The second part of our cruise trip starts from the centre of the Atlantic ocean. At times the waves were huge, the enormous cruise ship would rock and it would be a really strange feeling walking down the corridors, lurching from side to side, trying to walk normally... this is how we get our sea legs.. which you can feel then when you get back to dry land!
We had a couple more visits to the bar for mocktails. They were expensive so it was a treat!
When I went on cruises about 10 years ago, there was a lot more waste.. I remember huge midnight feasts with melons carved, loads of food on display and it was beautiful but a lot of it would be thrown away which is horrible! Also the portions used to be a lot bigger. I am glad to see that the cruise companies are taking responsibility more for the waste they produce. It's a very self indulgent style of holiday, to eat and drink what you like (not including alcohol or certain types of food at certain hours of the day). I found that more food was payable, for example unlimited ice creams or unlimited soda. We don't really eat junk food as a rule, it's more of a one off, now and again, so there was no need to pay for that. I do like to drink clean water though and it's a shame that the 'free' water on board had a chemical taste to it. It wasn't very good water, I would have paid for a mineral water card if I had known. Also the 'free' coffee was really bad - eugh! Instant coffee to someone who only drinks organic coffee and lots of it, is a big eugh! I would invest in an unlimited decent coffee card too! :) Life's essentials. Apart from that, there was plentiful salads, great tasting, good quality fish, meat, chicken, veggie options. The kids loved the unlimited desserts and I was glad they were in bite sized portions, so they didn't become total gluttons!
It was exciting to be in this part of the world on the map and not in Europe...
The kids did lots more drawing.....
Playing... this water park was a god-send... I could sunbathe and read just around the corner.
More shows every night... we could get used to a life like this.. ;)
Ooof!
Barbados was approaching after five lovely days at sea, I loved being at sea, so did the boys. Nowhere to go, just five days to play, read, sleep and eat. Just what we all needed and we really made the most of it.
Then... land ho....
Coming into dock.
Bridgetown harbour.
The beach... it is a really fantastic beach!
I had booked us to go snorkelling on shipwrecks and to swim with sea turtles with Barbados Blue... they picked us up from the cruise terminal and took us to the other side of Bridgetown where our little boat was waiting.. The kids were very excited as they had been practising with snorkels already back at home at the swimming baths.
Getting on the boat to be taken to the wreck sites..
Like a duck to water...
I got in for a bit but I have a fear of the open ocean (despite having completed my open water diver training with SCUBA in Fuerteventura, years ago). I don't like the feeling that something could be behind me just out of my peripheral vision....
I don't like to show the kids I am scared and they must not have picked up on it, they were both so happy to be there... pointing out brain corals, screaming with delight when the fish came to eat the crackers they had been given. Miles was hilarious... he came up screaming that he had just seen a turtle defending its eggs from a puffer fish. The instructor and I roared with laughter! Miles ate as many crackers as the fish did! He was on top form! He is so confident in the water, they both are! The shipwrecks were fascinating. The fish got very close. Miles touched one and said it wasn't slimy, it was rough! Miles had the most fun I have ever seen him have!! I can't wait to take him again to something like this!
That's Miles snorkelling...
After the boat trip, they floated over waves at the beach.
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Then, sea salt crusted and sun burned, we walked back to the cruise ship ready for Martinique and disembarkement in the morning...
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