MrSchwump

My favorite spot in Barbados is the east coast heading down to Bathsheba. The scenery is spectacular. There's a great spot where you cross over the ridge between the east and west side of the island and the view will blow you away. The coastline is rugged but the little settlements are very low key and tranquil. Quite a break from the hustle bustle of Bridgetown.

Wandered around the ship a bit. We're sailing into gale force winds. It was so windy at the retreat pool that I thought my contacts were going to fly out of my eyes.

 

Last year on the Regal, we found that the Retreat pool was the windiest spot on the ship.

We stayed at the San Juan Suites on Fortaleza a couple of

years ago. Great location with lots of dining options nearby. It's about a 10 minute walk to the biggest fort area, whose name escapes me. It was about a 5 minute walk down to the cruise terminal. Very easy and it was under $200 a night.

I agree with the water taxi to Klein Bonaire suggestion. It's just a couple of minutes from the pier and then a 10 minute trip over to Klein Bonaire. I don't think there are any facilities there but it is a nice beach with calm water and good snorkeling.

I'm a bourbon fan and last year I noticed that the selection varied from one bar to the other. The bar in the piazza had the best selection. I didn't see Basil Hayden last year but my wife will be happy that they have it now. If only they could add Knob Creek!

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I thought the "drive in volcano" was over rated. The beach between the Pitons in St Lucia (Jealousie?) was beautiful. Orient Beach on St Martin is an excellent Beach.

Can't help you with fishing.

We found a cab driver that took us to the Divi Resort on Eagle Beach. They sell coupons that are redeemable for food and beverage and in exchange you can use their facilities. I think it was $20 for my wife and I, round trip by cab.

Really nice beach, very wide with soft sand and just a short ride from town.

Seems like most bars will give you their PW if you buy a beverage from them. I found a nice little cigar store/bar about a block down the main drag that had cold beer and real Cuban cigars and a good wifi signal.

We learned to avoid lower levels near the stern. Lots of engine noise and vibration especially early in the morning when coming into port. Our first cruise on the Caribbean Princess was in the Lido deck. Very convenient to pools, buffets. The only downside was a long trek up the stairs after the muster drill.

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My wife recently had knee surgery on one knee and will have surgery on the other after our cruise. Does Princess offer handicap access at Port Everglades? She can't stand for very long and a seating area while she waits would be helpful. Does such a thing exist at PE?

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I would rate Rouseau as my favorite Caribbean city. It is 100% real with little touristy affectations. They're friendly and all , but there are no fake pirate trinkets or tacky souvenir marts like you see on other islands.

There is a lot of hustle and bustle of people going about their daily business. I spent several hours just wandering around and thoroughly enjoyed it!

I would bring it if possible. I thought it was cold! I wimped out and got out of the water after about 5 minutes. My wife still gives me grief about that!

We used Carson Moore's tour company last time we were there:

http://www.iriebarbadostours.com

A nice man named Coleridge was our driver and took us everywhere we wanted to go. I don't recall the price but it was much more reasonable than the ship's tour and there were only 4 of us and we saw thing we wanted to see.

I bring a simple 6 outlet power strip. Nuthin' fancy needed.

Even if you could skate by Princess and get it on and off the ship serreptitiously, I'd be more concerned about the govt. on some of the islands and their reaction to drones. Some of them don't like tourists wearing camouflage shorts! They might be highly suspicious of a UAV!

I just Googled tugboat Beach Curaçao and found a website for it.

http://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/snorkeling-tugboat.html

I was there in 2002 and it was a great dive spot. At that time there was good snorkeling around the pier too.

It's kind of remote so getting a cab back might be dicey. There are some other cool sites close by. There's an abandoned Quarantine House on top of the hill as well as the ruins of a fort.

http://www.island-experience.com/curacao-island-tour/walking-tour-peninsula-caracasbay

Sea Aquarium or Mambo Beach is the closest to port. It's not the most scenic stretch of sand but has everything you mentioned.

If you want to drive, I think Barbados is one of the better islands. The roads are in very good condition. I thought the roads in the countryside were well marked. Bridgetown was tough to navigate but the ship is the tallest thing in town so you'll get there eventually. 😀

It's fun to drive on the wrong side of the road too! We rented a car at the cruise terminal.

We did the Spencer Ambrose Land and Sea tour. I think next time I'd take the all sea option. The waterfall isn't that spectacular. The Sulfur Springs thing was underwhelming as well. I'd opt for more time at the beach. And, getting there early would be a plus.

We rented a moke from Stoutes a few years back and it was no problem. We wanted to do a self-directed island tour and it was great. As I recall they were a little late opening up but it's their island so we waited a little while.

The moke was fun, like the Flintstone car only with an engine and a floor. One recommendation: get a good map. We could navigate in the countryside just fine. The roads are well marked and in very good shape. The streets in Bridgetown are crazy. We could see the ship but had a heck of a time getting to the ship. Don't miss Bathsheba.

There is a local company called Stoutes that has rentals at the cruise terminal and at the airport. We rented a moke from them one time for a self-directed island tour. They were easy and convenient.

Seems like most cruises we've been on have a Kids Club to keep the children entertained. Is there a counterpart out there for Seniors?

My mother-in-law is a very active 80 year old and would love to go on a cruise with us. Trouble is, she would want to do more than we would. She'd be bored to death with our routine of lolling about, eating and more lolling about.

It would be great if some cruise line had a program that would entertain and amuse older folks while their kids did their thing. Does such a thing exist?

We stayed at the Rodeway Inn that someone mentioned before. It wasn't a luxury resort but a nice, clean well maintained place. I believe they do offer parking for cruisers.

It's very close to the airport with a free shuttle from FLL to the hotel and a free shuttle to Port Everglades.

It's in what I'd consider a commercial area. Not much nearby besides office parks and marine shops and boatyards. We walked around a little in the afternoon and it seemed safe. Dull but safe, no nightclubs or bars nearby.

We used E-Z Air for our February cruise out of FLL and it was $50 per person cheaper than we could find anywhere else. Next time I'll definitely check it first.

I will report back in 4 weeks!

We were there a couple of weeks ago at the Kon-Tiki beach bar, where it looked like the OP was. There were beach vendors and I was pestered about every 45 minutes. We were there 5 hours and we had 7 beach vendors try to sell us stuff. I counted.

They were walking around but only "bothered" people who did show an interest in their wares. These hard working, enterprising folks did in no way diminish my enjoyment of the beach.