Jamaica - what to do

Hi there

We're new to cruising and going on our first one with RCCL on FOS in August.

One of our stops is Falmouth. We've had a look at excursions and fancied the following:

The caves then either Dunn's River Falls or the secret Falls

Which one would you recommend? We don't mind walking/water but I don't like the water too deep as I'm not a great swimmer. I prefer to be within my depth (I'm 5ft 1).

Also I've had quotes from private tour operators and theyr coming out the same price as the ship. Is it best booking with the ship direct? If so will we need to book it far in advance?

I'm sorry for all the questions 😊

Some people really like Dunn's Falls. However, some don't. You have to hold hands with your entire group and if someone falls...you all go down with them. Also, your stepping in water that you can't see the bottom and you could turn an ankle. Plus,you have some strangers bum in your face most of the way up. We are going in September and we've decided to go on the Zip line tour. You should look at Liberty Tours for their Blue hole tour. There are a lot of good reviews on the excursion. From what I have read, everyone recommends you have some type of excursion in Falmouth. I wouldn't go exploring by yourself.

I don't know about the secret falls so I can't compare for you. But we did a tour combining Mystic Mountain and Dunns River Falls, and had a great day. The falls and surrounding area were beautiful. As far as the climb, it just seems to be the thing to do. I'd rather admire the falls without a hundred people in them, but alas not a choice! A few minutes away is Mystic Mountain. Kind of a miniature amusement area with zip lining, a pool, a tram and a roller coaster. We took the tram to the top, rode the "bobsled" coaster, and took the tram down. Awesome views and lots of fun.

Forgot to address your other concerns. Dunns River Falls is not deep, never as high as you. Just slippery rocks. As far as taking a private tour vs the ship, you'll find lots of different opinions on that. My opinion is that if you are deciding between two tours that are priced the same, I would go with the ship's tour just for piece of mind. Usually you can find less expensive private tours if that's what you're inclined to do.

Some ship tours fill up right away and others are still available after you sail. While Dunns River Falls is the most popular excursion, there will be multiple buses going there.

I absolutely loved climbing Dunn's River Falls, and I highly recommend it. I'm not familiar with Secret Falls. Another fun option is the river tubing tour. That water is a little deeper, but it doesn't really matter since you're sitting in a tube the whole time.

I've done Dunn's River and it was a lot of fun. Don't know that I would do it again but believe its something you should do at least once when you're in Jamaica.

That said; it is an extremely popular tourist attraction. My best advice is to do Dunn's River before anything else. Approach it with a 'get in, get it done and get out' mentality or else you're likely to spend more time there than what you'd expected.

Enjoy.

Thank you all so so much for your replies. We've decided to go for the caves and Dunn's river falls. Can't wait.

We're going to book with RCC direct (for peace of mind) but wanted to hold off booking until April time. Will this be ok or will it be booked up by then? We don't leave until 2nd Aug

Many thanks

I think you'll be fine waiting til April. Have a great cruise!