CRUISE 2013 - DAYS 3 & 4 - AT SEA & BARBADOS

 Our previous day was the only sea day on the cruise.  We just spent the day relaxing, reading and chatting with some fellow passengers we met.  I had a migraine hit later in the day so I spent the evening in bed, drugged up with a bag of ice on my head.  Fortunately, it didn't hit with full force and was gone when I woke up the next morning.

We started our day with a good breakfast at the buffet and got off the ship around 9:45am.  Depending on where your ship is berthed, you may have to take a bus to get to the cruise terminal but we were the only ship in port that day and we docked within walking distance of the terminal.  We made our way through the terminal on a rather round-a-bout route since they make sure you have to walk by each and every store before you can get to the exit.
 

As usual, the cab/taxi area was crazy!  Everyone is yelling at you….and at each other.  You have to stand up for yourself or they herd you around like you are livestock!!  We usually walk to the bus terminal and take a bus up the west coast as we really enjoy the beaches along that coast however, neither of us was able to sit for very long so we decided to take a short cab ride to Harbour Lights, a beach bar/restaurant located on Carlisle Bay about 5 minutes from the pier.  We got in the cab and proceeded to wait over 10 minutes while the cabbie tried to find other people to pack into the van.  Our fellow passengers were getting quite vocal and hollering at him to hurry up as he was wasting good beach time.  They might as well have saved their breath as he paid little attention.  Finally we were on our way to the beach.  All of the other passengers got off at the Shipyard, a very popular beach club and we went about another half mile down the road to reach Harbour Lights.
 

We got dropped off in the parking lot and walked through the building and out the back onto the patio that led to the beach.  There were all sorts of vendor tables set up selling jewelry, beach wear, hats, etc. but we just kept walking to the beach.  Before we even got there, an attendant asked if we wanted chairs and an umbrella and we paid him $15 dollars for two wrist bands that would give us run of the facilities and lounge chairs for the day.

We found a couple of chairs and an umbrella down the beach away from the more crowded area and parked our bags.  The beach is absolutely beautiful!  A long crescent of very white sand and the water is the Caribbean blue that a picture just cannot capture, no matter how hard you may try.  We spent a few hours relaxing, walking the beach and swimming…well, more floating.  The water was warm and clear but the waves were quite rough so we stayed out beyond the break area of the waves. 

There are a lot of beach vendors walking the beach and you can start to feel pestered after a while.  On the good side, they will leave you alone with a simple “No, thanks”.   If you are interested in snorkeling with the sea turtles, there are tons of boats that will take you a few hundred yards off shore to a shipwreck where all of the ship’s excursions go to snorkel.  They were charging $20 a person when we were there and that is a half decent price.  If you are a strong swimmer, you could actually swim out to the spot.  Just look for the crowd of people and boats/catamarans and head in that direction.

Relaxed and a little crispy, we made our way back to the bar area and asked if they had internet.  They had wireless but we hadn’t brought our tablet with us so the owner offered to let us use his office computer to check our email.  Very accommodating staff!

A cabbie was waiting for us to take us back to the ship.  We grabbed some lunch and I decided it was a good time to do a load of laundry.  It is always nice when there is a passenger laundry on the ship as you don’t have to pack quite so much.  One load mid-week gets us through the cruise!

We finally met our tablemates at supper…an older couple from Pennsylvania that we enjoyed getting to know throughout the rest of the week.  We hit the comedy/juggling show and then bedtime.  Another beautiful island stop!

Cruise 2011 - Day 4 - BARBADOS, LESSER ANTILLES

Port of Bridgetown, Barbados

Well, the ‘slacker’ vibe started hitting me on Day 4. I didn’t get out of bed until almost 8am. I picked up some tea but no reading or yoga. I was in a foggy stupor and just sat on the bench beside the jogging track and watched Rebecca go around…and around…and around. At least someone was energetic!!

It took awhile for the ship to clear as Barbados is also an embarkation/debarkation point for this cruise and all of the passengers who were leaving the ship that day had to debark. The ship was not cleared until the last debarking passengers went through customs. They kept paging one particular guy and we figured that we should get a group together and hunt him down so we could all get on with our day : - )

Since there were five ships in port that day, our ship was located quite a distance down the pier from the terminal. We got off the ship around 10am and caught a free shuttle bus to the terminal building as we weren’t up for the rather long walk – probably 15 minutes?? Once there, we walked through the shops and out of the port area. The local bus station is located about a 7-8 minute walk down the road on the left hand side. We paid for tokens at the wicket ($1US each way) and waited for the Speightstown bus that would take us up the west coast to Mullin’s Beach. A short five minute wait and we were on the bus and on our way out of Bridgetown. We met a British couple on the bus who had been married for 54 years and had a great chat with them about their home city of London. They were definitely adventurous travelers who liked to do things that got them out with the local people and culture. We asked a couple of locals to let us know when we were getting near Mullin’s Beach and they rang the bell for us to stop the bus. The bus ride out was through heavy morning traffic and it took almost an hour.

Mullin’s Beach is one of the more popular beaches on the island. Mullin’s has a restaurant, beach bar, loungers/umbrella rentals, jet-ski rentals, banana boat rides and just about everything else you might want to do on the water. We had been there a couple of times before but it has definitely grown over the years. We used their facilities but our goal was the next beach down the coast – Gibbes Beach. On our way to Gibbes, we hit the mother-lode of beach glass. For those who know me, you know that I am a ‘rabid’ beach glass collector. No matter where I go, I am on the lookout and, man, did I hit the jackpot on this beach. There was so much green beach glass that I stopped even picking up white or brown glass and ignored really small greens, which I would never do at home. In the end, I think I collected about five pounds of green beach glass and I could have kept going. I knew our luggage was well under weight so I had room to haul the glass back home.

Mullin's Restaurant

Mullin's Beach

A five minute walk down the coast took us to Gibbes Beach which is pretty-much deserted as there are no beach bar or touristy offerings. I think there may have been, at most, ten other people while we were there….and, no, we did not feel unsafe in any way. Some beaches may be located quite far from ‘civilization’ and it isn’t a good idea to be out somewhere by yourself however Gibbes is right beside a posh resort and in an area with pricey vacation rentals so you aren’t isolated in that way!


Gibbes Beach

 

There were lots of shade trees along the beach so we found a nice, shady spot and made camp for our visit. I don’t think we waited a couple of minutes before we headed into the water. The water on Barbados is one of my favorite things. It is your picture-perfect Caribbean crystal clear turquoise water with white (or even light pink) sand beaches…no matter which beach you go to. We have been to several beaches on the island and you really can’t go wrong, no matter which you choose. I have to say that we will definitely return to Gibbes as it was so quiet and peaceful and the facilities at Mullin’s were just a short walk away if we needed anything. We spent a few hours swimming, hunting for beach glass and feeding the birds on the beach. It was quite a let down to have to head back out to the main road and catch the bus into Bridgetown. The return bus trip took a little over a half an hour as we headed back before schools let out and traffic increased.

A bit of info for you if you are ever on Barbados and decide to take the bus. There are two types of buses: blue buses with yellow stripes (gov’t owned) and yellow buses with blue stripes (privately owned). The yellow buses can be…um…adventurous!! Let’s just say that they drive very fast, stop very fast and you can see passengers sometimes hop on or off the bus while it is still moving. We have used the yellow buses a couple of times without incident but, if I had kids with me, I would probably stick with the blue buses : - ) Both blue and yellow buses will stop at the bus stops. If you want to wait for another bus, just wave them on and get on the next one as there are buses coming by every few minutes.  We took a yellow bus and it was aptly named "Full Turbulance".  Each time the bus came to a stop, the door slammed open...and that was when the guy who took the money/tokens wasn't standing in the open door.

We exited the bus at the bus terminal and walked back to the port area and were back on the ship around 3pm, just in time for a shower and a nap. Supper was French Onion Soup, Proscuitto & Melon with Parmesan Crisps and Farm-raised Chicken with mushrooms, olives and tomatoes. Dessert was a Fig, Date and Cinnamon Cake with Rum Raisin Ice Cream. Tip – you can have as many appetizers, entrées or desserts as you want. I once had an entire supper made up of appetizers because they all looked so delicious! 

Proscuitto & Melon with Parmesan Crisps

After, we went to check out karaoke, then the juggler show, then a bit of relaxation in the Serenity Club area and on to bed!  Yet another stellar stop on our cruising adventure!  If you want to find out more, you can check out my detailed Barbados blog posting for a summary of beaches, excursions, etc under 2010 posts.

Barbados

Barbados is an incredibly picturesque and prosperous island, in comparison to other Caribbean islands. The beaches are all incredibly beautiful with white/pink sand and gorgeous turquoise water. The snorkeling is great in several areas.

It doesn't seem like the vendors outside of the cruise terminal are willing to haggle over the price of souvenirs.  Once you are away from the city, you may have better luck but we usually don't buy any souvenirs on this island.  Educate yourself, in advance, on the prices of taxis, tours, etc. as you can be taken advantage of quite easily.

If you are paying cash for souvenirs or food on this island, be aware  that most prices are quoted in BD$ (Barbados Dollars)- $2BD = $1 US. Everyone will accept American money, but will usually give you change in BD$ so try to pay exact change or close to it. Just ask if the price shown is US or BD currency.

Locals on the discussion boards encourage you to not get a cab inside the cruise line terminal area. We usually walk out past the terminal entrance, through the guard gates and either deal with the taxis outside the gates or head to the local bus terminal down the road. Sometimes cab drivers have ‘deals’ with some of the beach bars and get a kickback if they take tourists there so they will try to convince you that the beach you want to go to isn’t clean or the waves are too big…know where you want to go and be firm! Don’t be shocked by cab fares…they are very pricey on this island. We usually travel by bus.

If you want a tour of the island, it is best to make arrangements for a tour before you arrive...then there are no surprises to deal with.

INTERNET CAFÉ – you can buy internet access time at the booth just inside the cruise terminal.  Last time we were there in March 2010, it was the first kiosk located in the center of the terminal.

BEACHES
Barbados has some of the most beautiful beaches of any of the Caribbean islands.  There are simply way too many gorgeous beaches to mention them all.  Every beach we have ever been to has been gorgeous white or pink sand with crystalline blue waters. The entire west coast is a stretch of beaches...one after the other.  I have pasted a thread below from a discussion board that has compiled all sorts of information on Barbados that you can browse through at your leisure.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1071747

I will mention a couple beaches that we have personally been to:


ACCRA BEACH – this is on the south coast (pictured at right). It is a gorgeous light pink sand beach with gorgeous water and (usually) not high surf. We caught a local bus there for $0.75 and caught a cab back. It is at least a half hour ride.

MULLINS BAY BEACH – we have been to this beach twice. It is on the west coast, where most of the best swimming/snorkeling beaches are found. Once we took a cab and another time we took the bus. Also about a half hour ride.

ATTRACTIONS

HARRISON’S CAVES – these are underground caves located in the center of the island. It is a 30 minute cab ride ($23 US for up to 4) and a $20pp entrance charge for approximately an hour’s tour down into the caves. You can also take a local bus there for about $0.75. Open Wednesday to Sunday.


FOLKSTONE UNDERWATER PARK – this is a protected snorkeling area with lots of fish and coral to see. It is on the west coast in Holetown and is easily reached by cab or local bus. It does not have a wide beach area so it isn’t a spot you would go to spend the whole day sunning. You can reach wider beaches by walking up or down the coast as most of the popular beaches are located along this west coast stretch.

PAYNE’S BAY BEACH – this is the beach that you can go to if you want to swim/snorkel with sea turtles. The area where the turtles are is a few hundred metres off shore and you can take a glass-bottomed boat for around $15pp out to the area. It can be quite crowded when the ship’s tours are in the area. We stopped at the ‘turtle spot’ last year on our catamaran tour! Saw two or three sea turtles…a great experience! If I recall correctly, there are also other boats at the Underwater Park that come looking for tourists who want to go out.

TOURS

SHASA CATAMARAN – http://www.shasacatamarancruises.com/ - catamaran tours are usually very pricey but we found a relatively reasonably priced one and splurged in 2009. This is a small outfit run by Jason and his wife, Tess. We paid $80pp and there were only 8 of us on the catamaran. The larger catamarans from the ship’s excursion had up to 60 people on them. Jason was a fantastic guide and stopped at a couple of different snorkel sites (turtles, underwater shipwreck) and they also provide a delicious catered lunch which you eat while anchored in a gorgeous turquoise bay. Well worth the money if you want to do it! You should make your reservation in advance and Tess will pick you up at the terminal and drop you back there at the end.

LAND TOUR WITH CAMERON REID
http://www.scenicbarbados.com/
I have read very good recommendations about this gentleman on the discussion boards. He is very friendly and knowledgeable about the island. You can contact him at ‘camireid@yahoo.com’ to arrange for a private tour. It looks like he charges $135 for a 3-4 hour tour (for up to 4 people) which works out to about $33.75pp and $34 per hour after that. He takes you to all sorts of attractions and scenic spots on the island and can also take you to Harrison’s Caves (although you still need to pay the entrance fee).

The problem with this island is that you will have a hard time deciding between all of the appealing options!