Labadee, Falmouth

[rlpolobear9]

Labadee is a dump Falmouth is a great port very clean and great excursions

[theEvilQueen2]

Just came back from Labadee and Falmouth, so I guess I'll put in my 2 cents.

 

We have really watched Labadee grow up. The first time we were there it was a beach and a few buildings, but they seem to add something new every time we go. The zipline is expensive, but it's a once in a lifetime experience and you should consider it. The gravity coaster is really fun and exciting, especially if you don't use the brakes (lol). The water slide is small, but young kids will love it.

I'm not a beach person (even though I live 1/2 mile from one) but I actually enjoy the beaches there. There are a number of beaches, but I like the one at the bottom of the zip line for the show and the one by the water slide for actually going in the water.

Lunch is included and is ribs, chicken, burgers and sides. They cook the corn on the cob in coconut milk which is the best way ever to cook corn. There are a few bars if you just want to have a 'Key West' kind of day, drinking, people watching, just hanging with your buds.

Warning, the walk from the ship to the 'island' is kind of long and usually pretty hot. They have wheelchairs with huge wheels to take you in if you want one, but I'm up late and they seem to be all gone when I get there. Also, there's a ferry that takes you to the beach by the water slide, but for some reason I always miss it too. The trolly, from one side of the 'island' to the other runs often, but you still have that long walk from the ship.

The straw market is a long gauntlet with locals selling their wares, pretty much the same from one booth to the next (and mostly made in China, with Haiti written on the side). I have a nice collection of 'hand carved' wood and works of art from all my visits there. If you don't like to haggle or the aggressive hard sell, you can go into the concrete building at the end of the trolly route, where things are pre-priced and you won't get pressured. 'Carlos' always has a nice selection of tie dye bathing suit cover ups for reasonable prices.

 

Falmouth. Just like Labadee, it's a work in progress. Right now there's just the shopping area right off the ship (all built by RCCL) and tours of the area, a very sad and depressed little town. RCCL has big plans for amusements, but nothing has come to fruition yet.

You have time to take the excursion to Dunns River Falls or (my favorite) Mystic Mountain in Ocho Rios. Or you can go the other way to Montego Bay. The excursions to MB are the worse. They stop at some tourist trap bar and waste a lot of time that you could be using at the beach or shopping downtown. Then you get dropped at the strip of cheap t-shirt shops, no where near the historic down town area. I'm still trying to find an affordable way to go to MB without a tour (renting a car doesn't seem wise). I invite any suggestions. Carnival still goes to MB, but RCCL doesn't.

 

FYI, the Diamonds International now has a 2nd floor where they have free Wi-Fi and use of their computers if you didn't bring your own. (DH felt it was secure enough to check our email).

I was told by a crew member that they have a hop on/hop off bus in Falmouth, but we couldn't find it (it's not a ships excursion). He said it goes out into some pretty countryside and makes some nice stops (where, I don't know). Next time I'm going to talk to some of the crew and get the whole scoop on this. If you look beyond the shanties, this really is beautiful country and oh, those misty mountains...

Edited February 3, 2014 by theEvilQueen2

[traceyleigh15]

Thanks for the review. My husband warns to do the zipline in Haiti but I really have no desire. Is there anyway I can sit on the beach close by and watch him? It's just the two of us and really want to spend the day together

Thanks

 

 

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[setsail]

Thanks for the review. My husband warns to do the zipline in Haiti but I really have no desire. Is there anyway I can sit on the beach close by and watch him? It's just the two of us and really want to spend the day together

Thanks

 

 

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Yes, he will have to do the practice, you can watch that and get pics.

 

You can sit right on the beach and watch all the action or walk up behind the landing area and watch from there for the big zipline

[DrD]

delete, asked and answered.

Edited February 3, 2014 by DrD

[traceyleigh15]

Yes, he will have to do the practice, you can watch that and get pics.

 

 

 

You can sit right on the beach and watch all the action or walk up behind the landing area and watch from there for the big zipline

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

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[wildcat46]

My family just wants to spend the day we dock at Falmouth laying on a beach. Can anyone recommend a good beach, or a tour that just takes you to a good beach? No shopping... A couple of posters mentioned going to beaches, but no one that I recall mentioned the name of the beach.

[Clarea]

My family just wants to spend the day we dock at Falmouth laying on a beach. Can anyone recommend a good beach, or a tour that just takes you to a good beach? No shopping... A couple of posters mentioned going to beaches, but no one that I recall mentioned the name of the beach.

I see posters mention Red Stripe Beach.

[summersigh]

Not trying to disappoint but Labadee is terrible... rocky beaches, brownish-green water and is not really a "port" but a private part of haiti owned by Royal Carribbean, so everything is geared towards the cruise lines interests.

 

Weird .... Labadee is our favorite of all the "private islands".

 

There's a boat tour that goes along the Hatian coast ... interesting tour operators and beautiful viewing.

[racerxspeedy]

Most of the threads and comments recommend taking the Falmouth shuttle to Doctors cave Beach in Montego Bay. Seems like a good cheap option if your looking for a decent beach. Otherwise you go on the Red Stripe beach tour or over to Ochos Rios. Thoughts??

[Elvez]

I researched online and the information was to be sure your cab has a JTB (Jamaican Tourist Board) sticker in the window and a red license plate.

[wagsit]

what beach is this?? love it!!

 

Ya, that cloudy green water looks so refreshing, and all the rocks and broken coral frags that you can't see feel great on your feet too lulz :rolleyes:

[transam84]

We just came back from a cruiese on Oasis that included both ports. We loved labadee. There is so much to do or nothing at all. We rented a canbana because we were with two elderly women. Loved the cabana. We went on a wave runner tour. There is a zipline, and the dragon's tail coaster. There are water toys. We loved fliating on the beach mats. We had water shoes so the shells at Barefoot Beach were a non issue. Check out my oasis march 1 -8 review for pictures. Also my son and his fiancee went on the bobsled and dunn's river falls excursion in Falmouth and loved it. The shopping area where the ship docks is very cute. Enjoy! We did.

[wagsit]

so which beach do you prefer?? looking to book the over the water cabana...barefoot beach or nellies beach?? would like to be close to water activities for the teenagers ;)

[DrD]

So I made a little "beach guide" from google maps satellite view. Google maps is a great way to really check out the area, just search it and go north a bit. Turn on satellite view. Then you can zoom in and really look around.

 

Anyway here's what you'll see with the beaches labeled:

 

[tidygirl]

We did both these ports in Sept this was our second time at Labadee as we aren't big on sitting on the beach all day we chose to go to a fishing village which was kind of neat enjoyed the boat ride getting there. We got to see a little "house " that slept 13 people in, how they make peanut butter, coffee and a bread (we got to taste) and the locals that lived and worked there.

In Falmouth my new SIL (this was his first cruise) hadn't done the Dunn River Falls so figured we'd do it again and since we had stopped at Ocho Rios before hadn't got to see much of Jamaica so figured the hour drive we could watch the scenery. Even though this was our second time to Dunns River we still had a fun day! We booked this through a private company and I was quite nervous if they would show up, but was relieved when the lady found us and even remembered my first name!!

[SNJCruisers]

I researched online and the information was to be sure your cab has a JTB (Jamaican Tourist Board) sticker in the window and a red license plate.

Here's a link to a shared bus service that is cheap, only 14 pp RT to Rose Hall and 20 pp RT to Montego Bay from Falmouth.

http://www.jaital.com/jaital-falmouth-transport-tour_Xr3c_5996.html#price_info

[CruisinW8]

We were just at both of these ports in late October and had a great time. In Labadee, we rented an over the water cabana and enjoyed a relaxing beach day. We also hopped on a golf cart and had a quick tour around the gated property.

 

I debated about getting off the ship in Falmouth after reading several reviews. We are a family of 8 (yes, 6 kids) and most excursions seemed too expensive. We finally settled on a tour with Liberty Tours Jamaica to Irie Blue Hole & could not have been more pleased. It was a long drive, but so worth it when you get theRe. Also, we enjoyed learning about Jamaica from Ricardo, our guide, during the trip.

 

 

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[Sue's Mom]

Not trying to disappoint but Labadee is terrible... rocky beaches, brownish-green water and is not really a "port" but a private part of haiti owned by Royal Carribbean, so everything is geared towards the cruise lines interests.

 

We quite enjoyed Labadee and found it visually more interesting than Princess Cay. We would quite like to go back.

[DrD]

We were just at both of these ports in late October and had a great time. In Labadee, we rented an over the water cabana and enjoyed a relaxing beach day. We also hopped on a golf cart and had a quick tour around the gated property.

 

I debated about getting off the ship in Falmouth after reading several reviews. We are a family of 8 (yes, 6 kids) and most excursions seemed too expensive. We finally settled on a tour with Liberty Tours Jamaica to Irie Blue Hole & could not have been more pleased. It was a long drive, but so worth it when you get theRe. Also, we enjoyed learning about Jamaica from Ricardo, our guide, during the trip.

 

 

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Good to hear, we're going there on our upcoming.

 

How long was the drive?

[TEXASMUNK]

Never saw another post by jp30338 to either defend his/her comments. Sure sounded like "I hate corporations".

RIC pumped millions into Haiti after the earthquake....cruisers help the locals earn a wage. Nuff said.

 

Falmouth: I truly love the comments "stay on the ship"..blah, blah, blah..We have been there multiple times from the third ship to ever dock there, to the completion on the pier area.

Hint: Very close by, google 'Chuka' You will find local tours. Especially one that is like 15 minutes away..super beach, great drinks and Jerk Chicken to make the entire cruise worthwhile!!!!!! They pick up at the end of the pier area, white tent top meeting location..

[kteachcruiser52]

Has anyone done the Zip Lining and River Tubing excursion through Royal Caribbean in Falmouth?

 

We booked an excursion through RC for river tubbing in River Bueno (sp.), but it was cancelled. This was a 20 minute bus ride. The other tubing opportunities were over an hour bus ride each way so we decided to do an excursion that visited a couple of churches, a school, and an area on the River Brae. We sampled many of the local fruits. It was interesting, but not as much fun as the tubing would have been.

[K L B]

Labadee was one of my favourite days ever. We had a beachfront cabana on Barefoot Beach. The water was a beautiful turquoise, and I enjoy the coral and rock because it tends to means there are fish to enjoy while snorkeling just off the beach. It was a perfect beach day, gorgeous scenery and the cabana was a wonderful treat.

[bigmac21]

Weird .... Labadee is our favorite of all the "private islands".

 

Our favorite is Disney's Castaway Cay, Labadee would be my second favorite.

 

Doing the Blue Hole in Falmouth at the end of the month.

Edited March 16, 2014 by bigmac21

[DrD]

Labadee was one of my favourite days ever. We had a beachfront cabana on Barefoot Beach. The water was a beautiful turquoise, and I enjoy the coral and rock because it tends to means there are fish to enjoy while snorkeling just off the beach. It was a perfect beach day, gorgeous scenery and the cabana was a wonderful treat.

 

Very nice, love the enthusiasm and description.

 

I'll be there in 15 days 8 hours but who's counting.