Where most people disappointed ith falmouth?

[Iceberg2]

Have been to Duns River Falls many years ago and was very intimated by vendors running after us to be able to return to our bus. At Montego Bay, we took that $15 tour which all we got out of it was the bus driver telling us that he depends on his tips. We were not too willing to walk around the "fleece markets" as the vendors were so aggressive. Now we are going to Falmouth - what is there to see - do not want to sit on a beach, and would like to see something of interest. Should be pick a private tour or from the ship MSC Poesia in Jan 13.

[sharecruises]

Worst port I have ever been to...seriously

 

Yes, you can "enjoy" Montego Bay or Ochos but you have to pay to get there

and take a long ride...nerve wracking to say the least

 

Falmouth is just a facade with jewelry stores and other really cheezy stores that all sell the same junk. Nothing even says "Falmouth">> I had to search and search and could only find one fridge magnet.

 

There are no bars, no restaurants, just buy buy buy.

 

Falmouth - Jamaican for "stay on the ship" JMO

[ham_bone]

ugh. not looking forward to this port... have heard a lot more bad than good. you would think there would at least be a resort nearby or an all inclusive beach club to spend the day at. then again, cozumel & labadee are "beach days" for us on this trip. i am thinking this will be the last western carib trip for us. i could spend a lot less $ and go directly to an all inclusive resort if i wanted to sit at a pool or beach all day...

[hbr777]

Mexico is the place NOT to go!

Not exactly true. Cozumel and Costa Maya are very safe - safer than most places in the Caribbean. The central and north parts of Mexico are not safe at this time but no worries for Coz or Playa del Carmen.

[CruzieSue]

We were in Falmouth (Jamaica), Georgetown (Grand Cayman) and Cozumel (Mexico) this past March 2012. I too was worried about the port at Falmouth, but was surprisingly pleased. It is new and there was still some work going on inside the port itself, but there are a lot of shops to browse in - some cheezy and some expensive - something for everyone I suppose. :rolleyes: It was very clean and well maintained.

 

We did the Chukka Beach Break through Royal Caribbean and were not that happy with it (that's just our experience). The Jamaican bus drivers were very friendly and informative on the way to and from the beach. They did ask if it was okay to drive through the town (everyone said sure). It is a very poor area and some might feel unsafe, but we saw mostly children playing on the sidewalks, no congregating thugs etc.

 

The countryside around Falmouth is very beautiful - lots of rolling hills (mountains to some) and beautiful flowers.

 

Cozumel - did a ship excursion - Jeep tour around the island. Way too fast and felt dangerous for the road conditions and driving habits of the locals, but the island is beautiful.

 

Georgetown - Stingray City thru Moby Dick - best excursion !!! Will go back and walk the streets and see more of the town next trip. Very safe and clean from what we saw.

[DrD]

Believe it or not I lived in Falmouth and worked at the clinic for 2 months way back in 1993. Now granted I was alot younger then and it was along time ago but I always felt safe.

 

True they tried to charge me way more than natives but I learned that pretty quick. The buses were the worst, it was like $30 Jamaican which then was about $1.50 US to go to the next town and they would try to charge me like $20 US! and no one on the bus said anything!

 

I'm looking forward to a meat pie!! I lived on those then as they were only about 33 cents and 2 were a good lunch.

 

 

I remember well walking down a hot street (it was summer) and seeing the big, air conditioned tourist buses go by with all these people looking at us. The local "buses" were vans and had no AC. Now I get to be the guy in the tourist bus!

 

Those local buses were crazy. They had 2 seats across, then an aisle, then another seat. Makes 3. But they put a stool in the aisle (4 seats) and then had 5 people sit in those 4 seats!

 

Best part was they blasted music the whole time. most popular was Whitney (I will always love you), and I swear every woman on the bus would sing along.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how much I remember and how much has changed.

[Host Faith]

We were in Falmouth (Jamaica), Georgetown (Grand Cayman) and Cozumel (Mexico) this past March 2012. I too was worried about the port at Falmouth, but was surprisingly pleased. It is new and there was still some work going on inside the port itself, but there are a lot of shops to browse in - some cheezy and some expensive - something for everyone I suppose. :rolleyes: It was very clean and well maintained.

 

We did the Chukka Beach Break through Royal Caribbean and were not that happy with it (that's just our experience). The Jamaican bus drivers were very friendly and informative on the way to and from the beach. They did ask if it was okay to drive through the town (everyone said sure). It is a very poor area and some might feel unsafe, but we saw mostly children playing on the sidewalks, no congregating thugs etc.

 

The countryside around Falmouth is very beautiful - lots of rolling hills (mountains to some) and beautiful flowers.

 

Cozumel - did a ship excursion - Jeep tour around the island. Way too fast and felt dangerous for the road conditions and driving habits of the locals, but the island is beautiful.

 

Georgetown - Stingray City thru Moby Dick - best excursion !!! Will go back and walk the streets and see more of the town next trip. Very safe and clean from what we saw.

 

Hi CruzieSue! What didn't you like about the Chukka Beach Break? Just curious since we're considering the excursion (without lunch).

[CruzieSue]

Hi CruzieSue! What didn't you like about the Chukka Beach Break? Just curious since we're considering the excursion (without lunch).

 

Sorry I'm a few days late responding ... Probably the thing we liked least was how crowded it was. I think we got there fairly early, but the first 3 rows of chairs (from the beach back) were already taken. We had not been there long and a HUGE crowd of people started showing up trying to take chairs that were already claimed and not waiting for the beach attendant to help them. It was just a bit chaotic and too crowded for our taste. :( We were close to the entrance/snack bar/gift shop so the music was probably a lot louder there than maybe farther down the beach. The snack bar had very little to choose from. The gift shop had very little to offer and was not stocked well (maybe it was just a bad day). The beach and water were beautiful (although cold :eek:) and kept clean from what we saw. There were only 2 restrooms, not horrendous but could have been cleaner, and I think 2 changing areas that were little more than bamboo chutes tied together for walls and a very flimsy curtain that was always waving in the wind. Not much by way of privacy.

 

I can say that we both LOVED THE LUNCH !! They had been grilling jerk chicken all morning and it smelled wonderful. It was served with or without your choice of sauces, some nicely flavored rice, and a tropical slaw (not exactly sure what some of it was, but it delicious), a bread fritter of some kind, and a couple of fruit punch type drinks that were both very good. We both agreed it was the best meal we had had off of the boat. :)

 

After we ate, we were ready to head back to port and apparently half the beach was too because once the line started forming to get on the buses, it grew very quickly. It just was not the relaxing time that we had anticipated and hoped it would be. But like I stated earlier, that was just our experience.

[tinkerme1]

In March 2012, we had a stop in Falmouth, Jamaica and went to the Hilton Rose Hall (Day Pass). We had a great time and it was raining for a good portion of the time (on and off).

 

The Port of Falmouth is clean and new with several Port shops within the fenced in area. Getting to either Ochos Rios or Montego Bay require a lengthy taxi/bus/car trip of about 40 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.

 

Be very aware of what time your ship will depart Falmouth since some ships want you to stay on "ship's time" and others change their time to "Jamaica time". Some folks actually missed their rides back to the ship because they didn't realize the time situation.

I do highly suggest the Hilton Rose Hall Day Pass! They provide towels, a nice beach front, a lovely large pool and some of the best jerk pork and chicken I've ever eaten. Being an all inclusive, they provide the alcohol (only certain brands are included but we had no problem finding something we liked), food, towels and lots of things to do including their "lazy river". The resort was in good shape and clean. Staff was outstanding and very helpful.

 

We booked with jamaicaforaday.com and we included the transportation cost which made the whole booking process easy. I would not book without the transportation since taxis were few and far between.

 

RCCL did have an excursion to the Hilton Rose Hall but we opted to book with Jamicaforaday since it was much more reasonable than the ship's tour.

 

We liked it so much that we are returning in November 2012!

[beachbuddy]

In March 2012, we had a stop in Falmouth, Jamaica and went to the Hilton Rose Hall (Day Pass). We had a great time and it was raining for a good portion of the time (on and off).

 

The Port of Falmouth is clean and new with several Port shops within the fenced in area. Getting to either Ochos Rios or Montego Bay require a lengthy taxi/bus/car trip of about 40 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.

 

Be very aware of what time your ship will depart Falmouth since some ships want you to stay on "ship's time" and others change their time to "Jamaica time". Some folks actually missed their rides back to the ship because they didn't realize the time situation.

I do highly suggest the Hilton Rose Hall Day Pass! They provide towels, a nice beach front, a lovely large pool and some of the best jerk pork and chicken I've ever eaten. Being an all inclusive, they provide the alcohol (only certain brands are included but we had no problem finding something we liked), food, towels and lots of things to do including their "lazy river". The resort was in good shape and clean. Staff was outstanding and very helpful.

 

We booked with jamaicaforaday.com and we included the transportation cost which made the whole booking process easy. I would not book without the transportation since taxis were few and far between.

 

RCCL did have an excursion to the Hilton Rose Hall but we opted to book with Jamicaforaday since it was much more reasonable than the ship's tour.

 

We liked it so much that we are returning in November 2012!

 

What was there to do since it rained a good portion of your day?? Just curious............

 

Patty

[tinkerme1]

Hi Patty,

 

The rain was on and off most of the morning and cleared by early afternoon.

 

They provided inner tubes to float down the Lazy River and we did that in the rain. They had a swim up bar and we ordered drinks. I guess my secret to having fun is to enjoy whatever is thrown at you. The rain wasn't a deal breaker at all. When the sun came out it was hot! In retrospect the rain kept the temps comfortable!

[beachbuddy]

Hi Patty,

 

The rain was on and off most of the morning and cleared by early afternoon.

 

They provided inner tubes to float down the Lazy River and we did that in the rain. They had a swim up bar and we ordered drinks. I guess my secret to having fun is to enjoy whatever is thrown at you. The rain wasn't a deal breaker at all. When the sun came out it was hot! In retrospect the rain kept the temps comfortable!

 

Thanks for the response. A light rain wouldn't be bad but my concern is if it's a downpour crappy kind of day, then what do you do? A little hesitant about purchasing this up front because you can't cancel if it's a bad day. But still considering purchasing this.

 

Patty

[cruise wizard]

Patty - we are going to book the Hilton - I just didn't post it on the thread.

[tinkerme1]

Patty - we are going to book the Hilton - I just didn't post it on the thread.

 

Hi Gary! I'm sure you'll love it! If you start a group on Jamaicaforaday.com and you get enough folks going, you'll get a discount. We had 20 of us and it was a blast.:D

[beachbuddy]

Patty - we are going to book the Hilton - I just didn't post it on the thread.

 

Gary, Kim, Alex, Dee, John and us are thinking of booking it too, but not thru the ship. I think if there's 8 people we can even get a discount............are you going to book with Jamiaica for a day?

 

Patty

[beachbuddy]

Patty - we are going to book the Hilton - I just didn't post it on the thread.

 

Someone I know from CC, Brian, did the Hilton and posted photos in his review. He said him and his family had a great time. I just don't like the fact that if it downpours we don't get our money back....... We would get it with the transportation included.

 

The 6 of us are going to do Mr. Sanchez in Cozumel..........we already put a deposit on that one but they only wanted $5 deposit and you pay the balance when you get there. That's an all inclusive too but it's much cheaper than the Hilton. It was between that and Paradise and we read that Mr. Sanchez has the better beach. I know Paradise is pretty rocky getting in the water because we were there another time.

 

Gotta go..........need to go to CVS with Tony..........

[cruise wizard]

tinkerme1 - thanks for the group idea.

 

OK Patty - should we start to form a group? Mary and I are in!!!! Let's talk - e-mail me oconeebassman at hot mail dot com

[ham_bone]

rose hall excursion sounds great. my friends honeymooned there a few years ago and liked it. we were leaning towards dunns river but maybe we can find a bundle with rose hall

[beachbuddy]

rose hall excursion sounds great. my friends honeymooned there a few years ago and liked it. we were leaning towards dunns river but maybe we can find a bundle with rose hall

 

Dunns River Falls is great!! You will enjoy the climb.

[SnowBird Cruzer]

I'm looking forward to seeing this newly created port of call in Jamaica but then I don't have the strong negative feelings about Jamaica that some here exhibit. We will be there in December when we sail on the Allure with our kids and grandkids. When we were last in Jamaica with all of them we docked in Montego Bay and spent the day at an all-inclusive nearby and had a wonderful time. Falmouth is still being developed and it seems that recent reviews are far more positive than the earliest ones. It seems a shame to travel so far just to stay onboard the ship and avoid any exposure to a new location or experience, even on a ship as fascinating a destination as Allure or Oasis.:)

 

I just have to say that. Falmouth is new and was just fine when we were there in March 12. I'll be back again in Feb 13 with MIL, FIL, BIL and SIL, and my DW of course. The local vendors were not pushy and the other shops were just like all the other places. And they weren't so crowded either. (Man, we could not move in Cozumel).

 

Falmouth itself is not NYC, or Green Bay WI either, it's not big. A person interested in learning about a different culture would like the local tour. Otherwise, rent a taxi and have your driver take you all over. Jamaica is an amazing island and there is more to see than DRF or Montego Bay or all inclusives.

[VIKINGCRUISER]

We went on an excursion to a private beach and had a good time.

 

 

Which private bea ch did you go to?

 

Thanks

 

 

:)

[Tranquil Waters]

Do you know approximately when the Marguaritaville should be completed?

 

They say January 2013. Not sure if that island time or stateside time....:rolleyes::D

[SnowBird Cruzer]

They say January 2013. Not sure if that island time or stateside time....:rolleyes::D

 

I'll be there in February, just in time! :cool: