Yes, it really isn't that bad. I live in Tampa and really not so far from Jamaica but this, my 11th trip coming up will actually be my first ever direct flight and I am super excited about that.
We have no direct flights from Tampa so I always have to stop in Ft. Lauderdale or Miami and sometimes the layover has been more than 4 hours (I can drive from Miami to Tampa in 4 hours!) so I know all too well about layovers...just take a book to read or walk around the airport taking in the sites, its a nice airport and big too.
We are heading to Orlando in October just to ride JetBlue's direct flight...woo hoo, cant wait!