Celebrity Excursion: Barbados Beach Break

[BananaMama66]

DH and I are considering this excursion for our upcoming Equinox cruise. Can anyone who has taken this excursion please tell me:

What beach are you taken to?

Did you enjoy it/feel it was worth it?

Were you bothered by vendors while on the beach?

 

Thanks very much in advance for any information!

Cheers,

BananaMama

[NJEMT65]

My group and I did this Excursion through NCL on 1/27/13. We were taken to a decent beach (Clean, calm water). The beach was at Carlisle Bay. Were were transported via van, and dropped off. The entrance point that was used appeared to be an old house, converted to a beach bar. It was very run down, and seemed to only open up during the day when the ship excursions are arriving. They give you your free drink and direct you to the beach. At the beach, I was greeted by a gentlemen offering me "Great Green" and "White Snow." (That would be marijuana and/or cocaine, to make my excursion better) We found some chairs and an umbrella no problem, and planted ourselves around our bucket of beer.

 

They have changing rooms and showers that appeared semi-clean. I'd wear water shoes!

 

One point of note: the bathrooms are inside this "house/bar" and located upstairs. So if anyone from your party has trouble with stairs, they will be peeing in the ocean!

[bee-ess]

If it is Carlisle Bay then that is only 20-30 mins walk from the ship - we have walked it before. So I would save the money and walk or spend the money in a taxi to a different beach.

Edited February 14, 2013 by bee-ess

[aimodels]

Check out this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1774794

 

I think the Celebrity excursion is Rockley Beach.

 

Rockley (one of my favourite beaches) is about 2-3 miles south of Carlisle Bay. There is a beach bar with washrooms - used to be called Bar Kanei, then the Sideshore Bistro. Not sure what it's called now.

 

Not a lot of vendors on the beach, but there are some booths located near the north end of the beach towards Accra.

 

There is also a man-made reef about 150 yards out from the bar. We would always see turtles there in the morning...

 

I have a bunch of Rockley photos here:

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.472934985680.246435.567405680&type=3&l=7a121683da

 

Cheers, P:)

[BananaMama66]

Thanks everyone for your replies! DH and I have booked this excursion and are really looking forward to it.

 

Cheers,

BananaMama

[Casanova02]

Thanks everyone for your replies! DH and I have booked this excursion and are really looking forward to it.

 

Cheers,

BananaMama

 

 

My I know if you did take that excursion and if so, which beach it was and how was it ?

 

Thanks

[Casanova02]

Hi

 

In case BananaMama66 doesn't get the message, i look at Celebrity Excursion for Barbados and found that one

 

Barbados Beach Break (BBA5)

 

Sit back and relax at one of the gorgeous Barbados beaches. Known for its cool, refreshing and crystal clear water, the Tiki Bar offers a great way to relax and unwind on the comfort of a beach chair and umbrella. Facilities are available for changing and showering and a snack bar is on hand to take care of your appetite.

 

 

Just want to be sure, for those who know about that excursion, is it the Tiki Bar at Roackley beach ???

 

I'm askin because of the pictures shows by Celebrity (website) doesn't look like the Tiki Bar

 

Thanks

Edited December 5, 2013 by Casanova02

[Aplmac]

My group and I did this Excursion through NCL on 1/27/13. We were taken to a decent beach (Clean, calm water).

The beach was at Carlisle Bay.

We were transported via van, and dropped off.

The entrance point that was used appeared to be an old house, converted to a beach bar.

It was very run down, and seemed to only open up during the day when the ship excursions are arriving.

They give you your free drink and direct you to the beach.

At the beach, I was greeted by a gentlemen offering me "Great Green" and "White Snow."

(That would be marijuana and/or cocaine, to make my excursion better)

We found some chairs and an umbrella no problem, and planted ourselves around our bucket of beer.

 

They have changing rooms and showers that appeared semi-clean. I'd wear water shoes!

 

One point of note: the bathrooms are inside this "house/bar" and located upstairs.

So if anyone from your party has trouble with stairs, they will be peeing in the ocean!

I'm 99.876% sure this is Harbour Lights you're describing.

Spent enough time there...times both ancient and modern.. :D

 

It's a nightclub.

That's why it looks somewhat run-down during the day

as all nightclubs look, during the day! ;)

At night you don't see the grunge..

 

 

I remember visiting this house as a child of five yrs.old

when the Weatherheads lived there.

It was their home: they had a big old Macaw in a cage out back.

This was 1955, years before the wide beach developed!

The sea used to bang up against their back wall

right where you went down those steps onto the beach proper.

My goodness, how it's all changed!

.

[BananaMama66]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delayed post :o DH and I did do the Barbados Beach Break excursion offered by Celebrity in March of this year.

 

Upon arrival in Barbados, we boarded a bus which took us on a brief drive (10-15 minutes) through the city to see some of the landmarks (Parliament Buildings, George Washington House, etc.) We were then taken to the Tiki Bar which was the beach location for the excursion. I believe this is Carlyle Bay but someone more familiar with Barbados who has done this excursion may be able to confirm that for certain. Each passenger was given a ticket which served as your entry ticket and as your ticket for a free beer or rum punch. (As an FYI aside, if you don't like beer or rum punch, you could substitute bottled water or soda with your ticket but no other alcohol such as wine could be substituted). The beach was lovely - I have never seen such white, powdery sand! We enjoyed a quiet, relaxing day at the beach which was exactly what we hoped for with this excursion.

 

DH and I LOVED this excursion for several reasons: (1) We were allowed to use any lounger & umbrella anywhere on the beach (and yes, umbrellas were included at no extra charge!) Unlike other beach excursions we have taken, we were not confined to a roped-off area where the loungers are practically on top of one another and are 4 or 5 rows deep. (2) Other than one or two people offering massages when we first arrived on the beach, there were no vendors bothering us during our time on the beach (3) The food and drinks at the Tiki Bar were (we thought) reasonably priced and very good. We would not hesitate to book this excursion again if we had the opportunity.

 

If you have more specific questions, please ask and I'll do my best to answer.

 

Cheers,

 

BananaMama

[Casanova02]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delayed post :o DH and I did do the Barbados Beach Break excursion offered by Celebrity in March of this year.

 

Upon arrival in Barbados, we boarded a bus which took us on a brief drive (10-15 minutes) through the city to see some of the landmarks (Parliament Buildings, George Washington House, etc.) We were then taken to the Tiki Bar which was the beach location for the excursion. I believe this is Carlyle Bay but someone more familiar with Barbados who has done this excursion may be able to confirm that for certain. Each passenger was given a ticket which served as your entry ticket and as your ticket for a free beer or rum punch. (As an FYI aside, if you don't like beer or rum punch, you could substitute bottled water or soda with your ticket but no other alcohol such as wine could be substituted). The beach was lovely - I have never seen such white, powdery sand! We enjoyed a quiet, relaxing day at the beach which was exactly what we hoped for with this excursion.

 

DH and I LOVED this excursion for several reasons: (1) We were allowed to use any lounger & umbrella anywhere on the beach (and yes, umbrellas were included at no extra charge!) Unlike other beach excursions we have taken, we were not confined to a roped-off area where the loungers are practically on top of one another and are 4 or 5 rows deep. (2) Other than one or two people offering massages when we first arrived on the beach, there were no vendors bothering us during our time on the beach (3) The food and drinks at the Tiki Bar were (we thought) reasonably priced and very good. We would not hesitate to book this excursion again if we had the opportunity.

 

If you have more specific questions, please ask and I'll do my best to answer.

 

Cheers,

 

BananaMama

 

 

Thank you BananaMama

 

I had 2 choices for Barbados, this excursion or go to Hilton... Even if Hilton seems very nice, I think I will go with this excursion...

 

I think the beach and bay from the Tiki bar (not sure but I think it's Rockley...) seams a bit better than the one at the Hilton. Also, it less expensive...

 

My hesitation was also about the loungers and umbrella, we didn't want to be in an big area of chairs all crowded together...

 

Thanks again, we leaving in 4 days, your comment came just in time....

[BananaMama66]

Casanova02,

 

I'm so glad that I was able to reply in time!! I think you're right about this being Rockley Beach - that sounds familiar. I hope your experience with this excursion is as great as ours was. Have a wonderful cruise!!

 

BananaMama

[Aplmac]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delayed post :o DH and I did do the Barbados Beach Break excursion offered by Celebrity in March of this year.

 

Upon arrival in Barbados, we boarded a bus which took us on a brief drive (10-15 minutes) through the city to see some of the landmarks (Parliament Buildings, George Washington House, etc.) We were then taken to the Tiki Bar which was the beach location for the excursion.

I believe this is Carlyle Bay but someone more familiar with Barbados who has done this excursion may be able to confirm that for certain.

Each passenger was given a ticket which served as your entry ticket and as your ticket for a free beer or rum punch. (As an FYI aside, if you don't like beer or rum punch, you could substitute bottled water or soda with your ticket but no other alcohol such as wine could be substituted). The beach was lovely - I have never seen such white, powdery sand! We enjoyed a quiet, relaxing day at the beach which was exactly what we hoped for with this excursion.

 

DH and I LOVED this excursion for several reasons: (1) We were allowed to use any lounger & umbrella anywhere on the beach (and yes, umbrellas were included at no extra charge!) Unlike other beach excursions we have taken, we were not confined to a roped-off area where the loungers are practically on top of one another and are 4 or 5 rows deep. (2) Other than one or two people offering massages when we first arrived on the beach, there were no vendors bothering us during our time on the beach (3) The food and drinks at the Tiki Bar were (we thought) reasonably priced and very good. We would not hesitate to book this excursion again if we had the opportunity.

Tiki Bar is at the Eastern end of Rockley Beach -that's where you were.

 

If the scenery looked like this...

 

 

 

 

...then you were definitely at Rockley Beach! ;)

 

.

[BananaMama66]

Happy New Year everyone!

 

Casanova02: how was your cruise and did you enjoy the beach excursion in Barbados?

 

Cheers,

BananaMama66

[Casanova02]

Happy New Year everyone!

 

Casanova02: how was your cruise and did you enjoy the beach excursion in Barbados?

 

Cheers,

BananaMama66

 

Hi

 

We had a wonderful cruise.... no... I should a SUPER WONDERFUL cruise....

 

as for Barbados, we took a tour from Celebrity, the Barbados Beach Brealk which take us to Rockley beach... we had a lounge and an umbrella with a drink (beer, rum punch , water or soda...) for 29$US

 

It cost less than take a taxi, rent lounge, umbrellla and take a drink.... Usually, tour by cruises lines cost more but not this one....

 

For the beach, it was very nice.... not that long but very nice.... not that crowed..... the water was a bit rough... I had fun.... We stay there about 3.5 hours which was OK....

 

We are going back to Barabdos next december and we might go back there....

 

To all, I wish you a Happy New Year 2014

[verb0979]

Just an FYI for those who may be trying to decide between the ship's excursion and going on your own:

1) Cabs are reasonable and easily obtainable. No waiting for everyone to get on and off a big bus, and you can decide when to go, and how long to stay.

2) There are lounge chairs and umbrellas for rent all along Rockley beach. $10 US or less each.

 

Going on your own is about $5 less, but that's not including the drink, so if you buy an alcoholic drink, it's about equal.

 

I am biased. I avoid the ship's excursions at all cost. Too much hanging about waiting for everyone to show up, and I don't like being herded like cattle. I also like to come and go as I please.

 

I've been to Malibu Beach, The Boatyard, Payne's Beach, and Accra/Rockley Beach. They are all beautiful and easily accessible by cab.