Our first port of this Grand World Voyage was Bridgetown, Barbados, and we sure were not alone here. There were three other big cruise ships in port with us. Here is the list in order of size: Mabella Discovery 2 (Tui), RCI Jewel of the Seas, and the AIDA Perla. We will research their sizes and total of guests and let you all know what that may be before this report ends. It appears that the weather is going to be nice and warm with no rain we hope. And as always, we will not be doing any ship's tours (with the exception of one free one). Normally we give a spattering of the excursions and prices in each port, but one of us forgot to look ahead on the TV for descriptions and pricing. Sorry.
Passing by the Front Desk after breakfast, we inquired if they had paper copies of the NYTimes news. They did and they also offered to have it delivered to our room every morning. Absolutely yes, that would suite us just fine. On our last cruise on the Zaandam in the fall, we were able to find the papers in the library most days. Sometimes they were all gone. We think there is an online version on the Navigator App, but we do not own a cell phone, so that's not an option for us.
Back at our room, we had two notices. One was about passport collection, which will take place tomorrow. Instead of each passenger deck having a station set up, there will be only one set up in the Atrium on deck 3. Times were assigned to each deck, ours being at 11:15am to noontime. If there is no line earlier than that, we are welcomed to go anytime between 9am and noon.
The second important notice was info on tender operations aimed specifically at the President's Club members. Unless we are on a tour, we are requested to visit the Wajang Theater to get priority tender tickets where we will be dispatched for the next available tender. In this communication, there is no mention of Pinnacle suite or Neptune guests also having priority tickets. So that is to be seen when it happens. It is very seldom that the two of us are that anxious to get off early, and we usually wait until the thundering herd has left. One other important message, although it does not apply to us, is that wheelchair and scooter access are limited. The Volendam does not have a tender lift.
Here is the update on the other ships in port. Mabella Discovery 2 (2017) formerly RCI Legend of the Seas has a total of 1836 passengers. RCI Jewel of the Seas (2004) has 2500 guests, and AIDA Perla (2017) has 4350 passengers with 900 crew members and 18 decks. Along with our number of 1050 passengers, the total number of guests is 8736, not counting crew. Needless to say, that is a whole lot of people on this island at one time. There were two yachts as well. Lady S (2019) was a very nice one and a smaller one was Viva.
Bridgetown is the capital of Barbados, where English is spoken and the currency is the Barbadian Dollar. Although not listed, the exchange rate is double of the US $. And the US dollars are widely accepted here. The city center is a 1.2 mile walk from the cruise terminal with an additional 300 meters or more hike from the cruise ships. There were a few shuttle buses transporting the guests from the Mabella Discovery 2 and the RCI Jewel of the Seas. No shuttle for the Volendam.
One interesting warning was that local law prohibits wearing camouflage clothing or accessories. This has been in place for quite a while now. We left the ship after the 9:30am crew drill began. The cruise terminal was full of duty-free shopping, bars, WIFI, restrooms and tourist info. Once outside at the back end, we have never seen so many taxis and vans pushing transfers and tours all over the island. Many of us were happy walking along the waterfront. Our first stop was at the local fish market , where the majority of the day's catch was already sold. A few vendors were there cleaning and fileting some flying fish, tuna, and other larger varieties. Red snappers were huge.
Continuing on, we made our way past Pelican Village, which we would catch on the way back. Constitution River is lined with a wooden boardwalk and it home to many small vessels, water taxis, and pleasure boats. We used to walk across a bridge here, but this area is under construction and the bridge was lifted permanently. Several years back, there was a second floor pizza restaurant facing the river where we always went for lunch. It is long gone, and the entire building is vacant.
National Heroes Square is located here and it a popular stop for local taxis. We walked up towards Burger King and turned left up the side streets full of small businesses. Locals were out and about food shopping for the day. A section of this area is a pedestrian outdoor mall with tables full of typical souvenirs such as purses, t-shirts, island dresses, shoes and tons of underwear. There are also a couple of fabric stores that had many island prints. One of us had to resist buying more, although the prices were very affordable.
Passing through an indoor veggie market, we made our way to St. Mary's Church, built in 1827 serving the largest worshipping congregation here. We relaxed for a bit at Jubilee Garden where some locals had set up more stands for veggies and potted plants. The blue skies had turned cloudy and we actually felt a few drops of rain. Not enough to make a difference though. We came out very close to the bus station and Pelican Village.
Since it was on the way back to the terminal, we strolled through the village which houses some artisans, souvenir shops, ats and crafts, cafes, and bars. As nice as it is here, the tourists have not found this venue. Perhaps half of the small businesses are closed down. We did not find a suitable place for beer, let alone pizza.
Back at the checkpoint at the terminal, we passed through their xray showing our cruise cards. Needless to say, with all of the cruise guests in town, the terminal shops were bursting with activity. We were happy to make our way back to the ship.
Along the way, we ran into the Staff Captain, Rakesh Kumar Prasad, who remembered us from previous cruises in the fall and other world voyages. We had a nice conversation with him where we did share our week-long problem with a broken exhaust fan in our bathroom. He was aware of the wet carpet, but not the inoperable ceiling fan. He promised to look into it and see what the hold-up was.
It was wonderful getting back to our room where ice cold Coke Zeros waited for us. We ordered the first room service lunch of this cruise, enjoying the tasty beef sliders and a shared toasted cheese sandwich cut into three strips. They were from the kids menu, but they had no problem with us ordering it. It was enough to tide us over until our 7:30pm dinner.
Captain Rens came on with his 5:30pm talk with a message concerning the upcoming stop in Devil's Island, French Guiana. From what we gathered, they are having freshwater issues at their small hotel there. There may be a chance that this stop may be cancelled. Time will tell. We are currently 634 nautical miles from this island, and will continue in that direction until we hear differently. The winds were 15 knots with temperatures in the low 80's. There was a 3 foot swell and once we leave the port, there may be some motion of the ocean. Captain Rens advised all of us to be careful while walking inside and out. He expected the same conditions tomorrow, and we had to set the clocks forward one more hour this evening. We left our berth at 6:15pm in the dark. Our view of the Mabella and AIDA ships were stunning – all lit up for the evening.
Dinner was back at "our" table, thank goodness. We ordered starters of a sausage empanada, and a Caesar and an arugula/pumpkin salad. Mains were smoked steak fajitas with brown and bean rice, guacamole, and sour cream. Delicious. Desserts were on slice coconut custard pie and a sliced banana with chocolate sauce. Besides an entertainer in the World Stage, comedian Paul Adams, there was a Caribbean Party at 8:30pm in the Lido Poolside. It had been a long, hot day with miles of walking, and we were so ready to turn in for the evening. And besides the clocks had to go forward one more hour.
Looking forward to a day at sea, although it may be a rougher ride.
Bill & Mary Ann
