MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica -- The emcee at the pool party wanted more diversity for the dance contest.

``C'mon, ladies, don't be shy,'' he said over the mike.

Wisely, the visitors from the north stayed in the lounges, leaving the competition to a half-dozen lithe young islanders.

The music began thumping, and each girl did her version of a step that might best be called booty shaking. One girl even managed to stand on her head, on the concrete, while never missing a beat.

After a minute or two, the music stopped and the emcee called on the audience to vote with applause for a winner.

There's never a dull moment at the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach, a new 366-room resort east of Montego Bay. There are aerobics on the beach and in the pool, kids' activities by day, and adult entertainment at night. Sun bathers are treated to a frequent flow of waitresses balancing trays laden with the rum drink of the day.

The aim of my stay in Jamaica was to check out some of the lodging choices, so I evenly divided the nights. Two were spent at the five-star Iberostar; two at Couples Sans Souci, an adults-only resort at Ocho Rios; and two at the Jamaica Inn, a family-owned resort that hasn't changed much since Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller were photographed there on their honeymoon in 1950.

IBEROSTAR

The Iberostar was a 20-minute ride from Montego Bay's Sangster International Airport. The vast hotel has two four-story wings of cream-colored buildings. Down the back staircase, walkways led through lagoons decorated with fountains and tropical foliage to the pool complex, which has a swim-up bar with Red Stripe on tap.

Beyond the pool, a grove of sea grape trees provided a shady refuge on the beach along the Caribbean's famed turquoise waters.

The Iberostar is all-inclusive, meaning food at the five restaurants and drinks at the six bars is included in the price, which averages around $200 a person a night, based on double occupancy. That means guests tend to spend most of their vacation on the property, rather than experience the rest of the island.

Many visitors to Jamaica view that as a plus because of its reputation for pesky peddlers, who sell carvings, necklaces and, often, contraband. At the Iberostar, security guards were posted at both ends of the beach. The street merchants resorted to canoes and kayaks, which they tied up to the roping that marked the end of the shallow waters. Shoppers who waded out could peruse their cargo of carvings and beaded necklaces in the island colors, plus plastic baggies of ganja buds for $40.

On the other hand, Jamaica is among the most beautiful of the Caribbean islands. While many are flat and covered with desert scrub, Jamaica has misty mountains and flowing streams where you can climb through waterfalls or take the island's version of a gondola raft ride.

Never venturing from your hotel would be a mistake. Just follow the usual rules for touring foreign outposts or America's big cities: Stay in groups, stick to public places and don't call attention to yourself with flashy clothes and jewelry.

The Iberostar is a family-friendly resort, with kids swimming up for ice cream at the pool bar or playing with the giant chess figures on the beach.

COUPLES SANS SOUCI

The highway heading east from Montego Bay has been improved, so the 65-mile ride to Couples Sans Souci at Ocho Rios was smooth, although not uneventful. The taxi driver maintained a steady 60 miles per hour, swerving into the oncoming lane when approaching a slow-moving vehicle, curves be damned.

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