The local merchants in Falmouth, Jamaica that hope to sell their crafts to tourists from Royal Caribbean cruise ships are upset that not enough money is being spent by tourists.  Locals say passengers simply are ignoring the merchants and opt to go on Royal Caribbean's excursions or shop at the chain shops on the pier.

William Tatham, Vice President of Cruise Shipping and Marina Operations, spoke about the future of Falmouth, Jamaica.  Falmouth is a $220 million project that is a joint project between the Jamaica Port Authority and Royal Caribbean.  It opened last year and has been a major success.

At the Seatrade Europe in Hamburg, Germany the Seatrade Insider Cruise Awards 2011 were awarded and for Port of the Year, Falmouth was named the winner for 2011.  

With Royal Caribbean now making regular stops on its Western Caribbean itineraries in Falmouth, Jamaica, many cruisers are looking for good excursion ideas for this port.  On our recent cruise aboard Freedom of the Seas, we tried out the Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa Day Pass.

On our cruise to Falmouth, Jamaica last week, we took some time to take some photos of the port area to give you an idea of what the construction progress is like.  To be honest, we found the port a lot further along than we had read about.  

Senator Dennis Meadows of Jamaica's Labor Party lashed out over the lack of development in Falmouth, Jamaica since the port opened to cruises in February 2011.  Falmouth's cruise port is a $7.5 billion endeavor that is a partnership between Jamaica and Royal Caribbean.

Jamaica is back in the top-10 fastest-growing cruise destinations in the region after not making the list for the last five years.  Jamaica posted double-digit growth between January and May 2011, growth that has coincided with the opening of the Falmouth cruise port in February of this year.

Many of our readers are eager to know the state of construction at Falmouth, Jamaica.  Being one of Royal Caribbean's newest ports of call, it's a common stop for many Royal Caribbean Western Caribbean cruises.  If you're curious what the state of affairs are, here are some photos of the port that Otterman34 posted on CruiseCritic recently.

The newly opened cruise port of Falmouth (developed by the Port Authority of Jamaica in partnership with Royal Caribbean) is so busy with ships stopping there now that it has overtaken Ocho Rios as the busiest on the island, according to data from the PAJ and Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB).