Most cruise ships heading for Jamaica travel at night, arriving the next morning at the day's port of call, perhaps Montego Bay or Ocho Rios. In port, passengers can go ashore for sightseeing, shopping, and a local meal. Prices vary widely; consult a travel agent for the latest.
Agencies and tour companies offering cruise packages to Jamaica include: Ambassador Tours, 120 Montgomery St., Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94104 (tel. 800/989-9000 or 415/357-9876; www.ambassadortours.com); Cruises, Inc., 1415 NW 62nd St., Suite 205, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 (tel. 866/325-6893 or 800/854-0500; www.cruisesinc.com); Cruises of Distinction, 2750 S. Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 (tel. 800/634-3445); Cruise Masters, Century Plaza Towers, 2029 Century Park E., Suite 950, Los Angeles, CA 90067 (tel. 800/242-9000 or 310/556-2925); Kelly Cruises, 1315 W. 22nd St., Suite 105, Oak Brook, IL 60521 (tel. 800/837-7447 or 630/990-1111); and Hartford Holidays Travel, 129 Hillside Ave., Williston Park, NY 11596 (tel. 800/828-4813 or 516/746-6670).
Also stay tuned to last-minute price wars brewing among such megacarriers as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Holland America .
The Cruise Lines
Here's a brief rundown of some of the cruise lines serving Jamaica and the Caribbean. For detailed information, pick up a copy of one of our companion guides in this series, Frommer's Caribbean Cruises & Ports of Call, Frommer's Caribbean Ports of Call, or The Unofficial Guide to Cruises.
Carnival Cruise Lines (tel. 888/CARNIVAL; www.carnival.com): Offering affordable vacations on some of the biggest and most brightly decorated ships afloat, Carnival is the boldest, brashest, most successful mass-market cruise line in the world. Its vessels stop at Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. The cruises offer good value and feature nonstop activities. Food and party-colored drinks are plentiful, and the overall atmosphere is comparable to a floating theme park. Lots of single passengers opt for this line, as do families attracted by the line's well-run children's program.
Celebrity Cruises (tel. 877/202-4345 or 305/539-6000; www.celebrity.com): Celebrity maintains eight stylish, medium to large ships that stop at Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. It's classy but not stuffy, several notches above mass-market lines. Accommodations are roomy and well equipped, cuisine is refined, and service is impeccable.
Costa Cruise Lines (tel. 800/462-6782 or 954/266-5600; www.costacruises.com): Costa, the U.S.-based branch of a cruise line that has thrived in Italy for about a century, maintains hefty to megasize vessels. Two of Costa's vessels offer similar jaunts through the western Caribbean on alternate weeks, departing from Fort Lauderdale and calling at Ocho Rios. There's an Italian flavor and lots of Italian design on board here, and an atmosphere of relaxed indulgence.
Holland America Line (tel. 877/SAIL-HAL; www.hollandamerica.com): Holland America is the most high-toned of the mass-market cruise lines. The ships offer solid value, with very few jolts or surprises, and attract a solid, well-grounded clientele of primarily older travelers (late-night revelers and serious partygoers might want to book cruises on other lines, such as Carnival). Cruises stop at deep-water mainstream ports such as Ocho Rios or Montego Bay, and last an average of 7 days, but in some cases 10 days, visiting such ports as Key West, Grand Cayman, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Curaçao, Barbados, and St. Thomas.
Royal Caribbean International (RCI) (tel. 800/562-7625; www.royalcaribbean.com): RCI leads the industry in the development of megaships. Though accommodations are more than adequate, they are not upscale and tend to be a bit more cramped than the industry norm. Using either Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or Galveston as their home port, Royal Caribbean ships call regularly at Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. Most of the company's cruises last 7 days.
