Jamaica by cruise ship
Written: Dec 12 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Peat Taylor tours cannot be beat!
Cons: Pushy salespeople
The Bottom Line: Jamaica has something of a bad reputation, but you can't go wrong with Peat Taylor Tours. He'll take good care of you!
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| TLBP's Full Review: Jamaica |
Recently we took a cruise that stopped in Ochos Rio, Jamaica. It's a beautiful island, and we had a wonderful day; however, I heard that other people had something of a rough time. Here's the story of what we did on one wonderful day in Jamaica -- I highly recommend every bit of it!
First, I need to tell you upfront that I dislike cruise ship tours. They are expensive, and they treat you like cattle -- Hurry up and go here! Now let's wait while the 75 other people catch up to us, then we'll board the nice hot bus. No, no time to stop in that cute little shop! No restroom for you! Oh, look, let's all spend an hour in this ship-approved shop.
We MUCH prefer to do things with independent tour operators, and in Jamaica we hit solid gold! We toured with Peat Taylor tours, and I cannot say enough good things about him! He was highly recommended online (particularly on CruiseCritic.com), and now that I've experienced his tours, I'm one of his cheerleaders.
But on to the story of our day:
Our ship (Mariner of the Seas) docked at Ochos Rio, Jamaica; I was glad that the port is deep enough for a large ship to pull up and tie off. It's so much more convenient to simply walk off the ship.
We had no trouble booking our tour with www.peattaylor.com; We didn't pay anything up front, and Peat's son ONeal was quick to respond to my questions. He directed us to look for him (or someone else wearing a Peat Taylor shirt) at the pier. We arranged to take his standard tour, which includes Dunn's River Falls (the most popular attraction in Jamaica) and a tour of the island.
Once we were ashore, we were "attacked" by people trying to sell us tours, rent us scooters, and sell us various things. We told one of the first vendors that we'd already reserved with Peat Taylor Tours, and he disguntledly pointed us towards a gate in the fence.
Over by the gate, a man wearing a Peat Taylor polo shirt greeted us -- he turned out to be Peat, Jr., Peat's son. He directed us to his tour bus, which was pretty much like a typical church bus in America; it probably seated 30 people and was air conditioned.
It turned out that we were his only early-morning clients, so he drove us straight to Dunn's River Falls. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get to the Falls early! We were the second group to arrive that day, and we were able to climb the falls with a small group. As we were leaving, we saw HUNDREDS of people (most of whom were carrying Royal Caribbean and Carnival towels) pouring into the park. I imagine their experience was considerably less enjoyable just because of the crowding.
But back to Peat . . . Peat dropped us off and told us that most people spend two hours at the Falls. We compared watches and agreed to meet in the parking lot two hours later -- we actually spent about an hour and 45 minutes at the Falls, so he was right on target.
Before he turned us loose at the Falls, he gave us a warning about the craftspeople and vendors at the Falls. He warned us that the people would be very aggressive and even desperate to sell to us. He warned us that they would try to put things into our hands, then claim that we had to buy them, or claim that we'd broken them. He warned us that they'd try to give "gifts" to our children, then demand a donation. We saw everything about which he warned us; of course, this is simply a product of the country's poverty, but we were glad to be forewarned.
He was there to pick us up a few minutes early, and he took us on a tour of the island. Again, we were his only clients, but he didn't treat us like second-rate customers in the least! He sang, pointed out places where movies'd been filmed, etc. His jokes were corny, but we laughed and laughed. Our first stop was at a little garden, where Peat showed us typical plants and herbs of Jamaica. Next we stopped at a Pottery plant called Wassi, where we saw Jamaican artists at work and our daughters made clay pots on a potter's wheel. We stopped at preschool for poor children that Peat, Sr. has taken on as a special project (this was our choice -- not a requirement). My two daughters' eyes popped out when they saw the poverty in which these children live, and we were very glad we'd brought a huge bag of school and craft supplies (and a big bag of lollipops) for them. If you go this way, please consider bringing them something. Finally, we stopped off in Fern Gully, where Peat pointed out typical rainforest plants.
Finally it was lunchtime. Peat suggested The Ruins restaurant, which overlooks Dunn's River Falls. He said he'd pick us up later and take us anywhere we wanted to go. We were tempted to try River Tubing after lunch, but we opted to do a little shopping and head back to the ship.
We walked through a couple shops nearby the pier, and we found little of interest. The goods were, for the most part, cheap but repetative. We bought a couple $5 tee-shirts, some jerk spice, and some coffee.
When we went to dinner that night, we realized just how lucky we'd been to go with Peat! Our tablemates described how they'd arrived at the Falls around 10:00 (more than an hour after us), and they'd had to wait and wait for their turn to climb the waterfall. They were part of a large crowd, and they couldn't stop to swim a little or take pictures.
However, our cruise tablemates were amazed that we were "brave enough" to go out on our own in big, scarey Jamaica. "What if the ship'd left you?" "What if you'd been kidnapped?" Um, we researched our choices carefully ahead of time and at no time felt unsafe!
In closing, I highly recommend that you spend the day with Peat Taylor tours. Whether you travel with Peat himself or one of his two sons (Peat or ONeal), you'll be well cared for and will see much more of Jamaica than your cruise ship buddies who choose to ride the ship's cattle cars!
Oh, I should tell you about costs. In November 2007, Peat charges $35/adult and $25/child for his Dunn's River Falls /island tour combo. This covers your entrance to the Falls (which would cost $15 if you walked up and paid it yourself), safe transportation, and the tour. If you've already seen the Falls or if you're not up to this strenuous excursion, Peat offers other choices.
Will we go back to Jamaica? Oh, yes! Will we tour with Peat again? Oh, yes!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
TLBP
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Reviews written: 109
Trusted by: 10 members
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