Montego Bay (Jamaica)

Montego Bay (aka MoBay) is Jamaica's second largest cruise port and city (after Ocho Rios) located on island's northwestern coast. The city has population around 110,000 and was founded as port town serving the export of sugar, bananas and butter.

The city is ranked Jamaica's 4th largest urban area (after Kingston, Spanish Town, Portmore), all of which form Greater Kingston (metro population over 660,000). Montego Bay is among Caribbeans most famous cruise ship travel destinations featuring duty-free shopping, large cruise terminal and top-quality resorts and beaches in close proximity. The city is served by Sangster Airport - located approx 5 km (3 mi) east of downtown. Regularly scheduled flights link to UK (London, Birmingham, Manchester), Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton), USA (Chicago, Houston, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Philadelphia, St Louis, Detroit, NYC, Miami, Charlotte, Dallas, Atlanta), Haiti (Port-au-Prince), Cuba (Havana, Holguin), Panama City, Peru (Lima), Germany (Dusseldorf, Frankfurt), Belgium (Brussels).

Sam Sharpe Square is the heart of downtown and named after the slave who in 1831 led the "Christmas Rebellion". The square is a popular gathering spot, where vendors sell snacks, refreshments, T-shirts. The old town features excellent examples of Georgian architecture. Outside the city, tourists can visit the Doctors Cave Beach and enjoy river-rafting on Martha Brae. Dunn's River Falls are another must-see. Located west of downtown Ocho Rios, these mountain waters plunge 183 m (600 ft) to the limestone beds and then stream under the roadway before flowing into the Caribbean Sea. Other landmarks include 18th-century plantation houses and the Appleton Sugar Estate.

By annual passenger traffic (statistical data 2019), the Caribbean's top-10 largest airports are:

1. Luis Munoz Marin Airport/aka Isla Verde (San Juan Puerto Rico) with ~9,5 million pax
2. Punta Cana Airport (Punta Cana Dominicana) with ~7,2 million pax
3. Jose Marti Airport (Havana Cuba) with 5,7+ million pax
4. Sangster Airport (Montego Bay Jamaica) with ~4,8 million pax
5. Lynden Pindling Airport (Nassau Bahamas) with ~4,1 million pax
6. Las Americas Airport (Santo Domingo Dominicana) with ~4 million pax
7. Piarco Airport (Port-of-Spain Trinidad) with 2,8+ million pax
8. Queen Beatrix Airport (Oranjestad Aruba) with 2,5+ million pax
9. Pointe-a-Pitre Airport (Pointe-a-Pitre Guadeloupe) with ~2,5 million pax
10. Grantley Adams Airport (Bridgetown Barbados) with ~2,3 million pax

This explains why these port cities are used as seasonal turnaround ports for homeporting (roundtrip itineraries) by many major cruise companies with ship deployments in the Caribbean.