Montego Bay Club

Up with the lark – almost! A day largely devoted to sitting in the sun and eating! Temperatures well into the high 80s+. Highlight (!) of the day was the approach of a US Coastguard cruiser to take off a sick passenger. Later a helicopter arrived to take said passenger from the Coastguard boat to Guatanamo Bay! We were sailing past Cuba at the time. This evening the captain spoke and praised the 800 crew from 38 nationalities (largest group ...

... 5 hours earlier than UK time). Smooth transfer to the Sea Princess which felt like coming home. Blackburn v Liverpool on the big screen. Cabin and steward fine. Eileen happy to have unpacked her suitcase. The boat sets sail at 19.30. Dinner at 20.30 (ie 01.30 Sunday morning!). Fortunately, we have a day at sea tomorrow so plenty of time to rest.

... house we found was great - a little far from the beach though but that allowed us to drive through the whole town every day and chat to some of the coolest taxi drivers on earth! A trip to the supermarket to stock up on Red Stripes (beers), local rum and some food and we were all set for the week.

Our time there was largely spent on the beaches and wandering up and down the 'Hip Strip' which is basically the main tourist street with all the ...

... and beverages to gratuities. Offering exceptional cuisine and gracious service, the dining choices at our oceanfront resort include:


Island Gold All-Inclusive Vacation. Indulge in luxurious guestrooms, gourmet dining, glittering pools and thrilling water sports... all for one fabulous price. This all-inclusive Jamaica vacation package is the most popular and convenient way to experience our resort, and includes all taxes, room fees, meals and activities ...

Sandals Montego Bay...
Some great things never change!


Way back in 1994 my wife Karie and I spent 8 wonderful nights at Sandals Montego Bay for our Honeymoon. A young couple lured in by glossy pictures and glittery advertising, we somehow found our way to Jamaica. What is even more interesting though, is that we found our way back to Sandals Montego Bay 5 more times.


Sandals Montego Bay gets ...

... of them, and/or the fact that I didn't stay long enough to get tired of it. Though small, Trinidad has the highest population, while all the oth**s are sparsely populated enough that Sarah Palin could probably gov**n while juggling a baby. Ov**all I'd probably recommend Trinidad the most with honorable mention to Suriname and Barbados. Thus Guyana is probably the most problematic of the lot with little to commend it, to be honest. Sal si puedes.

... Cola), Clark Gable and HRH Princess Margaret. Other notable guests include HRH Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and HRH the Prince of Wales; John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy, Prince Rainer of Monaco; and George H. W. Bush, when he was Vice President. Although the cottages were passed down from generation to generation, three descendants of the original investors, Curtis Steuart, Bill Weiss Sr., and Howard Pearce have taken pride in shaping the resort into what ...

... back to the room to prepare for dinner. No shorts allowed at Don Pablo, but we're not about to dress up because this ain't one of those kinds of trips. We're just chillin', remember. Dinner at Don Pablo is pretty good. Surf & Turf for Michael, salmon for me. The meals, coupled with the appetizer, first course and wine, leave us totally stuffed. A leisurely stroll finds us following the sounds of reggae music. Back over to the shopping village and ...

... a taxi up here during the storm, no cars passed on the street. We made the best of it though. Harold put on music, brought out his instruments, kept the drinks flowing and we had a ton of fun! Eventually the rain subsided a little and one or two cars stopped to get a drink as well. We had a blast with the couple people that stayed the evening with us there. Harold's wife cooked dinner for us at their house across the street and their daughter brought it ...

Sorry for the dreadful pun incorporated into the title of this section, but a trip to the Caribbean in January 2006 replaced the regular annual January ski fixture, and was yet another encounter with the American tourist, who was as keen as I was to sample this slice of Caribbean life. I arrived on the island of Jamaica in poor shape due to a newly-broken collar bone, which I was told would still require some rest, and ...