Royal Caribbean to open 'Historic Falmouth Jamaica' port in 2011
By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY
The port is located on the north coast of Jamaica, midway between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
By Kent Reid, courtesy Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean is leaking a few more details and some visuals of its new, $170 million port, Historic Falmouth Jamaica, now expected to open in January, after a year's delay.
On President and CEO Adam Goldstein's blog, Craig Milan, Royal Caribbean's senior vice president of Land Operations and President of Royal Celebrity Tours, calls the port a "marquee destination."
He says the port will be done up in classic Georgian style and predicts passengers arriving there "will feel like they are in the old world of the Caribbean and find themselves availed of numerous shopping and authentic dining opportunities."
Royal Caribbean has been working for three years in collaboration with the Port Authority of Jamaica to create the new cruise destination, located on the North coast of Jamaica midway between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
The 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will begin calling there in March, but the port will begin to take ships the first of the year, beginning with the Navigator of the Seas, Milan says.
"Originally we had planned to open this port at the same time as Oasis arrived into Port Everglades but as is often the case with really big projects, it has taken somewhat longer than we originally anticipated. But we are no less excited by the prospect for the development," he says.
The project was designed by thematic designer Idea Group of Orlando, and Milan says it recreates the character of the 1769 town, once the original port of Jamaica. Falmouth was also where many slaves were brought to the New World and, for a time, the world's leading exporter for sugar and rum, Milan says. He adds that Royal Caribbean expects the new port to have a profound impact on the town of Falmouth, in a good way.
"As the phases of the port are implemented the new state-of-the-art port will blend into the old town. It is anticipated that the remaining designated historic buildings in the community will gradually be restored."
Milan says passengers arriving in Falmouth will be able to book shore excursion options in both Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, and will also find options if they choose to hangout in Falmouth.
"Historic Falmouth will blend well into the local town and will seamlessly allow our guests to experience one of the true treasures of Jamaica." --Fran Golden
(Fran Golden is a travel and cruise writer who is filling in for Gene Sloan this week.)
Photo by Kent Reid, courtesy Royal Caribbean.
Richard Bourke moves to integrate Trelawny Chamber of Commerce
BY HORACE HINES Observer West reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, May 13, 2010
FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Newly-elected president of the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce (TCC), Richard Bourke plans to ensure that business interests in the parish maximise commercial gains from the development of the $7.5-billion cruise ship pier in Falmouth.
" There are a number of projects relating to the co-ordination of the pier and the feeling is that a lot of the planning has been done outside of the parish so really we as a chamber we want to get much more involved," Bourke told the Observer West.
Bourke, who has been chairman of the Montego Bay chapter of Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) for the past three years surrendered that post to make himself free for assuming the leadership of the TCC, which was held by the outspoken Dennis Seivwright for the past six years.
Bourke was quick to dispel the perception in some quarters that he usurped the position from Seivwright, noting that the immediate past president did not offer himself for re-election at the recent annual general meeting held at Breezes Resort and Spa Trelawny recently, where Bourke is general manager.
" I was approached by other people about getting more involved I went to Dennis and I said Dennis you came to me two years ago and I think I am ready to do that now. I made it clear I would not run against him. I said if you are ready to step down I am willing to step up and so it was mutual agreement and unanimous support from members of the board," Bourke explained.
He said "the significant order of business is generating new membership for the chamber" and "mending fences and getting everybody involved".
"The chamber over the years has tended to be a little bit divided so we intend to get everybody back to the table," he said.
Bourke is also moving to integrate more of the business from South Trelawny into the chamber.
" There is a perception that the chamber of commerce is a Falmouth entity but as the name implies it is purposely named Trelawny Chamber of Commerce and we already have a lot of interests from persons out of southern Trelawny," he said.
Other executives of the TCC are vice-presidents Linnel Maclean Jnr and Delroy Christie; Joycelyn Knight, secretary and Jackie Green, treasurer. the other members of the executive include immediate past president Dennis Seivwright, Chris Parnell, Guy Morris , Florence Logan and Trevor Bodden
History of Falmouth, Jamaica
Falmouth, capital of the Parish of Trelawny, is situated on Jamaica’s north coast near Montego Bay.
Founded by Thomas Reid in 1769, Falmouth flourished as a county seat and market center for the Parish of Trelawny for forty years. Jamaica had become the world's leading sugar producer. The town was named after the birthplace of His Excellency Sir William Trelawny, Falmouth, Cornwall, England, and is noted for being one of the Caribbean’s best-preserved historic towns.
Falmouth compares well with Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia in the United States. Falmouth was meticulously planned from the start, with wide streets in a regular grid, adequate water supply, and public buildings. Interestingly, Falmouth received piped water before New York City.
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Falmouth was one of the busiest ports in Jamaica. It was home to masons, carpenters, tavern-keepers, mariners, planters and others. It was a wealthy town in a wealthy parish with a rich racial mix. This was the heyday of King Sugar. Within the parish, nearly one hundred plantations were actively manufacturing sugar and rum for export to England. Jamaica had become the world's leading sugar producer. In Falmouth 
Harbor as many as 30 tall-ships could be seen on any given day, delivering goods and slaves, and loading their holds with rum and sugar manufactured on nearby plantations.
Starting in 1840, Falmouth’s post-emancipation fortunes as a commercial center declined. This decline and lack of support for development has left many of its early buildings standing. The streets are lined with many small houses known for their unique fretwork and windows, major merchant and planter complexes, and commercial buildings, all dating from 1790 to 1840.
While Falmouth saw little commercial advancement after the 1840’s, houses continued to be built. The town’s buildings, the old and the not so old, make up the historic townscape of Falmouth. These shared characteristics weave the varied building styles into a distinctive pattern of early Jamaican architecture, and a critical mass of each variety makes the town an unusually distinctive place.
Within the Falmouth Historic District lies the largest intact collection of Georgian buildings – unparalleled in the entire Caribbean. There survive many small houses known for their unique gingerbread fretwork and jalousie windows, major merchant and planter complexes, and commercial buildings, all dating from 1769 to 1840.
Market Street is lined with the largest coherent group of colonnaded commercial 
buildings in Jamaica. This contrasts dramatically with Falmouth’s residential areas, where rich and poor lived close to one another in a common pre-industrial manner. As a result, there are small wooden houses and brick Georgian mansions scattered throughout what is now officially designated as the Falmouth Historic District.
Today, a visit to Falmouth is like a walk through history: every house, every corner, and every street is filled with stories of Jamaica’s rich history.
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