Barbados summer cruises 2021

[PrincessCruiser]

Update from the Odyssey!  It’s proving to be a really great week.  The days go by so fast!  There is more time spent on the ship than with other cruises we’ve taken but it’s perfectly fine with us.  It’s allowing time to take advantage of more activities (massages, trivia, tastings, watersports, etc.) than has been done by us on other cruises.  Everything we love about Seabourn is happening on the ship.  All venues are operating at 100 percent even though there are just 61 of us onboard to utilize them.  
The marina on the back of the boat was pulled down for water sports on Wednesday.  The crew made it a fun day for all and there was no waiting in a line to get on the rides.  This was the first time the marina has been utilized on a Seabourn cruise I’ve taken.  Yesterday, was Carambola Beach with Caviar in the Surf-champagne, caviar, and lobster for lunch.  The watersports were also available from the shore yesterday.  It was one of those perfect kind of days.      
Evenings on the ship have been very enjoyable.  Yes, Judy Carmichael has performed twice-I think and she is very good and entertaining.  The other onboard performers are great too.  They performed an updated version of the Tim Rice show that’s been around for a few years.  It was excellent.  Tonight they are doing a show titled “Latin Quarter” that we are looking forward to seeing.  
Our disembarkation papers started arriving last night so we know it’s coming.  In the meantime, we will enjoy today at sea and tomorrow at Bequia.  It sounds as if Seabourn is going to provide an option for anyone who wants to go ashore and spend time at a specified resort.  We have received any details yet but will see.  Have a great one! 
 

[cruiseej]

@princess cruiser Thank you for the updates. It sounds wonderful, an we can't wait until our cruise next month!

 

For anyone else on upcoming cruises which includes Bequia instead of Grenada, I thought I'd pass this along: for our cruise at the end of September, they have recently added an excursion available in Bequia: a 2.5 hour catamaran sail and swim. Nothing elaborate, but any chance to get our and see some of the island from the sea sounds good to me! I don't know if there will be any other excursions added, but I'm pleased to see them scrambling to add options for cruisers as they've had to make itinerary adjustments. 

[GrandCru]

@Princesscruiser:  Yes!  Thank you for the update and I'm really happy to hear they had the caviar in the surf.  I hope we get the chance.

 

@cruiseej:  we are booked on the catamaran sail in Bequia, however we are on the Oct. 17th departure.   Borna mentioned earlier that Seabourn cancelled the stops at Jost Van Dyke & Tortola and had a marina day off Peter Island.   I have not seen any mention of whether this will continue.

 

BTW... I emailed the resort we are staying pre cruise,  Sugar Bay resort, about their rule on quarantine.  We are allowed out of our rooms but can not use the spa or fitness center which is a relief.   I was also told the significance of the red wrist band vs the green is that red indicates the person has not been vaccinated.   I'm assuming the person mentioned in this thread was vaccinated since he/she was boarding Seabourn, but that is one mess up.  

[M&PGermany]

7 hours ago, PrincessCruiser said:

 They performed an updated version of the Tim Rice show that’s been around for a few years.  It was excellent. 

 

Really. They still hold on to that thing? 😴

 

But thanks for the update! 😃👍

[Solon]

I posted this on the roll call,  but thought I would try here as well.

 

With current covid regulations in Barbados, would you recommend flying in on the day of departure or arriving 2 days before and stay in a hotel?  We are fully vaccinated.

Thank you.

 

[M&PGermany]

1 hour ago, Solon said:

I posted this on the roll call,  but thought I would try here as well.

 

With current covid regulations in Barbados, would you recommend flying in on the day of departure or arriving 2 days before and stay in a hotel?  We are fully vaccinated.

Thank you.

 

 

With the current regulations changing almost every week and even on very short notice I wouldn't consider going on a cruise outside of Europe at all.

I was really worried before our Silver Moon cruise from Athens. Will there be new regulations DURING our trip? Will we test positive before boarding? Will we be put into quarantine in Greece? I wouldn't really want to stress my mind with these thoughts in a country that far away.

[Solon]

1 hour ago, M&PGermany said:

 

With the current regulations changing almost every week and even on very short notice I wouldn't consider going on a cruise outside of Europe at all.

I was really worried before our Silver Moon cruise from Athens. Will there be new regulations DURING our trip? Will we test positive before boarding? Will we be put into quarantine in Greece? I wouldn't really want to stress my mind with these thoughts in a country that far away.

Thank you for your thoughts.  You are right it is a risk. 

 

If the changes become too onerous, we will cancel and move the dates to next year.

 

As it happens, we are booked on a cruise from Athens in two weeks.  So far, so good....We are expecting an update to the UK regulations next week.  This may mean we cancel another cruise!

 

I suppose over these two years we are now used to cancelling, shifting and moving our holidays.

 

It has now become routine for us! 😄

 

Any other thoughts on Barbados....

[M&PGermany]

20 minutes ago, Solon said:

I suppose over these two years we are now used to cancelling, shifting and moving our holidays.

 

It has now become routine for us! 😄

 

 

All cruise lines must HATE you 😉🤣

I hope it works out for you this time!

All the best

[twodjs]

4 hours ago, Solon said:

 

With current covid regulations in Barbados, would you recommend flying in on the day of departure or arriving 2 days before and stay in a hotel?  We are fully vaccinated.

 

 Our answer to your question: We are flying in the day of at the end of October. That saves an extra testing step and hotel cost. Booked it through Seabourn so if American runs out of pilots or Mother Nature doesn't cooperate, at least they have our backs. Every option comes with risk.

[johng75370]

6 minutes ago, twodjs said:

Our answer to your question: We are flying in the day of at the end of October. That saves an extra testing step and hotel cost. Booked it through Seabourn so if American runs out of pilots or Mother Nature doesn't cooperate, at least they have our backs. Every option comes with risk.

+1

 

We booked for the Sept. 5th sailing, and decided on the same strategy.  Minimizing time between arriving at airport and getting on the ship was the main factor.

[cruiseej]

15 hours ago, Solon said:

With current covid regulations in Barbados, would you recommend flying in on the day of departure or arriving 2 days before and stay in a hotel?  We are fully vaccinated.

 

We decided on the opposite strategy as those posted above: we are flying in two days in advance of the cruise, for the following reasons:

 

1) If there is a flight delay or disruption, whether from weather or airline personnel shortages or mechanical problems, we have the best chance of recovering and making it to the cruise on time. While it's true that if you book air through Seabourn and have a flight delay, they will do the work to get you to the ship -- but there is often only one flight a day from whatever city you're coming from, so you're likely to miss one or more days fo your cruise. If you're traveling for a month, this might not be much of a concern; for a shorter trip -- we're going for just a one-week cruise -- it's something we'd like to try to avoid.

 

2) We'd actually like to see some of Barbados! It seems a waste to travel to Barbados for a cruise and to see none of it prior to embarking or prior to flying home. By flying in two days early, we can spend half or one day unwinding at our hotel and have time for some limited sightseeing on the island before boarding the cruise after receiving our negative arrival test result. 

 

3) Taking the Covid test at the airport doesn't seem to have been a problem for most people who have been traveling to Barbados over the past month. Staying in quarantine at a nice hotel, being able to use the pool and restaurants, for the evening of arrival and possibly some or all of the next day seems fine to us.

[cruiseej]

For anyone who has been to Barbados since cruising resumed and spent a few days there before or after the cruise, what sightseeing did you do on the island? Has anyone gone to Harrison's Cave? (I'm thinking that might be a good activity on the morning before we go to the ship?) Booked a half-day sightseeing tour? Or hired a cab driver to take you sightseeing?

 

We're arriving two days before our cruise, and since we don't know when we'll receive our Covid tests results on the day following arrival, it's hard to figure out how to use our limited time once we're free to leave the hotel. (We'll also be fine of the test results happen to be slow and we need to spend that day at the hotel.) And the next day, we'll have the morning/early afternoon before we board the ship.

[Solon]

Thank you all for your advice.  Decisions, Decisions...

Will probably book the cruise this week.

Cheers

 

[Borna]

Yes, Cruiseej, we went to Harrison's cave.  Oddly, we did it through Seabourn.  Let me explain.  During the 14-day cruise, the middle Sunday is a stop in Barbados - no excursions offered.  I asked, and Seabourn did a private excursion just for my traveling partner and me to Harrison's cave.  Otherwise, passengers continuing on the 14-day cruise are not allowed off the ship on that middle Sunday, and I was not allowed to arrange the Harrison's cave excursion on my own with an outside vendor (which I could have done for far less than Seabourn's charge).

 

As for Bequia, the stop is on a small, but pretty, stretch of beach at the Plantation house hotel.  The area where Seabourn passengers can go is roped, so you are only allowed on a very limited area of the beach area of the hotel.   There are really guards around the ends of the roped area to ensure that Seabourn passengers don't go beyond the limited area. 

 

The one Bequia excursion offered was the catamaran.  Those who take the excursion get to walk the pretty 10 minute St. Margaret trail to meet the catamaran.  I could not take the excursion due to my traveling partner, but arranged for Seabourn to allow me to walk the St. Margaret trail supervised by the local guards!

 

In Barbados, we toured the capital Bridgetown to see its landmarks (Independence arch, Chamberlain bridge, Parliament, dolphin fountain, Independence square); Bathsheba beach, shopping at Limegrove shopping center, Sandy Lane hotel area (Tiger Woods and Rihanna have homes there - I don't care but the driver was impressed to show them to us), George Washington house.   

 

 

[PAULINELESLEY]

Hi Borna, thank you for your review on the Barbados cruise, it sounds very nice but it sounds as though things are a bit restricted how are things on the boat, did you feel like you were rattling around on the boat due to there being only 62 passengers.

 

[cruiseej]

10 hours ago, Borna said:

Yes, Cruiseej, we went to Harrison's cave.

 

@Borna Would you recommend it or not? I think we would be able to go there the Sunday morning before we board the ship, if it's worthwhile.

 

Arriving two days before our cruise, we will have somewhere between half a day and a day-and-a-half to get out and see something of Barbados. So I'm trying to figure out the best things to see and do which we can adjust based on when we get our arrival Covid test results. 

 

10 hours ago, Borna said:

In Barbados, we toured the capital Bridgetown to see its landmarks (Independence arch, Chamberlain bridge, Parliament, dolphin fountain, Independence square); Bathsheba beach, shopping at Limegrove shopping center, Sandy Lane hotel area (Tiger Woods and Rihanna have homes there - I don't care but the driver was impressed to show them to us), George Washington house.

 

Was this on a Seabourn bus tour before going to the airport on the last day? Or did you hire a private driver (cab?) to take you around and show you the sights? 

 

Thanks!

[Borna]

We went to Harrison's cave with a private driver  (arranged through Seabourn) on the middle Sunday of our two week Seabourn cruise.  We saw the other sights in Barbados before and after the cruise, which we arranged on our own.  Harrison's cave, I guess, is worth it.  If you like caves with the water formations (stalactites and stalagmites), then you'll enjoy it.  When I travel, I like to see all the sights and not miss anything.

At Harrison's cave, you'll be with others who purchased tickets to see Harrison's cave, watch an approximate 15 minute video, then take an approximate 20 minute tram through the cave.  The whole experience is about 1 hour.  

[Borna]

I did not mind at all that Odyssey had less than capacity.  We never waited for anything, easily found pool chairs, gym was usually empty or maybe 1-2 others.  We could dine as often as we wanted in the Keller grill restaurant.  (We still took most meals in the Restaurant though).  

[SDuckers]

On 8/19/2021 at 4:58 PM, cruiseej said:

 

Mike, according to the Barbados Travel Protocols, you must stay at a government approved hotel. But that shouldn't pose a problem for most travelers, as there are 63 hotels on the approved list, and it it seems every major hotel on the island is on the list, plus more than 40 additional apartments. (Scroll down the page until you see the list of Approved Quarantine Hotels.)

Well this is disturbing.  We are on the late September cruise and are arriving in Bridgetown on Sept. 25, with reservations at the Courtyard by Marriott.  I don't see that hotel listed!  EEK!

[SDuckers]

Just now, SDuckers said:

Well this is disturbing.  We are on the late September cruise and are arriving in Bridgetown on Sept. 25, with reservations at the Courtyard by Marriott.  I don't see that hotel listed!  EEK!

Never mind!  I must have missed it the first time I looked.  Whew.  It's there.

[GrandCru]

@Borna,  if you are still reading the Seabourn boards,  would you please confirm what I think you stated earlier in this thread.  I'm interested in what you did to help expedite your Barbados airport arrival test.   You uploaded the BIMSafe app showing your 72 hr prior to arriving negative test, you typed out your name, and email address for the Barbados arrival test results to be sent, and had your original vaccination card.

 

Did I miss anything?  Is there something else you would suggest to help make this process go smoothly?

We all appreciate your input and information.

Thank you!

 

[brittany12]

Saw one entry that the same old Tim Rice show is featured again as the entertainment. Woe, this is soooooo old and boring by now. Even if updated. Seabourn must have a really long term contract with him to keep rolling out this tired format. Along with lousy website, why can't this be improved?

[rkacruiser]

21 hours ago, brittany12 said:

Even if updated. Seabourn must have a really long term contract with him to keep rolling out this tired format. Along with lousy website, why can't this be improved?

 

I wonder if Seabourn's Director of Entertainment is the same gentleman who serves in such a position for HAL.  There have been concerns raised by HAL Mariners over the years about the entertainment.  And, this gentleman has been at the helm for those many years.  

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I wonder if Seabourn's Director of Entertainment is the same gentleman who serves in such a position for HAL.  There have been concerns raised by HAL Mariners over the years about the entertainment.  And, this gentleman has been at the helm for those many years.  

Isn't Handre now in charge of entertainment for Seabourn?  Am I mistaken about that?  I too find the Tim Rice show to be a bit stale and have been surprised that it has been reprised for several years now.  Perhaps there is some kind of contract, but I would have expected some refreshed versions at least.  

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, SLSD said:

Isn't Handre now in charge of entertainment for Seabourn?

 

I do not recognize this name.  The HAL entertainment guru is Mr. Prince.  

 

My thinking was that since Seabourn has been incorporated into the HAL Group, there would be some employees who needed to update their resumes because of the Covid financial challenges that the cruise lines encountered.  Prince was one of them.