Jamaica cruise leave wave of bitter merchants

[Hortical]

Caribbean cruises leave wave of bitter merchants

FALMOUTH, Jamaica — Tourists emerge by the hundreds from a towering, 16-deck megaship docked at the Caribbean's newest cruise port. They squint in the glare of the Jamaican sun, peer curiously at a gaggle of locals beyond a wrought-iron fence and then roar out of town on a procession of air-conditioned tour buses.

Few stop to buy T-shirts, wooden figurines or beach towels from the dozens of merchants lining the road outside the fence, or visit the colonial-era buildings that dot the town. Not many even venture beyond the terminal's gates, unless it's in one of the buses that whisk them past increasingly disgruntled vendors and taxi drivers.

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[Mosiah]

Very serious business. What to do?!?

Why is Tatham insulting the locals?!?

[Bricktop]

Have you been there? I said the same thing as he did when I drove through town...why on earth would I want to get off a cruise ship and walk through a town that looks like that? I kept driving...

[Mosiah]

Yes, I have.

What does tourism savvy mean?

[Bricktop]

Cruise ship passengers gonna buy meat?

[Mosiah]

I don't believe they are being sold meat! Refuse to believe they are that unsavvy.

However, Falmouth is for its citizens and has been that way for centuries. Are you suggesting the meat vendors should clear out and make way for some wood carving?

[Bricktop]

Didn't you say you drove through town? Didn't you see the types of shops? Well great then the citizens can enjoy it...what are they complaining about?

[Assasin]

Been to All-inclusive earlier this year and while some of the workers doing nothing but complaining, the ones who smile and relate to the guets and provide good service don't have a problem getting good tips.

We need to realise that service and been savy counts.

[Don1]

mi dun tell unnu seh dis cruise ting nuh reddy...

no way should Jamaica go into debt wid millions of US$ of public money spent building a port wid one private, all exclusive zone surrounding it..wid locals fenced out...fi wha? Fi net 5% of the $100 whe dem seh each Babylon spend??

Plus dat net $5/cruiser ah guh to dolphin man Burrowes, in bond merchants and people of that ilk .....Madness

If Babylon waan guh pon cruise mek dem use dem owna money build dem private port...strait

[Reggaedoc]

Falmouth/Trelawny has nothing much to offer tourists. It's strongest point seems to be that it is close to MoBay and Ochi. Clean up Port Antonio, which is probably just as filthy as Falmouth at this point, but has far greater potential, fix the damn roads in the parish, clean up the many attractions/beauty spots that the parish has, and return tourism to the parish. That is where Caribbean tourism started and it still is viable. The place has two natural harbors. It's a shame that these politicians have allowed the place and it's tourist product to fall to such level. They simply want to keep the place backward so that it remains their secret hideaway while the poor people suffer. The people do have to accept some of the blame, as I think the parish of Portland has some of the laziest, and least imaginative people in the country. My opinion is based on traveling there over many years and spending many holidays there when my grandfather worked for the United Fruit Company. They seem to be a people who have simply given up. That attitude I have not noticed in St. James, or St. Ann.

[Willi]

We suck at Marketing...

[Bricktop]

Plus dat net $5/cruiser ah guh to dolphin man Burrowes, in bond merchants and people of that ilk

By that you mean people that actually have a viable product to sell...

[Don1]

Perhaps....but Jamaica should not go into debt building expensive facilities to support them...that's essentially corporate welfare

Cruise tourism should get minimal if any public funds...

[Muadib]

No.. they should go into debt doing non-productive things... oh wait.. they perfected that for 18 years..

[HL]

Have you been there? I said the same thing as he did when I drove through town...why on earth would I want to get off a cruise ship and walk through a town that looks like that? I kept driving...

Fully agree with you TopBrick!!

The town of Falmouth has nothing to offer tourists. We have to sympathize with the locals--they are not aware of this fact.

Falmouth may have some history...but it is not packaged as being interesting.

A visitor does not want to be hounded (pressured) by locals. They want to feel free...

As for the town itself...it looks depressing. The roads are extremely poor.

Yes, (I agree) the visitors must be herded into busses to more controlled areas.