The flight was great. Unusual for most airline flights these days, where you get squeezed into a cattle car with barely enough room to sit without having your knees jammed up against the seat in front and so close, it seems that the person in front is actually sitting in your lap!
We even got served food! This was a better than the small bag of stale peanuts they usually throw at you.

Decided to stay in a small cliff resort in Negril, away from the beach, which suited us fine. Something a little different from what we are accustomed to here.

There are a couple of notable differences (we know they have a lot of tourists) to vacationing in Jamaica, must admit. For instance, where we stayed in Negril, it is a long commute from the airport (2 hour drive). In fact, it's a long commute to just about any attraction!

I guess we tend to be a little spoiled here in Grenada, as just about all our tourist attractions are not more than 90 minutes away. You can take off at rush hour in town and be at Annandale falls in less than 20 minutes. Compare that to a 2 - 3 hour drive in Jamaica.

We went to the YS Falls while there and quite frankly, it is a little too civilized. Proper walking trails, limited access without a guide. Yes, it was well maintained and very touristy....but that is exactly the point. It was too touristy! It was missing that slightly 'wild' aspect which i think makes our falls more attractive and our sites unique.
Thats not a negative thing, especially when you have a well developed tourism economy, like Jamaica does, but we just thought it was a little too tame!

Lots people warned us about the crime, but we felt quite safe wherever we went. Admittedly, it was not Kingston, but everyone was friendly.

One thing which we noticed right away, was that people tended to stay in their hotels, and did not wonder around much, even to hunt for souveniers.
We noticed a few other differences which really stood out. For instance, we get a different type of tourist here. Grenada tends to be more attractive to couples and families, while we notices lots more singles and groups in Jamaica. Admittedly, cheaper fares and convenient connections with the airlines has a lot to do with it, also, it is close to the United states, geographically.

We even saw a place directly on the beach for US$21/person. Thats a price that you simply cannot find anywhere here!

Another thing we noticed, at least where we stayed, is that the service was ...different to what you would expect.
O.k, I know that the service here can be somewhat slow sometimes because people tend to work on ‘Island Time’. However, it took on a whole new meaning in Jamaica. At times, it seemed that they were doing us a favour, rather than their job. Not what you would expect from a country with such a well established tourism sector.

It seems that they are feeling the tourism downturn a lot faster and harder than we are, but i guess that is because of the volume of visitors they usually have. Several people we chatted with, said that this is turning out to be the worst tourist season in more than a decade.
I guess this is why they don't seem to be celebrating Christmas much this year.