ReggaeRoy

The Pork Pit is excellent. You can walk there from Doctor's Cave Beach.

Take a cab to Doctor's and enjoy it for a few hours. Walk the "hip strip" to the Pork Pit and have a fantastic lunch. After that you can grab a cab back to the ship.

Rockland's Humming Bird Sanctuary is about 20 minutes from the pier and can be a lot of fun. Beautiful birds perched right on your finger. Lovely gardens too.

Stop at the Pork Pit on the way back to the ship for a great lunch of jerk pork and chicken. Yummy.

Bamboo rafting on the Martha Brae River is very close to Falmouth. It is a lazy glide down the river. Might be a bit boring for the kids though.

Green Grotto Caves is a 30 minute (or so) drive from Falmouth. Fun and interesting. Bring sneakers. You could then go to Scotchie's for lunch.

We have always liked Miss T's Kitchen. It is right in the center of the city - short cab ride from the port. Lots of authentic Jamaican cuisine on the menu (not just jerk). Service is very good and the food is terrific (I really like the shrimp run down).

http://www.misstskitchen.com

My sons have been climbing Dunn's River Falls since they were 8 and 4 years old. Never had a problem. Go slow and be careful of where you step.

This is going to be great!

Ardastra Gardens and zoo.

Mystic Mountain (bob sled ride and zip line) is a lot of fun, but a bit expensive.

I am in the exact same position as the OP. Except we leave in 9 days. My mother in law was put into hospice earlier this week. My wife refuses to leave her side. Thanks for the replies.

Mystic Mountain is pretty pricey, but fun. I think the costs were as follows:

1) Tram up - tram down only is $49.00 pp

2) Tram up - bob sled ride - tram down is $69.00 pp

3) Tram up - zip line - tram down is $89.00 pp

4) Tram up - bob sled ride - zip line - tram down is $109.00 pp

You have picked a great excursion. We did the Blue Hole and White River Tubing last February on a land based vacation in Jamaica.

The Blue Hole is absolutely beautiful. Be ready to do some climbing over rocks. The guide will take great care of you and show you exactly where to go. There are several spots to jump from the rocks into the water - ranging from a few feet to maybe 20 feet. There is very little there when it comes to rest rooms, food, etc. Please tip your guide well.

The White River Tubing is only 10 minutes away and is actually the same river. It's a pretty mellow, but fun ride that lasts about 30-45 minutes. Again, the guide will take good care of you and make sure the group stays together. The guide will keep you laughing and singing Bob Marley songs. They will make a short stop about 1/2 way through... Nice little bar to buy a cold drink. A photographer is there and they will try to sell you a cd with the pictures on it.(negotiate the price way down). One more reminder to tip the guide well.

I would bring swim suit, tee shirt, water shoes, and a water camera. You can leave any valuables on the bus and they will be fine.

You are talking about Mystic Mountain which is just outside of Ocho Rios. I have gone there three different times and love it there. They have both a bob sled ride and a zip line there.

You buy your tickets at the bottom and take what is basically a ski lift up to the top. They have a museum, gift shops, restaurant, bar, rest rooms, pool, and humming bird sitting area up there.

The bob sled ride is fun. You are on a steel track so you can't crash. You control the speed. The ride (at a fast pace) takes about a minute and a half to get to the end. From there, the ride actually brings you right back to the top again (so you can go to the gift shop, purchase a picture on the ride, go again, go on the zip line, etc. etc.).

I have never don the zip line, but my kids say it is a blast too.

Once you are all done, you get back on the ski lift and go back to the parking lot.

Hey ReggaeRoy! Is it pretty easy (and safe) to bus to Doctor's Cave? How is the food there? Thank you!

Yes, there are lots of busses at the pier and I think it was $5.00 per person. The driver will try to convince you to stay on board and let him drive you around for the day. Just get off once he stops at Doctor's Cave Beach Club. The food is good and not too expensive.

You could take the bus to Doctor's Cave Beach. Fairly cheap to enter and chairs/umbrellas are available too. Nice beach with decent snorkeling.

From there, you could walk the "hip strip" and do a little shopping. Stop at Margaritaville for a bit. The kids will like it.

Bus or cab back to the pier.

I am not familiar with tubing on the Martha Brae River... We did the bamboo rafting trip in December of 2015 and had a blast.

We hired a local personal friend to drive us to/from the Falmouth pier (short drive). I wore swim suit, tee shirt, and sneakers.

It is a very mild ride. The guides are excellent and keep you talking, laughing, and singing. Our guides kept us all together as a group.

No lockers that I recall. We just left everything on the bus.

The ride itself was about 45 minutes.

We had no need for towels, although there was a spot he said we could get off the raft and swim. You could keep your towel on the bus and get it once you reach the end.

We have rented villas at Silver Sands five times since 2006 and are going back again in January of 2017. We absolutely love it there. :D

It has one of the nicest beaches I have ever been to (but going to Half Moon Cay next month). Plenty of loungers, umbrellas, and shade. The life guards are great and helpful. They have a beach bar and grill right there. Decent prices and good food (Jamaican plus regular stuff like burgers and fries). There is no pool in the common area (most villas have private pools). There is a small gift shop/grocery store right there. Also a resident wood carver who is quite good.

Stuff to do... Tennis court, ping pong, and basketball hoop are right there and free to use. You can rent kayaks, boogie boards and those stand up paddle boards. Several locals can take you out to the reef on a small boat for some decent snorkeling.

I hope you check it out. You might fall in love with it there too and return for an extended stay in one of the villas.:cool:

We were in Falmouth for a day back in December. We asked our driver to take us to an off the beaten path restaurant for lunch. He took us to a place called "Papa Gus's". It is about a mile from the pier.

The three of us had cups of fish soup, monstrous plates of delicious Jamaican food (curried goat, brown stewed chicken, and brown stewed fish), and six Red Stripe beers. The total bill was only $46.00!!! Gosh, six beers on the ship cost $38.00 alone.

You might want to consider the humming bird sanctuary at Rocklands. It is about a 20 minute drive from the pier in Montego Bay. You basically sit in a chair and hold a bottle of sugar water. The humming birds will come and perch on your finger and sip the water. They will also take you on a short tour of their gardens. Combine that with a stop for lunch at the Pork Pit and you will have a nice day in Jamaica.

We like Miss T's Kitchen in the center of Ocho Rios. Her menu has many choices including sea foods, oxtails, curried goat, jerk dishes, etc.. The shrimp run down is out of this world. The lemonade is worth a trip all on its own.

It is a pretty smooth and mellow ride. The guides make it lots of fun by telling stories and singing songs. We were there in December and it was plenty warm.

No drink packages on the music cruises. The best deal was a bucket of beer... Buy 5 and get 1 free for $38.00.

Yes, We took the whole family of 4 on this years Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise. We had another blast of a time.

Re: Bamboo Beach. No, it was a Norwegian VIP excursion that we took. Open bar and tons of great food. It is a fairly small beach with lots of shade. The beach chairs are nice and sturdy. The sand is NOT that beautiful white sand we are used to. Not sure why. Also, you need to walk to either end for swimming.

Yes, our music shows were at night (6pm to midnight) on the Lido deck (12). They covered one of the pools and put up a stage.

We decided not to go on the 2016 cruise... We are cruising to the Bahamas in March and my wife turns 60 this summer. I am planning on a major bash for that.

My first choice would be the Blue Hole and Tubing on the White River. The two attractions are on the same river and are about 10 minutes apart. The Blue Hole requires some climbing along the rocks. The guides are super helpful though - no worries. They have about 4 or 5 different spots where you can jump off the rocks into the water. Heights range from about 5 feet to 25 feet. You decide if you want to jump or not. Lots of fun.

The tubing is really laid back and fun. The guide will keep you laughing and singing Bob Marley songs. They stop at a little rest area along the way for a cold drink and the opportunity to buy photos from the professional photographer.

My other suggestion would be Mystic Mountain and/or Dunn's River Falls. Mystic Mountain has the bob sled ride and a zip line. Prices are a bit high though. Both places can get very crowded.

Which port in Jamaica will you be at?

Montego Bay - The Green Wood Great House is beautiful and would be a good place to propose. www.*********greathouse.com

Falmouth - the bamboo rafting on the Martha Brae River is romantic and would be a good place too. www.jamaicarafting.com

Ocho Rios - The Blue Hole is more of a "playground" to me. A place to go and have a lot of fun.

I would recommend either:

The Turtle River Falls and Gardens (beautiful, romantic, and not very crowded). www.turtleriverfallsandgardens.com

or

The Ruins Restaurant in Ocho Rios. www.ruinsjamaica.com

My family was there for this fiasco too. To compound matters, I think there were 6 ships in the port of Miami that morning. So those on the Pearl had to wait outside in the rain in order to get into the "circus tent" to register.

We got in the line at 11:10am. The line didn't even begin to move until 1:30pm. It was nearly 3:30 before we boarded.

I thought it was ironic.... After we settled the onboard account and were given our room cards, the woman asked if we'd like complimentary Norwegian rain ponchos!!!! I said that we could have used them hours ago.

All in all, it was a super cruise though.