My husband and I had to honeymoon on a pretty tight budget and price was the main reason we ended up at the Royal Decameron Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was the best value I have ever come across in travel, so far. We stayed for 5 nights and loved the entire trip!
Honestly, we spent most of our time sitting in the Royal Decameron's lounge area looking out to the ocean. It was so relaxing and just what we needed to decompress from the stresses we faced at home (I had been diagnosed with cancer just 3 months before our wedding date). When I look at this picture it still calms me and I can almost hear the waves crashing and feel the ocean breeze sweeping in.
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| Royal Decameron Lounge |
We had an all-inclusive package. The food was good, not great, but I am a picky eater. We preferred the sit down restaurant for dinner. The room was a nice size; ours was on the corner which offered a larger, more private balcony with a great view. The staff was very helpful. We did not go to the night club or use the pools; the pool areas did look very nice though.
The Royal Decameron was a great value, only a 5 minute drive from the airport and in a great location to see other parts of Jamaica. I definitely recommend!
We ventured out of the resort into MoBay to do some shopping and found it to be very unpleasant. The local vendors were very aggressive and pushy and I didn't feel very safe. A better option: In the evening, they have vendors set up in the courtyard to sell souvenirs and such. You may not get as good of a price, but it is a more pleasant experience.
Being on our honeymoon, we wanted time for just the two of us; so we asked the tour desk about private tours. They suggested we hire a driver to take us to Ocho Rios for the day and it ended up being the best day of our trip. They contacted Osmond Smith for us and for US$120 he took us to Ocho Rios and back with some stops along the way.
By hiring a driver (instead of taking a tour) we were able to get to the waterfall before the crowds on tour buses arrived. We actually got a private tour of the waterfall at no additional charge because we were the only ones there at that moment! It was truly amazing.
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| Ocho Rios |
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| Discovery Cove |
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| View Down on Royal Decameron (left) |
When we requested "somewhere good for lunch," Ozzie, surprisingly, took us to a local Chinese restaurant. It was honestly the best Chinese food we have ever eaten!
We enjoyed our day trip to Ocho Rios so much that we asked Ozzie to pick us up the next day to go to Negril for some snorkeling and to see the sunset from the famous Rick's Cafe. This was only US$100.
The snorkeling was pretty good. I had experienced better snorkeling in Belize but it was my husband's first experience so I am glad that we did it.
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| Snorkeling in Negril |
Rick's Cafe was a little pricey and they were out of several items on the menu but the view of the sunset was quite picturesque.
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| Sunset at Rick's Cafe in Negril |
I do not imagine that we will ever return to Jamaica, but that is not by any fault of the destination; it is simply because this trip exceeded our expectations so much that a return would probably tarnish the memories; with so many other places we want to see in the world, I doubt we will take that chance.