Falmouth is a port town located on the north coast of Jamaica.
Founded in 1769, the city is the capital of the country’s Trelawny Parish and it’s
known for being one of the most well-preserved Georgian era towns in the Caribbean.
In this video, we’ll provide an overview of our December 2021 visit to Falmouth, when
our ship -- the Emerald Princess -- docked at the port and we spent the day exploring
the cruise center.
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The Falmouth, Jamaica cruise center is located on the Eastern side of the city, near Bush
Cay, and has two docks for cruise ships visiting the port.
The cruise center is home to many shops,
many restaurants,
and several transportation options for exploring Falmouth on your own, including shuttles and taxis.
After leaving our ship and walking along the dock, we found two “Welcome” signs that
were great for a photo op.
Like many photo ops, we found the signs to be far less crowded later in the day compared
to when we first arrived in port.
We continued walking through the security building and soon arrived at the cruise center’s
main courtyard.
The cruise center was roughly divided into three sections, with a few buildings containing
retailers on the left side of the main courtyard;
several buildings containing retailers located in the central area, beyond the main courtyard;
and a couple buildings containing retailers on the right side of the main courtyard.
There were also freestanding shops located throughout the cruise center
and a large Craft Market, which was home to many vendors.
A directory kiosk located toward the right side of the main courtyard, just past the
security building, included a map and listing of retailers, which made it easy to find everything
we were looking for.
Additionally, signage located throughout the cruise center was also helpful for finding
restrooms, transportation, the city, the cruise terminal, and more.
The Falmouth Margaritaville was located just beyond the main courtyard.
The entrance was easy to find by walking straight to the mini-clock tower square in the central
area of the cruise center, then turning right and walking through the pirate ship with the
large sign.
The Falmouth Margaritaville was one of the cleanest Margaritaville’s we’ve ever visited
and the staff were super friendly.
The location featured a bar;
a restaurant;
a large pool area with loungers, a swim-up bar, and a waterfall;
a retail store;
and a shaded, outdoor area between the buildings that included several tables and chairs.
A sign indicated free WiFi was available.
The shuttles and taxis that were available for cruise passengers were located on the
left side of the central area of retailers, just beyond the Craft Market area.
A large Falmouth Port Taxi Service Rate Sheet was available for visitors to know how much
shuttle and taxi service cost to various points of interest.
The sign indicated that visitors should look for stickers indicating the various taxi services
were approved by the Jamaica Tourist Board, or the JTB.
A pathway located beyond the central area retailers was lined with a series of signs
that provided a brief history of Jamaica, including history of the country,
history of the city of Falmouth,
the story of the arrival of Christopher Columbus’s first ship in 1494,
the story of Governor Henry Morgan,
the story of the Free Black Society, and more.
There was also another “Welcome” sign available for a photo op and a large, colorful,
illustrated map that displayed both the cruise center and the city beyond.
The gates to exit the cruise center into the city were located adjacent to the historical signs.
However, cruise passengers were only allowed to exit via ship-sponsored excursion or approved
taxi service due to COVID restrictions that were in place when we visited.
And that meant we were unable to do the walking tour we prepared for our visit.
Finally, returning back to the main courtyard, a large “One Love” love lock display was
located in the far right corner of the main courtyard.
A sign near the display provided a history of love locks and encouraged visitors to add
their own lock to the display.
The nearby “Tours & Information” stand had locks available for purchase for five
US dollars.