Best Celebrity Excursions in Falmouth, Jamaica?

[Virginia100]

Most of the Caribbean is moving forward & onward. Appears Jamaica is following the Caymans playbook. It’s on my 3/26 Reflection for my first time visit in 40 years of Caribbean travel. Guess I’ll have to wait to visit with Sandals.

[cruisejamaica]

On 2/22/2022 at 8:13 PM, DaKahuna said:

Jamaica has been closed to cruise ships for a while.  We were originally scheduled to go there in December but that was changed over a month before sailing. 

 

Hi, Jamaica's cruise ports reopened over the Summer into Christmas 2021. They are still open, however varying factors may cause a planned cruise itinerary to be changed with or without significant notice.

[cruisejamaica]

On 2/21/2022 at 9:57 PM, laura.merks said:

My boyfriend (24m) and I (22f) are going on the 7-night Reflection western Caribbean cruise leaving on March 12th. It seems like we are only allowed to leave the ship in Falmouth if we have booked an excursion through Celebrity but none listed are popping out at us. Does anyone have any favorites or reviews they would like to share to help us make our decision?

Hello, please visit this link - https://www.visitjamaica.com/travelauthorization/compliant-listings/ - to see the complete list of COVID-19 Protocol Compliant Approved attractions that cruise passengers to Jamaica are able to visit.

[cruisejamaica]

On 2/22/2022 at 8:02 AM, MarkE said:

Is Falmouth closed to walking around port we are on March 26 Cruise, we will have to look at excursions now, We have enjoyed the vendors in the Port area in the past are you allowed to get off to  shop there, but not allowed outside the gates?

Hello, it's definitely open to walking and shopping around the port - shops and local vendors. Please visit this link - https://www.visitjamaica.com/travelauthorization/compliant-listings/ - to see the complete list of COVID-19 Protocol Compliant Approved attractions that cruise passengers to Jamaica are able to visit.

[cruisejamaica]

On 2/22/2022 at 8:53 AM, TeeRick said:

There was a thread a few days ago about Reflection (Feb 26 cruise) having the port switched from Falmouth to another destination.  Is Falmouth now closed to Celebrity ships or was that just a one-off thing?

 

Definitely open, but varying factors may cause a planned stop to be cancelled or changed.

[cruisejamaica]

12 hours ago, TeeRick said:

We have been to Falmouth 4 times.  We have always walked "through the gates" into town.  Never had an issue.

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walking into town is not an option at this time. 

Restrictions have been placed on the cruise passengers ability to roam the streets of resort towns freely as a measure to ensure the health safety of Jamaicans.
 

The approach being used in this new Covid-19 operational paradigm is the implementation of a bubble concept/controlled tours. Accordingly, cruise passengers are restricted to environments with structural support and enclosures to confine them to a space that can facilitate visitors only, in order to prevent the interaction between the wider public and tourists. This measure is to mitigate against the risk of Covid-19 exposure and spread.

Please visit this link - https://www.visitjamaica.com/travelauthorization/compliant-listings/ - to see the complete list of COVID-19 Protocol Compliant Approved attractions that cruise passengers to Jamaica are able to visit.

[Ken the cruiser]

57 minutes ago, cruisejamaica said:

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walking into town is not an option at this time. 

Restrictions have been placed on the cruise passengers ability to roam the streets of resort towns freely as a measure to ensure the health safety of Jamaicans.
 

The approach being used in this new Covid-19 operational paradigm is the implementation of a bubble concept/controlled tours. Accordingly, cruise passengers are restricted to environments with structural support and enclosures to confine them to a space that can facilitate visitors only, in order to prevent the interaction between the wider public and tourists. This measure is to mitigate against the risk of Covid-19 exposure and spread.

Please visit this link - https://www.visitjamaica.com/travelauthorization/compliant-listings/ - to see the complete list of COVID-19 Protocol Compliant Approved attractions that cruise passengers to Jamaica are able to visit.

On post #19, I posted the following. Eddy Jenkins is the current cruise director on the Celebrity Equinox. Is what he said last week true? I can’t seem to find a reference on your link to what the current protocols are for cruise ships to follow prior to being allowed to dock at Falmouth?
 

The cruise director, Eddy Jenkins, mentioned on his morning news show on channel 2, that Jamaica wouldn’t let us off unless every passenger was administered a covid test. 

[TeeRick]

Thanks so much to @cruisejamaica!😀

[Ken the cruiser]

36 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Thanks so much to @cruisejamaica!😀

I agree. This statement provided on the "Visit Jamaica" website on the provided link confirms what Eddy Jenkins said if it also applies to cruise ship passengers. If it does, then that would mean a cruise ship would have to stop at a Jamaican port the following day after embarkation which in all likelihood would be impractical for any cruise ship leaving a Florida port.

 

All travellers who are 12 years of age or over, will be required to present a COVID-19 PCR or Antigen test that has been authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or meets the standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO), to the airline representative at check in. The date of the test sample collection must be less than 3 days from the date of travel.

A negative test result must be presented in order to complete check in for a flight.

[TeeRick]

Yes understand now.  Interesting.  If a ship is fully vaccinated and passengers are not allowed beyond the gates in Falmouth then why would an additional 72 hr test be needed?   Excursions?  Loading and unloading cargo?  I know it is a Jamaica rule but does it make anything safer?

[Ken the cruiser]

37 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Yes understand now.  Interesting.  If a ship is fully vaccinated and passengers are not allowed beyond the gates in Falmouth then why would an additional 72 hr test be needed?   Excursions?  Loading and unloading cargo?  I know it is a Jamaica rule but does it make anything safer?

My guess is they're still concerned with the spread of Omicron.

[dkjretired]

Keep in mind that doing anything on your own can become a security issue.

 

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

My guess is they're still concerned with the spread of Omicron.

On my visits to the new port in Falmouth, it seems that if you do not go beyond the gates, the port area is truly just an outdoor extension of the ship.  No?

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

On my visits to the new port in Falmouth, it seems that if you do not go beyond the gates, the port area is truly just an outdoor extension of the ship.  No?

Nope. Here was the Port sheet that we received in the cabin at the start of our Feb 12-17 Reflection cruise. 

 

[jelayne]

We were on the same sailing as @ken the cruiser and it was sad to see the locals who opened up their craft shops and stalls early on the morning of the port stop and then had no business as we could not get off to even walk around that area.  There were a few, very few passengers who stopped at the shops when being dropped off from their shore excursions.

 

[go.without.you]

I was on Equinox for Thanksgiving and we stopped in Falmouth. The tour guide told us they had just started receiving ships the week before that so it had been a while for them.

 

I did a rum plant tour that included an aviary. I was a little disappointed. First off, it was not a working rum factory but a building that used to be one - don't even know how long ago. Then the aviary that was there...kind of wasn't. Someone was supposed to be taking care of the birds and rabbits during Covid and that didn't happen so a lot of the animals perished, which was sad.