Exlusive & Fun Beach Break (Jamaica) vs Spa

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

For context, I picked up an 8:00am 50 minute massage and 9:30 departure for this excursion in Falmouth, Jamaica . I'm curious though about anyone's thoughts on the timing here. How was your experience with the excursion? Would I be cutting it close to the pre-departure meeting time with the massage?

I am considering a later time for the massage (I have checked and should have plenty of room in arriving back at the ship). If I change to a later time, I might check to see if the earlier departure is still available.

I'm also considering just staying in the port area because there is a very high travel alerr with Jamaica rigt now but have read that the Falmouth port itself is pretty secure.

Any thoughts on these are appreciated.

 

[auntlynne]

I chose to not leave the port area when we docked at Falmouth in 2014, but did get off the ship and stayed in the controlled area.

I have a standing plan to avoid Jamaica in general. Safety. There are few places where I feel this way. I may be missing out, but I choose to follow my instincts (including following State Department warnings).

Massage time? The morning might allow you to feel relaxed all day, drinking plenty of water to allow your body to flush itself. A later time might make for a good night’s sleep but is promptly followed by activities. I’d pick morning massage. Make breakfast somewhat light, as you lie in your stomach in the spa.

 

[Peaseblossom36]

I did this excursion in 2019. It was pretty miserable and we both wished we had stayed on the ship or just walked around the port area. I would absolutely do the spa.

They were incredibly pushy with trying to upsell things, so so many upsells. They pushed the dolphin swim (which looked so sad), drinks, etc. They actually set up a cooking demo directly behind where we were on the beach and it was so loud I had Warped Tour flashbacks. The guy on the bus talked the entire bus ride to and back, he made fun on my husband both ways. He generally isn't easy to ruffle but found it incredibly annoying, considering he just wanted to relax on vacation.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

I chose to not leave the port area when we docked at Falmouth in 2014, but did get off the ship and stayed in the controlled area.

I have a standing plan to avoid Jamaica in general. Safety. There are few places where I feel this way. I may be missing out, but I choose to follow my instincts (including following State Department warnings).

Massage time? The morning might allow you to feel relaxed all day, drinking plenty of water to allow your body to flush itself. A later time might make for a good night’s sleep but is promptly followed by activities. I’d pick morning massage. Make breakfast somewhat light, as you lie in your stomach in the spa.

I did this excursion in 2019. It was pretty miserable and we both wished we had stayed on the ship or just walked around the port area. I would absolutely do the spa.

They were incredibly pushy with trying to upsell things, so so many upsells. They pushed the dolphin swim (which looked so sad), drinks, etc. They actually set up a cooking demo directly behind where we were on the beach and it was so loud I had Warped Tour flashbacks. The guy on the bus talked the entire bus ride to and back, he made fun on my husband both ways. He generally isn't easy to ruffle but found it incredibly annoying, considering he just wanted to relax on vacation.

Thank you both. These responses confirmed my own instincts and personal preferences. Morning massage and a little port exploration it is.

 

[jcarwash]

We did the FA75-Exclusive And Fun Beach Break last week and enjoyed it. The tour operator and bus driver were very professional. This excursion took us to the Puerto Seco beach resort, which was busy, but a nice facility with a decent beach, a large pool, and lunch is included. There's also a floating obstable course.

As for timing, I too picked the 9:30am excursion/meeting time when I booked activities at 105 days out, but during the cruise the excursion meeting time changed from 9:30am to 9:00am.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

We did the FA75-Exclusive And Fun Beach Break last week and enjoyed it. The tour operator and bus driver were very professional. This excursion took us to the Puerto Seco beach resort, which was busy, but a nice facility with a decent beach, a large pool, and lunch is included. There's also a floating obstable course.

As for timing, I too picked the 9:30am excursion/meeting time when I booked activities at 105 days out, but during the cruise the excursion meeting time changed from 9:30am to 9:00am.

NGL...The floatimg course was the selling point for me...but I also have a Cozumel Excursion that includes a beach visit that also has an floating course. So kind of breaking even in that particular area.

 

[bperk3]

I did this excursion last week also, which took us to Puerto Seco. I will second the above post that it was busy, but still manageable. My family enjoyed ourselves. As for the safety, I will say that we never felt anything other than completely safe during this excursion. Pickup at the port was seamless. Our driver and guide were great. The resort was very secure with a one way in, one way out pickup area. My wife has gotten very uneasy in the past if there is any safety issues anywhere we go, and she never questioned anything. Now, I am aware of the potential safety issues in Jamaica, and there is no guarantee of safety. But, I can tell you that we did leave that day saying we would do that same excursion again. Our boys (16&14) never even did go do the floating obstacle course.

Also, Jamaica was our favorite port area. You could tell it was a little bit of a "sterilized" version of Jamaica. but, there was plenty of coffee, rum, souvenirs, and fun. It also felt very safe.