Trip report feb 2-16

Just returned from 2 weeks, was supposed to be 10 days..but I'll get to that.
Will get to the good stuff, which will probably be in the next day or so...probably mostly pics....here's how it started.

Dateline Minneapolis 2/2/14....month/ day/ year or day/ month/ year? doesn't matter!

Boarded flight, everything going as planned..or?
ding!! "Good morning folks from the cockpit, theres a little problem with the electronics which provide us with the weight and balance of the aircraft, maintainance is now checking" hmmmmm

ding! "hi folks, update, maint. think they have a part, will keep you updated" hmmmmm

ding! "hi folks, cockpit here, system was rebooted and we are good to go" yippee

ding! "ah...folks cockpit here, ground crew just notified us that we have a leak in the water system....they are going to drain it so we can get going...probably 20 mins."

45 min later...."hi folks the water system has been drain we are ready......"

I start texting our friend who was joining us in Atlanta for the leg to Montego Bay..."if we don't make it...go on with out us"
sort of like a war movie where the wounded guy stays behind
She says "ok"
then text our friend who was picking us up...."we probably won't be there on time, we'll catch Juta, but please pick up our friend arriving"
he replies "OK" so we at least have that squared away.

ding! "folks, we have an engine that isn't firing up to specs, hang in there...."

some time later....ding! "ok, engine working, time to taxi to the de-icing" God I hate this State.

FINALLY---as we are waiting for take off, I check the time....our connection in Atlanta is taking off too....

From a fellow Minnesotan, man do I get it. Im not going now till April, it will probably be snowing then to.!!!!

Nice start....

Starting to feel the frustration and anxiety that you must have felt though you seem pretty jovial about it!

By that time I would have tried flapping my arms and seeing if I could fly to Jamaica!

Looking forward to more... please continue.

Peace and Guidance

What a start.

Gonna need some popcorn for this one!

That would be about the time I'd want off that plane and on to one that works properly. I'd have needed a tranquilizer to fly in that broken bucket of metal. We look forward to your pic's and report. Thanks

I would have been out of there. This Minnesotan does not fly well!!

You guys should always carry a 12 volt battery. The Wright Brothers would be sad.

we missed the connection and then the connecting flight also had mech issues. After switching planes we were finally in flight.
After a long long day we finally arrived at the Boardwalk Village.
Our friend had taken care of us and 3 cases of Red Stripe, 3 bottles of Appleton and a bottle of teqilla awaited, so we were set for a few days.

...p.s. I'm trying to upload images but nothing happens....browse to the image, select it, hit upload....nuttin.....?? I've always done it this way before...got figure.

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Originally Posted by Thatswhatshesaid

we missed the connection and then the connecting flight also had mech issues. After switching planes we were finally in flight.
After a long long day we finally arrived at the Boardwalk Village.
Our friend had taken care of us and 3 cases of Red Stripe, 3 bottles of Appleton and a bottle of teqilla awaited, so we were set for a few days.

...p.s. I'm trying to upload images but nothing happens....browse to the image, select it, hit upload....nuttin.....?? I've always done it this way before...got figure.

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Are you doing it this way? (Select "Go Advanced" then select the paperclip (attachments) beside the smiley face, then select add files and go to the folder you have them in).

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Only the basic uploader is working right now, so you have to do one at a time slow but works that way.

We decided on Boardwalk after trying to get into Our Past Times. I love that little place, but Boardwalk is right next door, fairly new, and anxious to please.
They have converted some of the shops into rooms and are clean, newly refurbed and because there are only 7 rooms at the moment, very few guests.

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There is a guy in front of Boardwalk who is their "Lobster" guy. But every morning very early he makes a big pot of soup. On this day he decided to make something different, brew stew curried octopus....and rice with gunga(sp) peas. Man it was good! He also said it will make my wife happy too :)


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How can a sunset ever be bad in Negril !?

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beautiful pics!

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Originally Posted by Thatswhatshesaid

How can a sunset ever be bad in Negril?

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If you happen to be leaving the next morning ....

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Originally Posted by gerryg123

If you happen to be leaving the next morning ....

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You got that right gerry.

It took a couple days for us to work out just how traveling with a friend would go. Sometimes it just doesn't work, my wife and I are walkers, putting on several miles a day, whereas our friend is a sitter. We finally agreed we'd just all do what we would normally do and meet up, or nor for dinner.
Our usually routine when staying down the beach is walk up to Sea Splash, get a rum punch, continue on to Cosmos get a beer or two, walk to our "private" beach, chill for a few hours and then reverse making our way back to Fire Fly and having beers there, it gets a little foggy after that but you get the picture.
This time being on the opposite end of the beach we more or less reversed the process, however had a BIG disappointment at Sea Splash which I'll get into later. I think it was gerryg123 who said, sometimes Negril can hurt you or hurt your feelings, something to that effect, and Sea Splash did something that not only insulted our intelligence, but surprised me. They will probably not see us again even though we have stayed there several times and have patronized them for many years.

Our chilling out spot. Not much traffic so if one wanted to get an all over tan, it might be the place :)

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Originally Posted by Thatswhatshesaid

You got that right gerry.

It took a couple days for us to work out just how traveling with a friend would go. Sometimes it just doesn't work, my wife and I are walkers, putting on several miles a day, whereas our friend is a sitter. We finally agreed we'd just all do what we would normally do and meet up, or nor for dinner.
Our usually routine when staying down the beach is walk up to Sea Splash, get a rum punch, continue on to Cosmos get a beer or two, walk to our "private" beach, chill for a few hours and then reverse making our way back to Fire Fly and having beers there, it gets a little foggy after that but you get the picture.
This time being on the opposite end of the beach we more or less reversed the process, however had a BIG disappointment at Sea Splash which I'll get into later. I think it was gerryg123 who said, sometimes Negril can hurt you or hurt your feelings, something to that effect, and Sea Splash did something that not only insulted our intelligence, but surprised me. They will probably not see us again even though we have stayed there several times and have patronized them for many years.

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Thatswhatshesaid you're pulling a gerryg123 and leaving us cliff hanging :-)

this sounds like an interesting report coming up!

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Originally Posted by Jamadian

Thatswhatshesaid you're pulling a gerryg123 and leaving us cliff hanging :-)

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Imitation is the best form of flattery :)

OK, I'll get to the Sea Splash thing and get that out of the way.

As I said earlier, SS was a normal stopping spot for us for a rum punch on our treks up the beach. As background we have stayed there several times, going back to when they had the wooden structures that went up to the beach, sort of an extension to where the kitchen is now. I even have a picture of my wife on that swing that was on a huge tree that hung over the beach, so we have some history there.
Anyway the first day we stopped there we asked for a rum punch and I noticed the bartender pour from a bottle of "Captain Jacks Rum Punch", not the usual made from scratch ones we were used to. The price was about what you'd expect, certainly less than 10 bucks(frankly I don't remember exactly because it didn't raise any flags with me).
We finished and left each commenting how yucky it tasted to the real thing.
The next time we went, our most favorite bartender was serving and my wife said, can you make one from scratch? sure mon...and we had a very nice drink, I always thought they were the best. Again, no red flags on the price...a little more which we expected and were happy to pay...but nothing crazy.
A few days later we stopped again. Two different bartenders, one I recognized, one I did not.
My wife asked again, would you please make our rum punches from scratch? Sure, it will cost a little more. Yes we understand.
I watched as she mixed a splash of this a splash of that and then punch etc. into a shaker. She took out 2 glasses, what my parents would have called an "Old Fashion" glass, these were a little smaller even, my guess about 6 oz.
She filled with ice and poured the mixture over to the top. My thought at the time, I bet there's not even 3 oz in there.
We sipped, nothing out of the ordinary, a pink/orange colored drink. My wife commented, gee is there any booze in this?
She brought the bill......
$31..yes thirty one dollars.....
I've paid less than that in a Chicago Strip Bar!
We both were aghast. She showed me a detailed list....Appleton Dark, Appleton Special, Meyers Rum , Overproof...an impressive list....
Doing the math, we have six ounces of a glass, full of ice and I got charged for more booze than would have overflowed 2 empty glasses.
My wife being the negotiator grabbed the bill and headed to the front office, I just smiled because whatever the outcome, they'd never see me again. She was gone a long time, I was just pushing back my chair to go check on her when the phone at the bar rang.....I smiled again.
My wife returned still steaming, she said, "that ass up there was not going to budge. The girl not only defended herself she said we asked for extra vodka...." "vodka?" "yes....who the hell puts vodka in a rum punch".
Her words; "Sir you are in the hospitality business, do you understand what the outcome of this will be?"
They finally settled on a ten dollar refund....so $21 for 2 small rum punch.....
The girl handed me my refund and being the peacemaker I am, I gave her a $2 tip.

File this under "Be careful what you ask for" or "double check what 'it will cost a little extra' means

I always learn something when I go to Jamaica :)

Anyway...that's the Sea Splash story...I still love the place, lots of great memories there. But something fishy is going on.

WTF?? $16 US for each drink??? How can one even justify that?? Even if you were charging for a shot of each booze which is ridiculous....would still mean that you would have 4oz of booze in your 6oz glass! I'll make sure we walk right on past this place :(

Yippie, I have been waiting for your report. Hope the friend thing works out!

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Originally Posted by Thatswhatshesaid

But something fishy is going on.

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ou
Very believable. You can just NEVER know what to expect in Jamaica. I probably spend more time at Seasplash than any other property in Negril except for Seastar Inn, and the service can be uneven at best. Also, they charge tax AND a service charge, which is something I do not like.

That said, I sometimes park there for many hours and just order fries for $3, and that's not too bad.

$31.00 for 2 drinks??? WTH!!!:(

You've got to be kidding $31 for 2 drinks?? I know where I won't be stopping.... dem thief !!!

SeaSplash....Negative publicity like that....Priceless!

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Originally Posted by sunray

SeaSplash....Negative publicity like that....Priceless!

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Oh, as some of us remember, they've had MUCH worse .....

It's too bad their name is so close to that great place on the cliffs. Hopefully nobody gets them confused.

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Originally Posted by gerryg123

Also, they charge tax AND a service charge, which is something I do not like.

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That's why I like the smaller local places. No service charge. I would rather tip accordingly for good service.

Nice report, Thatswhatshesaid! Keep it coming.

That really is a bummer,having stayed there several times before we became westenders,we too have very fond memories but it's almost like they're asking you not to come?its a beautiful place on an awesome stretch of beach,like the beach itself eventually it'll come back,no worries mon,soon come

Thank you for your information. A few weeks ago there was no one there they were putting up a roof.
I will be sure to not go to Seasplash again really sad they treated you so bad.

Love the report so far, can't wait to hear more.
We went to SeaSplash 18 months ago, had 4 red stripes and the bill came, it was $28.00! When we questioned them they said it was $6 a beer and a $4 tip built in. As we left we told 3 couples walking in what happened and all of them turned & left. I too will never darken their door step again, to many fun places to stop along the beach and start up a conversation with the locals.

I would have paid $31 Jamaican

Anyway, moving on from the bad stuff.
We met up with a friend expat of ours for a few dinners. One was down at charella on a Thursday. There were four different performers each with a different style. I especially enjoyed Robin Banks and her set was way too short. She sat with us at our table and we had a nice conversation about music and other things. A nice lady and great singer. I can say my fish was great there, my wife ordered a steak , but it was not good. The only good beef we've ever had was a giant burger at Sunset after Dark, but that's just an opinion.
It's hard to go wrong with fish in a fishing town.

I admire everyone who can take notes during their stay and then write a blow by blow report. I don't have that sort of discipline. And as you can tell, I get interupted by life back here. I do enjoy the sort of Ground Hog Day existence that we experience in Jamaica. Now that I'm home things seem to have gone super sonic almost as fast as the plane landed back home.
But by tonight I'll have pictures unloaded and combined from different sources and be able to post a bunch.

We had plans, like we always do, to do a few things. The pub crawl was one and we never made it. I remember walking back from Cosmos and looking out at the road as the pub crawl bus drove by. "oh ya, we were going to do that...oh well". No big loss, no insult to those who have done it, I/we just put different priorities on things. We had discussed doing the Rhodes Hall thing too, same issue, plans get preempted by feet stuck firmly in the sand. Oh, and I wanted to do a day or three at Half Moon....again....the best laid plans blah blah....you know how it goes.

One thing we did do was dinner at the German Bar. The food, service and prices are worth the trip. We actually went twice.
Example: 3 people, 3 entre's, 3 alcoholic beverages $45 including tip.


More tings coming as I think of them and I'll start getting the pictures up tonight.