pz@emacs.uucp (Paul Czarnecki) (07/15/85)
In my article <111@emacs.uucp> I requested information about a trip to a
particular resort, Club Caribean, in Jamaica that I had "won" by
looking a time share resort. The questions I are indented and preceded
by a numeral and a close parenthesis. My comments are in [[[ ]]]'s
1) What is Jamaica like?
Jamaica is wonderful!
The country is pretty mellow - very slow paced. The people are very
friendly because they depend so heavily on tourism, but they can drive
you crazy trying to sell you stuff.
...everything is green, and very mountainous. The natives are very very
poor, and there is a definite difference between the tourist areas(very
modern) and where the people live. Everyone is very friendly so there
is no need to be wary. I was outside Ocho Rios which is on one side of
the island, resorts at Kingston are on the other side. the mountain is
between both sides.
The island is beautiful and I would recommend it to anyone.
Jamaica is like Jamaica. A former British colony, she gained
independence in 1962 (I think). The official language is English
although when the people talk among themselves they use a patois that's
next to incomprehensible. There's also a lot of slang; "irie" means
every thing is fine, "cool running" means "I'm in agreement with you"...
There have been periods of political turmoil in the larger cities, but
for the most part the country is about as safe as traveling in the U.S.
[[[from talking with friends here that have been to J recently I gather
that the political turmoil is concentrated on the southern coast near
Kingston. Most of the tourist areas are on the northern coast.]]] Use
common sense. If you see a sleazy bar or such ask yourself if you'd go
into a place like that back home. This is a Third World country and as
such there is a *lot* of poverty and a *lot* of expensive touristy
areas. The people don't have a lot of material wealth but I'd take
their lifestyle over the suburbs any time.
2) When/Where should we go?
I went in March, and the weather was perfect. 80s-90s with no rain, a
little cooler at night. If you go, don't miss Dunn's River Falls (you
climb a waterfall) or Negril (12 miles of beautiful beach).
I have been told that May and October [[[ is the rainy season???]]]
(late September, ealy October), so you may wish to avoid this time. We
went in May. It rained every afternoon for a few hours. Only one day
was even a little ruined by the weather though. The morning was enough
sun. Generally, we were burnt and apprreciated not having to look for
shade. The rain, for the most part, is light and so you can go about
your business. The one day that was "ruined" was a day we had planned
sight-seeing in the village. Its not so nice to be shuffled in and out
of a bus in wet clothing. As well, on this day, the rain was
torrential.
I always tell people this little rhyme if they're thinking about hitting
the Caribbean:
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Season
June too soon.
July standby.
August you must (be prepared).
September remember (storm season isn't done yet).
October all over.
Annual temperatures are almost always in the 80's during the day, high
60's at night. It can get down to the low 50's in the mountains. On
the coasts the Doctor's Wind (sea breeze) blows during the day along
with the Northeast Trades that pick up about 11 am. At night the
Undertaker's Wind (land breeze) can get a little chill.
I stayed at Couples - a resort for "couples" only - it was real nice and
included everything, all meals, all drinks and even cigarettes.
We stayed at an all inclusive resort in Montego Bay. Because of this we
were apart from the natives unless we wanted to be around them. From
various comments by other travellers, this is a distinct advantage. The
natives are pushy, and constantly hound you to buy things. I, myself,
did not find the natives so impoverished so that our vacation was
ruined.
3) Do we need passports?
no, but you do need proof of citizenship - birth certificate, voter's
registration or driver's license.
No. [[[the above]]] ...and a return ticket off the island are the only
things needed.
Passports ... you don't need one, but go through customs MUCH faster
with one.
4) How expensive are things (food etc...)?
Outside of the real tourist areas (Montego Bay) the food is pretty
cheap. Buy Jamaican beef patties - they're excellent.
very cheap, i remember having to trade my american currency for jamacian
currency, but they trade it at the hotels. a bottle of rum is only 3 or
4 dollars, and they have craft markets all over the place ( at least at
Ocho Rios)
We did, in fact, find Jamaican restaurants a little on the expensive
side. Mind you we only visitted two off the resort. Both were
absolutely goreous in decor and service, but everything is a la carte
and more than Canadian prices.
Food is very costly. You can get rum drinks during "Happy Hours" for
next to nothing at most resorts. Since many items need to be imported
and tourists are chumps, most things are a bit more expensive. If you
go, I highly recommend you try curried goat. You might want to bring a
couple boxes of Ritz crackers and some Cheez-Whiz for light lunches or
dinners.
4) is USA currency accepted?
There is a law that allows Jamaicans to accept only $ja - although they
don't ALL listen, most do.
It is illegal to use foreign tendor while in Jamaica. But it is very
easy to exchange money while you are there. The currency there is the
Jamaican Dollar and runs about 5:1 Jamaican:USA. It is also illegal to
take Jamaican currency out of the country. I should note, however, that
even though it is illegal, the natives love to get American money.
Hotels will only take foreign currency and since the $JA is pegged to
the US$ guess what lights up peoples' eyes. Most stores will have
prices marked in US$ and $JA with the US$ price being *less* than the
JA$ cost at the official exchange rate. Street vendors can be bargained
down easily if you say you'll pay in US$.
5) What is Club Caribbean like? In Feldings (sp?) Guidebook to
the Caribbean it said "see F's Economy Guide", and when we
looked at that there was no mention of it. Some other
guidebook mentioned it but just barely. "116 cottage-like
villas (called Rondovels) with private beach, tennis,
swimming, outdoor entertainment pavilion, "swing bar", disco
(yeech!)" It is located in Runaway Bay. It is/ could it be
a real dump? How noisy is it? (We spend a lot of vacation
time in New England country inns.)
I don't think Club Carribean is a private club, so hounding may be a
problem. You could ask your travel agent whether the club has a private
beach, and private facilities (gardens to walk in, sports complex to
work out in, etc). Generally, if it is private, they keep the natives
out.
Runaway Bay is supposedly the place where the last Spaniards fled the
island after England conquered it. It's about 60 miles east of Montego
Bay which is where you'll want to fly into. Club Carib. looks like it's
right by the Runaway Bay Golf Course. I haven't been that far east but
if you want I can send more info on the area next week.
[[[scenes of pages being ripped off of calendars by the wind, clocks
spinning quickly, newspaper headlines]]]
I looked up Club Caribbean. It's listed as "Expensive" with "cottages
around a central clubhouse and bar". Beauty parlor, private beach,
fishing, diving, hotel shop, horseback riding, golf, etc, etc.
Runaway Bay doesn't exist as a town really. It's composed of beaches
and hotels. Discovery Bay is five miles away and the "Runaway Caves and
Green Grotto" are nearby. You can take a boat ride in the caves 120
feet below ground; maybe not your idea of excitement but it might be an
afternoon's diversion. That's unfortunately all I could find.
As a side note, the place I highlt recommend in Montego Bay is Seawind
Beach Hotel. This is listed as "Moderate" and I've never found anything
wrong there, so if CLub Carib. is "Expensive" it should be a reasonable
place.
My wife and i own a travel agancy in LA. I have never heard of Club
Caribbean. In Jamaica there are resorts called Couples, Sandals, and
Hedonism all which are excellent. I suspect that you may be headed for a
financial kick-in-the-pants especially since this was bvecause of a
time-share promotion. Most of those are not worth the powder to blow
them up. [[[ I just love that!! ]]] Notice you get the vacation for 2
but only 1 air fare. I bet the 2nd air fare costs as much as the air
fare would be for both of you if you took a normal vacation. I am very
suspicious of such giveaways and if i were you i would check it out very
carefully before you go.
I wonder if the cost of the second airfare may turn out to be equal to
the value of the "prize."
Misc:
If your interested, Jamaican weed is everywhere and smoked pretty much
in public. Also, the dark rum drinks are great, and you can bring back
cheap Meyers's rum and Tia Maria.
are you interested in selling your vacation?? is it transferable to
another person??? what are you asking??? from what city is the
airfare?? [[[ Unfortunately, the vacation is non-transferable, we signed
a voucher which has a serial number on it. Although it could be faked
it is probably not worth the risk (to the purchaser) ]]]
=====================
Thanks to h-sc1!lsmith, houxa!lmv, ihdev!rastaman, ihu1n!diesel,
qsi03!jeff, sdcrdcf!RDCF.SDC.UUCP!shaprkg, and utcsri!patty for their
advice. We don't know if we will take this trip or not. But we will
look into it much further and decide. We'll let the net know!
--
-- I was just exhausted from the act of being polite.
Paul Czarnecki
Uniworks decvax!{wanginst!infinet, cca}!emacs!pz
20 William Street emacs!pz@cca-unix.ARPA
Wellesley, MA 02181 (617) 235-2600