Jamaica + State of Emergency = Changing Honeymoon....?

Heather822 · May 2010

So, I am more than a little worried about what's going on in Jamaica right now.
We are supposed to honeymoon there in August and it seems like the violence is spreading, a state of emergency has been declared, and Americans are being advised to change travel plans.
I called our travel agent, who was not in, but whoever answered the phone just kinda brushed me off and told me the resorts are safe and not to worry.
Ok great. BUT our resort is a 2 hour car ride away from the airport! That is what I am most worried about... driving through bad areas.
Don't know what to do. Thoughts...?

kaesha · May 2010

Well, I'd say states of emergency generally don't last 3 months (especially for political unrest), so if Jamaica is your dream destination, I'd give it a couple more weeks to see what's going on. However, if you're just as happy visiting somewhere else, I'd definitely find a new location. It'll give you peace of mind, if nothing else!

Heather822 · May 2010

Definitely not our dream vacay... just somewhere running a great package that fit our budget!
Apparently we can only chnage our airfare without penalty while our destination is under a State of Emergency. How long do you think is best to wait it out before deciding...?

kaesha · May 2010

In which case, change it whenever. The sooner you book a new place, the less you have to worry.

ohyouhavemyheart · May 2010

I, personally, would change my plans. Jamaica, and all the caribbean islands for that matter, are kinda sorta third world countries and they don't really recommend people to leave the resort anyway, even if there wasn't a state of emergency..so to be on the safe side, i would make alterante plans.
we were originally wanting to go to greece, but the whole rioting thing going on over there, didn't tickle my fancy and we changed our plans. especially since it was near tourist areas ( which mostly all acts of violence/terrorism take place).

lyndausvi · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_jamaica-state-of-emergency-changing-honeymoon?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:fda5b76e-05d3-4e00-a286-ea177dfb75e0Post:ba6983bc-99c9-4cf6-8c6d-856aff2f507b">Re: Jamaica + State of Emergency = Changing Honeymoon....?</a>:
[QUOTE]I, personally, would change my plans. Jamaica, and all the caribbean islands for that matter, are kinda sorta third world countries and they don't really recommend people to leave the resort anyway, even if there wasn't a state of emergency..so to be on the safe side, i would make alterante plans. we were originally wanting to go to greece, but the whole rioting thing going on over there, didn't tickle my fancy and we changed our plans. especially since it was near tourist areas ( which mostly all acts of violence/terrorism take place). :/
Posted by ohyouhavemyheart[/QUOTE]

::rolls eyes::

I live in a Caribbean island and we are all not all 3rd world countries. You can freely move around in most caribbean islands. If you think other wise it's because the resorts make more money by keeping you inside the gates.

ohyouhavemyheart · May 2010

Congratulations on living on a caribbean island..i'm from cuba..SO, like I said in my post I PERSONALLY would change my plans. no need to roll your eyes like a middle schooler.
Not ALL caribbean islands are horrific to step off the resort, yes they want to keep you hostage in the resort to make money, BUT you can't say that it's advised or highly recommended to TOURISTS to go off exploring in some random island. especially in one where theres something near a drug war..

pooks75 · May 2010

I would change my plans if I were you....as soon as possible. Less stress and worry for you to deal with. Good luck!

lyndausvi · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_jamaica-state-of-emergency-changing-honeymoon?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:fda5b76e-05d3-4e00-a286-ea177dfb75e0Post:af4a321a-632b-44b4-88ac-cea668e696da">Re: Jamaica + State of Emergency = Changing Honeymoon....?</a>:
[QUOTE]Congratulations on living on a caribbean island..i'm from cuba..SO, like I said in my post I PERSONALLY would change my plans. no need to roll your eyes like a middle schooler. Not ALL caribbean islands are horrific to step off the resort, yes they want to keep you hostage in the resort to make money, BUT you can't say that it's advised or highly recommended to TOURISTS to go off exploring in some random island. especially in one where theres something near a drug war..
Posted by ohyouhavemyheart[/QUOTE]

I agree with Jamica for the moment. It was your 'all caribbean islands for that matter' comment that annoyed me.

ohyouhavemyheart · May 2010

well seeing by your username usvi? i assume you live in the virgin islands.. thats not included in my caribbean islands lol ( though it is one)..im talking about the less upscale in a sense ones... bahamas, dominican republic, jamaica, cuba, haiti
all beautiful islands but not really tourist friendly.

lyndausvi · May 2010

The BVI, St Martin, st Lucia, St Kitts, St Barts etc. Are all fine so it not fair to make a blanket statement like that.

Eriberry · May 2010

Read this article. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/05/25/jamaica.unrest.tourism.worries/index.html

I'm sure you are not going anywhere near Kingston. Montego Bay and Negril, even Ocho Rios are very far away from Kingston. I'd say you'll be fine, however, if you are that uncomfortable after reading and there are no penalties etc. go ahead and change your arrangements.

laurenthompson5799 · May 2010

hey pooks in Philly! You should move...this happened in Philly years ago. Don't you know your own city's history?
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/13/25_years_ago_philadelphia_police_bombs

Police bombed radical gangs to flush them out and killed 11 and destroyed 65 homes. This isn't a 3rd world country issue! It can happen in major cities anywhere! Oh and this year on May 13th Police raided parts of your city (over 7 houses were flushed out) searching for the MOST wanted Mexican drug lord (Guzman)! Aren't you scared?? You are living in a city with wanted criminals! I think you really should head for the hills! After all you are closer than the 4 hour drive from the resort areas to Kingston!

prlmrg08 · May 2010

I personally would change because the drive is far, just my opinion though....

ErlindaDenise · May 2010

We had planned to go to Mexico NEXT YEAR and my Fi was so not into it!

It was much cheaper but he didn't want to take ANY risk.

I think anywhere you go you will need to be safe but on your honeymoon you want to be comfortable. Def give it a few weeks but keep your options open. We decided on St Martin which will cost a lot more but will be just as fun and we won't be locked in a resort situation.

Good Luck!!!!!

Heather822 · May 2010

Thanks all...
Fortunately our travel agent was back in the office today. She was more reassuring, so as of right now we decided to NOT change our plans.
Thanks again for all the input!

KellyandEddie0808 · June 2010

DON'T change your plans. This is not a war!!! The Jamaican people are not revolting and killing people. It is the police going after a drug kingpin and his gang. The issue is contained to a small neighborhood in Kingston. It is not "spreading". It's basically like you saying you are going to cancel a trip to AC because of the same thing going on in Newark. I am also going to Jamaica in August and would never think twice about cancelling. It's really not that serious. Stuff like this happens in every big city in the US everyday....

MadeOfAwesome · June 2010

I just got back from Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica last week. Everything was fine. We didn't have any issues at all. It's an hour and a half drive from the MoBay airport, but we had beer the whole way, so we didn't think about the drive too much!! We had to ride through not so nice areas, but it wasn't a big deal. Like pps said, as long as you're not going anywhere near Kingston, you should be fine.

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