We chose this itinerary specifically because one of our party had never been to New Orleans. We arrived the day before sailing and our group of 8 had dinner at the Comamnder’s Palace (highly recommended, reservations required).

There was a fairly long line to check in and board the ship, but because we are Platinum members on RCI we joined a shorter line and we were on the ship within 20 minutes of arriving at the dock.

At first glance, two days at sea before hitting any foreign ports might seem like too much time—but we found it was a great segue to “vacation mode” and we found plenty to explore on the ship. Our first port was Falmouth, Jamaica, which is a bit of a drive to the majority of the excursion sites. We chose the Dunn’s River Falls Express tour through the cruiseline, and it did not disappoint. We had a delightful tour guide who shared information about Jamaica during the approximately 60-minute drive to the Falls. The Falls are amazing—you literally walk in the water, on the rocks, holding hands with the rest of your party. The excursions clerk on the ship said “you don’t need a guide, you can do the Falls yourself,” which is technically true, but I wouldn’t even attempt it. We had a wonderful guide, Tammy (the only female guide at the Falls) who led the way and made sure we were able to safely make it to the top. Note that water shoes are an absolute necessity; I was amazed how well they work on the rocks and it is incredible that no one fell during our journey considering the amount of water you are walking through and the terrain in the falls. This is a fairly strenuous walk although our party of 60ish year olds had no problems making it to the top. On the return bus ride we stopped at a small roadside diner for jerk chicken and/or jerk pork and rum punch (optional to purchase). Read more