Solar Eclipse : A pictorial review of the Exotic Southern Caribbean

[scubacruiserx2]

Bye , bye Bathsheba

Codrington College 1710

near Dover Beach

One last stop at a store for hot sauce to go

and a last look before entering the port .

[perfect match]

Video links worked fine for me on my Anddoid tablet. Went through the CC site, not the app.

[Gracie115]

Aren't the beaches beautiful on Barbados? Loved your pictures. We were there back in 2001 and one of the interesting things we noticed as we drove around the island were the beautiful new doors on almost every home. Even homes that had no windows had brightly colored new doors. When we asked about it we found out that there had been a government program providing the doors to pretty much everyone. I wonder if that is something that still stands out the way it did back then, hopefully those homes that had no windows then have them now.....

[scubacruiserx2]

Video links worked fine for me on my Anddoid tablet. Went through the CC site, not the app.

 

Thank you Nancy . Pat said the same thing about her iPad - CC works but not thru the app.

[scubacruiserx2]

Aren't the beaches beautiful on Barbados? Loved your pictures. We were there back in 2001 and one of the interesting things we noticed as we drove around the island were the beautiful new doors on almost every home. Even homes that had no windows had brightly colored new doors. When we asked about it we found out that there had been a government program providing the doors to pretty much everyone. I wonder if that is something that still stands out the way it did back then, hopefully those homes that had no windows then have them now.....

 

Yes they are . Not as overdeveloped as parts of Florida has become .

We used to love surfing the Space coast region in the mid to late 60's and one of my surf buddies wanted to go to Barbados back then but we settled for cruising the East coast and sleeping in a VW van with a 3rd buddy . It was the summer after Woodstock and we latter met Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes in Jacksonville , where they let us into the concert free ( since we were out of money and peanut butter so we were eating ketchup and sugar sandwiches ) . But we were young - and free ! :evilsmile:

 

Unfortunately , we didn't see the new doors and I guess they were old by now . Pamela did mention the Rum shop culture and how many of the men have made it a lifestyle , much to the chagrin of the Bajan ladies .

Barbados Rum Shops, An Institution of Heritage

 

There are all sorts of rum shops all over Barbados. Depending on how you define a rum shop, there are from 1,000 to 12,000 scattered across the island. They include village shops that provide everything - groceries, bread, provisions - and are a local meeting place with rum and dominoes to while the hours away with good friends and talk.

At the high end there are diners, cafés and even restaurants that feel like rum shops. Like Cutters, just past The Crane, for example. It has an open bar, entertainment and traditional ham, cheese and fish cutters along with salads and roast beef dinners. The ambience of the chattel house diner is very much like a rum shop

From : Barbados .org

The chattel houses mention in the article were portable houses which could be set up and taken down to move when needed .

[MicCanberra]

I think giving everyone doors is a good initiative however windows may have been good as well.

[scubacruiserx2]

I think giving everyone doors is a good initiative however windows may have been good as well.

 

Well said . The strongest door is only as good as the weakest window ( as they used to say in my job ) . ;)

[Gracie115]

Well said . The strongest door is only as good as the weakest window ( as they used to say in my job ) . ;)

 

 

that's what we thought too.....very odd seeing a bright sturdy door on a house with no windows!!!:confused::)

[scubacruiserx2]

that's what we thought too.....very odd seeing a bright sturdy door on a house with no windows!!!:confused::)

 

We can imagine - that must have been an amazing contrast !

[scubacruiserx2]

Well our visit to Barbados had ended

and it was time for the long walk

in the now sunny port . Note a Pat lurking in the shade .

It is a bit of a walk to the red arrow

M. S. # 5

 

 

Next : Dinner at Murano

[scubacruiserx2]

Le Menu

 

Heirloom tomato salad

Frisee salad

Pork belly

Forest mushroom risotto

[MicCanberra]

Oh yummo, my senses are tingling in anticipation of the Murano experience. I love the wine pairing as well.

[scubacruiserx2]

Oh yummo, my senses are tingling in anticipation of the Murano experience. I love the wine pairing as well.

 

We too love the wine pairing but we were waiting for our anniversary several days later . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

One thing that we had noticed on this cruise both in the MDR and the specialty restaurants was bait and switch type tactics when buying wine . Most of the lower price wine that I tried to order was unavailable but there was always plenty of the pricey stuff . Worse , the pricey was marked up 5 times the price our local supermarket charges . This $ 19 bottle of wine was $ 91 and with a 18% gratuity it came to $ 107.38 !

Additionally , I noted that there are lower prices in the MDR for the same wine ! We also noticed that our wine pours were generous and frequent when we bought a bottle .

Patty had a little lamb

And my lobster Murano was prepared table side in this video :

 

 

Dessert sampler

We did enjoy dinner when we were there drinking , but after checking prices and looking back - not as much .

[MicCanberra]

Yes, wine prices can be shocking and the serving sizes vary greatly when purchasing by the bottle compared with by the glass.

[MicCanberra]

The lobster looks delicious but so does the lamb.

[perfect match]

:eek: The price of that wine makes me glad I don't drink! :eek:

[upwarduk]

We not not big wine drinkers, but do like a glass with a meal, which is why we enjoyed Azamara so much, as it is all inclusive. Unfortunately, you pay a high price to get on the ship, except we didn't, as our TA, repositioning cruise was an excellent price. Just wish I could find another!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[MicCanberra]

We not not big wine drinkers, but do like a glass with a meal, which is why we enjoyed Azamara so much, as it is all inclusive. Unfortunately, you pay a high price to get on the ship, except we didn't, as our TA, repositioning cruise was an excellent price. Just wish I could find another!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Let us know if you find one, I wouldn't mind sailing Azamara at least once.

[Gracie115]

The lamb looked wonderful!!! :) The price of the wine is crazy!! On our last cruise on Equinox we had such a wonderful Sommelier, we told him what price level we were comfortable with and he was able to find wines that worked, most were wines I had never heard of but were good nonetheless...

[chamima]

One thing that we had noticed on this cruise both in the MDR and the specialty restaurants was bait and switch type tactics when buying wine . Most of the lower price wine that I tried to order was unavailable but there was always plenty of the pricey stuff . Worse , the pricey was marked up 5 times the price our local supermarket charges . This $ 19 bottle of wine was $ 91 and with a 18% gratuity it came to $ 107.38 !

Additionally , I noted that there are lower prices in the MDR for the same wine ! We also noticed that our wine pours were generous and frequent when we bought a bottle .

 

 

.

 

We've noticed the same thing on Celebrity but whenever I mention it on here I'm told that ALL "nice" restaurants mark up their wine. :(

 

I know the markup on Celebrity is a LOT more than what what we're used to anywhere else (including Princess) so thanks for verifying.

 

 

What we do now is just upgrade to the Premium package and drink what we can find within those limits. Sometimes we find an inexpensive wine we like and get it at home afterwards. (Ex: Catena Malbec - it was $13/glass when Celebrity still had it - they don't anymore- and we buy it for $14 a bottle at Costco)

Still, your Decoy markup really did set a new high (low?????) :eek:

[scubacruiserx2]

We've noticed the same thing on Celebrity but whenever I mention it on here I'm told that ALL "nice" restaurants mark up their wine. :(

 

I know the markup on Celebrity is a LOT more than what what we're used to anywhere else (including Princess) so thanks for verifying.

 

 

What we do now is just upgrade to the Premium package and drink what we can find within those limits. Sometimes we find an inexpensive wine we like and get it at home afterwards. (Ex: Catena Malbec - it was $13/glass when Celebrity still had it - they don't anymore- and we buy it for $14 a bottle at Costco)

Still, your Decoy markup really did set a new high (low?????) :eek:

 

We did get the beverage package last year with our grandson on a Baltic cruise . But we noticed that after the first drink with a classic package they tended to avoid us ( except in the MDR ) . We think that with a prepaid gratuity there is no incentive for continued service . Whereas a payee at the point of service continues to give revenue as long as they continue to buy and drink . Thus they are the more valuable customer .

We had 2 bottles of wine but 1 was undrinkable and we usually have 1 glass with dinner so a bottle usually lasting 3 meals .

However it's a lesson learned . There will be no more high priced wine , or drink packages for us !

[pbrady]

Strange - We were on the the Eclipse February 18th & the lines looked just like that. They said then it was a surprise CDC inspection. Two inspections in two months?? We hate going to the Port of Miami - we are Elite plus & that day (not sure about always) the signs for checking in were "Suites & Zenith"; "Aqua Class"; "Concierge Class" & "Almost Classic thru Elite Plus". I didn't even know what Almost Classic was but apparently you can get a CC number before your 1st cruise but after final payment. So much for priority embarkation for Elite Plus.

[chamima]

Strange - We were on the the Eclipse February 18th & the lines looked just like that. They said then it was a surprise CDC inspection. Two inspections in two months?? We hate going to the Port of Miami - we are Elite plus & that day (not sure about always) the signs for checking in were "Suites & Zenith"; "Aqua Class"; "Concierge Class" & "Almost Classic thru Elite Plus". I didn't even know what Almost Classic was but apparently you can get a CC number before your 1st cruise but after final payment. So much for priority embarkation for Elite Plus.

 

 

This thread is about the February 18th cruise (actually it was the 19th) . Same CDC inspection.

We were on a B2B with the Feb. 5th so we knew a lot of the crew and they were apologizing all evening for being behind because that inspection didn't give them the time to set up for the cruise.

But later in the cruise the whole crew got a barbecue to reward them for getting such a high score.

[Walt fan]

Eating lunch and dreaming about beaches; enjoying your day at Barbados. The beaches were beautiful. Your guide looked lovely. I love local tours.

 

Your meal in Murano is definitely something to drool over while I eat leftovers. But the wine price; they should be ashamed. I buy such good wines on the price point between $15 and $20 at Costco and such. Sad to see a cruise ship take advantage.

 

Enjoying and reading along!!!