Anthony Jones

Our first port of call was Montego Bay, Jamaica. We had read many negative reviews on this port, but heard that Sunset Beach Resort was the best place to go, so that’s what we did. We grabbed a cab from the pier to the resort ($3/person for cab) and for $20 per person per day, you get all your food, drinks and snorkeling covered. You just can't beat this deal. The beach was very pretty there were plenty of chairs and places to lay out on the beach. Kevin and I snorkeled here, which we enjoyed, but there's not a lot of great coral reefs or fish here. It still beats anything back home! We ate some great jerk chicken for lunch, relaxed in a Jacuzzi overlooking the beach and had some drinks. We spent about 4 enjoyable hours here.

We had about 2 hours to burn before heading back to the ship, so we took another cab to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaretville. This place was crazy—lots of partying, dancing on tables, a few boobs here and there, and, well, you get the picture. It was a cool experience. Unfortunately, we were nearly out of cash at this point ($20 for ONE drink here will break you *fast*!) so we didn’t stay long. Took pictures, bought MORE T-shirts, grabbed another cab and headed back to the ship.

A few notes on Jamaica. I understand why many people hate this stop. If we had gone onto the island not knowing what to do, we would have been aimlessly wandering around bad parts of town. Plan ahead before getting off the ship! Make no mistake--as you drive down the streets, people are standing in the MIDDLE of the road selling drugs and other junk. It’s a very poor looking place with trash burning and dope/crack heads walking around lost. The best advice is to go to a resort where these people are kept out and you’ll be safe. Leave your valuables on the ship and don’t carry a lot of cash!

Also, another very important point in Jamaica: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER get into a cab unless it has a red license plate and the words “Juta” prominently displayed on the window. These are the only cabs regulated by the government and the others are shady and very pushy. We made this mistake on the first cab we got at the pier and he tried to convince us to go to some other public beaches. Also, once we got to Sunset Beach, he told us that he didn’t have any change. Yeah, right! We argued and argued and waited around until we finally got change from someone. They’re very pushy and stubborn and insist that you take their cabs—but wait around for a red-tag cab and you’ll be much better off.

Overall, I’m glad we got off the ship as had a lot of fun, but it was our least favorite stop, and we have no desire to ever visit this island again.

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