Volunteer’s Dream Excursion - Falmouth, Jamaica

[YourWineLady]

Has anyone ever done, or heard anything about, the Volunteer’s Dream- Pay It Forward excursion in Falmouth, Jamaica?

 

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=FYR3&DestinationCode=

Edited March 1, 2018 by YourWineLady
Error with link

[bouhunter]

The link is just to the MyCruises login page......

[YourWineLady]

Sorry! I forgot I was in my planner, rather than just RCCL’s website. Thanks for telling me! I edited it with a functional link.

[ARandomTraveler]

It sounds exactly like what you would be doing if you volunteered at the homeless shelter in your own community. I guess the tree planting would be different, but my guess is you would just be watching someone else plant a tree, or maybe you’d help dig some dirt or something.

 

I don’t think it’s a bad idea; I’m sure they are short on volunteer help and this is a way for them to get the additional man-power to run the shelter. However, I wouldn’t pay money or spend a vacation day doing this. I volunteer every week at the homeless shelter in my town, and I would not pay money to do it.

 

They would probably appreciate a quick visit to the shelter to give them the actual money you would have paid for this as a monetary donation instead. You could probably also arrange to volunteer some of your time there for free by contacting the shelter yourself, if that’s how you want to spend your day.

 

If you are interested in paying it forward on your trip, you can look up “Pack for a Purpose.” It’s a charitable organization that lists places that accept school supply donations. I don’t know if Jamaica is on there or not, but I’m sure one of the islands you will visit will be on the list.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[YourWineLady]

Thank you for the information, as well as for serving in your community. I, too, serve locally, and have participated in a few mission trips to Mexico, as well. I have no problem spending $45 for supplies, transportation, and security (let’s face it, Jamaica isn’t the safest place these days), which is probably what a good amount of the excursion fee goes toward. I also prefer to interact with people, rather than simply donate, whenever possible. I don’t feel that taking 4 1/2 hours out of my 7-night Cruise to serve others, who will probably never be able to afford such a luxury, would lessen the fun and joy that I will experience on my vacation. The point of my post was simply to hear about other people’s experiences with this particular excursion.

[ARandomTraveler]

Thank you for the information, as well as for serving in your community. I, too, serve locally, and have participated in a few mission trips to Mexico, as well. I have no problem spending $45 for supplies, transportation, and security (let’s face it, Jamaica isn’t the safest place these days), which is probably what a good amount of the excursion fee goes toward. I also prefer to interact with people, rather than simply donate, whenever possible. I don’t feel that taking 4 1/2 hours out of my 7-night Cruise to serve others, who will probably never be able to afford such a luxury, would lessen the fun and joy that I will experience on my vacation. The point of my post was simply to hear about other people’s experiences with this particular excursion.

 

 

If it’s only $45, you’re probably right that a lot of that fee goes towards transport. I didn’t notice the price when I looked at the link. I was imagining it being closer to $89, like a lot of their other excursions.

 

I’ve never heard of this excursion before, and haven’t seen anyone talk about it on these boards, so I wonder if it’s new. I’d say go for it.

 

Since you’re familiar with this type of volunteering, my guess is that it will be very similar to what you’re doing at home. I’m sure the shelter would really appreciate the assistance and it sounds like it will make your trip more memorable for you.

 

I was just picturing paying a bunch of money to the cruise line that they are pocketing, when you could arrange this activity yourself and then leave the money with the shelter instead. I’m not sure how much is done at their shelter during the day (in my hometown, our shelters aren’t open during the day and there isn’t much to do). There’s also a lot of training that goes into most of the volunteer jobs, so I am imagining a group of cruise passengers paying money to go to the shelter and not really be able to do anything significant.

 

I’m sure that is why you were hoping for some feedback from someone whose done it already ‘eh? Haha. Plus, I guess Jamaica probably has far less liability rules so there likely isn’t any training required. I say go for it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[YourWineLady]

Exactly! I don’t want to stand around just watching. I want to DO SOMETHING! I’ll probably end up doing it. If I do, I’ll be sure to post a review. Thanks, again!

[ARandomTraveler]

Exactly! I don’t want to stand around just watching. I want to DO SOMETHING! I’ll probably end up doing it. If I do, I’ll be sure to post a review. Thanks, again!

 

 

I wonder if the shelter has an email address where you could contact them and ask some questions about what actual hands-on stuff you’ll be able to do.

 

Another idea is to ask them what items are in their top 3 “needs,” and arrange to bring a bunch of one of those items with you to donate to them. Toiletries like nail clippers, chapstick, over the counter medicines (like Advil), bandaids, tampons and razors for shaving, are often highly needed at our shelter, and are small enough to pack in your suitcase to bring with you. We are doing something similar when we visit Puerto Rico before our cruise, and we’re going a couple days early in order to deliver the stuff we bring along. It takes some extra planning and sometimes it’s hard to track down an intermediary to coordinate with, but it works out.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[YourWineLady]

Great idea! Thanks!