Barrett Adventure or A-Z Jamaica Planners

[Nanatravel]

Many Conquest cruisers and others have been talking about private tour operators, a-zjamaicaplanners and barrettadventures. I would love to hear some opinions on both operations. We have been to Dunn's River, a drive in the countryside and are not into snorkeling or another boat tour. Love the beach for a few hours. Any info would be appreciated.

 

[Sodey]

I have used Barrett (Carolyn) and have referred a number of clients and everyone has nothing but good things to say. She will customize the whole tour based on what it is you want to do.

Here's what we did.

1. Contacted Carolyn at : carolyn@barrettadventures.com
2. She e-mailed list of things to do and places to go.
3. I picked: Rose Hall Beach 2 1/2 hours
local craft fair 1/2 hour
Drive thru local village in the hills 1 hour
Eat at Local Favorite Jerk stand 1 hour
Stop at Margaritaville Montego Bay 1 hour

Total time with driving = 7 hours Total cost = $240.00

Then, I went to Cruise Addicts and found others on same cruise and invited them to join us and split the cost. Carolyn's van seats 12 comfortably. First two party's I contacted agreed to join us. So it came to only $20.00 per person!

It's easy to do and you can make friends along the way.

Carolyn also manages some villas in Jamaica and I'm thinking about renting one some day. She made Montego Bay our favorite Port by far. We also went to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Before I found Carolyn, I was seriously thinking of staying on the ship in Montego Bay rather than get off because of all the bad experiences I was reading.

Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[wildrose]

We're in Montego Bay for a day in March. Barrett sounds too complicated; I can't recruit a whole dozen passengers - not on HAL - so am not sure what to do.

Peat Taylor would have a driver in MoBay for us and we'd have 5 hours for $40 p.p. We'd like to go to Ocho Rios - is there enough time for that?

We don't want to go alone this time. Not in Jamaica!

 

[Sodey]

Carolyn is about $30 per hour so 5 hours is $150 so at $40 per person, 4 people is more than Carolyn. She goes to Ocho Rios as well. I would suggest at least contacting her. It wasn't complicated. I just listed all my steps so you would know exactly what to do. Just e-mail her carolyn@barrettadventures.com if it doesn't work out it doesn't work out.

 

[pklopp]

We used Belinda with A-Z on 9/10 and had a fabulous time - there were 9 in our group and Oscar (who was wonderful) our driver, and Chris (handsome) our video man, picked us up at the pier - went to Dunn's River, drive thru Fern Gulley and getting a full history of Jamaica and River Tubing - $50 per person. We went to the Ruins for lunch - beautiful place with outside seating and waterfall in middle - this was $14 per person. 5 of us then went parasailing -$55 each. The video was $40 and we bought one and made copies. We just had an absolute fantastic time - Belinda, Oscar and Chris were real professionals.
Peggy

 

[brv2]

I can only give a testimonial regarding Belinda at A-Z Jamaica Planners from the pre-planning stage. Our trip to Jamaica was cancelled by RCI about two weeks ago and substitued with Roatan and Costa Maya. But let me tell you what Belinda had planned for us:

1. Our own private transportation to and from the dock and all activities
2. Horseback riding in the mountains
3. Lunch at a restaurant of our choice (price of lunch extra)
4. Shopping at stores of our choosing
5. The driver was even going to stop and let me sample a bottle of the local grapefruit soda called Ting

All this was going to cost us $85 per person, which was almost the exact cost of the Chukka Blue horseback riding excursion RCI was offering. We would have gotten a lot more for our money and Belinda was very prompt and courteous in her emais. I would use her again in a flash if I ever went to Jamaica!!

 

[Nanatravel]

Sodeay, after reviewing Carolyn's options, I too find it a little confusing. I am not about to try to organize a group. I want to make plans before we sail, too. The average pp price is enticing, but I like to know what something will cost before I commit. Plus I understand her prices are plus admission to such places as Rose Hall. If someone does elect to reserve her services for a tour that is attractive to us, I would consider going along. As you mentioned, meeting new folks who love cruising is a great way to spend the day.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Sodey]

Simply put, Carolyn charges $30.00 per hour to drive you and anyone else in her 15 passenger van anywhere you want to go in Jamaica starting at either Montego Bay or Ochos Rios. She stays with you the whole time. So, 5 people is $6 per hour per person etc... At that price, you can't expect her to pay for your entry fees as well.

When we got to Montego Bay, Carolyn was waiting for us and we left right away to drive to Rose Hall Beach. The bus from the ship, didn't get to Rose Hall Beach until almost a whole hour later! They were organizing and checking people in, while we were already on the beach.

It was I who chose what we all wanted to do and see while we visited Jamaica. Once I had the itinerary, I just posted it on the message board and invited people to join us.
Within 24 hours, we had 6 other people to add to our 6 to make a group of 12.

A-Z sounds very similar and not having any knowledge of A-Z, I can only speak about Carolyn and how great she was.

In the end, compared to ship sponsored tours, we saw more, spent less, customized our own tour, and had personal service.

 

[sher]

Caroline told me it's $5/hr PER ADULT if there's more then 4. So if there's 10 it's $50 per hour!

there's a group going on the conquest that have a day planned and we were going to join. I checked with her for pricing and this is what she told me. Quite different from what was told up above.

So if there's 10 adults and 2 children, it's $250 for the 5 hrs.

i think the tour that's set up is 7 hrs and goes to 2 places I'm not thrileld with native craft market (don't want to deal with pushers) and jerk lunch (can't eat spices) so it would cost us $70 plus admissions for the day