Larry Wanger

It’s hard to find the best way to describe Barbados. My wife and I sailed on the Sun Princes and Barbados was our favorite port hands-down. We decided to do one of the tours offered by Princess despite my belief that they were over-priced and despite some of the things I had read before going on the cruise. I would say you just need to be selective if you are going to choose to do a tour offered by the cruise company. We paid $120 each for a tour that was about 7 hours long. We got off the ship and had to treck a short distance back to the terminal building. The terminal building is very clean and more resembled a mall as it has many shops, food, and drink all under one roof. The tours leave from this location. Our tour began with a tour of the island in an open-air 4-wheel-drive jeep. Our guide provided an excellent narration, describing buildings, architecture, history, and geographical information. I learned a great deal about the island and its people.

After driving through the city we began heading for the coast and a drive around the northern and western side of the island. This featured a number of off-road routes through a tropical rain forest and land used for growing sugar cane. The ride was very bumpy and fun. If you aren’t in to off-road and rougher driving, this tour isn’t for you.

We stopped a couple of times on the tour for drinks and refreshment. They offered soda or rum punch and various snack foods including fruit. I caution, rum in Barbados is very different than whatever you may have purchased elsewhere and one or two drinks of rum punch will put the biggest smile on your face you’ve probably ever had.

One thing I can say about the island is that it has beautiful beaches and the water is very clear. It is a very beautiful place. I learned that the northern and eastern facing beaches are a lot rougher as they face out to the Atlantic. The waves are much stronger here and swimming isn’t a good idea. However if surfing is your game this is the place you want to be.

After a tour of 3 or 4 hours we disembarked our jeeps and boarded a catamaran, which was very modern and well kept. The boat has a restroom and is very comfortable. I would caution that the ride can be a little rough at times and if your not sure footed and comfortable walking on a boat you may want to think twice about this. Our ride began on the south side of the island and we didn’t actually go that far. They took us out to an area where two or three ships had sunk and allowed us to spend about half an hour snorkeling. The equipment is provided as part of the tour fees. The equipment was in good condition and included a life vest that was easily inflated or deflated while in the water, the goggles, and a snorkel tube. (Not sure of the scientific name!) This was our first time attempting this but after we got the hang of it we had a great time. We’ve begun shopping for our own equipment!

After about half an hour we boarded the boat and drinks were served yet again. Oh, did I forget to mention that the boat had an endless supply of rum punch and Banks Beer among others. I’m not sure where they kept it all but they never ran out. Anyways, the boat had both a power motor and a sail and it was at this time that the sails were hoisted with a little help from the crew. Eventually they served us lunch which featured authentic Caribbean foods. They offered fish or chicken in addition to a couple of side dishes.

After several hours of swimming, snorkeling, and fun we returned to the dock. Again, this was a seven-hour tour and was well worth the money we paid. I could have never seen this much of the island and it wouldn’t have been the same through the windows of a taxi or van.

We did a bit of shopping after the tour and purchased a little rum. I would caution that I found some of the prices here to be a bit higher than they were in other ports of call. This could be because I didn’t venture beyond the shops in the terminal building. I suspect that a short walk or cab ride would have taken us to a shopping area with lower prices.

Barbados was our favorite port of the five we visited on our cruise. Get out and enjoy the island. Its beautiful, the people are great, and there is a lot to do. I talked to several folks on our cruise who said that the water was extremely clear and that this was one of the best places for snorkeling.

Did I say I loved Barbados?

Check out the shore excursions available in Barbados.
Barbados Shore Excursions

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