N.c.o.c.d.

NCOCD – Negril.com Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – You have it if you are reading this because you opened a thread that had a title that did make sense but you had to find out what it was about :)

The saying is those that go know. What they don’t say is that you will become addicted to this board and spend countless hours reading trip reports and following discussions that have nothing to do with anything you will ever see or do! I have NCOCD and have had to wean myself off of this board after our last two trips. Checking back for new posts every 10 minutes is not healthy. The trips then fade into the past and a quick visit to the site every few months keeps the interest alive and on cold winter days the pictures allow me to go to a “happy place”, at least for a few minutes.

Our first trip was our first venture to Jamaica - http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...t-the-last-one. Although we went to an all inclusive it enabled us to get experience a little bit of what Negril has to offer.

Our second trip was more adventurous for us - http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...you-made-me-do. This board was invaluable in helping make this a great vacation.

Fast forward to this year and we were undecided if we wanted to go away this winter. We have a couple of locations on our bucket list and also wanted to spend some more time on our boat in the summer. Many weekends my wife would say that she thought that she could make it through to the spring without a trip. I would agree but say it would still be nice to go away. We then got hit with a couple of nice snow storms and it has been a pretty cold winter and I was slowly able make her think that a trip would be a good idea. But, and a big but – she said she wanted to go somewhere new! At first I was just happy to have her want to go away but I really wanted to go to Negril.

Some of the places on our bucket list include St. Lucia, Grenada, Aruba ..... So I started to do some research and get some rates. But after I checked them I always checked the Negril rates! I then start looking at reviews for the other locations and hotels, while there were some good ones they in one way or another were not as appealing as Negril. The other factor was cost. Some of the other Caribbean locations are very expensive and we have strayed away from Mexico for our last three visits. We have done both the all inclusive and pay as you go so we were open to either. We eventually settled on Seashore Bay Beach because we could get an ocean view room and the price will allow us to get out and experience the other aspects of Negril.

Once it was booked full on NCOCD kicks in for me. Where to go, what to eat, what shouldn’t be missed all occupy hours of time. What is cool about Negril is that it will take many trips to make it to all of the places that I want to visit. And the site has been invaluable in obtaining all this information.

On our last trip we took Joe Cool up on his offer to visit a couple of schools up in the hills and it was a highlight of the trip. We also wanted to give back a little something this year so we headed out to Dollarama to load up on school supplies, skipping ropes, knock off crocs, and a few sports items. I then bought a used suitcase at Value Village for $5.99 that cleaned up like new. This year we are going to drop it off to Father Jim at Mary Gate of Heaven. Father Jim is doing great work through the church and St. Anthony’s Soup Kitchen and he returns your emails with “Ja Mon” and “Greetings from the Capital of Casual”.

This is not a full out trip report as we really only left the resort a few times. We had big plans but serious sand gravity kicked in.

After 22 years of reaching Negril, our "Big Plans" are almost always cancelled out by Sand Gravity which sets in shortly after the third Red Stripe. That's one of the best experiences about Negril, when Sand Gravity strikes, you can buy anything from your beach chair!

Yep i've got it ~~
Glad you had a good time.

****!! Someone called me out !! I was actually just sitting here thinking "ok I've got to stop doing "research" and work on my house projects".. And about sand gravity, I've got pretty big plans. I need anti-gravity subs.. So I can just float

I don't suffer from sand gravity. Too many things to get done at the yard.

This trip is four full days. Probably won't get to the beach at all except to have some conch soup at Cosmo's

Is this how "Friends of Bill" got started? Could our addiction be as big?

Who's Bill?

Hi my name is Tiz and I have N.C.O.C.D.

I knew this was some kind of disorder haha

Damn- another disorder I have to deal with

Yay!! It's not just me!!!

I have always maintained that Rob is Dr. Feelgood, and now he has naughty nurse Lisa. They are enabling and sustaining our addiction to Negril. Now we have identified the side effect of N.C.O.C.D
I have been afflicted with both since 1999. Really I can quit whenever I want to, I just don't want to.:p

Once again we used Engelbert from Joe Cool to take us from the airport to the hotel. We ended up in one of the best rooms on the resort. Wrap around balcony, third floor overlooking the beach. The rooms are dated but the resort is scheduled to be remodelled into a 5+ star in the near future.

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On Sunday we went to Mary Gate of Heaven to drop off our suitcase and participate in the Harvest Celebration. The church was packed and the tent outside eventually filled up as well and there was others standing. In some parishes people bring in fruits and vegetables to sell to raise money for the church. Since this is a poorer parish they also have a dinner and sell drinks, pastries and ice cream to raise money. We had intended to stay and participate but I could tell that my wife was fading from sitting outside even though we were in the tent.

In our route cab back my wife leans forward from the back and tentatively asks the driver “Are there chickens in the back?” He replies “Ja Mon – is that okay?” Of course it was okay it was his cab.

On Tuesday morning we left the resort at 6.30 and headed out to St. Anthony’s Soup Kitchen. We were waiting for a route taxi but a van accepted $300 JA to take us there. Miss Sonia, Vilma and one other lady start bright and early preparing breakfast for the 35 or so kids that they sponsor. They have some other volunteers that stop by when they can and welcome tourists any day. This day breakfast was an egg or peanut butter sandwich, hot chocolate and cookies for a snack later on. We helped dish out the food, wrap cookies and anything else they asked us to do.

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They also supply transport to the schools in the Rotary van and give money to those that need to take taxis to school.

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Once the breakfast rush was over it was time to finish up lunch. Lunch was going to be soup and water or juice. We helped cut up vegetables that I had never heard of and then Vilma had my wife help her make mini dumplings that were going to be put into the soup. The soup also had chicken legs in it.

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Father Jim stopped by to say hello and was coming back later on to help out. They also have a small store in the back of the kitchen that they sell used clothing and shoes from at a discounted price.

Loving the report and pics!
We have used Joe Cool for our last couple of trips and adore him and Latoya. Nice cold Red Stripes for the way in and always a bit of history or current news.
We have a suitcase full of stuff to take to St. Anthony's this time as well. Hoping to be able to do a little volunteering while I am there as well. Giving back makes my heart warm :)

I too am loving this report, thanks for the pictures. It makes you realize how much we really have.
I was happy to hear about St. Anthonys and we plan to volunteer on our next trip, which by the way leads me to confess ...

"my name is Lorraine and I have n.c.o.c.d" (just booked 3rd trip this year today!!)

Hello Lorraine...Have a seat. Our travel agent wants to book you on a trip to anyplace but Negril......AAHHHHHHH

I'm so sorry I went to Negril. Said no boardie, ever!

It was now 10.30 or so and we decided to hit the road and went up to Xtabi for some breakfast. French toast and Red Stripes!

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We have now been on the cliffs a few times and although we like it to visit we have to be on the beach. We feel a bit restricted up there and know that others love it but I don’t think we could stay there. It would not be as much fun being on vacation without my wife.

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That was the big excursion for the week so we just kicked back and enjoyed Seashore. It is a nice place that will change drastically and I don’t know if they will be able to keep the vibe of it alive. The staff are excellent and the food was above average for an all inclusive. Theme nights, beach grill with patties, jerk chicken, wraps, snapper sandwiches. Melisa runs the beach shack and she always has a 1000 megawatt smile, no matter how busy she gets.

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This section of Long Bay is quieter than the main part. You can walk back to the main part through a path. We did it not wearing shoes but some may want to wear flip flops as there are some rough spots. There is a really cool artist that has his goods for sale close to the house that is for rent at the south end of the beach. His name is “Rise and Shine”. He uses recycled goods to make his pictures and they are true works of art. I did not get any pictures of him but if you get a chance stop by and say hello. He is not pushy and is fun to chat with. His stand is between the public beach.

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And the rental house.

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Roy is the lobster griller that has his barrel just south of Seashore. Very honest guy and the lobster was one of the best that I have ever had. He had asked me if I wanted to come down and pick out the lobster but I just told him to get me a good one. We packed up a few beers and water and went to his stand to enjoy the lobster. I brought a beer for him and we had a great time enjoying the lobster and shooting the breeze. He will even deliver to you on the beach wrapped in foil.

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These are some shots walking north from Seashore Bay. Past Our Time Villa’s is The Boardwalk that has some nice little shops, a restaurant, and nice beach with a water trampoline in it. There is a Cambio on site. The shops are on the expensive side nut it is a chill place with no pressure like the market.

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Sandals Beach

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Spear fishermans kyak. He asked us if we wanted to come out with him and he would get a bigger one.

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Stingray hanging out at the beach.

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Wow, awesome picture of the sting ray! One seemed to swim by each morning when I was there in December - I didn't think they would be in so close to shore.

Great trip report, thanks for taking the time - loving the pictures.

I'll have to checkout that Boardwalk place next trip.