Disney Extends Falmouth Cruise Pause Into December

Published on Nov 13, 2025, 4:58 pm CST

7 min read

Key points

Disney Treasure will skip Falmouth, Jamaica, on December 3, 2025, replacing the call with an extra sea day and Disney Lookout Cay in the Bahamas
The change extends a Falmouth cruise port pause that has already disrupted at least one earlier Disney Treasure sailing after Hurricane Melissa
Jamaica's cruise restart is uneven, with Ocho Rios handling limited calls while Falmouth stays offline and Montego Bay remains constrained
Royal Caribbean and Carnival itineraries are still swapping some Jamaica calls to Cabo Rojo, Amber Cove, and other Western Caribbean ports
The U.S. State Department keeps Jamaica at Level 3, so cruisers should balance revised itineraries against ongoing risk and recovery conditions
Guests booked through mid December need to verify ports, shore plans, and how lost calls affect port taxes, credits, and independent excursions

Impact

Verify Itinerary And Ports: Log in to your cruise line app or booking portal and confirm whether Falmouth or Montego Bay has been swapped for another port or a sea day
Watch For Country Swaps: If your replacement stop is Cabo Rojo, Amber Cove, or another non Jamaica port, double check passport and entry rules for every country on the route
Recheck Shore Excursions: If you booked independent tours in Falmouth or Montego Bay, contact operators now about refunds, rebooking, or alternative pickup points
Confirm Taxes And Credits: Review your invoice to see how port fees and shore excursion refunds are handled when Jamaica calls disappear or move to a different country
Buffer Pre And Post Stays: If you still plan hotel nights in Jamaica, add extra transfer time and follow local airport and hotel recovery guidance before locking in flights
Assess Risk Comfort: Read the Level 3 advisory details for Jamaica and decide whether to keep a Jamaica heavy sailing, move dates, or shift to a different Western Caribbean loop

Disney Cruise Line has confirmed that Disney Treasure will no longer call at the Falmouth cruise port in Jamaica on December 3, 2025, extending a post Melissa pause that has already affected at least one earlier voyage. The Western Caribbean itinerary will instead add a day at sea and a visit to Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in the Bahamas, which gives guests more private island time but removes Jamaica from the route for anyone who relied on Falmouth as their only call on the island.

Cruise Hive reporting and passenger communications show that this is now at least the second Disney Treasure sailing to lose Falmouth since Hurricane Melissa, with prior calls replaced by Lookout Cay and sea days as damage assessments and recovery work continue along Jamaica's north coast. The pattern matches earlier emergency itinerary changes by Royal Caribbean and Carnival, which have been swapping Jamaica calls to alternative ports for several weeks.

For booked guests, the headline is simple. Disney is not treating early December as a firm restart date for Falmouth, so anyone counting on that pier should assume the call can still disappear and plan their shore days and documentation around a Western Caribbean loop that may or may not include Jamaica at all.

Jamaica cruise restart is still patchy by port

Jamaica's cruise recovery after Hurricane Melissa remains uneven, which is why Disney can restart some regional calls while keeping the Falmouth pause in place. Ocho Rios has already welcomed its first ships back, starting with Holland America Line's Zuiderdam and MSC Divina, and Carnival has announced additional limited calls that route ships away from still constrained Montego Bay.

By contrast, Falmouth has not yet resumed regular cruise operations, and Montego Bay remains on the sidelines or on reduced schedules on many line deployments, a status Adept Traveler has tracked in Jamaica Cruise Calls Rerouting, Limited Returns Begin and Jamaica Cruise Calls Return, Montego Bay Still Shut. Port authorities and tourism officials describe a phased restart that aims to expand through mid December, but every pier is moving at a different pace based on damage to terminals, transport links, and vendor capacity.

The net effect is a patchwork map. Ocho Rios is handling constrained flows with single pier operations and tight gangway windows, Falmouth is still offline for normal cruise calls, and Montego Bay is open for flights but not yet a reliable cruise stop on many itineraries. Lines are prioritizing safety, access, and basic excursion infrastructure before they bring full passenger volumes back to every north coast port.

How port swaps change your shore day and paperwork

When Falmouth drops out of a Western Caribbean cruise, lines reach for a familiar set of substitutes. Royal Caribbean and others have been leaning on Cabo Rojo and Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, along with Cozumel and Roatan, to keep schedules intact while Jamaican piers recover. Disney's choice to add Lookout Cay and an extra sea day follows the same logic, trading a still recovering Falmouth cruise port for a controlled private destination and a low risk sea day that the line fully controls.

Those swaps matter because they reshape your day ashore and your documentation needs. Private islands like Lookout Cay and some Dominican Republic ports are straightforward for most U.S. and Canadian guests on closed loop sailings, but you still need a passport book or at least passport level documentation if anything goes wrong and you must fly home from a foreign country instead of sailing back. If your itinerary now includes additional non Jamaica ports, check every country's entry rules, even if the line does not collect passports at check in.

Port changes also ripple through shore excursions. Ship run tours in Falmouth or Montego Bay are typically auto refunded when a call is canceled or moved, but independent operators often need direct contact to process refunds, rebook for a future trip, or transfer you to an alternative tour in Ocho Rios or a substitute port. If you planned a big ticket Jamaica excursion, such as a combo of Dunn's River Falls and a river raft, contact your provider now and do not wait for a last minute cancellation email.

Finally, check the fine print on port taxes and fees. Some lines adjust these automatically when a port is dropped, others roll the difference into onboard credit, and a few tie compensation to how much advance notice they give you. Your invoice and the line's hurricane or weather policy will spell out what you can expect if Jamaica calls disappear or are replaced with a different country.

Level 3 advisory still applies, even as recovery improves

The United States State Department keeps Jamaica at Level 3, Reconsider Travel, after raising the advisory in late October in the immediate wake of Hurricane Melissa. The November 3 update did not change the overall risk level, but it refreshed language around embassy operations and storm damage, and it continues to flag crime, health services, and natural disaster risks as key concerns for visitors.

That does not mean you must cancel every Jamaica cruise. It does mean you should read the full advisory, pay attention to which regions are most affected, and check how your travel insurance treats Level 3 destinations. If you decide to keep a sailing that includes Ocho Rios or future Falmouth calls once they resume, plan conservative buffer time around transfers, use line run tours where possible, and follow local guidance in ports where infrastructure is still catching up.

Should you keep or move a Jamaica heavy itinerary

If Falmouth was your only Jamaica call and it is now gone, you have a straightforward decision. If your priority was pure ship time and sunshine, the shift to Lookout Cay and an extra sea day may be a net positive, and you can treat the itinerary as a Bahamas forward Western Caribbean loop with fewer moving parts during recovery.

If you booked this sailing because you wanted a Falmouth cruise port day in Jamaica, the calculus is different. Ask whether your line will let you move dates, reprice into a later sailing that is more likely to include Jamaica, or switch to an itinerary that calls at Ocho Rios once operations stabilize. Keep an eye on Jamaica Cruise Calls Rerouting, Limited Returns Begin, Jamaica Cruise Calls Return, Montego Bay Still Shut, and Jamaica Tourism Reopens After Hurricane Melissa for ongoing context on when each port is actually ready for regular cruise volumes.

Through mid December, the safest planning assumption is that Jamaica related itineraries will stay fluid. Treat any Falmouth or Montego Bay call as provisional until you see fresh confirmation from your line close to departure, avoid locking in nonrefundable independent tours or nonflexible hotel nights tied to a specific port, and build extra time into your embark and disembark travel plans in case recovery or weather forces more last minute adjustments.

Final thoughts

Disney Treasure's extended pause at Falmouth shows that the island's cruise recovery is moving in stages, not with a single switch. Ocho Rios is handling early returns, Falmouth and Montego Bay remain constrained, and Western Caribbean itineraries are still leaning on substitute ports and private islands to keep ships sailing while Jamaica rebuilds.

If you are booked on Disney or any other line that still advertises a Jamaica stop, anchor your decisions in three checks. Confirm your latest port list, understand how compensation works when calls move, and read the Level 3 advisory before you decide whether to keep, shift, or avoid Jamaica heavy itineraries for the rest of 2025. That approach lets you support the destination's recovery when it makes sense, while protecting your own time and money if the Falmouth cruise port and other north coast piers need a little longer to come back.