Montego Bay, Jamaica Port Reviews

Hubby and I didn’t mind going off the pier (11/25-12/2-2018) in Jamaica, we took the hop on hop off bus ($25ea) to shop a bit then swim & lounge on the beach and ate a great jerk platter ($30 & bottled water). Yes they will ask you to buy things like trinkets or pot but I didn’t have much problem once I said no. That said, I’m black and wasn’t really bothered much other then “Sista, ya smoke’n today?” they did pester our white friends more and stopped pestering my hubby once they saw he was with me & a fist bump. Rofl What a world reversal. 😜

Was leary going into Jamaica, loved it once we were there. The security at the port is a little much but understandable with the reported crime in the area. We went to the Great House at Rose Hall was an interesting tour. Shopping wasn't bad the workers were a little pushy but took a firm no. All in all a great time.

We went to Doctors Cove swam the beach was gorgeous $5 for a chair and $3 to get on beach really reasonable. After we walked around the shops The locals were fine I just would say no thank you and no one persisted to try to stop us. The people are very friendly and good deals in the shops. We took a cab back to port for $5 a person for a ten minute ride (maybe 15) back to port.

I loved this port! We did Dunn’s River Falls with lunch at Almond Tree Restaurant and shopping. They picked us up and we rode in a bus for about an hr and 45 min, from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios. The views were amazing and the trip didn’t even seem that long. Our guide, Tish, was great and made the ride interesting. Our bus driver, Mamu, was the reason why it didn’t seem to take so long. He was a good driver but he drove a little fast. We stopped at a little store for a restroom/snack break about 30-45 min from the falls. Once at the falls, we walked in together and broke off into those climbing and those not climbing. We were passed off to guides if climbing and the two we got were great! Adrian was the main guide while Kevin was the videographer capturing everything as you climb. The climb is a little difficult in the beginning as the water is coming down fast and you can’t see where you’re stepping. That’s why it’s so important to follow the guides. My only negative is the amount of other small groups with guides and it’s easy to get mixed up with another group if you’re not paying attention, and they may walk in the middle of your group breaking the chain. At the end, you’re offered a video of your climb for $40 and a photo also for $10. We ended up buying both. The photo is one that was taken in the falls with a Dunn’s River Falls border. The restaurant was ok but the view was unbeatable. The view made up for the overall ok food, which was jerk chicken (very tender and pretty good), red beans and rice and something that resembled cole slaw. Our last stop was at Rainbow Mall for shopping and this part I hated. There were like 10 workers trying to get you to buy things and they let you know in the beginning that everything is half off, but that’s not a discount when things are priced at $32 or $28. Half off just makes it regular priced and the things aren’t special or handcrafted. You can’t even bargain because it’s a store. The prices are set. Even though the shopping was mediocre, the excursion was fun and I enjoyed myself. I like the feel of Jamaica especially when you get out of Montego Bay.

Jamaica was beautiful! We shopped in the little booths right outside of where the boat was docked which was nice and convenient. We also book an excursion, so riding to bus, we got to see a little of Jamaica. We absolutely LOVED our excursion and our tour guides. They were great! We zip-lined, floated down a little river, and had Jamaican jerk chicken for lunch. That was our first time zip-lining and we will definitely be doing that again!

Visited: Feb 25, 2018

Read full cruise review

Grab the shuttle with “Teddy Bear” or “Biggie”. For $25, he’ll take you shopping, to a beautiful beach, and touring for about 4 to 5 hours. Also Dunn River Falls or The White Witch Tour are fun!

Visited: Sep 23, 2018

Read full cruise review

Be sure to take an authorized tour. Be watchful.

Visited: Jan 15, 2017

Read full cruise review

We loved Jamaica. Our excursion was tubing down a river. The gentleman who drove the van was a delight. He talked about Jamaica, its people, and its culture the entire time. He explained No Problem Mon meant there were no problems, just situations. My granddaughters brought this concept back to our family! Shrek helped us at the site where we tubed. What a gentleman. I needed extra assistance and he never made me feel that I was an imposition. In face, I was honored to be called Mother in that Jamaican accent. We will visit Jamaica in the future.

Visited: Jun 25, 2017

Read full cruise review

I hesitate leaving a bit of a negative review because I truly feel the people there are just trying to make a living any way they can. But it the local people who made our visit what it was. At first we had made the decision not to get off the boat because we didn’t book an excursion. However, we decided to take a taxi with the other couple traveling with us to a local shopping area called the Hip Center to say we had been there and didn’t want to regret not going. Before we were even fully off the taxi, we were accosted by locals selling marijuana and other things. We could barely move. I wasn’t scared but frustrated. We understand they need to sell to survive but to have 8 people on top of you is overwhelming. We stopped in two shops & were followed by two local women who worked there, trying to sell us everything and telling us we must tip them. They wouldn’t leave us alone. We turned the conversation with the girl following us. Her entire countenance changed when we seemed genuinely interested in her & her interests. She opened up about wanting to travel, etc and we encouraged her to apply to a cruise line. We bought a small thing of jerk spice (which is so good!) and that’s when we decided we were buying no more. The owner came out and was clearly not Jamaican. The girls acted as if he were their pimp. My heart broke for these people anymore. From there we just took pictures by the beautiful water & went to Margaritavile. The drinks were good but for 4 drinks & chips & salsa, $70 was a bit steep. But it’s Jamaica mon so no problem. 😉. We went back to the ship after this. The island is beautiful at night and we don’t regret getting off. I’m sure it’s great with an excursion and we will do that next time.

We did an excursion to the Hilton Rose Hall Resort. This place must be the best kept secret on the ship. There were only 5 of us on the bus to the resort. What an amazing place this was. It was absolutely beautiful. While there we enjoyed excellent food and all the drinks we cared to have. The place has an enormous pool, a lazy river, waterslides, a kid's area, and lounge chairs on the beach. If you are looking for a safe, fun-filled day, this is the place to be. They have something there for everyone.