Montego Bay

[tesi]

Is there anyone out there who has taken a shore excursion in Montego Bay with a tour operator other than the one booked through the cruise line? Surely there must be another choice besides these high priced excursions! Help please!! Any suggestions??

[AllyGirl]

If you go out on your own & do an excursion that is not booked onboard, you run the risk of 'missing the boat' and catching up with the ship is a cost incurred by you. If you book onboard & the tour runs late, the ship will wait for you. It's your risk....

[Andrealovescruising]

tesi, I do not recommend Pete Taylor if you book outside of the cruiseline. Been there.... done that.

We thought we were doing the best thing by hiring an independent(Pete Taylor) who came highly recommended by friends of ours. He is widely known in Jamaica. Meets you at the pier holding a sign, has a website through which you can book directly, etc. Here's the thing... We didn't save any money(actually got taken), were put into a very dangerous situation where we feared for our lives. Add to that, we could have saved a lot of money if we booked through the cruise line.

I know others on this site like to book with independents. Jamaica, in my opinion, is the one place in which I would never book independently again. Much less, go there.

Although, Dunns River Falls is not to be missed in Ochos Rios. It's beautiful. If you go, wear water shoes and bring a waterproof camera.

One word of advice. Stay in an organized group. Do not venture off on your own in Jamaica. I don't mean to scare you. Just to make you aware.
A'ndrea

[BJC123]

We booked thru the ship for Montego, but did check out Barrett Adventures. We decided that while she offered some good excursions, we would go with the ship just for some of the reasons that a large number of posts have talked about.

I will also say - don't venture out alone, very scary.

[Dave]

I think we've had to ban Pete Taylor from this forum on numerous occasions for posting advertisements - under assumed names and false pretenses (such as claiming to be a happy customer).

[Andrealovescruising]

Dave, very interesting. The assumed names and ads must have been before I joined cruise-chat. Not only were we not happy, we were ready to board a flight home after that incident.
Live and learn.
A'ndrea

[Dave]

In cases where messages are nothing more than ads, we delete them and then either warn or ban the poster. You may not have noticed it.

[jackinbox]

I was quite surprised with Montego Bay. It turned out to be our favorite port although we had suspected it would be our least favorite. We never once felt unsafe and although I did get offered some weed a few times, I politely told them no and they left me alone. There's nothing better than Doctor's Cove Beach and Jerk Chicken!

Prior to our cruise we had read numerous negative things here in regards to Montego Bay. I feel most of it is just sheer paranoia of people who look different and approach you. That makes some people uncomfortable.

We would go out of our way to go back there again. Our experience was 100% positive.

[Andrealovescruising]

jackinbox, only "sheer paranoia" from the locals that approach you with intent to commit harm by pointing a gun at you and demanding money.

Glad to hear your time spent in Montego Bay was memorable. So was ours.

A'ndrea

[jackinbox]

Originally posted by Andrealovescruising:
jackinbox, only "sheer paranoia" from the locals that approach you with intent to commit harm by pointing a gun at you and demanding money.

Glad to hear your time spent in Montego Bay was memorable. So was ours.

A'ndrea

I wasn't referring to you. Obviously there are things that can happen anywhere. I wouldn't want to experience what you went through but that kind of thing happens right here in Indiana on a regular basis.

I found the locals very friendly, helpful and courteous.