disastrous disembarkation Barbados

[vistaman]

I just disembarked the Splendor in Barbados  ; conclusion avoid disembarkation overthere !!

it was the usual procedure with numbers and colours ;  when passengers were leaving the ship , they were pressed like sardines in small shuttle busses with weak airco

then we were dropped in a hall where the luggages was set up ; but first we had to go and see immigration ;  5 officers  

then you have to pick up the luggage  -  no porters available -  and pass the customs   otherwise said  2 ( two )  slow women for + 700 pax

they had to give a ticket - handwriting - that you could pass through   no assistance for passengers with a condition 

in the hall no facilities restrooms or water available   - procedure  reminds me of former  regimes in east Europe before 1989

process took 50 minutes

taxi drivers heavily took advantage of the cruise pax ;  nearly charging as twice of the normal fare   

ok this was not the mistake of Regent but I never will book a cruise with disembarkation in Bridgetown !!

[Dolebludger]

Thanks for the heads up. Don’t book a cruise with Barbados as a departure port either, According to recent posts here, Regent is unable to find hotel rooms and transfers there.

[Dwtlion]

I have a late fall '25 TA scheduled on Seabourn that was originally scheduled to end in Barbados,

About 6 weeks ago they changed the itinerary to end in San Juan. I guess they learned the issues with Barbados.

[vistaman]

2 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

Thanks for the heads up. Don’t book a cruise with Barbados as a departure port either, According to recent posts here, Regent is unable to find hotel rooms and transfers there.

I had a far too expensive hotel pre cruise  Crystal Cove  not worth the money at all 

however a good taxi from the airport and a very luxurious white BMW to the terminal at 40 US $

very polite driver  

[Henk123]

Had disembarkation last nov with Explora in Barbados.

From the ship directly in a hall with the luggage and immigrations. There where porters who brought it to another building and we where brought with a small bus to that building.

We had no extra costs for taxes.

[Dolebludger]

I have heard (but can’t personally verify) that problems with ground services in Barbados are caused (in part) by initiation of direct air service from the UK to that island. This (the account goes) have flooded Barbados with tourists, which the island can’t  accommodate well. 

[flossie009]

9 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

by initiation of direct air service from the UK to that island.

Direct flights from the U.K. and other European cities have been available for decades (including Concorde in the 1970s)

 

[Jane Mitchell]

I disembarked this same cruise yesterday but it appears we had a very different experience.  Our flights and transfers were arranged through Regent.  We were offered (and accepted) a half day tour of Barbados before being dropped off at BGI airport.  We were told to expect disembarkation at around 8.15 am.  We were called at 8.13 am.  We were speedily directed to a shuttle mini bus (which wasn't air conditioned but the windows were open and the journey took no more than five minutes from the ship to the customs shed).  No queue for the passport check.  Luggage was lined up in the shed in colour/number tag order.  We identified our bags, they were checked off (twice) by staff and were taken away to be delivered to the airport later for us to collect.  We were taken to a mini air conditioned coach (probably seating around 30 but there were 18 on our tour, so plenty of space) and had a great morning seeing some of the island's highlights. We were then dropped at the airport, directly by the area where our luggage was lined up, and we reclaimed our bags.  Unfortunately, we then had a two hour wait before check in for our flight was open but we found an air conditioned coffee shop and waited it out.  BGI airport is small and facilities are not exactly luxurious but we found seats and refreshment when needed.  
Interestingly, we were told that more than half the passengers on Splendor this time were Brits, probably a reflection of the ease of getting to Barbados from the UK.

[vistaman]

yes it seems the last  guests with blue and browne luggage tags had the most problems ...

indepent travellers   there was already a delay on board of 35 minutes 

and yes for Europeans we are forced to take BA or Virgin to reach Barbados , KLM ceased operate the flight to BGI rather soon  - there is also a weekly flight Condor ex Franfurt 

I think Regent took a large amount on the flight to Heathrow  - i stayed one night in a cheaper hotel just because my return flight was some 1200$ 1100eur cheaper  as on the disembarkation day 

 

[Jane Mitchell]

I'm truly sorry that you had these issues @vistaman, I hope it hasn't tarnished the rest of the cruise too much for you.  There were definitely a large number of Regent passengers on our flight back to LHR.  Barbados is a small, but very popular, island.  And a lot of people choose to holiday there.  Hotel accommodation is definitely limited and I believe this is one of the reasons that Regent has decided not to use Barbados as a start/end port in the future.

[SellaVee]

We cruised seamlessly in and out of Barbados with Windstar years ago, no problem with Virgin flights from Manchester.  We enjoyed it so much we did it again the following year, our of Barbados’s on a different route.  Both times we hired a car for our last day and toured the island by ourselves before leaving the car at the airport.
 

Where @Dolebludger  has a point, is the increase in mass market tourism to Barbados.  A friend who loves Barbados recently told us he won’t be going back as the airport was chaos.  I think some of the other passengers were, shall we say, cross.

 

As for Regent being unable to provide the hotels and transfers we've already paid for,in several locations, yet, ironically they expect passengers to be able to organise these themselves, I think they are taking the proverbial.

[Lady of Leisure]

We were offered a 6 hour Island tour after our cruise.  As we were still going to arrive at the airport 6 hours before our Virgin flight to Heathrow we booked into the Copacabana Beach Resort, Carlisle Bay. They have a secure lock up area for luggage, lockers for valuables, showers and toiletries, beach chairs, umbrellas and towels, $40 each.  There is also a bar and restaurant on site and they will arrange a taxi to the airport if required. You can book online and pay when you arrive at the resort. A lovely way to spend out last day.

[mj_holiday]

During Covid, Barbados advertised about their great web access and a great place to work from a distance.

Then when cruising was just beginning to open up, it seemed like several cruise lines started or ended cruises at Barbados.

Barbados is getting way more tourist than they can handle.

[Pies4u]

We boarded a SS cruise in Mar 23 & there were 4 or 5 other ships embarking at the same time. 2 of them were massive RCCL & Norwegian things. There must have been the best part of 10,000 boarding - assuming some might have been on b2b cruises.

 

There was no problem with pre cruise hotels as far as SS were concerned, we had a couple of nights at the Hilton (c 120 of us altogether) & they used a couple of other hotels too.

 

However, the cruise terminal was pretty chaotic and it took ages to get processed and then shuttle buses to the ship. It was not a great experience - I suspect that the volume of passengers trying to board between 2.00 - 4.00 pm was just too much tbh. 
 

We are back there in 2026 and I hope it’s a more pleasant experience. It may be that Regent will stop using Barbados but if the bigger ships continue to embark/disembark there I can’t see it improving much tbh.

[Dolebludger]

Although there may be several causes, it is clear that Barbados is “over-touristed”. We’ve been there in the past, and there is really nothing special about it. We avoid cruises that start and/or end there, until the problem is solved.

[2SailingNomads]

We disembarked the Splendor on Feb 26th and it was a mess.  Stood outside the ship waiting to board a crowded bus w/ no A/C to the luggage hall.  Got processed pretty quickly once we arrived and got our luggage.  And yes had to get a hand filled out paper stating the number of pieces of luggage we had.  Were told we'd have to walk a fair amount to the taxi stand, but then a porter offered to get us a taxi closer.  We were staying for an additional 2 days so just needed a ride to the hotel, and sure enough it turned out that the taxi cost was twice what it should have been, but at least we did not have to lug our luggage to the main taxi stand in the heat and sun.  Would never disembark from there again.  We do have a Seabourn cruise that leaves from there next year and already not looking forward to embarking in Barbados,

[GOARMY]

Dolebludger:

 

As to "over-touristed" Ports, or other popular venues--

 

Recall the great philosopher Yogi Berra's cogent comment about a popular New York restaurant:  

 

"It's so crowded nobody goes there anymore."

 

Fortunately, our times (pre-COVID) at Barbados were on brief excursions. No plans for a revisit.

 

GOARMY!

 

 

  

[Dolebludger]

Well, thanks GO ARMY! I agree with Yogi that places too over crowded to give Regent adequate service should be avoided. But as this problem has been reported on CC  for about six months, Regent should be warning its guests about it, at least. And modifying embarkation and disembarkation to eliminate Barbados at most. The first warning about this port was last fall, when Regent was unable to schedule hotel and transfers for concierge + booked guests. That was enough for us to avoid Barbados in booking a spring Regent cruise. I don’t know all of the reasons why Barbados is over-touristed, but it is. Maybe because it has allowed too many “mega ships” to dock without adequate port services. But in any event, it can’t give “Regent quality” port services. So, Regent cruisers should avoid this port.

[Pcardad]

13 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

Well, thanks GO ARMY! I agree with Yogi that places too over crowded to give Regent adequate service should be avoided. But as this problem has been reported on CC  for about six months, Regent should be warning its guests about it, at least. And modifying embarkation and disembarkation to eliminate Barbados at most. The first warning about this port was last fall, when Regent was unable to schedule hotel and transfers for concierge + booked guests. That was enough for us to avoid Barbados in booking a spring Regent cruise. I don’t know all of the reasons why Barbados is over-touristed, but it is. Maybe because it has allowed too many “mega ships” to dock without adequate port services. But in any event, it can’t give “Regent quality” port services. So, Regent cruisers should avoid this port.

Respectfully, if Regent avoided every port that cannot provide "Regent quality services" then Regent would have to drop half their ports. I like the small ports in remote parts of the world  - there are not many left and I would like to see them before they gone or changed forever.

[caviargal]

Barbados lacks adequate infrastructure for embarking and disembarking both.

[Dolebludger]

Of course, no port terminal has service and conditions that I would classify as pleasant. But, as reported, the conditions at the Barbados terminal are ridiculous. 

[PaulMCO]

We were on a Explora 1 in January, with a disembarkation in Bridgetown.  Similar issue, we had a transfer arranged by Explora Journeys and it did improve some what.  Still a late departure because of congestion, same packed bus to the immigration terminal, passport line, then customs line.  Since we had a transfer booked, the taxi was there and did not have to lug our stuff to the exit.  Things were really bad also because of two other big (>2000 passenger) ships were also doing the same.

.

Never going to do that again.  Surprisingly we embarked in Miami at noon and that port experience was unusually excellent.  From taxi to our stateroom in under 20 minutes