Carnival Cruise OCHO RIOS QUESTION?

Question

We are cruising to Ochos Rios in August.

1) how close is the beach to the cruiseship

2) is there are charge to it? (In Costa Maya there was no charge)

3)How unsafe is Ocho Rios?

MOST IMPORTANT

If we do not do an excursion what is there to do in Ocho Rios around the cruise ship? (At Grand Caymen there was a lot of shops- is Ocho Rios like this too?)

What can you tell me about Ocho Rios?

Thanks

Answer 1

You don't want to wander around OR alone.  The shops in the town are a pain because you get hassled endlessly both inside and outside by hawkers.  Also, as an obvious tourist, you are an easy mark.

One thing you can do on your own is walk [literally five minutes] over to Island Village.  There is controlled [admission charged, I think] entry.  There are small shops with the usual things tourists would be interested in, as well as a Margaritaville.  The beach there is small but no hawkers are allowed.  At the bar, if you buy a drink [soft/hard] they give you a bracelet that allows you to use the "toys" and facilities.  There is a small pool and a great hot tub.

For more info about all your ports, go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then "Ports of Call".

Have fun!

Answer 2

OK well where do i start with Ocho Rios?

welllll i went on a RCI cruise last year to Jamaica

and if youre docking where i was theres a beach

really close to the dock. you have to walk through a bunch of shops to gget there and all the merchants are begging for you

to come inside and look at their goods but i ignored them (stay in the middle of the road where you are walking because my grandma got repeatedly pulled toward shops by the owners physically. that kinda freaked us out) once we got to the beach you had to pay for a chair and once we did and got in the water we realized we wasted 9 bucks on 3 chairs because the water looked like it had a gasoline like film covering it and we immediately ran out. We went on a big blow up slide for a while which was a lot better than the water of the ocean because it was hose water. but this wasnt strictly a tourist slide. we got off when we saw two tiny jamaican kids naked run up the stairs for their turn. So that was a waste of another 24 dollars. then our last resort which we hoped would save us from the bad events that had already taken place we went to eat at Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville. this was perhaps the highlight of jamaica because it was moderately better than our short experience there so far that day. There was an indoor/outdoor pool with a slide right next to some tables which was cool because all the kids including me were in it until the food came. but even still there were beggers (this time i felt bad for them because they looked poverished dressed in nothing but rags and hoping that maybe a tourist would by a handmade bead necklace out of their feeble hands so they could at least eat that day.) they were behind a fence and rapping and calling through a hole in the fence. we went back on the boat after that becaus we were fed up with jamaica. Im sorry if this puts a damper on your cruise taking spirits but that was my day at ocho rios. im surre you'll have loads of fun wherever you go because i loved every other minute of my cruise. *just remember to check the water before spending 3 bucks for a chair. dont go on a big blow up water slide unless you want to jump down it after kids butts were sliding all over it. and walk in the middle of the road so you cant be physically pulled into any shops you dont want to go into.* one good thing that did come out of this was my mom and dad each bought watches for 3,o00 dollars instead of 5,000 in the US. and yes they were real. my mom went to the US store she was gonna buy them at and had it checked out. Have an awesome time on your cruise and remember you can skip that port and hang out on the ship. no one will be at the pool youll have it all to yourself =]

Answer 3

There is a really nice beach with Margaritta Ville Right off the peir.

Answer 4

There is a beach right next to the dock, but there is a fee. Other beaches are located nearby. The shops are also located right off the docks but be careful for many of the vendors are extremely dishonest. They apparently do not have the consumer fraud laws we have in the states so they simply do whatever they want. Avoid a shop called the Taj Majal. They promote original designer products and have the prices to go with them. They appear to be good deals but they are fakes. They even have the appropriate boxes to go with them. When I returned to the States I found out I had been sold a fake I approached both the cruise line and the Jamaican government. The cruise line said there really was nothing they could do and the Jamaican government could care less. I will never visit Jamaica again. P.S. Your credit cards fraud protection also wont do you much good. It has been almost a year and I am still waiting for my refund.

Answer 5

I havnt been on a cruise ship to Ocho Rios but I did however have a week stay there.  I was at the Renaissance Hotel and the cruise ships docked around the bay from there.  Apparently at the time the hotel allowed cruise ship passengers to use the beaches there.  Which were pretty nice.  There is a lot of shops around that area and something of an open market type of location.  The excursions that most people do there are the Dunns River Falls that is a must see for people who go there.  Its a popular thing to climb the falls. Which I did but scared the heck out of me because lots of the areas were so slippery! There are plantations to see and rum makers.  Also there is the coffee plantation.  The cruise ship will have an itinerary of what is offered for excursions anyway.  Carnival cruise lines is great about that. ( I have traveled with them as well but to other locations) So dont worry about not having something to do there!