Jamaica - Warning for GLBT Cruisers

[StevenStephen]

Yep. Well, okay...I'm out of this conversation. The only chatter about closets I want to hear is how you manage to fit two people's clothes into a cruise cabin closet. See you on the beach.

[shawne71]

Agreed. Just to be clear, we don't show PDA because that is who we are and how we were raised. We keep our private life private. We've been out and proud for 20+ years.

 

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[Vivere LaDolceVita]

That's exactly why we are getting off the ship in Montego Bay. This will be our first and only time to visit Jamaica. We want to see the island while we are there.;)

 

When we stopped in Falmouth last year, we took a shuttle to Montego Bay. Really nothing to see there; nice beach, nothing spectacular, and a margaritaville on the end of a run-down commercial strip. I think this time we will try to do the Dunns River Falls excursion.

[Mermen]

No, that's not it at all...I'm probably going to get off the ship and hit the beach at least!

But I don't want to feel like a rotten person because other people disapprove. I live in a studio apt in Boston where the number of beach days is cut by three seasons...If I go on a tropical vacation I want to make the most of the sun and sand.

If I choose to hit the beach in Haiti, I will do so without guilt or shame.

 

Good, it's your vacation - your cruise, do what you want to do. Everyone is different and has their own path to follow. I wouldn't let others persuade or dissuade what I wanted to do. What some forget is that they have already paid the port fees with the price of their cruise. Not getting off the ship isn't going to hurt the locals - maybe the merchants just a bit (Jamaica or Haiti). The most important thing is to have fun!

 

My partner and I were in Labadee on a Celebrity cruise. As soon as we got off the ship, snagged a couple of loungers and enjoyed our day. We did not see any locals begging. (actually see more every day here in SF). We did see locals walking up and down the beach. Some will offer to "grab a couple of loungers and watch your things all day" for a small fee. The chairs were free, and we didn't have any valuable laying around, so didn't pay for this. Although, it's a good marketing ploy considering the chair hogs on the ship, LOL! There was another local guy who came by with his CD player and was playing, what he said, was his band's music and would we like to buy his CD for $10? The music sounded local and good, so I bought it. Dumb move as soon as we got onto the ship, the CD was nothing more than a recording from a radio - complete with people in the background, LOL! Oh well...he needed the $10 more than we did.

 

The jet skis on Labadee were really fun and worth the cost. I would do that again. All in all, we enjoyed our stay on the beach.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise. Make the most of it and do what you want! :)

Edited August 1, 2014 by Mermen

[keithm]

Agreed. Just to be clear, we don't show PDA because that is who we are and how we were raised. We keep our private life private. We've been out and proud for 20+ years.

 

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Kind of like us. We were in Montego Bay back in '06. we reaaly didn't feel too comfortable. I really hated it when a local asked if my partner was my adopted son(he's Chinese)We're only 8 years apart. Really sucked! Of course, Richard absolutely loved it!

[CrusingJoe]

Good, it's your vacation - your cruise, do what you want to do. Everyone is different and has their own path to follow. I wouldn't let others persuade or dissuade what I wanted to do. What some forget is that they have already paid the port fees with the price of their cruise. Not getting off the ship isn't going to hurt the locals - maybe the merchants just a bit (Jamaica or Haiti). The most important thing is to have fun!

 

My partner and I were in Labadee on a Celebrity cruise. As soon as we got off the ship, snagged a couple of loungers and enjoyed our day. We did not see any locals begging. (actually see more every day here in SF). We did see locals walking up and down the beach. Some will offer to "grab a couple of loungers and watch your things all day" for a small fee. The chairs were free, and we didn't have any valuable laying around, so didn't pay for this. Although, it's a good marketing ploy considering the chair hogs on the ship, LOL! There was another local guy who came by with his CD player and was playing, what he said, was his band's music and would we like to buy his CD for $10? The music sounded local and good, so I bought it. Dumb move as soon as we got onto the ship, the CD was nothing more than a recording from a radio - complete with people in the background, LOL! Oh well...he needed the $10 more than we did.

 

The jet skis on Labadee were really fun and worth the cost. I would do that again. All in all, we enjoyed our stay on the beach.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise. Make the most of it and do what you want! :)

 

You should of said something to security, they are not aloud to do that.

[simon stingray]

An article about homophobia in Jamacia has been published in one of our UK national newspapers today.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2713495/The-Gully-Queens-Jamaica-How-gay-community-one-homophobic-places-Earth-sought-refuge-filthy-STORM-DRAIN.html

 

I knew things were not good there but I didn't relise just how bad it was.

[shepp]

Whoa! Back up. Who said anything about closeting ourselves? We don't show PDA anywhere, it's not just because we are in Jamaica. While I get that a guided tour to Dunn's River Falls might not be your idea of "seeing Jamaica", we feel that it's probably the safest way for us to see some of Jamaica via the 1.5 hour bus ride each way. Giggle all you want but Bobsleds and the Falls sound like a lot of fun to these two Kansas boys! :D

 

 

Hey, when we traveled through Syria, we were "brothers," too. Temporarily closeted ourselves for safety's sake. But queer Syrians (or Jamaicans or Russians) don't have the same luxury. So I try not to hold up that as anything more than an avoidance strategy.

 

And maybe we have different ideas of travel, but I didn't regard, oh, being taken on a bus from Ensenada and zip-lining through the jungle as "seeing Mexico." It was fun, but not a cross-cultural moment. Just me.

[Rotterdam]

An article about homophobia in Jamacia has been published in one of our UK national newspapers today.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2713495/The-Gully-Queens-Jamaica-How-gay-community-one-homophobic-places-Earth-sought-refuge-filthy-STORM-DRAIN.html

 

I knew things were not good there but I didn't relise just how bad it was.

 

 

for those of us that had travelled to Jamaica years ago. In 1975 I was there w/ my family and the drug dealers were threatening us on the streets - because of the color of our skin & because were not buying their goods.

 

I went back sometime in the early 1990's - nothing had changed & locals were asking where our wives were.....we headed back to the ship & I will never step foot on Jamaica ever again.

 

The hatred there is not just directed at gays.....it is important this gets out to the general public - certainly the cruise lines feel no need to change based on $$$$$$$$$$$ earn.

 

I also take the position that there are so many other places that welcome all & that's where we travel to & spend our $$$$.

[Mermen]

Whoa! Back up. Who said anything about closeting ourselves? We don't show PDA anywhere, it's not just because we are in Jamaica. While I get that a guided tour to Dunn's River Falls might not be your idea of "seeing Jamaica", we feel that it's probably the safest way for us to see some of Jamaica via the 1.5 hour bus ride each way. Giggle all you want but Bobsleds and the Falls sound like a lot of fun to these two Kansas boys! :D

 

Dunns River Falls was fun. I don't want to go back to Jamaica after 20 years, but yes do the Falls! And, everyone holds hands or arms during some parts. Necessary PDA ;)

[ONT-CA]

Unfortunately for some, Montego Bay is one of the embarkation points for a cruise around Cuba so there is no alternative for those passengers. But we know of those who plan to arrive and go immediately to the dock without partaking of the known local homophobia.

 

Having been verbally accosted awhile visiting Jamaica many years ago we have refused to leave any ship that called thereafter. But I think for those who are visiting for there first time perhaps they should see it and maybe experience what is talked about in this thread. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

[shawne71]

Hey, when we traveled through Syria, we were "brothers," too. Temporarily closeted ourselves for safety's sake. But queer Syrians (or Jamaicans or Russians) don't have the same luxury. So I try not to hold up that as anything more than an avoidance strategy.

 

And maybe we have different ideas of travel, but I didn't regard, oh, being taken on a bus from Ensenada and zip-lining through the jungle as "seeing Mexico." It was fun, but not a cross-cultural moment. Just me.

 

You're 100% correct. It will be temporary for safety's sake and the excursion won't be filled with Jamaican culture. I feel ya. ;)

 

Dunns River Falls was fun. I don't want to go back to Jamaica after 20 years, but yes do the Falls! And, everyone holds hands or arms during some parts. Necessary PDA ;)

 

Necessary PDA is absolutely okay. LOL :p

[tpadul]

An article about homophobia in Jamacia has been published in one of our UK national newspapers today.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2713495/The-Gully-Queens-Jamaica-How-gay-community-one-homophobic-places-Earth-sought-refuge-filthy-STORM-DRAIN.html

 

I knew things were not good there but I didn't relise just how bad it was.

 

 

Yes, it is really bad in Jamaica, over the years as an Officer with Immigration I have had the opportunity to interview several gay men that were granted political asylum here in the United States due to the torture they went through in Jamacia as a gay person, They were getting their permanent residency and US citizenship. My last applicant I interviewed was last year, he happened to join the US Navy and I had the pleasure of doing his interview and swearing him in as a new US citizen while he was still in Boot Camp for the Navy. He was a wonderful man with an amazing heart and it was really by the grace of the man upstairs that he got out of Jamacia alive and much of his torture and turmoil was due to his step father. Over the past few years, I've been an Officer for almost 18 years now, I have seen more and more people granted political asylum from Jamacia due to their sexual orientation and it's really good to see that here in the US that we are recognizing this treatment really does happen in countries like this and we are approving their asylum requests. It wasn't like this years ago as very few asylum claims based on persecution for sexual orientation were granted.

[visagrunt]

There are a handful of countries to which I will never travel--Jamaica and Russia are the most notable for cruise planning.

[satxdiver]

This is the latest report coming out of Jamaica. Read and take caution if you go there.

 

http://www.advocate.com/world/2014/08/30/jamaican-who-challenged-buggery-law-bullied-out-supreme-court

Edited September 1, 2014 by satxdiver

[SeaWatch12]

There are a handful of countries to which I will never travel--Jamaica and Russia are the most notable for cruise planning.

 

I agree with you on those countries. I will not book a cruise that stops in Jamaica, don't want my port fees to go to them.

[ATLfuzzy]

I WOULD NOT GIVE ONE PENNY TO JAMAICA, OR SAIL ON A CRUISE SHIP THAT STOPS THERE (PORT TAXES PAID WHETHER YOU GET OFF THE SHIP OR NOT).

 

NO EXCEPTIONS.

 

NONE.

 

My opinion.

[MattInFLL]

We all, obviously, have a right to control where our dollars go, when we can. And I understand the feelings about Jamaica.

 

But consider this - every single day, your dollars end up trickling down to lots of causes, people and entities you would probably find offensive. Start with our tax dollars and go from there. Or to take it to the extreme, do you do a background check on the waiter you're tipping to be sure they don't think Westboro Baptist Church has the right idea? Life is not so black and white. I'm not going to miss out on two ports I have been really wanting to visit for years just because my ship also stops in Jamaica.

[CrusingJoe]

I WOULD NOT GIVE ONE PENNY TO JAMAICA, OR SAIL ON A CRUISE SHIP THAT STOPS THERE (PORT TAXES PAID WHETHER YOU GET OFF THE SHIP OR NOT).

 

NO EXCEPTIONS.

 

NONE.

 

My opinion.

 

Has anyone told you your photo looks like Mr. T?

[ATLfuzzy]

We all, obviously, have a right to control where our dollars go, when we can. And I understand the feelings about Jamaica.

 

But consider this - every single day, your dollars end up trickling down to lots of causes, people and entities you would probably find offensive. .

 

I respect your decision to travel where you wish. I will do the same, and not give one penny to a country that routinely throws burning tires around gay peoples necks, as a sport.

[ATLfuzzy]

Has anyone told you your photo looks like Mr. T?

 

 

HAHAHHA! No, not yet. That is too funny! :D

[shepp]

Or to take it to the extreme, do you do a background check on the waiter you're tipping to be sure they don't think Westboro Baptist Church has the right idea?

 

No, but I won't eat at Chick-Fil-A or shop at Hobby Lobby.

[Dan1113]

I think the Caribbean in general is a bit iffy. I know Jamaica is particularly bad, but most ships will stop in at least one if not two or more countries in the Caribbean where being gay in the first place is illegal/outlawed. If we're going to be really good about it, we shouldn't be sailing the Caribbean at all really -- or rather, only going on cruises that visit Caribbean islands which are still territories of European nations and thus under their laws. But that's tough. Even the likes of super modern and somewhat open Singapore...we're illegal there, too, and lots of Asian cruises stop/start there.

 

I like the thought of not supporting any regimes, but I'll be the first to admit I've been to such places before.

[newcruise69]

Personally, I wouldn't do it. It may be all inclusive, but remember it's an all inclusive "straight" nude beach area. I'm not being a prude here, as we've done nude bathing in PTown enough times. Jamaica...a whole different world! I'd treat your boyfriend to the best spa day on board that you can book.

 

Can you please give some advise about nude beaches in Ocho Ríos, Gran Caimán and Cozumel?

Thanks a lot

[shawne71]

My partner and I were in Jamaica three weeks ago and had zero problems. We traveled from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios to ride the bobsleds and climb Dunn's River Falls. It was so much fun! Now we can say we've been there and done that. ;)

 

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