Margaritaville ever saved your life?

[BJDownUnder]

Perhaps the thread title is a little over dramatic

 

Being from Australia - i wasnt really sure what Margaritaville was all about until we visited Jamaica with Carnival

 

 

We took port at Oche Rios and walked thru a sea of vendors and after about 20 minutes (perhaps 400 metres ashore)- thought this is like hard work not a holiday.....never met a bunch of more aggressive sales people in all our travels.....I was especially concerned as alot of attention was shown to my wife............the sort of grab her hand and dont let go till you come and see my gift stall

 

Then we spotted Margaritaville....with its big security dudes....what an oasis in a desert of crazed sals people.....we had bite to eat, couple of beers and then made a mad dash back to the ship

 

Not sure if Margaritaville saved our lives (perhaps my wallet) but its certainly our fondest memory of Jamaica

[sparky62]

Post's like this are why I would never go there. I need to relax and hate being bothered like that. I know there lots of beautiful places there but there's lots of other islands as well.

Good post.

[2 cruzen]

belize gets the same bad rap and I have ALWAYS enjoyed my time there. I find a private tour company - put my faith in them - sit back and relax. Looking at going to jamaica next year, and I will do the same. Hate to see people dismiss a port and miss out on something fantastic. Just don't go off on your own.

[OCruisers]

Perhaps the thread title is a little over dramatic

 

Being from Australia - i wasnt really sure what Margaritaville was all about until we visited Jamaica with Carnival

 

 

We took port at Oche Rios and walked thru a sea of vendors and after about 20 minutes (perhaps 400 metres ashore)- thought this is like hard work not a holiday.....never met a bunch of more aggressive sales people in all our travels.....I was especially concerned as alot of attention was shown to my wife............the sort of grab her hand and dont let go till you come and see my gift stall

 

Then we spotted Margaritaville....with its big security dudes....what an oasis in a desert of crazed sals people.....we had bite to eat, couple of beers and then made a mad dash back to the ship

 

Not sure if Margaritaville saved our lives (perhaps my wallet) but its certainly our fondest memory of Jamaica

 

When did you do this? :confused:

Glad you found your way to Margaritaville! :)

 

Even when walking from the "Bond Pier" in Oche Rios (about 18 months ago)

to Island Village Mall, we had no horrid vendors ... just taxi drivers wanting to take us places.

Once inside Island Village ... none at all. Even in the shops there, no one was pushy in the least.

 

Like you, we were on our way to Margaritaville since on other cruises there we had already done all of the "must dos" and found it a FUN way to spend the day. :D

We did, however, take a taxi back to the Bond Pier ... mostly because we were tired. ($5 both of us)

[PBC29]

It didn't save my life but did save afew kids lives who were on our ship. If we had to hear them complain about not getting to have burgers for another 2 days I think "someone" may have tossed them overboard to shut them up.

 

They had burgers onboard the ship but the buns weren't what the kids were used to at home so they wouldn't eat them and of course wouldn't try anything they didn't eat at home.

[VillaHappy]

I had a mix of all of the above. We've been to Jamaica a few times. Not big fans of the big push/hecklers. The last time we were there, we walked from the ship to Margaritaville with our two children. Yes, we were given a lot of attention by the menfolk standing by, wanting us to hop in their cab for a tour of the island. How wonderful to get to Margaritaville and the nearby shops. Once there, we had a wonderful time. And, there is even a pool for swimming! How many restaurants have that??:D