Barbados
Caroline Gentry
We went for the sea kayak
and turtle snorkel, expected to be taken along some scenic beaches and
coves as promised. But they only take you about a mile from the ship, dump
you outside a rum factory on the beach, and then you kayak along the
factory, past the Malibu factory, towards the port again, with a view of
the industrial waste site, breathing in disgusting fumes. Then you get
back on the boat and are taken… back in front of the rum factory again!
Where they feed the turtles on dead fish, not part of their usual diet.
The only reason the turtles go there is because they feed them there. The
only reason we could think why they didn’t take us further to a nice spot
is because they want to save money on gas - kayaking back to the port and
then getting a boat back to the factory was just stupid and really
annoying. There was a big group of us and the turtles swam right
underneath us to get the food so it was a bit like a scramble - we were
expected to see them in their natural habitat. We have swum with sharks
before and the tour guide then was careful to point out that they never
feed the sharks as it disrupts their natural way of life and they become
too dependent on humans. I think this practice of feeding the turtles
should be stopped - I would rather risk not seeing them.
Then for the final part of
the trip we were taken to an adjacent beach - on the site of an abandoned
hotel, still right next to the factory and within view of the ship.
Talking to people at dinner that night who knew Barbados, they said we had
been totally ripped off and missed some lovely beaches along the West
coast, where the advert for the trip said we would be taken. We complained
and were reimbursed 20%, but this did not make up for the fact we missed
out on seeing the real Barbados. This trip is definitely not worth the $79
per person! One positive note was the rum punch, which was really lovely
and you could have as much as you liked.
In the afternoon we managed
to get a taxi to the nearest beach to the port, which was OK, but we
returned to the ship feeling very deflated and this was not a great start
to the vacation. My parents did the best of Barbados tour to see some
gardens and a sheep farm - they said it was OK, but the gardens were not
that impressive.