Second into Falmouth--Freedom of the Seas

[iep1215]

Just got back from a wonderful 7 day western caribbean cruise on Freedom of the Seas. We docked in Falmouth on February 23, 2011. We were the second ship to ever dock there, the first being Voyager the week before.

 

As noted in the thread "First into Falmouth", the port really is nowhere near done--but it is obvious that it will be quite lovely and beautiful once complete. There is still a lot of ongoing construction at this point. Falmouth itself is quite poor, we noticed as we traveled through the town outside the port on our way to our excursion but we did not tour Falmouth itself. Therefore I can only relate our docking experience and our impression of the port.

 

There was a very warm reception with great music and cheerful people when we arrived. Free samples of margarita type drinks were handed out as we walked though. There were some vendors set up in a few shops near the entrance of the port, but really no shopping and no eating at the port itself. To make up for this there were free shuttles to a famous estate throughout the day. The port compound itself is secure, our tour bus had to go through security and had to report to several tour and port staff the amount of passengers on our tour bus, destination, etc as we exited the gate. On the way back in, security boarded the bus and everyone had to hold up their SeaPass, then we were permitted entrance.

 

Finding our tour bus was a whole different matter. There were over 4,000 people on the FOS and at one point it did feel like we were all in one large parking lot trying to find our respective tours. There are tons of port and tour staff willing to help, but they were a bit confused and overwhelmed themselves--this being only the second boat to dock and with so much construction going on, of course there are some kinks to work out.

 

Here's a tip: Guides from the numerous tours carry small circlular signs with excursion names on them, and the idea is you find your sign and you're all set to go--harder to do than it seems. The guides are always moving around so its hard to spot the signs, and the signs are pretty general. We chose the Inner Tubing and Dunns River Falls excursion. While we could find signs for Tubing and signs for the Falls, we could not find one sign to indicate both. My boyfriend realized at one point that our tickets had a number on the edge (44A) and the signs also had numbers--we were able to spot and identify the correct sign/tour once we figured that out. (The port and tour staff didn't seem to realize the correlation though as they didn't explain it to us but rather just had us wait under a tent while they tried to figure out where we should all go.) It was all a little confusing, but like I said it just seemed to be part of working out the kinks. I really think it should all be much easier once the port is complete. Once we spotted our sign using the number from our tickets, we walked over to the tour guide and got right on a bus. Others tours may not have had a similar problem.

 

The bus ride to Ocho Rios was LONG, well over the hour we were told it would be. The tour guide Kirk was fabulous, and had a wealth of information to share--there wasn't a question he couldn't answer. But the drive was long (attributed slightly to a slower driver I think). This together with the confusion at the port caused the whole day to be delayed. Five hour excursion turned into eight hours. We didn't finish at the Falls until after 4:30pm and had to be back on the boat by 5:30pm. Tour guide was on the phone with supervisors at the port the whole time, letting them know where we were. He kept everyone calm. We weren't afraid of missing the boat since we booked the excursion through the ship--I'd advise to do the same! From what we heard quite a few tours went longer than expected due to travel time and came back close to 5:30pm.

 

We got to port at 5:46pm and there was still tons of music and bands playing and a very warm and cheerful goodbye right up to the boat.

 

The excursion itself was also WONDERFUL and I highly recommend it, we had a really great time. Just keep in mind the long travel time.

[lizmit]

Thanks for the great heads up! We've booked the Inner Tubing & Dunns River Falls so we really appreciate the tip -

Happy sails

~ Liz

[Mysticks1]

Great information, thanks for taking the time to post. I will remember the tip about the excursion ticket and the signs. We will be in Falmouth on Freedom next week and your post makes me glad that we decided to take a ship's tour rather than with a private company as we usually do.

[IamJPT]

Agreed - the port is FAR from ready. There is really nothing at the port to do other than a little shopping. There are venders with wonderful wood carvings and everyone was very friendly (not pushy). The parking lot was a fiasco - good luck finding your excursion :(. We took the free shuttle to Rose Hall. This was a bit dissapointing but we made the best of it by then taking a taxi to the Iberstar resort where we paid $50 each for a day pass. That was well worth it :D. The combined taxi cost (from Rose Hall to Iberstar and then from Iberstar to the port) was $40 for the 4 of us. Given the RCL Iberstar excursion was $130 each this was a great way to save money. We then took a taxi back to the port and were harassed by a an official tourism **** (he had an badge and was dressed the part). He claimed we had gipped a taxi guy by not paying for a ride to the hotel (we did not do this of course). I think someone else may have done this and he was harrassing everyone coming back from the hotel by taxi to find them (we saw him try this on another taxi group as we were leaving). Anyway, everyone else was very nice and, as I said, the carvings were really great.

[jfeathe]

I hate to hear that :(

 

We were expecting a brand new port with nice shops and nice facilities. Why open up when it's not even ready? Now I'm wishing they were going back to Montego Bay.

 

Oh well, at least it will feel a bit different.

[GSuitesailing]

Thanks for the details and tips. It will help with our planning. We will be there in about a month. Can you tell me if the busses were air conditioned? Thanks again.

[C & L]

"We then took a taxi back to the port and were harassed by a an official tourism **** (he had an badge and was dressed the part). He claimed we had gipped a taxi guy by not paying for a ride to the hotel (we did not do this of course). I think someone else may have done this and he was harrassing everyone coming back from the hotel by taxi to find them (we saw him try this on another taxi group as we were leaving). Anyway, everyone else was very nice and, as I said, the carvings were really great"

 

Thanks for this alert. Hope others don't get hassled like this.

[funfamilyof6]

Wow...one hour each way to get to the Falls and tubing. It was much quicker from Ocho.

 

We may have to rethink our plans for our Freedom cruise in the summer. Does anyone know if there is any other tubing closer to Falmouth?:confused:

[iep1215]

Thanks for the details and tips. It will help with our planning. We will be there in about a month. Can you tell me if the busses were air conditioned? Thanks again.

 

 

Yes, it was air conditioned and pretty comfortable! And the drive was pretty, the bus made a couple stops to take pictures of views (adds to the length of the drive of course).

[iep1215]

Thanks for the great heads up! We've booked the Inner Tubing & Dunns River Falls so we really appreciate the tip -

Happy sails

~ Liz

 

 

I hope you enjoy! We really did have a lot of fun! Don't forget watershoes and get ship towels to leave on the bus.

[iep1215]

Great information, thanks for taking the time to post. I will remember the tip about the excursion ticket and the signs. We will be in Falmouth on Freedom next week and your post makes me glad that we decided to take a ship's tour rather than with a private company as we usually do.

 

 

Have fun! Freedom is such a great ship! Glad I could offer reassurance!

[leepep]

When I called Iberostar Rose Hall- I was told that they DO NOT sell day passes- did you reserve in advance or did you just show up? And I wonder if it will be more difficult in June rather than February? Any help appreciated!!!

[Sugar*Magnolia]

The soft opening for the Shoppes at Rose hall is scheduled for the end of this month. Does anyone know what designer shops exactly will be there?

[maybe there was talk about it while there or on a bus ride??]

 

thx!

 

Oh, and are there taxis at the pier that you can hire to take you to and from a beach (preferrably not a public beach). Thx!

[birdylady]

Thank you for the report. We are just a month away (aw heck, who's counting?).

Here's a tip: Guides from the numerous tours carry small circlular signs with excursion names on them, and the idea is you find your sign and you're all set to go--harder to do than it seems. The guides are always moving around so its hard to spot the signs, and the signs are pretty general. We chose the Inner Tubing and Dunns River Falls excursion. While we could find signs for Tubing and signs for the Falls, we could not find one sign to indicate both. My boyfriend realized at one point that our tickets had a number on the edge (44A) and the signs also had numbers--we were able to spot and identify the correct sign/tour once we figured that out. (The port and tour staff didn't seem to realize the correlation though as they didn't explain it to us but rather just had us wait under a tent while they tried to figure out where we should all go.) It was all a little confusing, but like I said it just seemed to be part of working out the kinks. I really think it should all be much easier once the port is complete. Once we spotted our sign using the number from our tickets, we walked over to the tour guide and got right on a bus. Others tours may not have had a similar problem.

OH, they STILL do this? We had this happen in Grand Caymen on our first cruise. We had to wait in the theater till they called our group. They walked us to the tender and said 'have a good excursion'. HUH? When we got to the pier we had to ask where to go. They said go to the white tent. Ayup, sure, whatever. Then hubby noticed the numbers on the tickets and we figured it out from there. You would think the RCCL employee's would know this and communicate it by now.

 

Erika

[C&MJ FL]

Thanks for the heads up. We live in 4 days on Freedom. I didn't book the excursion yet cuz I was worried about this. I will definately book when I get onboard. I have been a little worried about this port and I want to make sure we go thru RC since we do not have passports (my husband couldn't get all his parental info in time since his mother passed away and he was never around her). At least RC wont leave us if on their excursion to the Falls. They should have kept ppl going to Ochos until it was fully ready!

[GCurry]

The soft opening for the Shoppes at Rose hall is scheduled for the end of this month. Does anyone know what designer shops exactly will be there?

[maybe there was talk about it while there or on a bus ride??]

 

thx!

 

Oh, and are there taxis at the pier that you can hire to take you to and from a beach (preferrably not a public beach). Thx!

http://www.rosehall.com/realestate_newdev_shoppes.html

 

http://www.visitjamaica.com/shopping/Shoppes-at-Rose-Hall.aspx

 

http://www.destinationjamaica.travel/jamaica_shoppes_rose_hall.php

[IamJPT]

When I called Iberostar Rose Hall- I was told that they DO NOT sell day passes- did you reserve in advance or did you just show up? And I wonder if it will be more difficult in June rather than February? Any help appreciated!!!

 

we showed up and bought the passes - I think you can go online also