The first post of each season:

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Day 116: Barbados

Wow. What a day we had on beautiful Barbados. There simply isn't a better beach anywhere on this itinerary than Carlisle Bay Beach, within sight of the cruise ship pier. I love it when that happens!

G was the first one off the Emerald Princess when it was cleared at 7:00am. With three large (Emerald Princess, Vision of the Seas, Celebrity Eclipse) and three small cruise ships in Barbados today, he knew his best chance to get on the free wifi in the cruise terminal was to be there early. He was able to check the webcams back home, and reassure himself that all was well. When he returned to the ship, we went to the buffet for a quick breakfast, and then returned to the cabin to pack for the beach.

What can I say about a day at Lobster Alive that I haven't already said this winter? It wasn't the prettiest day- there was sun, but several clouds too- but by getting there early, we were able to get a front row umbrella and loungers. I wasted no time getting in the water, and spent the day alternately swimming and sunning and drinking THREE rum punches. Whew! They certainly pack a punch, but by starting early, at 10:00am (I opened the bar), spacing them out and eating Fruit Loops throughout the day, I was fine to return to the ship. And if I thought I had been hard drinking today, Bridget next to us drank four rum punches and followed them up with a Banks beer chaser. But I didn't see her the rest of the evening. Wonder why??

We all rode back to the ship together just before 3:00pm, and once on board, G and I both had a lie down. What is it about a day on the beach, even a relaxing day on the beach, that leaves one so tired and so hungry?

We went down to Deck 5 really early, and were surprised to see the doors in the Michelangelo Dining Room open at 5:15pm, so that's when we went in. By 6:45pm, we were already done with dinner, and walked around the ship listening to music until the 7:30pm Captains Circle party for Platinum and Elite members. I could not endure another alcoholic beverage, and so just had a fuzzy water. Captain Nick Nash, it turns out, is quite funny and made it a most enjoyable party.

Afterwards, we decided to skip comedian's Al Katz's show in the Princess Theater (we'd already seen it this winter) and instead sat through part of a music trivia in the Explorers Lounge until I decided that all the powder-fine sand I had had in my contacts all day had caught up with me. Fuzzy water, blog and bed. It had been a typically wonderful Barbados day.

Photo 1: paddle boarding class on Carlisle Bay Beach

Photo 2: our home for the day

Photo 3: Royal Clipper, the sailing yacht that give G a headache just to look at

Photo 4: another sailing ship, Windstar's Wind Spirit, was also in port

Photo 5: Captain Nick Nash entertaining the passengers at the Captains Circle party, with Captains Circle host Tracy de Boom