random question re Rick's

[dwayneh]

hi,

wife wants to go to Rick's- me not so much but smart husbands oblige their wives. We are repeaters ( only ochos previously) visiting CN in July arriving on Monday and leaving on the ensuing Sunday. There seems to be no shortage of great sunset activities at the resort so my question is if you were obliged to go to Rick's one of the nights- which night would you opt to go and likely visit hrs/timeframe?

we have dinner reservations @ Othaeite(sp?) for Wednesday

any counsel from the always helpful couples community is appreciated

[Wally]

Sundays seem to be the slow days at CN. They have a tour to Rick's daily for sunset. It leaves at 4pm and returns at 7pm. It's only a 10 minute drive from CN. Back in plenty of time for supper at the resort. I wouldn't recommend eating or drinking much at Rick's as it's quite expensive. The tour costs $15 per person, about the same as a cab would. I'd recommend it once for everyone. It's quite an experience, but vey crowded and touristy.

[softail19]

Its more like 20 minutes from cn I agree with what Wally said. The sun sets around 6pm and you can't go to negril and not visit Rick's at least once.

[softail19]

Bring small US bills or you will get Jamaican in return. We just go to see the divers, a sunset and a couple of beers.

[Mom4kids]

Or just take the catamaran. If you don't want to eat, the catamaran stops in front of Ricks, and the cliff divers. Plenty of beer and rum punch on board, and it's "included". Just don't forget a tip for the catamaran crew.

[dank120]

Try to get there early (depending on time of year, maybe about 90 mins before sunset), and preferably not on a Fri or Sat, because those are the busiest days. When we were there last Nov on a Fri, we got there around 4p, which was well before the literal busloads of people started coming in from various resorts. We have a couple buddies who do private tours, and for about $20/pp, we went to Rick's, saw the sunset, stopped by Three Dives, he bought us a few Magnums, etc. For Rick's only, it should be easy to negotiate $10-$15/pp with a driver. And, what softail19 said is a very important tip. If you bring large US bills (50/100), and need any significant amount of change, they will only give you JMD for change. A bucket of Red Stripes is around $22. And, contrary to what many people have said in the past, we were never pressured to tip the divers. As for your Otaheite night, it all depends on what time your reservation is. We actually did our Rick's afternoon on our Otaheite night as well, and we ate late (8:30p-9p?) with no issues time-wise.

[drbcwp]

Rick's Cafe is fun and has very good photo opportunities. It gets crowded right before sunset. The food is "ok" and a little expensive. I would use the resort trip and it takes longer than 10 minutes.

[dwayneh]

thx for all the advice!

[Mike@Debbie]

We have done the catamaran trip 4 times in the last 3 years. It never stopped near Ricks.

[Mom4kids]

Sorry, must be different for CN. CSA, it stops directly in front of Rick's.

[Wally]

We have been to CN 9 times and the cat cruise has never stopped there. The CSA cat stops at Rick's, but not CN's.

[Coloradojuli]

I've been on the catamaran trip for the past 10 years from CN and they have always stopped at the same spot and it is not Ricks. Ricks is further down the coastline.

[rhallva]

Just my experience, so I am not saying anyone else is wrong, but the many Cat Cruises I have taken from CN all went to the cave under Pushcart at Rockhouse Resort. I have only taken the cruise from CSA twice, but both times it went to Rockhouse too.

Ricks is a tourist trap, but a good one. We go about once every 5-10 trips, but I would encourage anyone interested to do it once at least. It can be fun. The food is not the worst in Negril and not the most expensive in Negril ... it's okay. We make a dinner reservation and have dinner there right before sunset. This is when the divers are jumping and we already have a nice table when the sunset crowds start to arrive. We may never go again, but I have never regretted the times we went. These days we prefer an evening at Pushcart for dinner, sunset, and music.
Have fun!