Did something happen to the Croydon plantation?

[scuba_ninja]

I've tried searching the boards and the internet, no info. Carnival still lists it as a top thing to do 

https://www.carnival.com/awaywego/travel/caribbean/top-9-things-to-do-in-montego-bay

 

But the excursion I booked is no longer on the carnival site and this morning I got cancellation notice for my tour but the reason was blank. Anyone hear anything?

[Joe817]

Well, it's still there. But not offered by Carnival. You can still book a tour though, just not through Carnival. It's a 2 hour drive just to get there, and 2 hour back. Not enough time for me to enjoy the tour. Maybe somebody else will chime in, and offer their opinion. 

[Shaded Lady]

I've heard that Carnival will cancel a particular excursion vendor if the reviews are sufficiently negative, over an extended period of time, or if they don't get their passengers back to the boat on time consistently. If the excursion vendor is late, and the ship has to wait, that costs Carnival. After a while Carnival's tolerance of that kind of thing dwindles.

 

So it could be a performance issue on behalf of the vendor... it could also be that they have increased their prices beyond what Carnival wants to pay (there's almost always a markup with Carnival excursions vs. what you'd pay directly to the 3rd party vendor.

[scuba_ninja]

Thanks. All good answers! So  now... what to do in Montego Bay on new years? 

[beshears]

I wanted to check out the Croydon Plantation as well, but with the time getting there and coming back, it would run it too close for us.  That was one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Jamaica, as I so enjoyed the plantation tour of almost 20 years ago.

[RaiderDuck]

We did the Croydon Plantation expedition three years ago. Our opinion is that something sketchy may be going on there. The "tour" involves being taken to several different touristy areas in one section of the plantation, given an oral history of Jamaica, trying several different kinds of pineapple and juices, and given a chicken lunch. But you get no sense whatsoever of the plantation's operations. We spent three hours or so there and couldn't even tell you what kinds of plants the plantation grows or harvests.

 

Contrast that to the banana plantation tour in Nicaragua where you're taken through the entire operation and know exactly what they're doing and how.

[Shaded Lady]

1 hour ago, RaiderDuck said:

We did the Croydon Plantation expedition three years ago. Our opinion is that something sketchy may be going on there. The "tour" involves being taken to several different touristy areas in one section of the plantation, given an oral history of Jamaica, trying several different kinds of pineapple and juices, and given a chicken lunch. But you get no sense whatsoever of the plantation's operations. We spent three hours or so there and couldn't even tell you what kinds of plants the plantation grows or harvests.

 

Contrast that to the banana plantation tour in Nicaragua where you're taken through the entire operation and know exactly what they're doing and how.

Wow! Having taken several plantation tours (Hawaii- pineapple, macadamia nut, Grenada- various spices) that is what I expect when I take such a tour... so glad now that I didn't waste my time on this tour!

[beshears]

RaiderDuck, thanks for giving your input on the Croydon Plantation tour as well, so it doesn't look like I will miss too much, even though my heart was set to "show" everyone the plantation experience.