Safety in Falmouth

[Winnigirl]

My dh will be golfing in Jamaica. I've chosen to stay onboard. I don't know a thing about Falmouth or how it is set up. Is there an area at the port that is safe for a woman to wander around and shop? Or would I be better off just staying on board?I don't want to take any tours, but I might want to get off the ship for a bit just to look around and browse in a few shops.

[debk68]

you are definitely safe with in the RCC "compound" there are many vendors that have handmade crafts and general tourist stuff. They ask you to buy. They are certainly not as aggressive as they are outside of the gates. my DH and I went out and were only out for 15 minutes and did not feel comfortable.

[Winnigirl]

you are definitely safe with in the RCC "compound" there are many vendors that have handmade crafts and general tourist stuff. They ask you to buy. They are certainly not as aggressive as they are outside of the gates. my DH and I went out and were only out for 15 minutes and did not feel comfortable.

 

OK - thank you. We were in Roatan, Honduras last fall and if it's like that "compound", then I think I'd feel ok about looking around. I definitely wouldn't go outside the gates.

[CruzieSue]

You will be fine within the fenced in port area. It's very nice. There will be some vendors who may try to call you over to look at their items - if you're not interested, just smile and say no thanks, not right now, not interested, something to that effect and keep going. We did find that on the outer edge of the compound in the area leading to the gate to the "outside", vendors trying to sell their private tours were VERY pushy. So be careful going to the outer edge. Also know that if you get drawn in to having your photo taken with the entertainers walking around on the high stilts, even with your own camera, they EXPECT you to pay them $10 or more per person. At least that was our experience.

[mccbeh]

We did leave the terminal area for a while to explore the surroundings. Honestly there is not much to see or do and yes, you will find many pushy vendors to sell you handcrafts, Bob Marley stuff, tours, etc. We are used to this kind of vendors from other Caribbean ports so that was not a big deal, however it is ongoing and quite annoying. As said, not much to do close to the pier. We will probably opt for a tour next time. Our friends said that once you are away from the ship area, people are friendlier and you actually get a better feeling of the real Jamaica. To stay inside the pier area is a no-go for us...:D

[airbusdrvr]

We use Jamaica as a calm sea day with 50-75% fewer people in the pool area and hot tubs :D

[Blk_Amish]

My dh will be golfing in Jamaica. I've chosen to stay onboard. I don't know a thing about Falmouth or how it is set up. Is there an area at the port that is safe for a woman to wander around and shop? Or would I be better off just staying on board?I don't want to take any tours, but I might want to get off the ship for a bit just to look around and browse in a few shops.

 

Hope this helps: This is the area outside the gated compound. It's safe and no matter what you look like there is a guy trying to tell you that you are his queen and the answer to your prayers and needs:D The dancers in the square is pretty neat to watch, very talented.

 

 

[/url] by , on Flickr

 

by , on Flickr

Edited December 23, 2013 by Blk_Amish

[sunsetbeachgal]

OK - thank you. We were in Roatan, Honduras last fall and if it's like that "compound", then I think I'd feel ok about looking around. I definitely wouldn't go outside the gates.

 

The Falmouth compound is similar to The Roatan port that Carnival Corp. built but Falmouth is much larger. We took an independent tour on our stop, and After the end of the tour spent an hour or so wandering around and shopping and enjoyed it. If you are interested there is a wifi service you can buy while in the port...we did not do it since we had only an hour, but I seem to remember it was around $10 for the day...a good price as compared to the inflated rates charged by the ship.

Edited December 23, 2013 by sunsetbeachgal

[OCruisers]

If you stay within the cruise terminal compound, you'll be absolutely safe. :)

 

There are some decent stores, no pesky aggressive vendors, and it's very clean. Don't miss walking around there. DH was with me but I would have had no problem being there alone.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Rickie J 2013]

you are definitely safe with in the RCC "compound" there are many vendors that have handmade crafts and general tourist stuff. They ask you to buy. They are certainly not as aggressive as they are outside of the gates. my DH and I went out and were only out for 15 minutes and did not feel comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

There is a difference between feeling comfortable and the place been safe. Falmouth is a gritty town but nobody there is going to attack you. The reason for the vendors been aggressive is because they are not getting the volume of cruise passengers that would allow smooth sales to take place.

This is the fault of the cruise ship and passengers. Its no different than if a mall up here is having few customers walking into the mall in any giving day. The Mall clerks would be just as aggressive in trying to sell you stuff.

[kicker]

We were there in October. You are totally safe inside the compound; only cruisers and natives with business there can get in.

 

Now, outside the compound is a different story! I had to find a pharmacy, walked by a bodega that had a security guard armed with a shotgun. That being said, I walked around that area for an hour and no one bothered me, but I wouldn't recommend going outside the "safe" area by yourself.

[Rickie J 2013]

We were there in October. You are totally safe inside the compound; only cruisers and natives with business there can get in.

 

Now, outside the compound is a different story! I had to find a pharmacy, walked by a bodega that had a security guard armed with a shotgun. That being said, I walked around that area for an hour and no one bothered me, but I wouldn't recommend going outside the "safe" area by yourself.

 

 

 

This is the problem i am having with most of these safety post about Falmouth. You said that you walk around for an hour and no body bother you but it may not be safe because you see a security guard with a shotgun. By the way, did you got what you needed at the pharmacy? I think you are making some cruise passengers opinions of Falmouth cloud your perception evening though you went there yourself and see that those cruise passengers perception was not true. Falmouth is a small gritty town. They have pharmacy, banks, schools, supermarket, Fire Station, Police station, library, Hospital, court house and many other stores. You should have been grateful because the town was right there to help you with emergency service but instead you turn that around trying to make the town look bad.

[phoenix_dream]

This is the problem i am having with most of these safety post about Falmouth. You said that you walk around for an hour and no body bother you but it may not be safe because you see a security guard with a shotgun. By the way, did you got what you needed at the pharmacy? I think you are making some cruise passengers opinions of Falmouth cloud your perception evening though you went there yourself and see that those cruise passengers perception was not true. Falmouth is a small gritty town. They have pharmacy, banks, schools, supermarket, Fire Station, Police station, library, Hospital, court house and many other stores. You should have been grateful because the town was right there to help you with emergency service but instead you turn that around trying to make the town look bad.

 

A quote taken from the US State Department website. It does not talk about Falmouth in particular, but Jamaica in general. I don't think we need to try to make Jamaica look bad - Jamaica is doing that without our help. I am sure there are many wonderful people in Jamaica as well. But if the island was so safe, this would not be on that website. This is only part of what is there as well - it goes on to talk about robbery, sexual assault, and drugs.

 

"CRIME: Crime, including violent crime, is a serious problem in Jamaica, particularly in Kingston and Montego Bay and other major tourist areas. While the vast majority of crimes occur in impoverished areas, random acts of violence, such as gunfire, may occur anywhere. The primary criminal concern for tourists is becoming a victim of theft. In several cases, armed robberies of U.S. citizens have turned violent when the victims resisted or were slow in handing over valuables. Crime is exacerbated by the fact that police are understaffed and often ineffective. Additionally, there have been frequent allegations of police corruption. You should take all necessary precautions by always paying extra attention to your surroundings when traveling, and keeping windows up and doors locked while in a vehicle or in your hotel. You should avoid walking alone, exercise special care after dark, and always avoid areas known for high crime rates. Under no circumstances should you accept rides from unknown individuals, including unmarked taxis, as this is often a pretext for attempted robbery and/or sexual assault."

[Rickie J 2013]

A quote taken from the US State Department website. It does not talk about Falmouth in particular, but Jamaica in general. I don't think we need to try to make Jamaica look bad - Jamaica is doing that without our help. I am sure there are many wonderful people in Jamaica as well. But if the island was so safe, this would not be on that website. This is only part of what is there as well - it goes on to talk about robbery, sexual assault, and drugs.

 

"CRIME: Crime, including violent crime, is a serious problem in Jamaica, particularly in Kingston and Montego Bay and other major tourist areas. While the vast majority of crimes occur in impoverished areas, random acts of violence, such as gunfire, may occur anywhere. The primary criminal concern for tourists is becoming a victim of theft. In several cases, armed robberies of U.S. citizens have turned violent when the victims resisted or were slow in handing over valuables. Crime is exacerbated by the fact that police are understaffed and often ineffective. Additionally, there have been frequent allegations of police corruption. You should take all necessary precautions by always paying extra attention to your surroundings when traveling, and keeping windows up and doors locked while in a vehicle or in your hotel. You should avoid walking alone, exercise special care after dark, and always avoid areas known for high crime rates. Under no circumstances should you accept rides from unknown individuals, including unmarked taxis, as this is often a pretext for attempted robbery and/or sexual assault."

 

 

Random ask of crime accrue everywhere. Everybody know

Violent crime happens in part of Kingston and part of Montego

Bay. Trelawny parish murder rate which falmouth is it's capital

Have about one murder per month for around 10 years now

The population is about 100000. Please bring your fear statics

Somewhere else. Living your live in constant fear is not good.

Also Jamaican criminals don't have any interest in harming you.

Why do they want to harm their client. They sell drugs because

Tourist want drugs to buy. It's simple supply and demand. If

Jamaican criminals really want to rob you then there is nothing you

Can do to stop them. These criminals are battle harden and pick fight

With police all the time. Even criminals have their own laws and

One of them is that they don't harm tourist

[AnchorsAweigh2011]

I would feel absolutely safe inside the cruise ship terminal area and wouldn't have any reservations about my wife walking around and taking a look at the various vendors.