Barbados Rum and Brewery tour

[tatertot4]

We took the Adventure of the Seas cruise last week and our first stop was Barbados. We signed up for an excursion to the Mt Gay factory and Banks beer brewery along with a brief stop at a beach bar. There were about 24 of us on this tour in an airconditioned van. We first went to the Mt Gay factory and got a tour of the placed, history lesson and rum tasting session. They were very generous with the rums at the tasting session and I think we tasted 3-4 different rums. After Mt Gay we went thru town to the Banks Brewery where we had a tour and history lesson. Then we went to the gift shop area and little bar where there was unlimited beer and soda tasting. By the time we left here most people were really having a good time so we ventured to a beach bar for more fun. This was about a 1/2 hr stop with time to walk around the beach and bar area. I would recommend this tour for those who want something other than lying on the beach.

[Stockjock]

We took the Adventure of the Seas cruise last week and our first stop was Barbados. We signed up for an excursion to the Mt Gay factory and Banks beer brewery along with a brief stop at a beach bar. There were about 24 of us on this tour in an airconditioned van. We first went to the Mt Gay factory and got a tour of the placed, history lesson and rum tasting session. They were very generous with the rums at the tasting session and I think we tasted 3-4 different rums. After Mt Gay we went thru town to the Banks Brewery where we had a tour and history lesson. Then we went to the gift shop area and little bar where there was unlimited beer and soda tasting. By the time we left here most people were really having a good time so we ventured to a beach bar for more fun. This was about a 1/2 hr stop with time to walk around the beach and bar area. I would recommend this tour for those who want something other than lying on the beach.

 

I have some credit and considered doing this tour with RCCL. My only concern is that it didn't seem all that long. The ship's tours seem to be much shorter than the private tours. Also, it didn't seems as if one would see much of the island with this tour.

 

Your thoughts?

[tatertot4]

no, it wasn't that long, about 3 hrs. We didn't see much of the city other than driving between the rum factory and brewery. This is more of a fun, 'pub' crawl type tour since there was plenty of free rum punch, rum samples and unlimited beer. If you are looking for more of a tour of the city this is not the tour for you. I do recommend it tho for a fun time!

[lovemylab]

We're considering doing this tour. Do you recall the name of the beach you went to?

[tatertot4]

We're considering doing this tour. Do you recall the name of the beach you went to?

 

Sorry, I don't recall the beach but we entered thru a bar that looked tiny from the street but was really nice once inside. Our driver wouldn't let us go into the ocean because we all had been drinking and he didn't want us to drown! We giggled at that and planted ourselves at a table for more Banks beer! I walked out to the beach for some pictures.

[Hammer1211]

Sorry, I don't recall the beach but we entered thru a bar that looked tiny from the street but was really nice once inside. Our driver wouldn't let us go into the ocean because we all had been drinking and he didn't want us to drown! We giggled at that and planted ourselves at a table for more Banks beer! I walked out to the beach for some pictures.

 

 

My wife and I were thinking of doing something like this but kind of winging it, distance wise are those places in walking distance from the port? I do love me some Mt. gay

[mjcooks201]

this sounds awesome:p..was it through your ship? if so, which line. Or did you do a private tour? I actually contacted Mt. Gay for the lunch tour, but they only offer it on Tues. and Thurs. and our ship, the Millenium is in port on a Sat. so it is a limited rum tour, no lunch.

[VeronicaL]

My wife and I were thinking of doing something like this but kind of winging it, distance wise are those places in walking distance from the port? I do love me some Mt. gay

I'm curious about the proximity to the port, too. My husband and I are thinking about doing the same thing . . . maybe with a beach trip afterward.

[coffeyk]

I'm curious about the proximity to the port, too. My husband and I are thinking about doing the same thing . . . maybe with a beach trip afterward.

 

Mt Gay is not much more than a mile from port. We took a taxi there for maybe $4pp and walked back. It was not far but I would not recommend walking. There were not always sidewalks and it was not a straight shot. Not to mention 4pp is nothing. You can easily do Mt Gay on your own.

[brino99]

Sorry, I don't recall the beach but we entered thru a bar that looked tiny from the street but was really nice once inside. Our driver wouldn't let us go into the ocean because we all had been drinking and he didn't want us to drown! We giggled at that and planted ourselves at a table for more Banks beer! I walked out to the beach for some pictures.

 

You still out there tatertot? Wondering how far it is from the Mt. Gay facility to Banks Beer.

[Ms Belvedere]

You still out there tatertot? Wondering how far it is from the Mt. Gay facility to Banks Beer.

 

According to Google Maps it's 3.6 miles (10 mins) by vehicle from Mt Gay Rum Distillary to Banks Barbados Brewery. From Banks Brewery to Rockley Beach it's 3.9 miles (7 mins).

 

Coffeyk said: Mt Gay is not much more than a mile from port. We took a taxi there for maybe $4pp and walked back. It was not far but I would not recommend walking. There were not always sidewalks and it was not a straight shot. Not to mention 4pp is nothing. You can easily do Mt Gay on your own."

 

This would be a nice little tour close to the pier if you don't feel like venturing too far from the ship.

[Stockjock]

Now that I'm back from Barbados, I can provide a bit of color. I ended up doing a tour from Scenic Barbados Tours Edwin Lovell for $30 per person. A gentleman named Carlton Forde drove us all around the island for the entire day. The tour was quite flexible and I asked for a visit to the Mt. Gay distillery and he delivered.

 

While I'm not sorry I visited Mount Gay, the truth is that the tour was somewhat boring. They have a gift shop which isn't cheap, but there are a lot of nice shirts and bags which are kind of pricey and rum that's more reasonably priced. Then, I took the tour and I think it was $7 per person. Much of the tour was watching a video and it wasn't too exciting. Then we tasted the rum, but most of what we tasted wasn't designed for drinking straight as it was too harsh. Next, we saw the bottling process from an observation deck, which was mildly interesting and finally we ended up at a bar behind the gift shop, which was ok.

 

Again, I don't regret visiting, but if I had to do it over, I'd probably skip the tour and maybe just buy a shirt and/or grab a drink in the bar to the immediate rear of the gift shop. The tour kills a lot of time and I didn't really get so much out of it. I didn't visit Banks Brewery, so I can't comment on that. However, we did visit a super nice and free beach. I bought some very cheap Banks Beer across the street and had a great time.

 

Now that I've been there, I'd recommend a comprehensive tour with beach time over the brewery thing, which seems to be quite limiting. I do recommend Scenic Barbados Tours. It turned out to be much longer and more flexible than advertised.

[Ms Belvedere]

Now that I'm back from Barbados, I can provide a bit of color. I ended up doing a tour from Scenic Barbados Tours Edwin Lovell for $30 per person. A gentleman named Carlton Forde drove us all around the island for the entire day. The tour was quite flexible and I asked for a visit to the Mt. Gay distillery and he delivered.

While I'm not sorry I visited Mount Gay, the truth is that the tour was somewhat boring. However, we did visit a super nice and free beach. I bought some very cheap Banks Beer across the street and had a great time. Now that I've been there, I'd recommend a comprehensive tour with beach time over the brewery thing, I do recommend Scenic Barbados Tours. It turned out to be much longer and more flexible than advertised.

 

Thank you for your current review and update. I'd love to skip the tour of Mt Gay, it's exactly the same as the one we took 10 years ago. Maybe I can convince DH that's it's not worth the time. Do you remember the name of the beach, maybe it was Rockley?

[Stockjock]

Thank you for your current review and update. I'd love to skip the tour of Mt Gay, it's exactly the same as the one we took 10 years ago. Maybe I can convince DH that's it's not worth the time. Do you remember the name of the beach, maybe it was Rockley?

 

It was Carlistle Bay Beach, I believe. Not saying there aren't more exotic beaches, but it worked for us.

 

With respect to Mt. Gay, it's not that far from the port, so if he really did want to stop, it's probably ok just to say that you went and maybe hit up the gift shop or even grab a drink or two at the bar which is just to the rear of the gift shop. But the Mt. Gay tour takes up more time than you'd like and I'd skip that.

 

Here's how the tour goes...

 

1. You stand around for awhile in a room showing a bunch of Mt. Gay's ads and awards while the tour guide talks about Mt. Gay.

 

2. You walk into a different room, where they show you a mediocre video on a projection screen for about 10 minutes.

 

3. Next, you go into the tasting room where they give you tastings of 3 varieties of their rum straight. Unfortunately, it's too strong to be sipping rum, so everyone pretends like it's great, but it's not because it's just too harsh to drink straight. You can buy a taste of the Extra Old, but I didn't.

 

4. Then, you go to a platform above the bottling room and watch the bottling process.

 

5. Finally you visit that bar I mentioned where you can have a few very small samples of blended drinks and also purchase cocktails if you like.

 

I just thought that the tour took up too much of my time relative to what I got out of it. But if he's really wanting to visit, maybe just drop by, get a t-shirt (or whatever), and then you can buy a drink from the somewhat crabby bartender behind the bar. That way, he can at least say he visited and get it out of his system.