What port have you felt the most uneasy??

[kittycrusin08]

We went on a tour in Antigua which was disappointing and were dropped outside the port area by our tour guide. (he had received good reports on CC but we did not feel he was very good). While walking back toward the ship, we felt uncomfortable and decided it was time to return to the ship area. You get a certain feeling and I always go with my feelings. The vendors were very pushy and became angry when you told them you were not interested. At least in Jamaica, the people are laughing and having fun even though they are also pushy. We liked Jamaica but really did not like Antigua. ;)

[Tazzybear]

Wow! Jamaica...and it looks like I am not alone on this:(

[DGP1111]

. . . Anyone have a port that stands out in your mind that you would NOT return to?

 

No, none that I wouldn't return to, but I'd definitely navigate some in a different way than in previous visits (or, perhaps, even stay onboard).

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Jamaica in general...Montego Bay worse than Ocho Rios.

 

Ditto what Linda said here.

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[Diamond Graham]

I would have to say that Jamaica used to be my number one, BUT that was all changed when I took a Southern Carib cruise that called in Caracas/LaGuaira, Venzuela...before we even got to the port, many times we were told by the Cruise Director that if you were not on a shore excursion, DO NOT get off the ship, it is not safe here!

We were greeted at the end of the gangway by military personnel with machine guns, it was overall a very scary place, on our tour to the city of Caracas, our tour bus was at points pelted by rocks and bottles thrown by the locals.

Needless to say Carnival dropped it as a port call...

[finzup-kt]

OK I have been reading this thread now for a while and I think my response is going to be a long one.. bear with me :p

 

About me: I have traveled a fair bit to the Caribbean and Mexico, and I can say I've never felt afraid anywhere. I think the thing to remember is not to judge an entire country/nation based on one part of a city or maybe even a lack of understanding about the culture.

 

Regarding the hawkers: In the Caribbean/Mexico, "selling" can range from super aggressive (i.e. Jamaica) to definitely more laid back (i.e. Barbados or BVI) but you're kidding yourself if you travel to the Caribbean/Mexico think you won't be approached by someone selling you something. Just be prepared with a confident and kind reply of 'no, thank you' and move along your way. Those more aggressive sellers can probably sense fear and trepidation and if you look/appear nervous or uneasy, they'll likely press harder. Be confident, look them in the eye, and don't be rude. Don't let it stress you out, culturally it's their "normal" way of life and since we, the travelers are visitors to the country we should take some time to understand and prepare ourselves, because this is what goes on there.

 

Everyone going someplace has a different "threshold" as to what they're comfortable with, and that's okay - people are different! If we were all the same life would be so boring :)

 

I don't think people should venture into someplace if they're not comfortable - why make yourself uncomfortable if the experience will stress you out? Travel to your level of comfort and don't let people persuade you otherwise. If your level of comfort means staying on the ship, then stay on the ship, lay in the sun, drink some DOD's, and have a great time! If you're comfortable with a ship sponsored tour, sign up and go for it. If you only want to get off the boat and shop and then get back on, do that. If you're more adventurous and willing to get out and really "see" a country and it's people, go for it. If you stick to your comfort level, you're more likely to have a more fulfilling and better experience overall. I think if more people stayed in their comfort range, gradually their comfort range would change, and eventually people would be more comfortable trying new things. But, travel is different for everyone - my mother for instance, she doesn't care about getting off the boat anywhere and she comes back from her cruise with great memories of a great vacation. To each their own!

 

It saddens me to see how many people "hate" countries or locations based on a small experience that maybe could've been avoided if they didn't venture outside of what they felt comfortable with.

 

Me, personally, I'll never take a ship sponsored excursion - I'll plan and do my own thing. Heck one time on a solo trip to Barbados I found a local to take me around the countryside and even had an authentic lunch at a local's house (for $4). Another day, I rented a car while driving around aimlessly, I saw an older woman walking on the side of the road and I stopped and picked her up and brought her to church. We talked and chatted the whole way. Now, would I do this in, say, Jamaica? Probably not - there my comfort level was a bit different - My sister and I hired a taxi driver there who stayed with us all day, drove us all around. We called him our "Jamaican dad". He lectured us about not drinking too much in the bars when we stopped at one and when we went someplace he guarded our stuff for us in the car. Did this all require a certain amount of trust, sure, but we went with our gut instincts and we weren't wrong.

 

Now, do crimes occur in the Caribbean/Mexico? Sure they do. But no more than they occur in any city in the US. Just take the same precautions you'd take in ANY city when you travel. You can be taken advantage of by someone in Washington DC* just like you could in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

 

Whew! OK, glad I got all that off my chest :)

 

(*) No offense to anyone in DC,I just picked that city at random

[tiffygirl]

Well, I don't want people to go places that they feel uncomfortable. But if the sight of guns, poverty, being offered drugs, or being sold stuff by pushy locals scares you, you are going to be very limited on where you will feel comfortable going in the world. If cruiseship stops make you feel uncomfortable, you might want to avoid--all of central/south america, most of the carribean islands, asia, most of the middle east, all of africa, easter europe, parts of wester europe.......Actually you might just want to stick with Midwest America and Canada;):)

 

 

DITTO!!!!

 

jamaica's only source of income is tourism. period. it is how it survives. So those 'aggressive' people are really just trying to feed their families.

 

i was a single woman who went alone, i had arranged a tour guide prior to my trip and had to walk outside the fenced area (ocho rios) and down the road a bit to meet him. of course i was approach many times during my walk. but i smiled and spoke to all who wanted to get my attention ie taxi drives and explained i was meeting someone. they were cool and everyone told me where i needed to go. They refused to take me since i already had arrangements, did not want to steal each others business.

 

i didnt ignore them or 'walk faster' as if i was in danger or if i was scared of them:rolleyes:. i showed myself friendly, seriously they were harmless and quite nice. (most wont bite the hand that feeds them, per se)

 

once i got to meet my tour guide from Terran from Mega Tours, he explained to me how it works. I did see the folks wanting to sell me weed....i said no thank you, he left. i did encounter folks wanting to sell me hand crafted art. i made an offer, they didnt like my offer, business ended. they kept it moving...

 

He made sure I was safe the whole day.

 

 

i love the island and its people. i understand they are poor and need our money to help them survive.

 

Just use precausions like you were going to any big city in the US, be smart and stay safe.

[Charleyann]

This time is Jamaica was bad. I really don't want to go back despite the beauty of the place. The natives were horrible and pushy. down right scary at times . My son had his iPhone 4 stolen in a blink of an eye....that said, it is the people pushi g you to buy and then those who jump out of the bushes, the ditches and those behind the fences whispering for you to come their way ....

[Jbird81]

Costa Maya, Mexico. Although there were armed guards there for tourist protection, etc, it still had this feeling of being unsafe to me.

[Westbank is bestbank]

Belize is terrible if you leave the port. Felt very unsafe. We went out looking for something to do because our snorkel excursion wasn't until 1:30. We turned around after about 10 minutes and went back into the port. The snorkeling was great then they brought us to bannister island which was beautiful.

[PaulMedik]

Good for you! You will be the stupid tourist found bloodied and robbed. Good luck on your one-man foreign invasion force.

BTW, you would be the one arrested for trying to buy a baby.

 

Edit - Sorry for the rudeness. I realize you are trying to do good but what you suggest is very dangerous. Also

don't think the person even had a baby.

 

Richstowe,

 

I might be the 'stupid tourist,' but I'm not one who could look the other way while a child is in jeopardy. If I saw no baby, then I would assume there was no baby. I might be stupid, but I'm not naive. ;)

 

BTW, while @ Myrtle Beach a few years back I chased down a group of thieves who stole my Canadian friend's cooler. There was a lot of blood shed, but not a drop of mine. My Canadian friends were thankful, but they also said I should have just let them go.

 

 

Your heart is in the right place, but there are many reasons why that would not be a wise thing to do.

 

4hunters,

 

It isn't often my heart guides me, but throw a child into the equation and my actions will be guided by experience. I have had more than my share of dealing with dangerous people and I've managed to remain unharmed thus far.

[T. Advisor King]

Port of Miami. There are some scary looking dudes there. I would not walk around anywhere there by my self. Took a taxi wherever we needed to go.

 

Really? My family stayed overnight at the Intercontinental after a (regular) vacation in the Bahamas. My wife and daughter wanted to shop, so my son and I walked over the bridge to the port area just to walk around and look at the ships. It never occurred to me that anyone would consider that area to be unsafe.

 

As for the original question, I thought a bit and went through in my mind every port we've visited, including our North American and European cruises. I have to say, I couldn't think of any where we felt uneasy. We did take ship's excursions a couple times. Montego Bay, Jamaica was one, in part because we'd heard not so good things about trying to "do it yourself" there. We also took a ship's excursion in Kusedasi, Turkey because ... well, it was Turkey and we had no idea what to expect. I was expecting it to seem more like something out of Midnight Express, but it ended up being just as pleasant as anywhere we've been.

[dasmonkey]

There is a reason the crew on the ships refer to Jamaica as "laundry day", yet you will see them out and about at other various ports.

While I don’t feel unsafe I just don’t find being harangued to be something that enhances my travel experience.

Belize is fine once you get past the gauntlet of vendors outside the main pier area. Just say no and keep walking. Once you get downtown, yes it's poor but nobody ever bothers me.

People need to get away from the sanitized areas to appreciate what we have back home.

Pretty much been all over the Caribbean and can't say that I have felt threatened anywhere. It's not unlike plenty of places I have been in the US. You just have to be smart and be aware of your surroundings.

As far as Curacao and Tortola I found them both to be beautiful and I guess I missed the scary people.

The Bathes at Virgin Gorda trip from Tortola is truly one of the “don’t miss” stops in the Caribbean.

[Skip65]

We have an excursion scheduled in Belize that has me worried now. We booked it with shore excursions who I guess contracts out to local tour companies and I wasn't worried about it before but after reading this I guess I best try and find out for sure who our tour company is going to be! Has anyone had experience with shore excursions?

[USA41018]

Jamaica and Mexico mainland (Playa del sol?) wherever the ferry from Cozumel docks, there were soldiers with oozies walking around.

[ncbeachteacher]

I have had experience with Shore excursions (the company) in several ports, including Belize. They are fine folks. No worries.

[Skip65]

Thanks! I feel better!

[Laurin612]

I posted previously about Montego Bay, but I forgot about Labadee! DH and I went there on an RCCL cruise in 1995. It was beautiful, but we were a little taken aback by the 20 foot high concertina wire fence separating "Labadee" from the rest of the island (Haiti). We also kept hearing what sounded like drumming in the distance from the other side of the fence (we were sitting at a picnic table under some shade trees near the fence). I didn't encounter pushy sales people, but it was just...weird with the fencing meant to keep the Haitian people out.

 

I'm surprised about the negative experiences in Belize! We took a tour there while on a Princess cruise about 6 years ago. It was a nature tour that took us on a boat trip down the river where we saw manatees, iguanas, monkeys and other wildlife. We stopped at a small bed and breakfast type place for refreshments and then went a bit further down the river where we were met by a bus that took us to the Xunantunich Mayan ruins. After about an hour there, the bus took us back to our ship. We really enjoyed our tour (which we booked through the ship) and said that we'd go back to Belize.

 

I agree with the other posters who said not to judge a port city by the port where the ship docks. We've been to many ports where the places where the ships dock looked kinda seedy. It really didn't have a bearing on the ports.

[Mekamax]

Roatan hands down. Dont' feel safe there at all. All 3 times we have gone on our own and not with a tour. Definately a tour excursion place. We went to West Bay Beach I think it is called (very popular) in a shuttle with 2 other couples and the Parasailing Tour from the beach - the lady was smoking Crack - literally - in the cabana next to us.... VERY drug infested.

 

Belize we did a tour from the ship out to the Keys (Cays) and it was great - straight from the ship so didn't even go into Belize. We have taken the tender to shore and shopped at the Cruise shops but not gone beyond the gates and it was fine. Wouldn't go beyond the gates unless on Ship Excursion.

 

Jamaica we only do ship tours if any at all.

 

Tortola was fine we had fun taking a local trolley to Cane Garden Bay and waling the beach and stopping at a local Spice place to get spices but I have to say the locals were very very rude.

[KDilly]

Really? My family stayed overnight at the Intercontinental after a (regular) vacation in the Bahamas. My wife and daughter wanted to shop, so my son and I walked over the bridge to the port area just to walk around and look at the ships. It never occurred to me that anyone would consider that area to be unsafe.

 

As for the original question, I thought a bit and went through in my mind every port we've visited, including our North American and European cruises. I have to say, I couldn't think of any where we felt uneasy. We did take ship's excursions a couple times. Montego Bay, Jamaica was one, in part because we'd heard not so good things about trying to "do it yourself" there. We also took a ship's excursion in Kusedasi, Turkey because ... well, it was Turkey and we had no idea what to expect. I was expecting it to seem more like something out of Midnight Express, but it ended up being just as pleasant as anywhere we've been.

 

Sounds like you've been blessed with great experiences and great destinations, good for you :) Now I have to step up my trips I guess :)

 

-KD

[sail2sea]

Jamaica for sure.

 

Which is a shame because the island has a lot to offer. But its people did it in.

[4hunters]

Richstowe,

 

I might be the 'stupid tourist,' but I'm not one who could look the other way while a child is in jeopardy. If I saw no baby, then I would assume there was no baby. I might be stupid, but I'm not naive. ;)

 

BTW, while @ Myrtle Beach a few years back I chased down a group of thieves who stole my Canadian friend's cooler. There was a lot of blood shed, but not a drop of mine. My Canadian friends were thankful, but they also said I should have just let them go.

 

 

 

 

4hunters,

 

It isn't often my heart guides me, but throw a child into the equation and my actions will be guided by experience. I have had more than my share of dealing with dangerous people and I've managed to remain unharmed thus far.

 

PaulMedik,

 

I just think your experience would lead to you a different conclusion than your original statement alluded to. Based on your trip reports I know you're a great family man, as am I. However, based on my experience as a commissioned Army officer, I can tell you that your family could be put into more danger by carrying out the actions you described earlier.

[LSUMOM]

Costa Rico was pretty uneasy. We were told not to leave the fenced area. Didn't care for dominican republic either in town

[H82seaUgo]

not necessarily a port, but the only place i have even been nervous in, after being warned about it, was rome.

[T. Advisor King]

not necessarily a port, but the only place i have even been nervous in, after being warned about it, was rome.

 

Really? Why Rome? We spent three nights there two summer on a regular vacation and it felt no different to me than Paris or London (other than that it was magnificantly hot).

 

I should also say, we stayed in a very dodgy part of Athens before our Greek Isles cruise two summers ago. I didn't consider it in my last posting because I had it in my mind that I was thinking of ports we visited "during" a cruise.

 

Although we never saw any, some of the reviews of our hotel (which I didn't see until after we stayed there) reported that it was common to come across IV drug users and prostitution on the hotel's street. In addition, day or night, the street was occupied by a very narrow demographic (men, aged about 20-35, not ethnic Greeks) who were never doing anything or even in coversation with each other. They just watched passers-by very closely any time anyone walked up or down that street.

[H82seaUgo]

Really? Why Rome? We spent three nights there two summer on a regular vacation and it felt no different to me than Paris or London (other than that it was magnificantly hot).

 

I should also say, we stayed in a very dodgy part of Athens before our Greek Isles cruise two summers ago. I didn't consider it in my last posting because I had it in my mind that I was thinking of ports we visited "during" a cruise.

 

Although we never saw any, some of the reviews of our hotel (which I didn't see until after we stayed there) reported that it was common to come across IV drug users and prostitution on the hotel's street. In addition, day or night, the street was occupied by a very narrow demographic (men, aged about 20-35, not ethnic Greeks) who were never doing anything or even in coversation with each other. They just watched passers-by very closely any time anyone walked up or down that street.

 

pickpockets.

 

all i kept reading were all the tricks and distractions to take your stuff, including mobs of kids.

 

so i wore a pair of shorts under my trousers and kept all my stuff there.

 

and then flying out of there to go home (we flew into paris), seeing security with rifles was just too much (same as the casinos in aruba).