow), which means that there are used drink plastic glasses everywhere, and you find quite a bit of drink straws in the lazy river. Although not the resorts fault, I was also constantly annoyed by the grown adults who would hold on to a tube in the pool while they were just drinking, and not really using them. You are required to have a tube to go down the longer slide and many children (including ours) had to wait and wait and wait for one to finally become available, meanwhile there seemed to always be a good dozen drunk adults hanging on to them for no reason.

 

We were picked up at 3 pm with no problem. However, the driver didn't have a list of names or a number count, which meant that he wasn't looking for you, and it would have been easy to get left behind.

[SNJCruisers]

So how was it? Which of the two Ocho Rios resorts did you go with?

 

We've only been to Ocho Rios once, but we really didn't care for the place, so i'm looking at an AI option just to get away from it all.

The two choices are the Sunset Jamaica Grande, which is 69 pp or the Dunn's Rivers Falls, which is 79 pp. Both include round trip transportation from the cruise ship port. The Dunn's River location is adults only. I stayed there about 20 years ago when it was a Sandal's property and the place was really nice. Check out tripadvisor to see more recent reviews.

[joeyancho]

Has anyone snorkeled at Hilton Rose Hall? If so how was it? Is there any coral?

[BoBandy]

Anyone use Jamaica for a day in Ocho Rios and go to the Jewel Dunns River Beach Resort? We were looking to go through them with transportation for a group of 8. Was wondering if this would be a good choice.

[elifnena]

How much was Sunset Jamaica Grande Ochos Rios Jamaica for a Day? and what did the price include?

thanks will be their late Oct.

[SNJCruisers]

How much was Sunset Jamaica Grande Ochos Rios Jamaica for a Day? and what did the price include?

thanks will be their late Oct.

Read post 43.....if there are no kids, go to the Dunn's River location, it's worth the extra 10 bucks.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147312-d1881415-Reviews-The_Jewel_Dunn_s_River_Beach_Resort_Spa-Ocho_Rios_Saint_Ann_Parish_Jamaica.html

[SNJCruisers]

Anyone use Jamaica for a day in Ocho Rios and go to the Jewel Dunns River Beach Resort? We were looking to go through them with transportation for a group of 8. Was wondering if this would be a good choice.

Read the reviews on tripadvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147312-d1881415-Reviews-The_Jewel_Dunn_s_River_Beach_Resort_Spa-Ocho_Rios_Saint_Ann_Parish_Jamaica.html

 

It is adults only.....I was there 20 years ago and it was great, obviously it still is since it's rated 4.5 out of 5 on TA.

 

[mitsugirly]

Sorry, I did not read everyone's post, but posting to the original poster.

 

We booked Jamaica for a Day (Sunset Grande) and I did a complete review with tons of pictures. If we went back, we would do it again.

 

Here is my review from that day (this past March).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=33228671&postcount=25

 

If anyone has any questions about this place, I'd be happy to answer. :)

[Jess777]

Sorry, I did not read everyone's post, but posting to the original poster.

 

We booked Jamaica for a Day (Sunset Grande) and I did a complete review with tons of pictures. If we went back, we would do it again.

 

Here is my review from that day (this past March).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=33228671&postcount=25

 

If anyone has any questions about this place, I'd be happy to answer. :)

 

That was a great review. I enjoyed the pics, your little girl she's gorgous. Im glad you had a good time.