What to do at Jamaica without traveling?

[Merion_Mom]

Ignore all of these negative people.

 

If you would like to do something nearby, and you like to eat, do a Culinary Tour of Falmouth. The ladies who lead these tours are delightful ambassadors for their country and their town.

 

http://jamaicaculinarytours.com/tours/all#.VLLbIHuguOb

 

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g612473-d4935293-Reviews-Jamaica_Culinary_Tours-Falmouth_Trelawny_Parish_Jamaica.html

[tazj]

How bad is Jamaica?

 

Reading all the comments regarding Jamaica being an unsafe port, how does it compare with Mexico? For those of you reluctant to check out the place would you stay on the ship there too? or only take a ship tour?

 

I have always just grabbed a taxi or local tour driver and have never had a problem, and been all over including Acapulco in the height of those problems.

[Havingfun2010]

I might be in the minority, but always enjoyed Jamaica as being one of the more colorful places to visit. Sure, outside the gate, you have some aggressive vendors. That doesn't make it unsafe, just annoying. I walk around the town, go into the shops, and eat the local food. Stay on the main streets, don't go into an alley and be with several people.

 

Ships have been going there for over 25 years.

 

Remember, it is not the USA, and it is an island country that depends on tourist and is a poorer nation. Go and enjoy!

[Ocean Boy]

Ignore all of these negative people.

 

If you would like to do something nearby, and you like to eat, do a Culinary Tour of Falmouth. The ladies who lead these tours are delightful ambassadors for their country and their town.

 

http://jamaicaculinarytours.com/tours/all#.VLLbIHuguOb

 

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g612473-d4935293-Reviews-Jamaica_Culinary_Tours-Falmouth_Trelawny_Parish_Jamaica.html

 

I really like Jamaica but I don't think I would tell people to ignore everyone else's opinions and just believe mine. Of course, I enjoy Nassau too so some folks around here may not place much credence in my opinion of Jamaica.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Ocean Boy

[cruisegirl1]

OP - where is your ship docking?

 

We had a recent Freedom cruise dock in Montego Bay and had a nice time.

 

Took a short taxi ride to a beautiful beach. We had Jamaican Meat patties and rum drinks on the beach. It tasted great, but then again anything tastes great when I am sitting on a lounger, overlooking the beautiful blue ocean.

 

It happened again...... I agree with Matj2000. Have fun in all the ports. Be cautious but don't be afraid to get off the ship. Not feeling adventurous, take a ship sponsored excursion rather than a private tour .

 

M

[sippican]

Ignore all of these negative people.

 

Not trying to be negative at all. We travel quite extensively by land as well as cruising. We usually venture off on our own, whether we are in the Caribbean or abroad.

Perhaps the presence of machine guns at the port added to our feeling along with the fact that Jamaica has the fifth highest murder rate in the world. We were on a ship's tour when our guide ditched us.

If/when you decide to venture off, common sense along with knowing places to avoid may be helpful. Here is a link to the US gov site:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/jamaica.html

Edited January 12, 2015 by sippican

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Jamaica is a place you need to have plans for your port day if you are leaving the port area. There are several well known and liked independent tour operators from Falmouth that many have had very good experiences with.

 

Having said that--I tried to organize a roll call tour with one of these. I could not get ANYONE on my roll call to join. So yes, Jamaica has a serious image problem. RCL goes there because they were able to expand the harbor for the Oasis and Allure. There are not that many place they can dock. Once they spent money/signed an agreement for that, they need to use it to make it worthwhile.

 

We ended up taking a ship excursion to Dunn's River Falls. It was very good.

 

Ship excursions are almost always the safest. I hope the person that posted about being abandoned by your guide turned in a report to the excursions desk. I did this once in St Thomas [as did 3 others on my excursion] and we got back a portion of the cost and a promise they would not use that company again.

[Grannycb]

OP - We booked a catamaran through the ship tours. The catamaran picked us up a few feet from where the ship docked. It went along the shoreline, we saw where Dunn's River Falls enters the sea, and then went to an inlet for a swim. The sails went up on the return to the port and we flew across the water. That was so much fun. There was plenty of singing along to Bob Marley music and dancing on the deck. Free drinks, soft or otherwise, were served after our swim.

[Haber]

How bad is Jamaica?

 

Reading all the comments regarding Jamaica being an unsafe port, how does it compare with Mexico? For those of you reluctant to check out the place would you stay on the ship there too? or only take a ship tour?

 

I have always just grabbed a taxi or local tour driver and have never had a problem, and been all over including Acapulco in the height of those problems.

 

If you're willing to grab a taxi or local tour driver in Mexico, I'm sure you'll feel confident doing the same in Jamaica.

[bigque]

Docked in Falmouth in 2013. We did the Dunn River Falls Express through the ship and went there climbed the falls did about a 30 - 40 minute lunch stop on the way back. This was all in 4 hours. It was a great time and really fun climbing the falls. We still had time to walk around in the gated port area looking in the shops an then relax on our balcony before the ship departed. I never suggest to anyone to stay on the ship because of others perceived dislike of a port unless staying on the ship is what you do in any ports. If we would not have gone to the falls, we would have definately ventured out into the town of Falmouth. I make my own decisions about how I like each port we visit and if in turn I don't like it, then lesson learned and I won't do the same thing if I go there again.

We are going to Nassau in March for the second time. The 1st time we took an Island tour that included a stop at Atlantis and this time however we plan on getting off the ship walk around right in the shopping area by the ship and then going back on the ship and relax around the pool. After dinner we may go back out to Senior Frogs since we are in port till 11 PM.

So make your own decision about getting off the ship in Falmouth. You may have some memories, that you might be glad you didn't miss. :cool:

[marcelorsc]

Hi people!

 

Thank you very much for all comments!

 

I just did the visit to Falmouth, and we chose just walk around the city, with no excursions. In port area we bought some souvenirs, DW and 3 DD did a party in the jewlery stores, and we bought more souvenirs out of the port. We also had a snack at Margheritas Village - nice!

 

We had a good time, and could sense the country a little bit. The impression was not the expected - the city doesn't look like a pitoresque place, like a fishers village or something like that, but really looked like a miserable place. I was not looking for luxury, but there is a difference between a "simple" (or rustic) place and a poor place.

 

About security, as I come from a country marked by social differences (Brazil), I was prepared, and took the basic care, that is not carry much valuables, and avoid desert places far from other tourists. I found the area around the port plenty of local police officers. The locals out of the port ware a bit intrusive offering tours and merchandises but it was not a threat. But poorness signs ware around - looking from the ship it is possible to observe a large slum on the left side of the city.

 

After all comments maybe next time I'll try River Dunn Falls due the large amount of positive reviews, and as the trip is not as long. We didn't this time just because the idea was really to have a Jamaican feeling, that a cruise company organized tour would not provide. I almost took a tour around the city, but the safety concerns (specially my wife's) made us skip from being far from the port.

 

Thanks again - it is great the spirit of community here at Cruise Critic!

 

 

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