LIVE fron the APRIL 1st CARIBBEAN PRINCESS- PICS and REVIEW

[MDSue]

Sue, I am leaving on the CB on the 22nd of April, and I am sure like many others I want to also say Thank You for your awesome postings !!

 

I am sure there are many more like myself that have enjoyed this thread as it went along without posting replies on it.

 

Looks like you had a really great time, and each of us had a great time reading and seeing it here thru your words and pictures.

 

Philippe

 

Thank-you. This was the first time I've posted a review and I am glad you enjoyed it. It's been fun sharing our journey:)

[MDSue]

For Barbados, we signed up for a photography tour with Princess. I believe this was, by far, one of the best tours I have been on. It may be because I love photography and having the opportunity to take pictures, but I was pleasantly surprised to have an accomplished photographer as our guide.

Ronald "Ronnie" Carrington in a local Barbadian, grew up on the island and filled us in on a lot of local stories and history as we travelled from one beautiful site to another. He shared stories of his mother (who is amazing in herself) and life on the island. He took us to places that were off the beaten path; giving us the opportunity to see and take pictures of postcard perfect beaches and scenery not seen by most cruise ship visitors.

 

Our first stop was the gated entryway of a large sugar plantation. Much of Barbado's economy was once dependent on sugar plantations, but tourism and development is rapidly replacing the plantation lifestyle. For this location, we had the sun directly in front of us, so I didn't get good pictures, but it was nice to see in person.

 

My sister got better pics than me, so I borrowed this series from her:

 

 

 

 

 

 

yours truly trying to capture a decent shot

[MDSue]

Next, we travelled through a typical neighborhood in Barbados where Ronnie described "Chattels" or the homes that many Barbadians used for housing. They started out as small, box shaped homes that could be easlily taken apart and moved if the owners needed to relocate to a new location. Ronnie said Barbadians take home ownership very seriously and make every effort to hold onto their homes. As the size of their families grew, they would add on to the chattels, but the original home remained intact.

 

Typical chattel:

 

 

As it grew, you can see the additions to the back

 

 

[MDSue]

The ships dock in the west side of the island and we drove over to the east side of the island.

 

The first beach we stopped at was at a park called Barclays Park, which was donated by Barclays Bank, which is a predominate bank in Barbados, to celebrate their independence from England.

 

 

our wonderful guide, Ronnie Carrrington

 

 

 

Two Barbadian women by the ocean:

 

[MDSue]

I was so enamored by the heavy surf, tht I spent quite a bit of time trying to freeze the wave action by trying different settings on my camera. I settled for the sports mode, because the faster shutter speeds tend to freeze the action:

 

 

 

 

 

I was so involved with my picture taking that I didn't realize that everyone else was already back on the bus except me. Ronnie came to retreive me from the beach and when I sheepishly got back on the bus, Ronnie kiddingly told me I had to sing for the rest of tour group. I made sure I was back on time after that!

[MDSue]

A few more of Barclay's beach

 

 

 

[MDSue]

From Barclays we headed to a local bar that would normally be closed for Good Friday, but Ronnie was able to get the woman who ran the bar to open especially for our group. While the tour group went inside to get a tasty rum punch, I walked across the street to the most beautiful beach so far. We were in Bathesba, Barbados.

 

overlook on the way to Bathesba:

 

 

 

 

At the park:

 

 

 

 

[roe2ship]

Your pictures are really amazing! I'm with you about Antigua.....absolutely love it there and it is one of my favorite islands!:)

[cruisegal2012Caribbean]

Thanks for all your beautiful pictures and updates. I will be boarding the CP next Sunday and haven't cruised in almost 10 years so this is like a new experience for me. Can you answer a few questions for me:

 

Does the cruise ship have regular American outlets for curling irons, hairdryer, flat irons?

 

I read that the ships sometimes cannot handle higher volt/watts electric devices - did you have any trouble?

 

We can charge our phone using a regular American outlet. Do you think we are okay using the outlet or need batteries?

 

Thanks for all your help!

[MDSue]

Thanks for all your beautiful pictures and updates. I will be boarding the CP next Sunday and haven't cruised in almost 10 years so this is like a new experience for me. Can you answer a few questions for me:

 

Does the cruise ship have regular American outlets for curling irons, hairdryer, flat irons?

 

I read that the ships sometimes cannot handle higher volt/watts electric devices - did you have any trouble?

 

We can charge our phone using a regular American outlet. Do you think we are okay using the outlet or need batteries?

 

Thanks for all your help!

 

They have a hair dryer onboard that you can use. I'm pretty sure that curling irons (and regular) irons aren't allowed because of the potential fire hazard. We only had one outlet in the bathroom which said was for razors only and one outlet with two plugs in the cabin. My sister did find one more outlet behind the tv set in the room. Between our cell phone and camera batteries, we could have really used some extra outlets. I think alot of people bring bring along a power strip to have more outlets, but we just took turns using what we had.

 

I know I would have liked to have had a curling iron for the trip for formal nights, but I just pretty much did wash and wear for the trip.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Susan

[MDSue]

Your pictures are really amazing! I'm with you about Antigua.....absolutely love it there and it is one of my favorite islands!:)

 

Thanks! I think Antigua's beaches are exceptionally beautiful.

[rdsqrl]

Thanks for all your beautiful pictures and updates. I will be boarding the CP next Sunday and haven't cruised in almost 10 years so this is like a new experience for me. Can you answer a few questions for me:

 

Does the cruise ship have regular American outlets for curling irons, hairdryer, flat irons?

 

I read that the ships sometimes cannot handle higher volt/watts electric devices - did you have any trouble?

 

We can charge our phone using a regular American outlet. Do you think we are okay using the outlet or need batteries?

 

Thanks for all your help!

As Sue said, there's a hairdryer in the cabin (it's at the desk/vanity, not in the bathroom). There is also an outlet there where you can plug in one or two things, like a cellphone if necessary.

However, one important correction to Sue: you MAY bring curling irons and hair straighteners (is that what you mean by flat iron?) onboard. No-no to regular clothes irons, but the hair type is okay. Just make sure to unplug after use.

 

 

[rdsqrl]

Sue, all these Barbados photos are wonderful (love the surf!), but the one with the two women is just transfixing me. I don't know why, but I keep going back to look at it again and again. It's just a captivating photo. If I knew anything about photography, maybe I could articulate why I think that, but I don't, so I can't! All I know is, if they were my photos, that would be the one I'd enlarge and hang on a wall.

[fishin' musician]

Susan, the Barbados beach pics are like postcards... All your pics are great, but these are just stupid good!

 

As for the electric hair shapers question, DW always has the curler, straightner, flat iron, etc... She also brings her own blow drier as this sort of thing has a high priority. There is no chance we will ever be flying with just carry-on bags. :rolleyes:

 

The one sugestion I have is a power strip or multi-adapter. If you have batteries and devices to charge you will need the extra outlets.

[MDSue]

As Sue said, there's a hairdryer in the cabin (it's at the desk/vanity, not in the bathroom). There is also an outlet there where you can plug in one or two things, like a cellphone if necessary.

However, one important correction to Sue: you MAY bring curling irons and hair straighteners (is that what you mean by flat iron?) onboard. No-no to regular clothes irons, but the hair type is okay. Just make sure to unplug after use.

 

 

 

Thanks for the correction. I have to admit that doing without a curling iron would be tough for many of us. Since I wssn't sure, I just opted to do without.

Susan

[MDSue]

Susan' date=' the Barbados beach pics are like postcards... All your pics are great, but these are just stupid good!

 

As for the electric hair shapers question, DW always has the curler, straightner, flat iron, etc... She also brings her own blow drier as this sort of thing has a high priority. There is no chance we will ever be flying with just carry-on bags. :rolleyes:

 

The one sugestion I have is a power strip or multi-adapter. If you have batteries and devices to charge you will need the extra outlets.[/quote']

 

Thanks for the compliments on my pictures. I love photography, but my skills are probably more based on quantity rather than skill. I have a hard time remembering all the basics like shutter speed, aperture, and so forth, but I do hope to get it all down one day. I do try to spend more time on composition, since that doesn't require as much memory.

 

Thanks for correcting me on the curling iron and other accessories, too. I should have gone back and read the rules myself, but it always nice to know that others will chime in with the correct info.

 

I do think I will bring a power strip on our next cruise. It was always a struggle trying to juggle everything we needed to keep charged over the week!

Edited April 16, 2012 by MDSue

[MDSue]

Sue, all these Barbados photos are wonderful (love the surf!), but the one with the two women is just transfixing me. I don't know why, but I keep going back to look at it again and again. It's just a captivating photo. If I knew anything about photography, maybe I could articulate why I think that, but I don't, so I can't! All I know is, if they were my photos, that would be the one I'd enlarge and hang on a wall.

 

Thanks, I'm glad you like that photo because it is one of my favorites also. I felt really lucky to be in the right place at the right time to capture that moment. I think natural pictures of people are much more rewarding than posed photos.

 

Susan

[MDSue]

I can hardly believe that two weeks ago today about this time we were getting ready to depart from San Juan. I remember the incredible stress of the weeks prior to the cruise and not knowing whether our ship would sail or still be under repair. I remember the sheer joy of sitting on our balcony at our hotel the Friday before departure and seeing the CB pulling away from her berth and heading out to sea. At that moment, I knew everything was going to be okay and that our ship was fixed and ready to go

 

I hate to bring this journey to an end, because I know it will be another long year before I sail again, but at least I have CruiseCritic and all the wonderful people here to keep my mind occupied until my next journey.

 

I have so enjoyed sharing our story and pictures. I have a few left to share and then I will sign off on my daily posts, but I'm sure I'll check in for awhile.

 

Thanks for all the kind comments!

 

Susan

[MDSue]

I took this picture from an overlook somewhere off the coast of Barbados at one of our many stops on our tour:

 

 

beautiful Barbadian overlook:

 

 

 

 

[MDSue]

Thise is a little out of order, but this was the friendly bartender at the little bar in Bathsheba. I thought she had such a pretty smile that reminds me of the wonderful people of the Caribbean

 

 

Goodnight all

 

Susan

Edited April 16, 2012 by MDSue

[mnbruce]

Great photos from the tour with Ronnie! We did it two years ago and really enjoyed it.

[cibaygirls]

Just had to come back onto this thread and say thank you again for posting the review and the beautiful photos. I too am interested in photography but have barely begun to get my feet wet. Maybe I will just have to book another cruise, one that goes to Barbados to do that excursion!.

 

Thanks again Sue!!!

[MDSue]

Just had to come back onto this thread and say thank you again for posting the review and the beautiful photos. I too am interested in photography but have barely begun to get my feet wet. Maybe I will just have to book another cruise, one that goes to Barbados to do that excursion!.

 

Thanks again Sue!!!

 

Thank-you:). I bought my good camera a few years ago, but really am still getting my feet wet also when it comes to picture taking. All the islands have some great picture taking options, but the photography tour was definitely a highlight of our trip!

[profteedee]

MD Sue -

 

Just a heartfelt note of thanks to you. My husband and I were on the B2B April 1-15 cruise and were waiting with bated breath knowing that quite possibly our cruise (or at least half of it) could be cancelled. I had been following threads and roll calls and read a lot of conflicting information. It was your photos of the CB pulling out of San Juan harbor that really lifted my spirits. Your commentary and gorgeous photos were very much appreciated. We ended up having a fabulous cruise (sorry you couldn't be on for the second leg) and when we got home I spoke to one of my friends who told me that she too was following your posts and felt like she was on the cruise with us. Thanks so much again and happy cruising! :)

[MDSue]

MD Sue -

 

Just a heartfelt note of thanks to you. My husband and I were on the B2B April 1-15 cruise and were waiting with bated breath knowing that quite possibly our cruise (or at least half of it) could be cancelled. I had been following threads and roll calls and read a lot of conflicting information. It was your photos of the CB pulling out of San Juan harbor that really lifted my spirits. Your commentary and gorgeous photos were very much appreciated. We ended up having a fabulous cruise (sorry you couldn't be on for the second leg) and when we got home I spoke to one of my friends who told me that she too was following your posts and felt like she was on the cruise with us. Thanks so much again and happy cruising! :)

 

Thank-you! I would have loved to have done the back-to-back as the second leg had some ports I really want to see.

I literally grabbed my laptop on the way out of the door to the airport and made a last minute decision to do the live blog. I'm so glad that I was able to catch the CB pull out of port for her test run. I feel like all the stars just lined up for me because I had no idea our hotel room was facing the port and we had literally just stepped outside on our balcony when I heard the ship horn blow before heading out to sea.

I was happy to share my excitement and experiences with other cruise fans since my family doesn't get the whole cruise experience thing (except my sister, of course).

 

Glad you had a great trip!

 

Susan