Charles4515

Some ferries to Hamilton take 20 minutes and some take 30 minutes. A taxi from Hamilton to the Caves takes about 25 minutes. Alternativly if the Orange Route is running or you are NCL a ferry to St. George takes 45 minutes and a taxi to the Caves takes about 15 minutes.

You can book online but it is better to review online but call them to actually book. The rep may have some additional discounts....

The waterfall is real. I was refering to the rocks tourists walk on being modified with cement to make it possible to climb them safely. I don't regret doing Dunns River. It was fun despite the very touristy atmosphere. .I would pick Blue Hole over Dunns River but that does not mean I would not do Dunns River.We did both as before Falmouth was a port we did the Ochos Rios port a bunch of times.

Flying in the morning of the cruise is a bad idea.

I agree about tours. We have picked up taxis off the dock to go to all inclusive resorts we had a day pass to but we only took the official taxis with Red license plates which were allowed in the gated area. At Falmouth there is transportation center. I suspect that the fares are standard and OP won’t be able to make a deal with those official taxis like they want to. I would not take non official taxis.

LOL. You posted a link to a YouTube video from a couple of hysterical influencers who obviously have an agenda. That was not information.

I am just countering hysteria.

There is no problem in the fake Falmouth port area. There are gates to the real Falmouth which I advise the typical tourist not to visit. And the only Jamaicans that can get in are vetted workers. I have been in the real Falmouthand there are police every few feet and i wanted to see it but once was enough.

It is risky if you go to Kingston and some other areas but not to Dunn River falls or Blue Hole. or Rose Hall. Look at the places where the cruise line excursion go. The cruise line would not have excursions there if it was unsafe. The fake Falmouthport area is not unsafe either. It is gated. There are areas in New York, Washington DC and Baltimore that are unsafe that does not mean the whole US is unsafe although some of my Canadian relatives won't come to visit any more....

I would not say it is 3 times better.

The shops will be closed. The casino will open at 9:00 pm if your cruise line buys a license. Most cruise lines like NCL, RCL and Celebrity who call regularly do buy a license. I think if you will be there four overnights the cruise line will buy a license.

I would rather take one excellent cruise on a line like for example Oceania than two or three meh cruises for the same price. These days I believe in quality over quantity.

You can find reliable and trustworthy third party tour operators. Just do due diligence. Read reviews on the Jamaica Cruise Critic board and on TripAdvisor. I usually do my own excursions. That said if I was going as far as Ochos Rios I would do a cruise line excursion because of the distance and that windy road.

I have been to Falmouth a number of times and I don't think it is a risky port. If you go into the old town through the gate there will be men soliciting for drugs but just say no.if you go there. I went once to experience it. I advise staying in the tourist trap port area and no one will bother you. The pickup area for DIY excursions is not in the old town. At sites like Dunns Falls or Blue Hole there may be some people trying to solicit. Just ignore them. I believe the Youtubers are exaggerating the situation.

I tend to underestmate distances since while I am a senior I walk 3 or 4 miles a day so hopefully someone else will comment on the distance.

Lunch might be very expensive at the St. Regis and you can not use the amenities at their beach. So no chair rentals or facilities on the public beach there.. There are good restaurants in the town St. George with reasonable prices by Bermuda standards,, The Wharf and Wahoos. Tobacco Bay which is between the town and Fort St. Catherine thas facilities and rentals.

That is good information. My cruises were in 2005 and 2010. I expect there would be changes since then. As I said I personally have moved on from budget cruise lines.

I mentioned in post #25 that I had not been on Carnival recently. It was an number of years ago, 2005 and 2010 so several years apart, after being told that they had changed and finding out not enough I am not about to be burned a third time. Plus I have moved on from budget cruise lines since then.

On an iPhone you can only hotspot and share from a cell connection. Some Android phones can share a WiFi connection.

The two sailings I did it was every night and more than five minutes on traditional seating. Also the Maitre D divided the dining room into teams on one of the sailings and we had to cheer against the other team or something like that.

They had metal detectors at the exits from all the shops. That is a negative to the ambience in my opinion. The only rowdiness I saw was at the show was when a bunch of teenagers who were there without their parents heckled a singer very loudly because they didn’t like her repertoire. They could have just left if they didn’t like her. If I don’t like a show I just walk out. I don’t scream at the performer.

I have not canceled any Celebrity cruises but I have not booked any. I am shopping for cruises on Oceania, Viking, Virgin and Azamara. Will look at HAL and Princess for an Alaska cruise we want to do next year. The only Celebrity cruise I might book next year is to Bermuda because there is hardly any choice of cruise lines I would book there. Oceania goes there at a time of the year I try to avoid. (hurricane season)

I am sure they could do Dunn River or Blue Hole but adding a snorkeling stop seems like a stretch. They sound like they might be planning a DIY which you can do. There is a transportation center at Falmouth where you you can get taxis and other transport. I took a picture of what thay had which is on my cloud somewhere I will look for it and post it this afternoon if I can find it.

I have not sailed Carnival recently but every time I sailed them it was because I was told they had changed on a newer ship blah, blah and then was disappointed. I won’t make that mistake again.

A much shorter drive. Don’t worry about the drive from Falmouth to Rose Hall. I would consider it a little longer than a short walk but not a long walk. You have to walk through the area they built with shops and restaurants. They have designed it so you can’t avoid the shops.