Falmouth, Jamaica - Port

[Robinola]

This year we're doing The Hilton Rose All Inclusive Day.

Looks fabulous and the reviews have been great.

[Beachcampin]

I actually disagree with most people on this thread as I think this is one of my favorite ports of call. I agree with the internal port area being like the Disney version, I understand that and understand why some my be uncomfortable outside of this area. There are two tours to consider though that I may give you a different perception of this town which you may want to consider if you are up for a more eye opening experience.

 

One is the Falmouth walking tour; purchased through the ship. You do walk through the town with a couple local guides that tell you about the history of the town. We really enjoyed this. Stopped a a local home, churches and saw some of the other notable features of the town. Many of the buildings are over 200 years old. look past the Coke sign, and look at the history of the town. Not every Island should be like Grand Cayman with its western veneer in order to have value.

 

When we were there with my parents, we did the same tour basically, except on the trolley that picks you up near the port entrance. This was only about $20 per person, didn't need to be purchased on the ship, you just walked up and payed the fare. Local guides again were fantastic. There was a stop and the Anglican church again which allowed some time to wander inside the church and grounds. It was amazing.

 

I never felt any less safe than I would in a major city in the US. I don't think I would wander around by myself near dark, but I wouldn't wander around a US city by myself either.

[Big_G]

Actually Falmouth is the best port stop in Jamaica for those that don't like Jamaica. You can just hang-out in the port area. Count me as one. We've been to both Ochos Rios and MoBay and wouldn't bother going back. Both left a bad impression for different reasons. There's so many nicer beaches on the western route that once you've been to Dunns River Falls, there's not much left. We wanted to do the rum factory excursion but Royal dropped it for some reason. We could do a private tour there but it's an all day event and wouldn't want to risk missing the ship.

[slowpoke58]

We were just there and had a great time rafting down the Martha Brae. No work was required, we just sat back and left the rafting to our captain. He provided us with a lot of info as we rolled along, serenaded us, and told interesting stories. The ride to the staging area wasn't long. Afterwards, we went for lunch which was included in the price of the ship sponsored excursion. A very nice day, with time left to shop/stroll in the enclosed area.

We have also done this and it is a lot of fun.

[catella02]

We were there a year ago and did not like it. A lot could have changed since then. There was our crazy bus driver who almost hit the guard at gate to the place. There was lounge chairs that needed fixing and weak drinks. The food was good. We also found the beach to be rocky as you wade out. The drive back took us 1 hour and 15 minutes because of heavier traffic. Like I said, things could have changed in a year. Also everyone will not have the same experience.

[happymoes]

We are on the same cruise as you!!!:D

Doing a private tour with realjamaicatours.com (chuck norris)

 

Doing secret falls, rivertubing, and lunch! Can't wait!

[momofmab]

I thought the gated/developed area of the port was clean and safe. We took a ship excursion and had no problem finding the right line. I was expecting the worst based on reviews of Jamaica I've read on CC, but was pleasantly surprised by our experience. The buses were new-ish and well air conditioned and our guides were friendly and funny! Our excursion was an hour from port and I thoroughly enjoyed riding through the countryside and hearing lots of interesting facts from our guide.

 

Dunn's was part of our excursion and while the merchants did ask us if we wanted to buy various items, if we walked on by their "store", they did not pursue us or harass us in any way.

 

Tourism is Jamaica's main industry and they do what they can with the few resources they have to preserve that. Every person that we met was very friendly and we never felt unsafe.

 

I would encourage anyone to get off the ship and try something in Jamaica. If you're nervous about getting back to the ship on time, then by all means do a ship excursion (our excursion was one of the last to board so I was glad I chose a ship excursion!). I look forward to going back and trying something else!

[mcgore83]

We did a great tour that included a visit to a school and plantation.

 

Can you tell me more about this tour? As an educator, I am very interested. We are cruising in November. Been looking at Great Hope Plantation. Thanks in advance!

[bigque]

Some folks say stay on the ship and enjoy the day! If that is what you want to do than fine but I say if you don't go anywhere else at least get off and walk around the gated pier area and then get back on the ship if you want. We did the Dunns River Falls Excursion and was much fun. The hour drive wasn't bad and the tour guide made it fun and told us things along the route about the country. The country side was beautiful and climbing the falls was fun! On the way out as you walk past the vendors back to the bus, they try to lure you in to see their goods, but all you have to do is keep walking and it's no problem. On the ride back you make a stop at a local place to eat that has good "jerk" food and drinks. We were back in plenty of time ( about 2 1/2 hours) to walk around the pier area before heading back onto the ship. Didn't get a chance to venture ouside the gated area but would if I went back as we are not paranoid people who thinks something might happen. We have been to some places in the US that would be considered "Dangerous". I think a lot of people wh put down the port of Falmouth have never really did anything to get the experience of Jamaica and what it has to offer! JMHO! :cool:

[VacayVik]

Has anybody done the Dunns River Falls Express??? What are the differences between the express and non express?

[BillOh]

We just returned from a stop in Falmouth last month and used this company:

http://www.libertytoursjamaica.com

We found them from these forums and also have a high rating on Trip Advisor.

We were very happy with our choice. We visited The Blue Hole, which is only offered thru a private company like this one,!

 

That's twice in this thread Blue Hole has come up. Anyone care to elaborate before I'm off to Google it? I've still got 300+ days to go.

[bigque]

Has anybody done the Dunns River Falls Express??? What are the differences between the express and non express?

 

We did the express back in October. We had signed up for the non express but it was canceled and we were glad it was and we then booked the express. The express is straight to the falls and climb it and then board the bus back with a stop for lunch on the way back right off the highway (See my Freedom review below). It took about 3 1/2 hours which gave us plenty of time to check out the pier area when we got back.

I think the non express is 7 hours which is why we were glad it was canceled. I believe the non express takes you on a tour of a plantation or something like that with a stop at a hotel resort for a free lunch also.

Edited May 19, 2014 by bigque

[lady_cruiser]

.....

 

Right outside the gate they take you through town, it looked pretty rough to me and I am a pretty brave dude, they had a farmers market going on.

...

Your photos were great but I decided to delete them to save room. If you think it was rough looking out from a bus try, better yet don't try, the open trolley ride to view the different churches. I'll never do that again. We even had a motorcycle cop follow us around to keep us safe. Of course I found out why he was following us after we got back to the ship.

 

But I did notice that our last trip to Falmouth (March 2014) didn't have the open trolley available in the fenced-in compound so I'm not sure if they took it away because it was a safety issue or not.

[BamaGuy44]

Your photos were great but I decided to delete them to save room. If you think it was rough looking out from a bus try, better yet don't try, the open trolley ride to view the different churches. I'll never do that again. We even had a motorcycle cop follow us around to keep us safe. Of course I found out why he was following us after we got back to the ship.

 

But I did notice that our last trip to Falmouth (March 2014) didn't have the open trolley available in the fenced-in compound so I'm not sure if they took it away because it was a safety issue or not.

 

Interesting. I was pretty excited about Falmouth and Dunn's river falls and the blue hole until I realized they are like an hour away from the port. Now I'm debating just checking out the "sanitized" port area. I'm pretty adventurous but exploring Falmouth itself doesn't appeal to me.

[EmpressofPurple]

Read about my WONDERFUL experience with the "Taste of Falmouth" Food tour: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1953290&page=4 (post #71 starts the section in Falmouth).

 

We had GREAT food, and felt VERY safe being guided around the REAL Falmouth!!

 

We enjoyed several food stops with full servings (not just "tastings") of food, including a fresh fruit vendor within the gated area:

 

 

Roasted breadfruit, yam, salted mackerel, onion & pepper in a gourd bowl:

 

Beef patties from the local "bakery"

 

Jerk chicken and festival bread at Pepper's Jerk Centre

 

We enjoyed homemade sweet coconut treats at our last stop, along with some refreshing cucumber water.

[EmpressofPurple]

That last stop was in a beautiful private home overlooking the port area; here's a shot of the back yard where we enjoyed our treats in the garden, with a view of the Oasis in the background.

 

 

Also, we saw a lot of the town as we walked from place to place, trying the different foods. If you read my review, you will see photos from historic buildings and church yards to overgrown lots, city streets, fountain plazas and more... as well as the "Disneyfied" port area, which is lovely, too. I just like getting out and about when I travel, to see how people live all over the world!

 

Here's the link to their website, which I found looking online for an interesting food tour... I was hoping for a cooking class (the one through the ship was way too expensive) but found this instead. Considering the regular walking tour was $25, paying $45 for a tour PLUS food sounded like a good deal... I thought as a "tasting" tour I would probably have to buy extra food... but no, as noted earlier, these were full-sized samples at every stop, and we were all stuffed afterwards, which is saying a lot for a large-sized group traveling on one of the largest cruise ships afloat!! (Where as you know they feed us well and constantly.)

 

JAMAICA CULINARY TOUR - A TASTE OF HISTORY

 

No, I am not a paid shill for this tour -- I just really loved it, along with my group of traveling companions, and wanted to share our experience with my friends on CC.:)

 

Here are a few more photos from the tour:

 

Cutting sugar cane (for the fruit box, in the port area)

 

Neighborhood fruit cart (we got fresh coconut water there)

 

Fountain plaza

 

Historic Church

 

Read the full review for more!!

[Psycopuppy]

That's twice in this thread Blue Hole has come up. Anyone care to elaborate before I'm off to Google it? I've still got 300+ days to go.

 

We are heading over to the Blue Hole this summer on a private tour. Its down near Ocho Rios and on private property so it won't become a massive tour anytime soon. The roads are real bad as well so large busses can't make the trip as I researched. We hired a guy for our trip based on Trip Advisor reviews, should be a fun all-day excursion.

[deedeetoo]

Can you tell me more about this tour? As an educator, I am very interested. We are cruising in November. Been looking at Great Hope Plantation. Thanks in advance!

 

We did this one. It was Heartbeat of Jamaica -Discover Falmouth and everyone in the family liked it including my 12yo son and 15yo daughter. It first stopped at a Baptist church where we had a guide explain the role that Falmouth played in the liberation of the slaves in Jamaica. It was really quite interesting. Then we went to a school where we got to see the classrooms and talk to the teachers. We were there in the summer so school was out but I understand that they also visit during the school year and the kids come out to great people. The school is very poor by our standards, but the teachers were quite proud of it and were showing it off. You could tell that the teachers loved the school. We visited another church which was fancier than the first but kind of boring. Last thing was a trip to a plantation where they explained a little about how plantations used to work, gave up samples of different Jamaica food, and punch (with rum for the adults if you wanted). The whole family really enjoyed the excursion and I would highly recommend it.

[rlpolobear9]

Hi All!

 

So I have cruised many places in the Caribbean, but have not been to Falmouth yet! I set sail less than two weeks and have heard it is not the safest port. We normally don't do excursions, but have been recommended by numerous people.

 

I have done my research, and the Bamboo Beach Club looks like a great deal! It included food and drinks! It shows it's an hour away...but other than that I feel that's the best deal.

 

Has anyone been on the excursion? Also, any feedback about this port would be much appreciated!

 

Happy cruising! :o

 

Anyone who says this port is not safe is an idiot, it's the most pre-packaged port I've ever been to within a large fenced area. I did a beach tour to an amazing beach for $20 which included chairs and umbrellas

[VacayVik]

Anyone who says this port is not safe is an idiot, it's the most pre-packaged port I've ever been to within a large fenced area. I did a beach tour to an amazing beach for $20 which included chairs and umbrellas

 

 

Was this the red strip beach excursion through RC or did you go outside of the ship excursions?

[WishIwerethere]

Can't for the life of me understand why Jamaica is a "popular" cruise port.

 

As with many other Caribbean ports Jamaica is not a real safe place to be if you go off on your own.

 

I spent 2 weeks in Jamaica, not in port cities, but South and mid central. It is a unique island, many people are friendly many are not, and many people would just like to steal your stuff. Food is unique (a Juicy Patty is yummy) rum is good, buy some Appleton's rum or even some overproof rum which is smooth.

 

 

If you book an excursion to a resort etc. you will be safer and treated well, but I would rather be at another port or at sea.

[sundayb]

That's twice in this thread Blue Hole has come up. Anyone care to elaborate before I'm off to Google it? I've still got 300+ days to go.

 

Our family has also done a tour to the Blue Hole with Libertytoursjamaica recently and LOVED it. As described above it is absolutely beautiful!! You will escape from the ship crowds and have the place almost to yourselves. It was so much fun jumping off the cliffs into the turquoise blue water. Watch this video and you will want to go there! It is thrilling!

 

[bigque]

Can't for the life of me understand why Jamaica is a "popular" cruise port.

 

As with many other Caribbean ports Jamaica is not a real safe place to be if you go off on your own.

 

I spent 2 weeks in Jamaica, not in port cities, but South and mid central. It is a unique island, many people are friendly many are not, and many people would just like to steal your stuff. Food is unique (a Juicy Patty is yummy) rum is good, buy some Appleton's rum or even some overproof rum which is smooth.

 

 

If you book an excursion to a resort etc. you will be safer and treated well, but I would rather be at another port or at sea.

 

The same can be said for many U.S. cities!

[mcgore83]

We did this one. It was Heartbeat of Jamaica -Discover Falmouth and everyone in the family liked it including my 12yo son and 15yo daughter. It first stopped at a Baptist church where we had a guide explain the role that Falmouth played in the liberation of the slaves in Jamaica. It was really quite interesting. Then we went to a school where we got to see the classrooms and talk to the teachers. We were there in the summer so school was out but I understand that they also visit during the school year and the kids come out to great people. The school is very poor by our standards, but the teachers were quite proud of it and were showing it off. You could tell that the teachers loved the school. We visited another church which was fancier than the first but kind of boring. Last thing was a trip to a plantation where they explained a little about how plantations used to work, gave up samples of different Jamaica food, and punch (with rum for the adults if you wanted). The whole family really enjoyed the excursion and I would highly recommend it.

 

Did you book this tour through RC or was it a private tour? Thanks so much for the info!

[deedeetoo]

Did you book this tour through RC or was it a private tour? Thanks so much for the info!

 

It was a tour through RC.