Falmouth Jamaica

I had a very bad experience in Mo Bay as a teen on a missions trip. I was a little scared to go to Jamaica but we did a food tour not through the cruise line and we were still fine. There were two males in our group together were they a couple, brothers, or friends?? Who knows I don't think anyone even thought twice about it. I personally wouldn't go outside the port without a group but again I have a bias when it comes to Jamaica.

Our first trip to Falmouth was this past April- having missed it once due to a medical emergency..

We are runners, and figured out a path to put enough mileage it- and did it.

The only issue we had were the roads- narrow and no sidewalks. That was it.

Going at a slow running pace- it's easy to ignore the people trying to sell you stuff- if they are even trying. So I never felt anything toward people doing that.

We did end up going to a small shop off the beaten path- I needed water pretty badly- as all of ours was gone. Nice little place like you would see anywhere.

It's interesting to see comments that places like St. Maarten or St Kitts are safer- once you get far enough away from the port- they are all the same- just people living their lives, typically at a level that can be uncomfortable for us.

We'd probably do the same thing, although the biking in the mountains has been a good time for us.

Every single person that gave the standard Jamaica bashing answer about staying on the ship has had a violent incident happen in their community but do not consider their community unsafe.

Oh come on - there has been very little "bashing." I live in a big city, always have. Lived in Los Angeles too. Because I LIVED there, I knew the unsafe areas. We don't know the unsafe areas of Jamaica - or any of the other islands for that matter. There have been documented cases of EXCURSIONS being robbed on Jamaica. I agree - the majority of Jamaicans are lovely people and they hate the crime and drug problem as much as the next guy. We have been to Jamaica probably close to 8-9 times - MoBay, Ocho and Falmouth. We did organized tours or in Ocho, we had a short walk to margaritaville. Every single time there was some form of uncomfortable incident - and I'm pretty well equipped to deal with those situations. We also had good times too but let's not pretend that Jamaica doesn't have tourism issues around the port. Even the cruise line cautions you about leaving the port area there alone - the ONLY port I have ever heard that warning.

The OP asked a legitimate question and can form their own decision based on all our various responses.

Just an FYI if you want to see outside the immediate port shopping area, we took the little trolley which went outside and showed us some of the historic buildings and told a bit of history(very knowledgable guide). Went into a lovely little , very old church which had a small straw market outside in which the vendors were NOT pushy which was a welcome surprise. The whole "tour" took a little over an hour and we did not have to commit to a ship's tour of several hours which we did not want. We felt absolutely safe the entire time. The trolley leaves from the shopping area and returns you there. It is about $20pp.. :)

Oh come on - there has been very little "bashing." I live in a big city, always have. Lived in Los Angeles too. Because I LIVED there, I knew the unsafe areas. We don't know the unsafe areas of Jamaica - or any of the other islands for that matter. There have been documented cases of EXCURSIONS being robbed on Jamaica. I agree - the majority of Jamaicans are lovely people and they hate the crime and drug problem as much as the next guy. We have been to Jamaica probably close to 8-9 times - MoBay, Ocho and Falmouth. We did organized tours or in Ocho, we had a short walk to margaritaville. Every single time there was some form of uncomfortable incident - and I'm pretty well equipped to deal with those situations. We also had good times too but let's not pretend that Jamaica doesn't have tourism issues around the port. Even the cruise line cautions you about leaving the port area there alone - the ONLY port I have ever heard that warning.

 

The OP asked a legitimate question and can form their own decision based on all our various responses.

Yes there has been bashing and they do the same thing if you change the port name to Nassau.

I have an uncomfortable incident every time I step foot in a Wal-Mart but that doesn't necessarily make it unsafe. :)

Let's talk about the top 3 mass shootings that occurred in the U.S. for a second:

1. Virginia Tech Shooting - Blacksburg, VA - 32 Killed 17 Wounded

2. Sandy Hook Elementary Newton, CT - 26 Killed 2 Wounded

3. Luby's Restaurant - Killeen, TX - 23 Killed 27 Wounded

Were all of these places known to be safe places? Of course. Bad things can happen anywhere at anytime.

This illusion of security is just that ... an illusion. (George Carlin on the matter)

Living in a big city doesn't mean squat when in comes to crime. I guarantee you there have been places in Little Rock, AR or East St. Louis, MO that will rival the worst of the worst areas in Compton, Watts, or any other South Central California areas.

Finally, with all that being said I wanted to address several people stating "how can you tell if someone is gay just by looking at them"? Well, with some people you can just tell. Sure you can be wrong some of the time. If you are a person that "looks the part" then certainly I would avoid places that are known to be anti-LGBT. (Mississippi for example LOL) I'm not saying that makes it right or that I condone it.

My 2 cents is I walked out of into the real world, down to Burwell Beach and back, then to the west side of town. Got offered weed a couple of times, saw a couple of sketchy characters in the shadows. Overwhelming majority of people friendly and nonthreatening. Nothing the slightest bit frightening. But whatever.

Have made friends with plenty of Jamaicans over the years.

Most of them are very homophobic and have stated to me plenty of times that it is way worse in their country. People have certainly been killed at a higher than "United States average" for being gay and making unwanted passes against those that are completely against that preference. This is very much a cultural thing and belief.

That being said, unless you are going out of your way to promote your sexual preference . . . it definitely should not be an issue at any of the major Jamaican ports. Tourism is a huge part of their economy and police presence is extremely heavy in these areas.

Like anywhere, just be aware of your surroundings and do your best to take tours that are highly rated, or through the cruise line . . . and don't go wandering off.

Chiming in - DH and I were two of the brave souls who walked around Falmouth on our own. If you aren't used to poorer countries or different culture it could make you uncomfortable but I never got a sense of being unsafe i.e. no-one threatening, following us, approaching us, no-one armed etc etc. There were a number of police around who were very friendly (we asked one for directions).

We went to a fantastic jerk place. Amazing jerk pork and chicken, nice patio, cheap cold beer and a local band playing nearby. We found it a great atmosphere and we plan to go back there this time.

Regarding the comments of why a homosexual couple might feel unsafe - I'm trying to imagine how I would feel in that position. DH and I don't do a lot of PDA but I can't say that we have never held hands or that I might hold his arm for a few moments etc. I can't imagine going ashore thinking to myself "Don't hold hands, don't accidentally put your arm through his or lean in to him when you talk, if there's a band playing don't dance and if anyone asks why you are together - you're brother and sister". I would be so stressed out the whole day. And angry. So if those are the parameters for going ashore and being safe then I would say don't leave the cruise terminal area. Just my 2 cents.

We just booked our hotel in San Antonio where we are staying for a few days before we go to Galveston to catch the Liberty of the Seas in December.

We told the woman at the hotel we were going on a Caribbean Cruise afterwards.

Unprompted she said, "Are you going to Jamaica? Be careful when you are there, at the hotel, we hear so many bad stories of people being robbed and being victimized there."

She went on to say, "If you do get off the ship go on an excursion as most of the stories involve people doing things privately. But be careful we have had so many guests tell us terrible stories about Jamaica while visiting on a cruise."

This again was totally unprompted and she brought up Jamaica uniquely. Anecdotal, but cause for caution.

So I dug deeper to look at the actual crime statistics and warnings from the US Government:

https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=17248

There is a lot of important information on this page not the least which is this:

"Embassy personnel and private American citizens are advised to avoid traveling in into notoriously high-threat areas of Kingston including, but not limited to, Mountain View, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, Cassava Piece and Arnett Gardens, and Flankers, Canterbury, Norwood, Rose Heights, Clavers Street, and Hart Street in Montego Bay."

When I visit Jamaica it is somewhere I would never consider wandering off on our own and I stay vigilant and either take an excursion or a well reviewed private tour. It is the prudent thing to do.

"Embassy personnel and private American citizens are advised to avoid traveling in into notoriously high-threat areas of Kingston including, but not limited to, Mountain View, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, Cassava Piece and Arnett Gardens, and Flankers, Canterbury, Norwood, Rose Heights, Clavers Street, and Hart Street in Montego Bay."

.

Don't doubt the above, but I expect the crime rate is due to similar factors as drive crime here in US - not simply the mystical factor of "being Jamaican".

People in other countries who read headlines might well feel afraid to set foot in any American city. They would be right to some extent, but wrong to a large extent.

Falmouth is a small town. Having wandered there on my own without begin butchered I would put it in a different category than the rougher parts of Kingston - or perhaps Chicago, etc.