The first time we made it to Jamaica was 2010. We had tried to cruise here before and ended up diverted due to weather a couple of times. At that time we were cruising with another couple and they wanted to go to Sunset Beach Resort, so we went with them. We took a taxi from the port and went straight there. Then we paid for a day pass and went in. I honestly don’t remember exactly what we paid… but I am thinking we probably dropped close to $200 for the 3 of us (taxi and all), but I am not sure. I remember being really nervous about handing over my credit card when they whipped out their manual machine (times may have changed). :) We had an okay time, but after we got back home we agreed… we regretted going to Jamaica and feeling like we were never really there.
This time around I vowed it was going to be different. While we have picked up some decent deals in port, I had never booked an excursion… prior to the cruise… with a company independent of Carnival. I had always been a little leery before and even more cautious since Trenton started cruising with us.
I started my research and one name kept coming up … Liberty Tours Jamaica. I researched and checked out their website and Facebook page. I researched through Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor. Everyone had very positive things to say. So one night I emailed them and just said “Hey, we will be in Jamaica this day. What do you have to offer?” Much to my surprise within the hour I had a return email with a list of things and a suggested itinerary . So I looked it over and wrote them back to say “How much?” A couple of minutes later… I got my response.
The Breakdown: Excursion would include a trip to the Secret Falls (not known by many), sightseeing of Ocho Rios, a visit to the location where Christopher Columbus came in 1494, lunch at Scotchies to taste authentic jerk chicken prepared on pimento wood with rice and peas, and shopping.
Duration: 4-5 hours
Price: $300 Includes Transportation + Entrance Fee’s + Lunch
At this point I wrote them back and said $300 for ALL 4 OF US? To which came an immediate email reply: “That is correct.”
“Wow.” I read it off to Mark. I have taken MANY Carnival excursions and several that have lasted all day. They are usually $100 a piece and you are considered lucky if that includes lunch. So I replied back …. “How do I pay?”
So there you have it. It was done. I had officially booked my very first Independent Tour … prior to our cruise, which if you know our cruising style is UN-Heard Of!
In several of the reviews for Liberty Tours Jamaica I had read about this tour guide named Ricardo. Everyone love, love, loved Ricardo. I thought cool… we’ll probably get Bill. (Seriously that’s a joke… I hope no one that works there is named Bill!)
So all of that was Surprise #1. Surprise #2 came a few days before we left for Louisiana. I was sitting in the parking lot, waiting to pick Trenton up from school and my phone rings. I look down and this is what I see.
I thought “Is this a joke?” “How is someone from Jamaica calling me?” “This has got to be good!” After I quickly snapped my picture because I was sure that would never happen again ...I answered. It was someone from Liberty Tours Jamaica and they wanted to make sure that I understood what to do when I got off the boat, make sure I knew what to bring with me and offered to answer any questions that I had prior to arriving. Holy cow! What wonderful customer service!
The big day finally came! We docked in Jamaica and headed off the boat. We were immediately directed to meet our party and our tour guide …. Bill. Ha ha … just kidding. Ricardo! Our total group was 9 people. We rode in an air conditioned van. Score! Immediately I knew we would like Ricardo. He was engaging and informative. “Today you are Jamerican’s!” he says. Trenton took that to heart and to this day is still exclaiming he is a “Jamerican”.
Everything we passed, Ricardo made sure we knew; from landmarks to real estate prices… American vs Jamaican. He passed around Jamaican currency for us to see. I love when they do this because I am always scoping out my retirement home :) I am certain I will live on an island one day… Just have to visit them all so I can make an informed decision!
Time seemed to fly by and before I knew it we were pulling over to stop. We were at the place where Christopher Columbus landed. I thought this was super cool. It was pretty much…”Well, it was right down there”, but seriously… How cool to know you were standing in the same place? Great educational opportunity for Trenton too (seeing how he was missing school and all!) There were some people there selling trinkets and such. We were not hassled and after agreeing to purchase 2 necklaces the lady gave me a free bracelet as we were walking away…. Might have been a marketing strategy to get an extra tip and it worked :) They were also selling a type of fruit locally grown in Jamaica and under normal circumstances I would have tried it… but it seemed kinda warm at that moment and a few flies were buzzing around and I decided to pass on the tasting opportunity… I did take a picture though :)
Next we were off to the secret water falls. Ricardo said he has lived in Jamaica his entire life and only found out about these falls last year. That’s a pretty well, kept secret if you ask me! I can also see how they are “secret” as I have no clue how we got there. In the blink of an eye we were on a little hidden road heading through the trees. At times I wasn’t sure if it really was a road or just a path we were attempting to drive down. Some of the pot holes were as big as the van and at one point I looked at Mark and said “Just what the hell have you gotten us in too?!” He looked at me all wild eyed and said “ME!?? … Oh never mind.” Mom was looking at me with that “motherly look” and Trenton was giggling. In all honesty the scenery was beautiful and Ricardo was an expert “pot hole dodger" :)
Finally though… we arrived. Now, here’s a tip. WEAR YOUR SWIMSUIT UNDER YOUR CLOTHES. Today I am thankful for tinted windows in Jamaica as that is where I changed into my swimsuit…. The back seat of the van… with people milling around all about! It all worked out okay, I got all the necessary parts tucked in and we set off down the trail. The water fall was breath taking. There are several places you can jump in the water from big cliffs to small cliffs… depending on the dare devil that you are. Our guides took the big cliff and Trenton and I settled for the small one.
The water was surprisingly deep and Brisk! Invigorating… we’ll go with that one! It was January. Trenton is not “the best” swimmer and with the water fall there was a bit of a current, so one of the guides just flipped Trenton on his back and took off swimming around! He didn’t miss a thing!
After playing in the water awhile we climbed back up and were shown the “secret hole”. If you didn’t know it was there, you would probably miss it. It is bigger than it initially looks. Everyone in our party was able to fit through. I was terrified! You get down on your hands and knees and start crawling @$$ backwards into this water fall, not knowing where you will come out. Thankfully there was a guide that was inside and there to guide your leg down to an appropriate place so you could get your footing and turn around before jumping down into the water where you found yourself in a little cave at the bottom of the waterfall. There was a lot of space down there and it was really, really cool!
We eventually swam out and I thought “Well, this was really cool.” … only we weren’t done yet! Next we were led up this small hill and came out at the top of the water fall. You could see the water coming out of mountains with other smaller waterfalls above. Breathtaking! The guides were wonderful. They seemed to be in every place at all times and there was only 2 of them, so how they managed that… I don’t know. They were always there with a steadying hand and making sure you knew where to place your feet so you didn’t slip and fall. They were always one step ahead of Trenton and I felt completely safe with him up there. Not only that... all our pictures were taken BY them with OUR camera! No charge. We jumped in smaller pools of water. Sat in smaller waterfalls for a “massage” and if you were so inclined to jump off the top of the water fall… they would help you do that too. Only 2 of the 9 people of our group were brave enough for that. I am going to let you go ahead and know now... we weren't any part of those 2! Downstream from the main waterfall were more pools and more cliffs for jumping and ropes for swinging. We actually stayed here longer than we were supposed to because it was so awesome. The good thing about this tour is they designed it to fit you.
Once we dried off we all piled back in the van and headed out for some shopping. Mom had an agenda for purchasing some Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee… a suitcase full…literally… and she succeeded in bargaining down to a price that she was willing to pay. We also tasted free rum samples at this shop and Mom bought so much coffee they threw in a free shot glass and a little guitar for Trenton :) Successful shopping trip all around as some of our traveling partners purchased some Rum and founds soft drinks in the next shop, so they were good to go :)
Our next stop was Scotchies. Wow… just wow. We sat outside (your only option) on plastic tables and chairs. It was beautiful with trees and flowers all around. A little path led back to where they were cooking. I had seen on travel channels how they cooked jerk chicken on pimento wood, covered with tin, but here it was right before my eyes and the aroma of this place was Un-Believable! It makes my tummy growl just thinking about it. We all sat down at a table and Ricardo brought out our lunch… Oh My Goodness! It was fantastic and far exceeded my expectations.
They did have a little bar in a hut there. Mom got some fruity drink which she said was good and I ordered a Red Stripe just out of principal… if you go to Jamaica you gotta have a Red Stripe (or so I have heard). So I did :) Best. Lunch. Ever.
Ricardo kept a good eye on the clock and informed us it was getting close to time to head back as we were still about an hour away from Montego Bay. Even though we all used the “facilities” prior to leaving… Trenton informed us he had to go “really bad”. Ricardo was wonderful. He explained the area we were passing through was not the safest place to stop. As soon as we got to a good area he pulled over and we found ourselves at another Scotchies. You would think this was just a potty stop, but nope… they were so excited to see another Scotchies our group came back to the van with more jerked chicken and pork to enjoy on the way back to the boat :)
It was starting to get dark at this time and we all had a close watch on the time. There was quite a bit of traffic as we entered back into Montego Bay. We arrived at the cruise terminal with 30 minutes to spare!
It was a fantastic day! In all our cruises and multiple types of excursions… this one ranked #1! I cannot recommend Liberty Tours Jamaica enough… and if you are lucky enough to get Ricardo, I know you will be in fantastic hands! You can contact them here: http://www.libertytoursjamaica.com or by email [email protected]. Here is an awesome You Tube video too! http://youtu.be/1MdCqw6d7mQ
