Failing in Falmouth

[sail2sea]

This has nothing to do with the thread, but I LOVE your signature!! Everything comes back to Star Trek! Where did you find that?

 

It's from cruise-ships.com and you click on the Tickers tab to create your own. I can't take any credit though because I first saw it in another CC'er's signature and just followed the link. :D

[sail2sea]

I do believe that the local government should provide the locals with some basic education and maybe a more organized way to be setup outside. it would be a small investment, but it would let them realize why the tourists are not venturing into the city.

 

That's a good idea. The island is getting $10/pp right? Put that money toward educating the locals how to deal with foreigners. It's not the cruise lines that are keeping the passengers away. The passengers don't want to deal with them and that says something.

 

I realize ideally we go to another country to learn about the local culture and shouldn't demand the locals to change for foreigners. But in the case, if the locals want to make money they will just have to. Most of us dumb Americans are suckers and will only be too happy to shell out when not harassed.

[Hobbitmomma]

This thread is making me scared of our western itinerary next August! We thought that Labadee, Falmouth, and Cozumel would be more kid friendly. Now I'm beginning to rethink that.

[Creepella]

Labadee is excellent, except for the straw market, and our experience there was apparently unusual. If you don't want to experience the hawkers, the other two ports offer wonderful excursions. The sad thing is how discouraging just getting off the ship and wandering around can be

[setsail]

This thread is making me scared of our western itinerary next August! We thought that Labadee, Falmouth, and Cozumel would be more kid friendly. Now I'm beginning to rethink that.

 

Falmouth has an average port load of 40,000 per month and you are worried about what 3 or 4 people say on a message board:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Go and enjoy your cruise. It will be fine

[grand isle joe]

This thread is making me scared of our western itinerary next August! We thought that Labadee, Falmouth, and Cozumel would be more kid friendly. Now I'm beginning to rethink that.

 

 

You're not going to DisneyWorld......

[roe2ship]

We did the chukka beach break also. Our experience was the opposite. They had people that kept vendors off this portion of the beach. Unless you wandered down the beach there was no contact with any outside people. And when any vendors came close they were chased off by the staff. We found it to be a relaxing day.

I wish we were as lucky. No way did we roam away off from that section….we remained on our loungers and swimming the entire time. Unfortunately, no one kept the vendors away while we were there. They would walk on by from either side of the beach and the first chance they got to show you their stuff….they did. Closer to 1:00, when it was apparent that many were walking through and harassing the tourists , a police officer arrived and watched the area…..of course it stopped at that point, however after about 15 minutes or so when he stepped away, the nonsense started again. I can’t imagine that the staff there who run the show can really keep these vendors from walking by on a public beach. I think they also look the other way in order to avoid confrontation. I’m assuming this is why the police officer arrived there to begin with. With that experience, I wouldn't do that excursion again in Falmouth. When there is a next time in Falmouth, most likely I will do some shopping within the gated area and return to a somewhat empty ship.

[trishs]

Just out of curiosity, for those of you who have been outside the gates, how far does the "gauntlet" go?

 

We are planning on running, and if it's only a few blocks, that goes by really fast, and it's quite easy to ignore people at a jogging pace. I was hoping to run around the town where it's a little more calm. If the area is too "thick"- then we may consider a physical excursion (we did a biking one in the past which was great).

 

I have seen the tactic of "try, and now pay me" and it failed badly a few times- people didn't pay for a trial of coconut water, and the guy was left with an unusable coconut. Bad for him- if he just sells it straight up, I'd buy one. But the whole baiting to buy is tough to live with.

 

Should start to look at real excursions, I suppose.

 

Just out of curiosity, for those of you who have been outside the gates, how far does the "gauntlet" go?

 

We were there in Jan. It's about 2+ blocks maybe 3. It just seems so long because the pain of this gauntlet is very severe :)

 

 

 

I love this idea. I just had to laugh. I never thought of running. so funny. It's very crowded but I don't think you would have a problem jogging through.

 

This is what we did. We (my husband, son and his wife, daughter and her husband and 2 yr old started down the gauntlet. It got so bad my daughter got very nervous with the baby. We try to stick together so we headed back through the gate and mentally re-grouped.

My daughter had enough and they headed back to ship.

 

The rest of us got a taxi-van-bus from inside the gate and had him take us to Doctor's cave Beach. Others heard me talking and so we had a group of about 10. It took about 30-40 min to drive there. The driver gave some info on the places we drove by. He was very nice local man.

They make you pay when you get to the beach. He made us pay both ways and this made me a little nervous and the other people that joined us in the van all looked to me. Ahh no pressure. :) He gave me his card and we told him how long we wanted to stay.

 

We were floating in the water most of the time. One person asked my son if he wanted to buy drugs he just said no.

 

It all worked out and he gave us a ride back.

 

I asked him to drop us off on the other side of the gauntlet. We bought some coffee beans and other things. Very local vibe. It wasn't any big deal going back through the gauntlet. So maybe they just have more pressure going in.

 

We had a wonderful day at the beach and will do this again in Jan 2013. This time we will just stay inside get the driver and head to the beach and back.

 

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Trish

[Kenlorz]

ok...I give... what's a gauntlet?

[CruzinSuz]

Oasis/Allure can always go back to docking at Costa Maya....then the locals in Falmouth wouldn't have anything to complain about anymore.

 

I would prefer to go there. Love Costa Maya.

 

We've been to Jamaica at least 20 times in an adult's only all inclusive resort, unfortunately, we're too old to go back there. (60) We never ventured outside the gates there either. Jamaica is not a safe country. Too much corruption in the government, hence the poverty of the citizenry, and the desperation for them to eke out a living.

 

We'll be there in a few weeks, and I'll get off just to buy some Jerk Sauce/Marinade, it's outstanding and a good price.

 

You can't even get off the ship and have a reasonably priced beer there. It's more expensive to buy a beer in the compound than it is on the ship!!!

 

I wish RCCL didn't build this port to dock OA/AL. Costa Maya would have been just fine IMHO.

[dmwnc1959]

Damn, that is some very good info. Thanks, it is much appreciated. :)

 

I'm glad you liked all the maps! If you would return the favor let us know how Falmouth is after you get back from your cruise and whether the circumstances are the same. Hope you make it to Club Nazz. :)

[dmwnc1959]

ok...I give... what's a gauntlet?

 

Gauntlet (noun): to go through an intimidating or dangerous crowd, place, or experience in order to reach a goal.

 

I would say that 'dangerous' is not one of the terms that fits this particular gauntlet.

[Chalker Guy]

 

The rest of us got a taxi-van-bus from inside the gate and had him take us to Doctor's cave Beach. Others heard me talking and so we had a group of about 10. It took about 30-40 min to drive there. The driver gave some info on the places we drove by. He was very nice local man.

They make you pay when you get to the beach. He made us pay both ways and this made me a little nervous and the other people that joined us in the van all looked to me. Ahh no pressure. :) He gave me his card and we told him how long we wanted to stay.

 

We were floating in the water most of the time. One person asked my son if he wanted to buy drugs he just said no.

 

It all worked out and he gave us a ride back.

 

I asked him to drop us off on the other side of the gauntlet. We bought some coffee beans and other things. Very local vibe. It wasn't any big deal going back through the gauntlet. So maybe they just have more pressure going in.

 

We had a wonderful day at the beach and will do this again in Jan 2013. This time we will just stay inside get the driver and head to the beach and back.

 

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Trish

 

Trish,

We will be there in January, and I was thinking about taking the bus to Dr's Cave Beach for some snorkeling. Is the bus from inside the bus Jaital Falmouth Transport Co. by chance? What was the RT price? Were there lockers and showers at the beach? Lockers?

[trishs]

Trish,

We will be there in January, and I was thinking about taking the bus to Dr's Cave Beach for some snorkeling. Is the bus from inside the bus Jaital Falmouth Transport Co. by chance? What was the RT price? Were there lockers and showers at the beach? Lockers?

 

They have Taxi's, van's and busses in the gated area. We went out side the gated area also and they were charging the same prices or higher. I also wouldn't have trusted that they would wait around and bring us back. (They make you pay the whole price) They have to have a specific license to be in the gated area and will loose it if they don't operate properly.

 

So this is how they work it. They fill up a bus and I think it was round trip $20 They take you to the beach and find out what time everyone wants to come back. The bus will then be back at that time and everyone loads on. So we chose a smaller bus and everyone agreed to a time.

 

I'm not sure about the lockers. There were showers.

Since we had about 12 in the van we just sat in the same area and kept an eye on each others stuff while we were in the water.

We felt very safe. One thing I will say. Our driver wanted to take us to a "better beach" we said no we wanted to go to Doctor Caves. We had a great day.

 

Hope this wasn't too confusing.

[trishs]

Trish,

We will be there in January, and I was thinking about taking the bus to Dr's Cave Beach for some snorkeling. Is the bus from inside the bus Jaital Falmouth Transport Co. by chance? What was the RT price? Were there lockers and showers at the beach? Lockers?

 

I just went on line and looked up "Jaital Falmouth Transport Co." We didn't pre book anything. I'm not sure if they were out there too. But there were van's that size. If you have a group of 15 and can pre arrange that would be good. We only have 7 in our group so we will wing it when we get there. If weather is bad we will stay on ship.

[Chalker Guy]

I just went on line and looked up "Jaital Falmouth Transport Co." We didn't pre book anything. I'm not sure if they were out there too. But there were van's that size. If you have a group of 15 and can pre arrange that would be good. We only have 7 in our group so we will wing it when we get there. If weather is bad we will stay on ship.

 

Thanks Trishs,

Your answers were not at all confusing. We are just one couple traveling alone. I think we will follow your lead, not book in advance, and possibly see if anybody else on our roll call thread wants to join us.

[trishs]

Thanks Trishs,

Your answers were not at all confusing. We are just one couple traveling alone. I think we will follow your lead, not book in advance, and possibly see if anybody else on our roll call thread wants to join us.

 

Thats a good call.

[gambee]

I'm glad you liked all the maps! If you would return the favor let us know how Falmouth is after you get back from your cruise and whether the circumstances are the same. Hope you make it to Club Nazz. :)

 

Definitely will, I plan to do a review with pictures and all. But I am really having second thoughts about going to club nazz, this thread is making it very hard.

[Coralc]

ok...I give... what's a gauntlet?

 

Try this:

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=guantlet

 

:D:):D

 

Probably this is the best selection: Running the gauntlet (originally gantlet, and, rarely, gantlope or gantelope) is a form of physical punishment wherein a captive is to run between two rows—a gauntlet—of soldiers who repeatedly strike him.

[dmwnc1959]

Definitely will, I plan to do a review with pictures and all. But I am really having second thoughts about going to club nazz, this thread is making it very hard.

 

As intimidating as it sounds, and for a first time experience it is a bit daunting, once you get past that first block it's not awful. I didn't do the WALKING TOUR (which looks like it actually might begin inside the compound just past the shops?) and maybe if you went that route the vendors may be a lot fewer than in that first block where they are concentrated straight out of the gate (see previous map). You'll eventually pass by Club Nazz along the tour route so stop in for a soda or bottled water and some cheap internet. There are even policeman just outside the main gate to make sure nothing gets out of hand. Like I posted earlier, it's not dangerous, just a tad overwhelming initially.

 

And hey, if I did it you can too! ;)

 

.

[dmwnc1959]

But I am really having second thoughts about going to club nazz, this thread is making it very hard.

 

I didn't do the WALKING TOUR (which looks like it actually might begin inside the compound just past the shops?)...

 

I just noticed on the tour map at the bottom right hand corner it does indicate that the self guided walking tour beings within the cruise port compound! This then would definitely keep you from having to exit out the main gate and manage your way through that scene. Not sure what it is like once you exit the walkway that 'winds along the waterfront' but it has to beat the other option. ;)

 

.

[gambee]

I found this video online,

I know its a year old, but still the town looks pretty safe.

 

I will think about it.

[closecruiser]

We were there in September and I saw that they now have a Dairy Queen and Subway!!!! I can get that at home. Thought it was pretty strange. We ventured out side the gate for about 2 minutes and that was long enough, vendors were all over us trying to get us to buy something or come in to their area to look around. Next time we are in Falmouth I plan on staying on the ship.

[KathyPet]

THe Jamaicans have no one but themselves to blame for this. THeir bad reputation for being incredibily aggressive has spread via word of mouth and more and more cruisers are not willing to expose themselves to that kind of experience. When my daughter was 7 years old we went to Ocho Rios and after our Dunns River falls excursion we wandered into town. We were harassed and intimidated by several woman who followed us around selling their hair braiding services. They surrounded my daughter and were stroking her hair. It got so bad that she burst into tears and we went back to the ship immediately. Fast forward 20 years. She and her new DH took a RCCL cruise on their honeymoon. Guess who would not get off the ship in Jamaica? She still remembers that incident after all that time.

[grand isle joe]

They need a person like Rudy Gulliani the ex mayor of NYC. If you travel in mid town/ Times Square it is like Disney World compared to the times when Dinkins was mayor. If they are to do anything it will take a strong forceful leader who will impose some discipline and respect for society to function. But I doubt that will happen.