Jammin' in Jamaica

Tuesday, May 14th  

Jamaica! We made it! We booked this trip specifically to have our Jammin’ in Jamaica experience, but we know that cruises are subject to all kinds of changes, stuff happens, so we told ourselves when we booked the trip that whatever happens, happens. If we didn’t make it to Jamaica this time, we’d just book another trip in the future and make it happen then! But we won’t need to do that because we made it! Ya! 

We docked at 8am and had the All Clear at 8:30am and as Jess and I wanted to make the most of our day on the island, I did set my alarm for 7:30am so I could get up, get some breakfast, and we would be ready to go around 8:30am-ish, though, of course, we ended up heading our around 9am. Jess and I don’t usually eat that early, but I got us 3 strawberry frosted donuts, 6 hashbrowns, 1 chocolate croissant, and some tea and coffee. While at the Windjammer the Washy-Washy attendant was playing “Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be All Right” on the ukelele and people had started singing along with him and I was so excited for our day of fun waiting for us in Jamaica that I actually started crying while getting food. I pulled myself together enough to not make a scene, but I was SO excited!  

Back in the room Jess had put on the Jammin’ in Jamaica DVD for us to have playing in the background as we got dressed and ready for all the fun we were going to have! We could see the Welcome to Falmouth, Jamaica sign from our window and saw when people first started exiting the ship! As I said, we were ready about 9am-ish and headed to deck 1 to step off the ship (no tendering for this stop!) and walk out into Jamaica! Ah! We took a few pictures right at the port, then walked through a little open-air building to arrive in the totally cute port town that had been erected around the cruise stop! It’s gimmicky, of course, but so fun too!  

We walked around there for just a little bit before deciding to see if anything was worth seeing outside the manufactured touristy port area. It’s likely there was cool stuff to see and explore, but in the one block we walked around the town it was just non-stop approaches by people trying to sell tours and taxi rides to places. I don’t mind being sold stuff, but it was literally like we’d tell one “no thank you, we’re just looking around, still deciding what we wanna do” 3 or so times before he finally moved on, only for him to be followed up by another guy like 2 feet later! We found a cool micro-cemetery in the middle of the road that we stopped to look at but we couldn’t enjoy it because, of course, some guy came up to sell us his tours. I get it, they wanna make money, I hear that, and if we went a little further out from there we likely would have gotten away from a majority of that, but my goodness I can’t imagine any of those guys make many sales with that tactic, unless a lot of tourists really have absolutely no spine. 

But with that walkaround concluded we decided to head back into the port town area to see about the ‘cruise approved’ taxis to see about getting one to Good Hope Estate. We’d hoped to find something worth seeing closer to the port town, but that wasn’t likely with an interruption happening every 5 feet, so back to our original plan of Good Hope Estate! Or, not. We go to see the taxi stuff and they only go to select stops and none of those stops are Good Hope Estate. We look at their options and they’re quite expensive, which I totally understand, get that good tourism money, but nothing looked particularly interesting to us. We decided to think on some things and take another walk around the port town area. We saw signs advertising Red Stripe everywhere and we know that drink from ‘Swamp Thing’ where it was featured heavily in the show but I guess the advertising deal didn’t work out or got pulled because when they put it on CW they blurred out the name and every mention of it was censored? It wasn’t until we watched a version on a different site that we found out what the drink was and just had to guess at why it was censored out! Anyway, as we walked around one of the craft stall areas I saw some people selling carved wooden bottles of Red Stripe and thought it was funny and topical, so I bought one as our first souvenir in Jamaica! 

As we had bought a fake bottle, it felt right to buy a real bottle of Red Stripe to try, so we found a bar called the Clubhouse Brewery where they sold cold Red Stripe and had wifi for guests, though the bartender was pretty smart about the password and he didn’t tell you the password, but instead put it directly into your phone so you couldn’t share it with non-customers. Smart! The Red Stripe was great and the wifi was good so we could send some pics to people and catch up once again on what was happening in the outside world, once again mostly looking for conversation topics for the rest of the trip, as we would have no more wifi again until we returned to Florida. After we’d had our fill of beer, wifi, and A/C we circled back to a coconut water stand I wanted to hit where they cut a hole in a coconut and just have you drink from that because that’s what the MyScene girls get in Jammin’ in Jamaica, so of course we had to get one too! It was very refreshing, it must be said, and we certainly weren’t gonna pay for bottled water anywhere so it was for the best we had some water to put in us as we strolled about and had literally such a good time! It takes very little to make Jess and I happy, and strolling around Jamaica with a coconut water in our hand, enjoying all the sounds and sights, was so much fun! 

We perused a few things, found some good photo spots and whatnot, but eventually Jess said she remembered seeing a sign that said ‘Historic Walk’ somewhere that she wanted to find again. We found the sign and followed it towards an ocean front path that was quite lovely looking, but we ended up detouring from it when we saw a sign that said “Chukka Station: From Good Hope Estate” and were like... hey, that’s what we were looking for! We asked a woman at the outdoor desk about getting to Good Hope Estate and she said we’ve come to the right place! $49 per person all access pass to Good Hope Estate with the first bus of the day leaving in 15 minutes! Score! We were prepared to pay in cash but the lady there went “We use your SeaPass and charge it to the account. Save your cash for tips, sweeties” so extra score! I didn’t want to use our credit cards anywhere if I could help it, but I didn’t really wanna give up $100 of our $200 spending cash on one thing, but I didn’t have to do either! Turns out Chukka has a partnership or something with Royal Caribbean and the bus ride and access pass to Good Hope Estate counts as one of their excursions. Which is great, but also makes it weirder that the woman at guest services didn’t have any information about this for us the day before? Like, it’s one of your excursions? But whatever, we happened to find what we were looking for right when we were looking for it because a magical day of fun really was waiting for us in Jamaica!

The bus arrived and a woman called for everyone with a red wristband (the Good Hope Estate All Access Pass wristband) to follow her. Jess and I did so but everyone else just, like, stood around confused? Like they weren’t sure who she was talking to. Eventually people figured it out and followed us but Jess and I really were the last people to show up to the excursion but the first ones on the bus purely because we know how to follow directions aha! So, onto the bus we went, right in the front seat! On the bus the driver and the woman who loaded us on acted as tour and information guides, sharing some information about Jamaica and the things we were seeing as well as some history of Good Hope Estate. Jess particularly liked the fact about how houses permanently under construction in other parts of the world signals a kind of poverty, whereas in Jamaica having a house that’s permanently under construction is considered a status symbol, because it means the owner can afford to keep making additions to their home. I liked the joke about how bumpy the ride is where the driver went “Remember, it’s no my fault, it’s not the bus fault. It’s the asphalt.” It’s a cheesy joke but boy it gets a laugh! We both liked the joke where he asked if anyone knows anything about the wild life on the island, and when guesses were made he went “No, none of that. The wildlife is the women!” 

We arrive at the Good Hope Estate after about 20 minutes and it is GORGEOUS! Jess and I really didn’t know what to expect, we just wanted to see somewhere pretty and historic, but it was so cool! The place is a former sugar plantation that’s been changed into basically a day-resort. There’s historic features to look at, like the inside of the old mill and the waterwheel, and information to read around the place about the history and process of making sugar, but there’s also a pool with a waterslide, a river for tubing, a cross swing bridge, dirt paths for ATV riding, and a zipline! Crazy cool! It was literally JUST what Jess and I were looking for, somewhere beautiful with activities to do but also just places to hang out and enjoy! Could not have been more perfect! 

First thing we did was sit on a swing overlooking the river while enjoying our coconut water and the view, talking about how excited we were to find a way to this place which was so exactly what we were looking for! After some time basking in that we visited the waterwheel, crossing over the bridge after giving the people before us time and space to get some pictures of themselves on it. As we crossed one of the Chukka photographers walked behind us and jokingly shook the bridge but was quite impressed and Jess and I didn’t start when it shook cause we really are ‘just roll with it’ kinda people! Bridge starts shaking? Whatever, we make it across or we go in the river, we’ll figure it out one way or another! Across the bridge we walked through this lovely little grotto that was nice and cool because of the shade and runoff water from the river, then we arrived at the waterwheel! Lots of informational placards everywhere about the process of using the wheel for making sugar and who worked where and about the abolition of slavery on the island and how that effected the plantation (it shut down, obviously). We saw the ATV riders from there getting loaded onto their bikes and heading out for some fun, and on the way back we saw the zipliners going overhear, which we figured out is why the photographer crossed the bridge: to get in place to get pictures of everyone ziplining overhead! 

Back over the bridge we took a lap around, seeing what we could see, dipping our feet in the shallow end of the pool to see how it felt, and eventually ended up back at the bar to get a drink! There was a sign over the bar advertising drinks and Jess asked the bartender about what was in two of them and he told her that they were not in fact serving either of those drinks at the moment aha! Circling round to the front of the bar we saw a smaller sign advertising the drinks they were currently serving, along with $6 Jamaican beef patties, and while it did feel silly to pay for food when we had a whole boat of all-included food waiting for us on the ship, we figured it was best to have something to eat with hard alcohol, and also eating a Jamaican meat patty in Jamaica felt correct and proper! So, one Blue Lagoon and one Jamaican Meat Patty for us to split, and both were excellent! The people in front of us in line, however, discovered that American Express cards are, well, mostly just for American use as the bar’s machine couldn’t process it and they had to find an alternative way to pay for their food and drinks, much to their chagrin. We had no such problems as we paid in cash! We sat at a seat in the little bar area overlooking the river and enjoyed the shade, the breeze, and the sight of rafters going down the river, their guides doing funny Cab Calloway-style call and repeats with their charges! 

When we finished our drink we headed back to the pool to sit and dip our feet in, watching the other people in the water. Two families joined forces to host Baby Chicken Fights in the water, which was very funny to watch and everyone really was having a great time all around! After relaxing for a while, and taking some photos in front of the man-made waterfall, Jess and I decide we wanna see the view from the top of the waterslide area, so we meander that way, finding another pool halfway up the walk that eventually turns into the man-made waterfall. At the top we took some photos, and some other people’s photos, and enjoyed the view, but Jess decided she was determined to ride the waterslide even though she didn’t have a bathing suit, so she went for it! She thought the slide was great, said it had INSANE views when it opened up because you’re do high up on the hill, and she was deposited in the pool at the bottom where I walked down to meet her, not wanting to get myself wet for the journey back. I get grumpy when my clothes are wet, so better not to risk it. 

Jess rung her wet things out a little in the restrooms before we headed back to the bus stop to catch the 1pm return bus, having had our fun in our island paradise and deciding it was time to do some shopping in the port town! On the bus there was a small kerfuffle of it being too full and no one wanting to get off to wait until the next bus at 2pm, but some kids sat on their adults laps and room was made for the journey back, where we ended up with the same tour guide and driver as last time! More interesting information and trivia about the island was told, this time over a mic so everyone could hear, and at one point the driver actually stopped the bus to climb a tree and steal a branch from it, which he had us pass down the bus to each take a leaf from to smell and taste. It was All Spice, which no one correctly guessed, which is used in a number of things but when chewed can be used as a kind of Novocain, which we all learned as we munched a little and felt our tongue go a little numb! Very fun return journey with lots of laughs and information!

Back at the port town we walk a little by the water then rest in the sun on a bench, enjoying the warmth and wind! After we’d had our fill of resting we were up again to refresh our frazzled looks a little in the restroom then hit the shops! In the craft area Jess found what she was looking for: Two pretty anklets! She had decided that’s what she wanted to buy, some anklets, while we were in Jamaica as souvenirs and she found two matching pink and blue ones for us to buy and wear! One of the charms fell off as we put them on, but it was an easy fix to repair them, and that’s what one expects sometimes with handmade stuff! So, those on we went poking into some more stores where we found some Blue Mountain ground coffee and chocolate coffee liquor to buy! Before you purchase it the shop attendant directs you to jewelry store behind the gift shop to “look around” which she packages your things, and we did look around but, of course, we didn’t buy anything despite attempts to sell us some very expensive jewelry. Jess and I simply cannot be parted from our money if we don’t want to be! 

Next I found a dress I really liked at a little outdoor stand for $20, leaving us with $20 cash left which I told Jess she should use to find and buy a dress of her own! Looking around, Jess found a red dress she liked, but it was $35, and later other dresses she looked at were all $35 or more, but I told one shop keeper that we only had $20 and she directed us to her $20 dresses, or at least dresses she was willing to part with for $20 cash, and Jess found the exact cut of the red dress she’d been looking at before, but in pink! Perfect! More magic on Jamaica! With out purchases in hand we took our final strolls around the area, taking some photos at the fountain as well as some other people’s photos for them, both of them laughing about how good Jess and I are at posing for our pictures compared to them! We took one final walk around after that, actual tears in our eyes because we’d had such a fun day that had been everything we’d wanted it to be! It really was perfect! 

It was, however, getting close to the All Aboard time and Jess and I always like to be back on the boat early, so we began the journey back through security. Because we had alcohol we had to wait in a separate line to get the alcohol checked and stowed for the rest of the trip. The line was only about 15 minutes, but goodness the people in it were all suck whiners, especially for people who weren’t prepared when it was their turn to give their information. They had one person from each party stand in the line for the sake of space, and at one point a man came in to speak to the woman in line for him to tell her “It’s starting to rain! If it gets any worse-” to which she said “It’s ok, you can go back to the ship, you don’t have to wait for me.” But he was like “I don’t have any cell service, how do I contact you?” to which she, of course, went “I’ll just meet you back in the room.” Like, duh my dude? But also, it never even started raining! It misted for like 5 seconds which Jess, who was waiting outside for me, said was very refreshing. Chill m’dude. 

When it was my turn at the front of the line I was so efficient, ready with all the info I’d heard the woman ask the people in front of me for, pen in hand to sign the two things I needed to sign, baffled by how the people before and after me weren’t as ready. Embarrassing for them. After that it was back to the ship for showers and snacking on what we hadn’t eaten during breakfast or what we’d kept as snacks in the room! We also, of course, tried on our new dresses, though we would be wearing them for dinner another night as it was Caribbean Night on the cruise and we already had outfits prepared for that in advance! We chilled out in the room for a while then, watching people rush, or in some cases saunter slowly, back to the cruise as the All Aboard time of 4:30pm creeped up. We could hear above us what sounded like groups of people on deck 12 doing exactly what we were doing, hollering at people approaching the ship, cheering or jeering as they made their way back! 

As 5pm, departure time, approached we decided it was time to pop open the Sparkling Brute we’d brought and toast goodbye to Jamaica. And POP it did, blasting open with a gunshot-like noise literally JUST as the boat started moving! Magic magic magic all day in Jamaica! We drank and ate and napped, with Jammin’ in Jamiaca playing in the background of course, and finished all our snacks except one hashbrown and the apple cobbler, so we needed to restock at some point. I went up to get more water from the cafe at onepoint, and then Jess hit the Windjammer to get 4 beef and 2 chicken patties, 2 pieces of banana bread, and 1 moondough... thing. At some point in all of this the next days Cruise Compass was dropped off and then it was time to get ready for dinner! 

Dinner was a hoot and a half! Nothing was set at our table when we arrived, and the host hurriedly dropped off the silverware, so Jess and I made a game of trying to get the silverware all set up right. Our waiter played along, obviously glad we were good humored about the whole thing, and approached the table going “Nothing is set right, who is the waiter?” then showed us what we’d gotten right and wrong. In doing that he discovered that one of Jess’s knives was actually still dirty, going “and this is dirty, oh my god!” He disappeared and returned with a new knife to go “And no menus, somebody’s going to kill me!” and we all had a good time! 

For food Jess got the coconut battered shrimp, a curry dish (as usual), and a brownie with ice cream, while I got the pork bao, pesto pasta, and pineapple cake. The waiter offered to add some shrimp to my pesto pasta to add a protein to it, and who am I to turn down more food, so I said sure and it was perfect in the pesto sauce! Jess totally demolished her food, ashamed of leaving anything on her plate the previous night, and there was a little show put on by the wait staff where they did a parade then the macarena with everyone which was cute! We talked to the waiter a little before we left about being in hospitality and the performance you always have to give, all of us agreeing that we understand as customers why it’s required, but that on the service provider side it takes a toll. 

We walked back to our room, as was becoming our custom, passing a woman on 4 hollering to someone on 3 “You’re bellow me now, you have to go up one floor!” which I assume meant something to everyone involved in that situation. We hit the room for a little while before the 10:30pm 80’s Party! We were pretty tired, but we dragged ourselves off the bed and couch and headed to the Promenade for a party much like the 70’s one from before, so just as fun! They were throwing beads to the crowd from the bridge that time and boy did people get into catching them! No one likes free stuff more than cruise guests aha! At the end there was a balloon drop from above and it was so wild! ‘Celebration’ and ‘PYT’ playing in succession as people bobbed balloons, trying to keep the in the air, the sound of bursting balloons as people hit them too hard or stepped on them filling the air along with lots of singing and laughter!

A great end to a fabulous day! We really did have SUCH a good time, exactly the time we’d hoped to have, and that meant the rest of the trip had no expectations! We had a day at sea awaiting us tomorrow and we were ready to just kick back and relax the whole day, with no other plan than eating and chilling as reward for a job well done in Jamaica! So, to bed we went at 11pm, with Hotel Transylvania 3 playing in the background this time as our Jammin’ in Jamaica time came to a close.