Our day started out with the ship being backed over a mile from the open sea into its berth at the company owned v-shaped dock. There's a central security checkpoint at the point of the V. Each of the wings of the V are filled with shops like Diamond International which we've seen all over the world at cruise ports. There was definitely another shopping frenzy.
We found our shore excursion van at the end of the pier and had some extra time to shop the craft market. We boarded our 22 person Toyota van and our guide, Tamara, and driver, Seymore drove us off on our tour which was billed as 'Go Native Jamaican'. Falmouth is a working port area and there was lots of litter and trash everywhere. Driving is on the left side of the street as this is a former British Colony.
The major highway to Montego Bay was in good repair and there were goats and people who were trimming the grass. Montego Bay's Central business district is very crowded and with narrow streets and little regard to parking rules. A Carnival cruise ship was moored across Montego Bay.
We purchased some deep fried patties that we munched on while heading to our next destination: a visit to a primary school. The secondary roads to the Mount Olive School were narrow and twisty and full of potholes and lots of oncoming traffic! The kids at the primary school were adorable. They were learning reading and writing; and they were only 3, 4, & 5 year olds. It seemed to make a joke of the American school approach.
After the school visit we made our way to a plantation for a traditional Jamaican lunch which was quite good! This was followed by a ride down a different set of twisty, narrow, and potholed roads to a 'shopping' store that supposedly had the 'best' prices. Everyone was given a numbered sticker which probably gave the tour operator a kickback based on the volume of sales. Personally I am getting very cynical of these shopping opportunities. I just don't need more trinkets, don't smoke cigars or drink hard liquor.
Back at the port, we shopped in the port area where Angela found a few small items. We reboarded and went to dinner in the Main Dining Room where we ate with a couple from Florida that we ate with on day 1. Seared ahi was the main menu item and it was really good and the service was quick once again. Out in the Royal Promenade, many guests were dressed in really exotic Halloween costumes. We watched the World Series until 8:15 when we went to a reprise of the ventriloquist. He repeated much of his first show from the previous day which was a big disappointment. After the show, we resumed watching the Series game to its conclusion. We capped the night off strolling the Royal Promenade with all the reveillers and SUPER loud music. Per the cruise director, this was the largest Halloween party in the world. It was amazing to see the quantity and quality of sone of the costumes.
And so ended day 4.
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