Aplmac..I sent a reservation requets to Reid now what???

[RN7997]

Aplmac......

You twisted my arm.....we decided to bag the Boatyard and go on and island tour with Cameron Reid in May. I emailed him requesting him that day, so I am waiting to hear back. It seems that we chose whatever we want....so now what do I tell him I want to do????

Suggestions??

We definately want to go over to Crane and see the West side....eat lunch, tour the island.....is it possible to see the turtles too?? I know Glory takes you there via glassbottom but I dont think she goes to teh West side at all.

What other sites MUST we see?? Will we have ANY beach time at all???

[rjscott]

Sorry for hijacking your thread, RN7997. I know you addressed this to Aplmac, but I wanted to throw in my opinion, as we've visited Barbados several times and we've used Cameron Reid the last few times we've been there. I never tire of Barbados. There is so much to see and do, and the countryside is so beautiful. I see that one of your concerns is to have some beach time. Certainly that is something that you can build into your itinerary with Cameron. The time before last, when we toured with Cameron's service, our driver took us to a beach not far from the ship at the end of our tour(Aplmac, maybe you can help with this?). It was at a hotel, and I can't remember the name. But, we walked thru the lobby and on out into the courtyard and onto the beautiful beach, where we spent a while enjoying the beach and gorgeous water. Now, we weren't there long, as we had decided not to swim that day, but you could let Cameron know how long you'd like to spend at the beach, maybe 1-2hrs? And then he'd know how much time you'd have for other attractions around the island. Some of the attractions on the island are rather spread out so you would have to allow time for driving, so you might want to prioritize what you really want to see. Do you want to spend all your time outdoors or would you want to see Harrison's Caves and then do outdoors stuff after that?

This website might help you narrow down some of the sights you'd like to see: http://www.barbados.org/points.htm I loved the Bathsheba area on the Atlantic side. The huge boulders on the shore and the pounding surf are so scenic and make for such a contrast to the beautiful beaches & water on the Caribbean side. We had a wonderful lunch there at Round House Restaurant. Amazing views of the crashing surf and terrific food. Try the flying fish. Yum! I also loved the Highlands, a spot Cameron took us to just this past visit in February. Very scenic. The other thing you can do is just tell Cameron you want to see the highlights of the island. On one visit, we had a couple of sights we wanted to see, and then told our driver to take us where he thought we'd like to go. That's how we ended up at the nice hotel and beach. Oh, and we also asked our driver to take us to a grocery on the way back to the ship so that we could get some soda and snacks and there is a very nice one nearby, fyi.

Hope this helps!

[travellingguyone]

I will be visiting the island in May as well. I want to see Harrison Caves as well, do you suggest we go through an independent person or through the cruise excursions.

[RN7997]

rjscott..

No I am glad you responded. Thank you for your help. Cameron emailed me and confirmed our group for a tour now I have to tell him what I want......the choices he gave me are Scenic,Historical, Garden or what....Hmmmm?? I have no idea. I dont really know much about what all there is to see b/c initially we were just going to go to the Boatyard. AFter talking to the group and htinking about it we want to see what the island is like since its our 1st visit. WHat is there to see of interest?? I will look at the site you gave me. So lunch was yummy???? He did mention that in the email too....that we could eat there much cheaper than at Crane, so I think we will do that. Good to know it was a good experience for you...so you would highly reccoment Cameron than too???

 

Thanks

[rjscott]

Travelingguy, I would definitely recommend doing Harrison's Caves on your own. You can get there ahead of the crowds and then have the rest of the day to spend at your leisure. You can either just hire a taxi at the cruise terminal or you can check with Cameron for your cruise date/time and see what his availability is. If you go with a tour from the ship, you will be on a large tour bus, and you will spend much longer at the caves than necessary. With Cameron, you can get in and out of the caves and see another attraction in the amount of time you'd spend just at the caves with a tour from the ship. JMO, of course. :)

[rjscott]

RN, yes, our experience with Cameron has always been very good and I have recommended him to others without hesitation. Even if Cameron is not your driver, we have been pleased with the drivers he has provided us. Yes, check out the website and see what looks good. If you still have questions, ask away. I'd be happy to help you piece together an itinerary.

[RN7997]

Ok...we are not going to get to teh caves as we will be there Tuesday when they are closed. What are the highlights??? We dont want to go to the rum factory...we are doing that in St Lucia as part of our tour....is it just seeing beaches???

[travellingguyone]

Sorry for hijacking your thread, RN7997. I know you addressed this to Aplmac, but I wanted to throw in my opinion, as we've visited Barbados several times and we've used Cameron Reid the last few times we've been there. I never tire of Barbados. There is so much to see and do, and the countryside is so beautiful. I see that one of your concerns is to have some beach time. Certainly that is something that you can build into your itinerary with Cameron. The time before last, when we toured with Cameron's service, our driver took us to a beach not far from the ship at the end of our tour(Aplmac, maybe you can help with this?). It was at a hotel, and I can't remember the name. But, we walked thru the lobby and on out into the courtyard and onto the beautiful beach, where we spent a while enjoying the beach and gorgeous water. Now, we weren't there long, as we had decided not to swim that day, but you could let Cameron know how long you'd like to spend at the beach, maybe 1-2hrs? And then he'd know how much time you'd have for other attractions around the island. Some of the attractions on the island are rather spread out so you would have to allow time for driving, so you might want to prioritize what you really want to see. Do you want to spend all your time outdoors or would you want to see Harrison's Caves and then do outdoors stuff after that?

This website might help you narrow down some of the sights you'd like to see: http://www.barbados.org/points.htm I loved the Bathsheba area on the Atlantic side. The huge boulders on the shore and the pounding surf are so scenic and make for such a contrast to the beautiful beaches & water on the Caribbean side. We had a wonderful lunch there at Round House Restaurant. Amazing views of the crashing surf and terrific food. Try the flying fish. Yum! I also loved the Highlands, a spot Cameron took us to just this past visit in February. Very scenic. The other thing you can do is just tell Cameron you want to see the highlights of the island. On one visit, we had a couple of sights we wanted to see, and then told our driver to take us where he thought we'd like to go. That's how we ended up at the nice hotel and beach. Oh, and we also asked our driver to take us to a grocery on the way back to the ship so that we could get some soda and snacks and there is a very nice one nearby, fyi.

Hope this helps!

 

Could you tell me how much he charged you guys for the trip.

[rjscott]

Travellingguy, we paid $135 for 4 hrs for the car. That is for a small sedan and driver. If you need a larger vehicle, like a van, it may cost a bit more; Cameron can advise you of that. But, the nice thing is, the cost is per vehicle, not per person, and so the driver will take you to each location you wish to visit and will wait for you as you visit each site and will then take you to the next site.

[KSCPA]

RN, yes, our experience with Cameron has always been very good and I have recommended him to others without hesitation. Even if Cameron is not your driver, we have been pleased with the drivers he has provided us. Yes, check out the website and see what looks good. If you still have questions, ask away. I'd be happy to help you piece together an itinerary.

I just got an e-mail back from Cameron...very fast indeed!!!

The cost is 135 for 3-4 hours up to 4 people...he is already booked but will give us one of his drivers....

Anyone going on April 14th with Emerald???

Can you help me with an itinery??

This is what I have written down....

Paynes Beach-snorkeling

Green Monkeys-somewhere??

Turtle Bay

The Gold Coast

Rockley

Church Point

Mullens Beach

I guess I am dreaming to see all of this!!!!

Please advise jrscott!!!

Kris

[rjscott]

RN, ok, here are a few of the things I have found to be the "highlights" of Barbados. If you search on the forums, you will see things that others have found to be highlights for them. It's all a matter of personal preference. This past visit, we went to Welchman Hall Gully, and we spent much longer there than we'd planned. It is a nature preserve, with many species of trees and plants native to Barbados. Think Jurassic Park without the dinosaurs. Huge stands of bamboo and fig trees. Not flowers, though. For that, you would want to go to the Flower Forest or Andromeda Botanical Gardens, or Orchid World. We ran out of time to do that. Be sure to make a stop at the Highlands. This is one of the most scenic spots in Barbados. They call it the Highlands because it is reminiscent of Scotland. Not having been to Scotland, I will have to take their word for it, :), but it is a beautiful photo op. I also liked the stop at Gun Hill station. This is a historical stop, but there is a charge for entry to the station. There are good views here and the historical information is interesting. But, if you are just interested in the views, your driver can probably find you a good overlook nearby without your having to incur the charge for Gun Hill station. Have the driver stop near Gun Hill for you to get a photo of the Gun Hill Lion. This lion is carved from a single piece of marble. It is a beautiful sculpture. I also think I've mentioned I love the Bathsheba area. The rough surf and the rocky shore are gorgeous. If you like wildlife, the Wildlife Reserve is very interesting as well. And, if you want to spend some time near end of your tour at a nice beach, I'm sure Cameron or your driver can recommend one near the cruise terminal where you can spend an hour or two. If you have people in your group who are looking to shop, there is some good shopping in Barbados. For local handicrafts, Pelican Village is the place and it is not far at all from the cruise terminal. The cruise terminal also has some good shops, including a branch of Earthworks pottery, a locally made quality pottery.

[travellingguyone]

Travelingguy, I would definitely recommend doing Harrison's Caves on your own. You can get there ahead of the crowds and then have the rest of the day to spend at your leisure. You can either just hire a taxi at the cruise terminal or you can check with Cameron for your cruise date/time and see what his availability is. If you go with a tour from the ship, you will be on a large tour bus, and you will spend much longer at the caves than necessary. With Cameron, you can get in and out of the caves and see another attraction in the amount of time you'd spend just at the caves with a tour from the ship. JMO, of course. :)

 

Thank you so much for the info. I will email cameron asap!!!

[travellingguyone]

Travellingguy, we paid $135 for 4 hrs for the car. That is for a small sedan and driver. If you need a larger vehicle, like a van, it may cost a bit more; Cameron can advise you of that. But, the nice thing is, the cost is per vehicle, not per person, and so the driver will take you to each location you wish to visit and will wait for you as you visit each site and will then take you to the next site.

 

thank you. what places did you see or recommend.

[rjscott]

Travellingguy and Kris, see my post to RN above for the highlights we've enjoyed in the past. The Wildlife Reserve is where you will see the Green Monkeys. There are platforms where the green monkeys come to feed in Welchman Hall Gully, but this is in the wild, and so they are unpredictable, and we did not see any the day we were there. If you want to see the green monkeys and other wildlife, you want to go to the wildlife reserve. It is very nice. http://www.barbados.org/reserve.htm NOTE: Please bear in mind that the entrance fees for any attractions that you go to will be out of pocket for you, and are not included in your car & driver charge. Most attractions on Barbados will take charge cards, although some will only take cash.

If you want to snorkel or enjoy some time at a beach, you'll want an hour or two for that. You'll want at least an hour at the Wildlife Reserve. If you simply want to drive around Barbados and see the beautiful countryside and stop for photo op's, like the Highlands, Bathsheba, maybe have lunch at Round House (near Bathsheba and very scenic and very good!), that will take a good 3 hours. So, you can see that you have packed a full day into Barbados already. When your ship docks in Barbados, you will take a bus from the ship to the cruise terminal. That's because the pier is very industrial and there is lots of traffic, so they don't want any foot traffic. Allow a few minutes for that. Then, you'll get into the terminal and go find Cameron who will direct you to your driver(or he will provide you with very good directions on how to find him or your driver). So, if your ship docks, say, at 8AM, you could safely ask for Cameron to meet you for pickup at 8:30AM. Now, depending upon when your ship departs, you will need to do the same thing in reverse, but allow a bit more time, as when you are brought back to the terminal, your driver has to go thru security, and all passengers must show their ship's card to get into the terminal area, so it can get a bit backed up at the gate. And, again, you need to board that bus to go back to the ship to reboard for departure. So, if your ship is departing at, say, 4PM, and you need to be back onboard at 3:30PM, you would want to be back at the cruise terminal no later than 3PM. If there were a lot of ships in port that day, I'd probably push it back to 2:30, just to be safe and then if I got into the terminal with time to spare, I'd browse the shops there(some are very nice) a bit before getting on the bus to the ship.

So, as you can see, depending on your time in port, you may have to limit your choices to two or three top picks. Kris, for you it sounds like you want to see the green monkeys and want to snorkel or go to a beach, so that is what I'd make my priority for the day. I'd head to the Wildlife Reserve first thing and then to whichever beach Cameron recommends for snorkeling from shore. I do believe Payne's beach is one of the better ones, especially for seeing turtles. Enjoy the Emerald Princess. We just sailed on her in February!

Hope this helps!

Becki

[KSCPA]

Thanks Becki....very informative and helpful!!!! Im a planning!!!

Kris

[rjscott]

Kris, you're very welcome! Have a terrific time in Barbados!

 

Becki

[RN7997]

Thanks for all the info....I definately want to get over to the West Coast.....looks incredible. I've narrowed things down and I think I am looking for more of a scenic tour. I'd like to be there to eat lunch at the Round House Restaurant......I'd also like to see Bethsheba. So doing that is there anyway to see the turtles too. Has anyone seen the turtles with Cameron Reid.....how did you do that??? I know Glory does the Glassbottom as part of their tour but Cameron Reid seems to have better reviews....so we chose him. ANy ideas now that I narrowed the plan a little.

[rjscott]

RN, the Round House is in the Bathsheba area. http://www.roundhousebarbados.com/gallery.htm The photos will give you an idea of how pretty the east coast is, but that it is not an area for swimming. Also, the website will give you an idea of the menu offered at the restaurant. As far as seeing the turtles, do you want a glass-bottom boat tour or do you want to snorkel? You could go to Paynes Beach to snorkel at the end of your tour, as turtles are often sighted there, or you could ask Cameron about a glass-bottom boat operator he may be able to recommend. Again, though, if doing a boat tour, you need to factor in the time needed for that, and the driving time to/from the departure location. Most glass-bottom boat tours last about 2 hrs, so, including drive time and time needed to be there prior to departure, you'd probably need to set aside 3 hrs in your port time for the glass-bottom boat tour if you want to make that a priority.

Becki

[Aplmac]

You'll notice that although this thread was originally directed to me

I've held back to see what would transpire.

 

As you've now gathered, Barbados is an island with a lot of things to see and do

thus my constant urgings that you guys try to plan a week here sometime somehow

in order to cram it all in!

 

Our latest tourism slogan is Barbados - always something going on!

--and they're not kidding ;)

 

 

 

Round House in Bathsheba

 

 

Too often, I see posters desperately trying to cram two days worth of sightseeing

into an 8-hour day ashore --and oftentimes it simply can't be done.

 

It's a good idea to search the internet for a good map of the island

to get a feel for where all these things you "just have to see" are located

-relative to each other-

so your day-plan will take in one half of the island -or the other.

 

 

Yes, Barbados is only 166 sq.miles...21 miles long 'up and down'

and 14 miles wide (at the widest point...'across')

but there's an awful lotta stuff packed into it!

 

You gotta prioritise...or take two cruises...or spend a week here..:)

Now there's options you can live with, huh?

 

Don't knock yourself out trying to do too much

and end up crying on the dock because you missed your ship!

Hey..on second thought...there's your week on the island starting right now...hmmm..:)

 

_______________________________________

I don't want to rain on your ambitious Parade

- just get to an internet MAP of Barbados

and don't try to do too much, okay?

 

 

There's only so much you can accomplish in one short day

 

.

[RQINFL]

Does anybody have Cameron's contact info/website? Thanks!

[rjscott]

The email address I used when we booked with him last Feb is:

camireid@yahoo.com