Justina, my 12-year-old niece, accompanied me this week on a Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas.
On Day 4 of our cruise we visited the port of Falmouth, Jamaica.
As you can see from the photo above, the 6,000+ passenger Oasis of the Seas dwarfs the relatively new cruise port at Falmouth.
We took a Royal Caribbean shore excursion called “Snorkel, Cruise and Dunn’s River Falls” that was scheduled for 7 hours.
It was very similar to an excursion that I took on my first cruise to Jamaica 20 years ago, only then my ship docked at Ocho Rios very close to Dunn’s River Falls.
From Falmouth, this excursion required an hour ride each way just to reach the beaches near Ocho Rios and Dunn’s River Falls.
Our ship docked at Falmouth around 10:30 am, and by 11:15 am, we were on our way. Our tour headed to the Shaw Park Beach Hotel near Ocho Rios, where we boarded a snorkel boat.
The Caribbean Sea here is crystal clear, and the nearby reef is ideal for snorkeling.
My niece, who lives in Iowa, had never been snorkeling before this trip, but it was high on her wish list. You can see in the photo above how excited she is as we put on our equipment.
Our snorkel guide was terrific. He got everyone in our group of about 24 people in the water and led us over the reef.
He took special care of “the little one” – as he called my niece Justina.
We snorkeled for about 45 minutes, before all getting back on the boat.
“Nobody needs to change to dry clothes,” we were advised, as “you will be getting really wet at Dunn’s River Falls.
We left our dry clothes and towels with our snorkel guy to transport them to the top of the falls for us. Meanwhile, the snorkel boat pulled up at the base of the falls, and let us out to meet our climbing guides.
Climbing Dunn’s River Falls hasn’t changed in the last 20 years. It’s fun, slippery, scary and exhilarating all at the same time.
We did have a guide leading us (separate from our tour.) We had another guide with us who was creating a video throughout the climb that he tried to sell to everyone at the end of the climb.
Justina loved this climb, and wanted to do the “hard” side when we were given a choice of routes on one steep part of the waterfall.
I want to think I’m as fit as I was 20 years ago, so I agreed.
I thought we were going to drown, and we are both good swimmers.
But we made it up the falls, and we were quite proud of ourselves.
There’s really nothing like this fall-climbing adventure.
Everyone should try it at least once.
At the top of the falls, our snorkel guide met us with our bags and towels. He expected a significant tip, and he had worked hard.
Our falls climbing guide also expected a significant tip. He had also shown us a good time.
Then the video guy wanted $4o for the video. Sorry, no more money.
Then, of course, we had to walk back to the parking lot through a long throng of vendors trying to shove things in our hands to get us to buy them. The unpleasant side of Jamaica came rushing back.
My issue with these tips – what were we paying the $135 a person for on the shore excursion? Basically, we paid $270 for a long van/bus ride from Falmouth to Ocho Rios, the snorkel boat, and lunch.
Speaking of lunch – which was included in our tour – we were hungry, and we had not had any lunch.
It was nearly 4:30 pm by the time we got back to the Shaw Park Beach Hotel, where we were to have a buffet “lunch.”
The view from the hotel reception is beautiful.
But where is the food?
Finally, we are led downstairs to this area to sit at the tables.
Again, the view is nice. I enjoyed it until one of those big umbrellas fell, whacking me and another woman in the back of our heads.
The 12-year-old is starving, but finally, the hotel workers are setting out food.
We have a buffet that includes jerk chicken.
It’s okay if you are really hungry.
Then we make the hour+ drive back to Falmouth, arriving just in time for a little quick shopping inside the port before we head back on board.
Jamaica is a beautiful country. It’s the ideal place to visit via a cruise ship, and then sail on your way.
What’s your take on the Falmouth, Jamaica cruise port? Please share your thoughts in comments below.
To follow our entire Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas adventure, check out these other posts:
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s Private Resort in Haiti
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: A Day at Sea on the Oasis
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: Boarding Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: Driving, Flying and Trying New Foods
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina Hotel