What's the Spring Break Situation like this year?

Just wondering....

What Spring Break? Negril hasnt had a real Spring Break since 2004....

Last year, during the 5 weeks of the old Spring Break, we had a total of maybe 600 college students for the entire time period. In 2003, we had 6000 in one week. Spring Break is no more.

Yeah, we couldn't tell it was Spring Break last year. Not a bit.

Last year the largest group we saw was seven college students at one time...

We took the kids to Montego Bay and day tripped to Negril just to show them Dad's favorite spots. There were a couple groups of kids at our hotel in MB but we saw no sign of anything in Negril.

Makes me think of about three years ago we ran into a group of about 6 or 8 kids on the beach and they were telling us they were "looking for the party". They expected a Cancun type atmosphere and the Capital of Casual just wasn't getting it for them!

What changed? Why is Negril no longer a spring break destination? Do other parts of Jamaica see an influx of spring break tourism? Where do the kids go these days instead?

My thoughts are that Jamaica is too expensive for most college students.

Years I ago I was there during march break and I met a cpl guys out late one night that worked for the group that had a lot to do with getting all those kids to Jamaica for spring break and arranging accommodations and entertainment and stuff like that. The told me that it wouldn't be long before they stopped doing spring break there in large numbers. A lot had to do with the cost and drugs. One of them told me it's just to easy for the young kids to make dumb choices when they were drunk and get into trouble. I used to sit on the beach in front of donaldsons in a lot late at nite and on more than one occasion I helped a young kid who was so wasted they could barely walk and weren't sure where they were.donaldsons inn is kinda far from the hotels they used to stay at. Once me and our security guard sent one back up the beach in a cab so he would be ok. I think that was the year one or 2 college kids got caught at the airport with a few bottles of liquid cocaine in thier luggage on the trip home. I am not a business owner in Negril but I would bet that most would say that Negril is better off without all the spring breakers.

A few years ago I was discussing taking my kids on a spring break A/I and didn't want to break the bank. My kids were pre-teen at the time so no partying or anything. I mentioned that I usually go to JA but was open to whatever good deal we could find as we were booking late. The TA went to to explain that JA was relatively cheap during SB because no one got behind the big junkets and trips that they do in Mexico, Punta, etc. I asked why kinda assuming the answer and she said JA was just viewed as to dangerous and too spread out for drunken kids.

She went on to tell me that the buzz in the travel agency was that even those the SB'ers are college kids parents are likely paying the bills. The parents were typically not on board with JA because of the drug and violence reputation and it had fallen out of favor. She said places in Cancun and Punta were more enclosed and resorts were all tied in with each other so kids could move around while in relative safety compared to just hitting the town on their own.

I am not saying any of this is true or untrue, but the SB thing has clearly dropped off the map. We had one or two small groups at our hotel in MB and I talked to them and they just said it was the cheapest option they found so they gave it a try.

It's been over 16 years since I've been on college spring break to Cancun, but I would tend to agree with Irieonline and RonMon. Cancun is much better suited for the spring break junket thing. With it's main boulevard lined with all-inclusives and American bars and restaurants, it's hard for the kids to wander off and get in trouble. Once you arrive at the hotel, they herd you like cattle to an area where you sign-up for daytime activities (i.e. tours) and nighttime parties at the various clubs. Basically, every minute of your stay is booked with some type of organized (and chaperoned) event. Aside from the fact that every club played crappy American dance music, I hated being told where to go. Really, the only time I enjoyed was hanging out by the pool or beach (which, BTW, can't hold a candle to Negril's).

Sorry, I digress, but yeah the Cancun environment is well suited for college kids who want to pay a cheap price to party a lot and not care about any culture. I did not like the vibe, at all.

I do remember a foam party or some such thing, several years ago.......warning to all old(older) husbands.....don't ask your wife if you can join the foam party......wish I had a picture of that look :)
I remember once staying at Yellow Bird and Legends was having a big party......that was the hype. The reality is it didn't even wake me up.
and then there was that one time.......

That sounds like it could have been me and my then business partner that Irieonline ran into that late night. That is nearly our exact story on why we stopped bringing down breakers.

in the late 80's, early 90's, when many independent companies were organizing trips for students, we had a travel company that brought down Spring Break trips mainly from the Midwest USA. On one trip a student brought absolutely no form of ID, so at immigration they had me "vouch" for him. I am still not sure what legal definition and implications of vouching are, but times were different then and we got him both in the country and back unscathed. It was legal to use your driver's license to enter Jamaica back then.

Trying to keep an eye on hundreds of students for 5 weeks was nearly impossible, and the profit to work margin was not worth the effort. But the real straw that broke the camels back was one evening when a student had done way too much coke, and said he was staying in because he had a headache. He was was rubbing both sides of his temples when we locked him in his room.

When we got back that night, we checked on him. He said he was fine but had two beautifully round bruises on either side of his head. At that point I looked at my partner and said, "hey man, this aint cool. I dont want to make that call back home and say 'Hello Mrs. Miller, do you remember your son Johnny?" (name fictional). This was 1993 and that was our last Spring Break as a company together, although my partner kept bringing friends down for several years afterwards, but in much smaller numbers. I was concentrating on starting Negril.com.

By the late 90's Spring Break was getting much larger, with thousands of students coming per week. MTV even took out a sponsor banner on Negril.com. MTV still played videos back then. Here is a blast from the past.

http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/nn160398.htm

It was during this time that Spring Break in Negril began to be controlled by a few major tour companies and less and less by the local businesses. The tour companies controlled all aspects of the trips, from take off to the return landing. Their arm bands and dining tickets guided the students from place to place at specific times, looking much like herding cattle. You could sit at a beach bar and watch 5000 students walk by, not a single one stopping because they had to get to the next "free" all you could drink party at the predetermined location. Other than the hotels and few bars and restaurants on the pre-designed armband list, most businesses saw little to no business from Spring Break.

Here are a couple of our "Spring Break Today" pages from 2002:

With Jerry Springer:
http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/sb010302.htm

and a night party at Legends:
http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/sb070302.htm

and yes, McDonalds was on the beach:
http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/sb010402.htm

Here are are a few in 2003:

http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/sb030303.htm

This shows the new beer offering of Red Stripe Light!
http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/sb200303.htm

In early 2000's, the activities during break had become increasingly risque and dangerous. What started as wet t-shirt contests turned into full nudity and, um, even more raunchy behavior. The free shots turned into pouring tequila down the throat of obviously near passed out breakers - all in front of a cheering crowd wanting more. The local business owners, even those hosting these "shows" had realized something had to be done or something very serious would occur, echoing my concern back in 1993.

The owners along with the police asked the tour companies controlling the parties to "tone them down". MTV was hosting their Spring Break show at a local hotel and they were asked as well to clean up their act a bit. All parties agreed. But to the dismay of the local business owners and police, it seemed to spur an increase in the debauchery. The locals had had enough of being ignored. The police closed down the shows when they determined they were breaking local laws and MTV was told they were no longer welcome at the hotel.

Needless to say, the tour companies and MTV did not take this well and said they would boycott Negril in the future. The local businesses said "no problem" as most made no money from Spring Break anyway. The hotels had 5 to 6 students per room and they would essentially trash the place causing hundreds of dollars for repairs. Most bars and restaurants received no patronage from the breakers so that was a non-issue. And the places hosting the shows were relieved that they no longer had to worry about someone getting seriously hurt.

That is why Spring Break in Negril ended the way it did.

Yes it very well could have been you I spoke to Rob as it was around that time. I remember the macdonalds trailer on the beach close to downtown and if I remember correctly there was even a Taco Bell trailer on the beach in the same area. Couldn't believe that they would get any business but I guess with all those kids they did just fine.

Too cool! When i read what you wrote it sounded very familiar.

And I think I personally kept the Taco Bell cart open. I ate there nearly everyday while it was on the beach... (grin)

Lol Rob. I know the night security guard at donaldsons inn enjoyed Taco Bell cause I always brought him home something from there at night. I don't think I ate there cause when I am on vacation I don't want to really eat what I can get at home but I am a tourist and you live there so I can understand why you would eat there. I will admit that I ate at Kentucky fried chicken in Sav a few times but that wasnt by my choice. I remember my first time there I thought it was so cool that I could bring a beer in with me lol. As a person who relocated to Jamaica I am sure you have a long list of things like fast food places and other stuff that you can't get in Jamaica but enjoyed before you moved there. Small price to pay to live in paradise and I envy you in a way for being able to find to move there and be able to make a living but I am sure it wasn't easy and took some time to get used to it. This year when we are there we plan to look at some places for long term rentals because maybe starting next winter we are going to spend 3 months there every winter. Half of my trips there have been for a month at a time and the rest just 2 weeks and 2 weeks is never enough for us

Remember those days very well with the beach so full of spring break college kids that one would have to weave their way through the throngs of chairs on the beach during the day just to walk the beach! Risky Business would be busy every day with parties as well.