Falmouth (Jamaica)

Falmouth, Jamaica is the purpose-built cruise port that Royal Caribbean constructed to handle Oasis-class ships. The port village is a neat, controlled environment with shops and restaurants — but step outside the gates and you're in a small Jamaican town that tourism hasn't quite figured out how to package.

The excursion options are the real draw: Dunn's River Falls, the Blue Hole, Martha Brae bamboo rafting, and the Luminous Lagoon (bioluminescent water that glows when you swim in it — genuinely magical). The town of Falmouth itself has beautiful Georgian architecture that's slowly being restored.

The tea: Falmouth exists because cruise ships needed a deeper harbor in Jamaica, and the result is an awkward tension between the polished cruise port and the authentic but struggling town around it. The excursions are excellent, but the port itself is a missed opportunity for cultural exchange.