Royal's first cruise out of Barbados Dec 5th - any thoughts of kinks they'll have to work out?

[Janie1229]

My husband and I, along with a couple of friends, are currently booked on the first trip out of Barbados for Royal on December 5th. Do you think there will be issues with going on the first cruise here? I'm just wondering if there will be kinks to work out in the first few cruises. Also wondering how efficient they will be with COVID testing since I'm guessing that will still be in place for any return to the U.S.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, Janie1229 said:

Do you think there will be issues with going on the first cruise here?

Of course, but it may or may not impact you.

[Rewind]

4 minutes ago, Janie1229 said:

My husband and I, along with a couple of friends, are currently booked on the first trip out of Barbados for Royal on December 5th. Do you think there will be issues with going on the first cruise here? I'm just wondering if there will be kinks to work out in the first few cruises. Also wondering how efficient they will be with COVID testing since I'm guessing that will still be in place for any return to the U.S.

 

Let me know how it works out - I'm booked two weeks after you.

[Janie1229]

If we keep this booking, I'll post a trip report here. At this point, not sure. My husband is not in favor of going on a cruise this year until things settle more. I love the itinerary but am thinking of moving it forward to sometime in April 2022 - more time to work out any kinks in the new port. 

[Rewind]

I just noticed, we are also in Westerville.

 

I've been WFH for over a year now and somehow I've been able to convince the DW to allow me to book three cruises.  I wonder why?  😆

[Lady President]

We're booked on 12/19.  If you end up taking the trip, I'll be curious about it too.  I may be over confident, but I'm finally feeling good about vaccines and cruises restarting.

 

I'm from Westerville too!  Looks like the whole town wants to go to the Caribbean. 🙂

[Janie1229]

Oh that is too funny! We moved to Westerville almost 8 yrs ago. We live near the Hoover Dam (and here I thought it was located out west lol). We really enjoy the area. 

 

I love the itinerary out of Barbados - I guess it sounds terrible but I'm "bored" of the more typical Caribbean cruises going to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, etc. 

 

Janie

[PTAngel]

I love these itineraries out of Barbados.  I love the Grandeur OTS.  I have been to  the A, B, & C islands but wouldn't mind going again.  The island of Grenada, Trinidad, Tobago,  & St. Vincent in addition to Barbados are all new to me.  I've also been to Dominica & St. Lucia.  My travel buddy had not been to the ABC islands.  I am seriously considering booking either 3/27/22 to the ABC islands or 4/10/22 to the other islands.  I think we will arrive a couple of days early & stay 1 extra day before flying out.  I know I won't get correct flights now, but where do you think we would have to change planes to get there?  We will be flying out of Baltimore.

[long4acruise]

1 hour ago, PTAngel said:

I know I won't get correct flights now, but where do you think we would have to change planes to get there?  We will be flying out of Baltimore.

From Baltimore, American Airlines offers daily flights to Barbados with a stop or layover in Charlotte or Miami.  United flies to Barbados from Dulles, but non-stops may be on limited days (i.e., Sundays).

Do check Air2Sea for flight options.

[Jingerwoppy]

Does Barbados have the capacity for same day fly-ins and overnight stays? Just curious.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Jingerwoppy said:

Does Barbados have the capacity for same day fly-ins and overnight stays? Just curious.

With some additional flights, different days and smaller ships, sure, but it might not work for O class on Sundays.

[little britain]

4 hours ago, Jingerwoppy said:

Does Barbados have the capacity for same day fly-ins and overnight stays? Just curious.

Grandeur doesn’t sail till 10pm specifically to allow for same day arrivals: if you book package with flights from UK you fly in on the Sunday. 

[mpdog42]

7 hours ago, long4acruise said:

From Baltimore, American Airlines offers daily flights to Barbados with a stop or layover in Charlotte or Miami.  United flies to Barbados from Dulles, but non-stops may be on limited days (i.e., Sundays).

Do check Air2Sea for flight options.

I just posted about how expensive the flight are...about the same for me to go to Paris...

[Janie1229]

@PTAngel I love the ports on the itineraries out of Barbados too. And the ones I have been to previously - Bonaire, St. Lucia - I haven't been to a lot and look forward to seeing again.  My husband and I are divers so we always love a stop in Bonaire for diving. Same with St. Lucia and Grenada. At some point we need to stop diving at these ports and explore topside lol. 

 

I'm going to call my TA today at Vacations To Go and find out the difference in pricing for switching to one of the dates in 2022, maybe one of the March dates. The only reason we initially booked Dec 5 is a friend of ours booked it first. 

 

The only real negative I see about Barbados is that the flights are very expensive and the times are not great. At least from Columbus OH. 

 

[Jimbo]

Where is the repostioning cruise that gets the ship to Barbados for the first time? Anyone have the date of that cruise?

[Ourusualbeach]

15 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Where is the repostioning cruise that gets the ship to Barbados for the first time? Anyone have the date of that cruise?

Grandeur has not yet been scheduled for any sailings prior to her start up sailing in Barbados.  She may be in lay up until then in which case there may be no repositioning cruise. 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[CILCIANRQTS]

9 hours ago, Jingerwoppy said:

Does Barbados have the capacity for same day fly-ins and overnight stays? Just curious.

 

Plenty of hotel choices.

Other lines originate in Barbados.

We we’re pleased with Courtyard Marriott.

[Sunshine3601]

11 hours ago, Jingerwoppy said:

Does Barbados have the capacity for same day fly-ins and overnight stays? Just curious.

We are booked for a b2b on grandeur in feb.  I checked hotels just the other day and lots of nice options although some availability on those close to port are filling up.   The island isnt all that big so even if you stay on other side of the island it's only a 15 or 20 minute drive to port.

All flights out of phl have connections which I hate to do in fear of lost luggage not arriving in time for ship leaving port so we will probably do direct flight out of newark.

[Sunshine3601]

Since most flights connect in miami We are thinking about a stay overnight then fly to barbados or just fly direct from newark.  Plenty of time to figure it out.

[Kak86]

Loved the itineraries...  booked on Jan 2, 2022 flight. Loved visiting Barbados on cruise, excited to depart from there.  But jeez, flight times are a bummer coming home to Michigan. Hoping those of you cruise in December & post reviews/recommendations. 😉

[Janie1229]

@Kak86 I hear you with the flight times (and pricing). Prices are very high from Columbus OH and the times are just really crappy coming back.