Montego Bay, Jamaica
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.