Magnolias and Sunshine: Yeah Mon!

Our first real stop on the cruise was Montego Bay, Jamaica. We read a lot of posts on Cruise Critic that scared us a bit about getting off the boat in Jamaica. We’ve been to Jamaica before, but it was 8 years ago and it was to an all-inclusive resort that we didn’t leave for a few days. There were several warnings on the CC message board about invasive searches on your return to the ship. Considering we had an 18 year old girl with us, we didn’t think it was a good idea to get off the ship there. Luckily after a few days at sea with some rain, we were bored and ready to get onto some land.

We booked an excursion through Carnival for the Irie Mon Beach Party. Basically, Carnival threw some dj’s and rum punch into a blender and said Yeah Mon! It was fun. Hubs caught a boat to go out snorkeling, while sister and I soaked up some rays. The key to getting a great spot on Irie Beach was to get up and get off the ship early. We were on the first bus out and had primo beach chairs. That first picture up there? The view from my chair. NICE.

Sister had a good time playing on this big jumbo floaty trampoline thing they had anchored off the beach…

Mostly, while they snorkeled and jumped around, I read my Kindle and enjoyed the breeze and rum punch. They had lunch included for us… which usually scares me… but this was pretty good. Burgers & hot dogs, jerk chicken & pork, and all the fixins. The open bar was mostly beer, mixers and rum punch. The DJs were pretty good about including everyone. They had sand castle building contests and dance lessons for the smaller kids… and Red Stripe beer chugging contests and beach volleyball for the grown-ups. There was even a photographer there taking pictures for you. I think there was enough to do here to cover a wide age range. The smaller kids really enjoyed the ocean. Us older kids really enjoyed doing NOTHING.

Hubs even found this place right next door…