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Monday 1 February 2010

Going to Barbados #1.......

Right here we go......

Our friend (who is a taxi driver) arrived at 6.45 a.m. on the 13th January to take us to the airport.  Unfortuntately we were still snowed in, so it was impossible for him to pick us up at our front door, we had to 'slide' the suitcases up the Grove to meet him.    Thankfully it wasn't snowing and our journey to the airport was without mishap or delay.    Our flight was on time until we boarded the plane, it had started snowing so the plane had to be de-iced, which meant a 90 minute delay.  This wasn't as bad as the flight from Gatwick which was delayed by about 6 hours!

We had paid for Premier seats on the flight and they were well worth the extra - loads of leg room and very comfortable.    Also complimentary drinks throughout the flight were included! It was a really nice flight, which we spent reading and watching films and we arrived in Barbados at approximately 4.15 pm local time.   We were taken straight from the plane to minibuses to be transported to the ship - no customs, no collecting baggage - fantastic!

We alighted from the bus and were ushered into a 'hanger' where we had our photographs taken, registered my credit card and were given our cruise cards, which we used to charge all purchases on board and which were scanned each time we left or boarded the ship.

Then we got our first glimpse of the Ocean Village.  Here she is!




Once aboard we were directed to our cabin, after being given numerous leaflets and information about the ship.   We had booked a suite with a balcony and were thrilled with it, when we eventually found it - the ship was huge!  I had booked a little treat for us as a surprise for MWM which was waiting for us when we got to our suite.


Beautiful exotic flowers, fruit and a box of delicious chocolates.

Here are some views of our suite.


Our beds


Our lounge area


Walk in wardrobe
(with iron/ironing board and trouser press - not that we used them)

Dressing table, tea/coffee making facilities and TV.

You will notice that it was dark so here's two photos taken the following morning from our balcony.





We had to attend an evacuation drill at 6.30 pm, then we were free to settle in.   We unpacked all the clothes that needed to be hung, then went to one of the four restaurants for something to eat before returning to our suite to finish unpacking.   By this time we were totally worn out so decided to go to bed - it was 9.30 p.m. local time but bearing in mind Barbados is four hours behind the UK it was actually 1.30 a.m. and we'd been up since 4 a.m. the previous day.

There had been an announcement that the Gatwick flight was late which mean that instead of sailing at 8 p.m. we wouldn't actually be sailing until about 2 a.m.  We woke up at 1.30 a.m. as the ship set sail and went out on the balcony to wave goodbye to Barbados until the following Wednesday.   We then went back to bed and slept soundly, being rocked gently by the sea, until 8.30 a.m.

Join me again for our first day at sea.

28 comments:

A Lady's Life said...

Sounds wonderful.
Nothing better than sea air, warm wind and sun.
Enjoy!!!

quilly said...

Oh how exciting to be underway at last! Except for those twin beds, your cabin looks comfy!

storyteller said...

Glad your departure and flight went smoothly! Fun to see your cabin ... I loved having a balcony on my last cruise ;-)
Hugs and blessings,

Ron said...

OMG...how EXCITING!

I couldn't wait to see and hear all about your trip!!!

Holy cow...that ship is HUGE! Your room looked gorgeous. Love the colors. And you had your own BALCONY??? How faaabulous!

I bet it felt like you were on the Love Boat, hu?

Can't wait to see more, m'dear!

X

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

oboy oboy oboy!!! more please!

smiles, bee
xoxooxoxoxox

the mother of this lot said...

Welcome home! Did you get used to the cold yet?

secret agent woman said...

Very nice - looks like a great start!

Travis Cody said...

We're convinced that should we ever take a cruise, we'll definitely upgrade to a cabin with a balcony.

Looking forward to more photos and descriptions of the fun!

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Elaine Denning said...

I'm glad you only had a delay on the flight and not a cancellation (as many flights were cancelled that day).

Can't wait for the rest!

Anonymous said...

Very jealous - It all sounds FAB. Great photos too :0)

mrsnesbitt said...

Aye Aye Captain! Am looking forward to this! Especially on such a rainy day like today!

Connie T. said...

You had a great cabin. Whenever I went on a cruise I always got the small cabin. The trip sounds wonderful.

Akelamalu said...

You got it A Lady's Life! :)

We thought about having the beds pushed together,which would have been possible Quilly but it was fun issuing invites to each other from our beds (wink)

We have experienced a cabin without a balcony Storyteller, which is why we splurged this time. :)

If you thought our ship was huge Ron you should have seen the Arcadia. It was half as big again! Oh yes, it was definitely the love boat - see my reply to Storyteller above! LOL

More to come Bee and I even have a photo of the Carnival Victory - I think you've been on that one haven't you?

I'm just about used to the change in temperature TMOTL, but the temperature has risen since we got home. :)

It was a great start SAW and it got better.

Oh yes you must Trav - I've experienced both and the balcony is so worth the extra cost!

Thanks Free Fonts but I don't want any. :)

I know Laney we were very lucky!

Glad you like the first photos Eternally Distracted, I hope you enjoy the subsequent ones.

You're in for a surprise Mrs N!

The last cruise we went on in the Med we had a small cabin too ConnieT, though it did have a window. :)

CG said...

oh it all sounds blissful....

jingle said...

what cute photos,
you seem very confident, good-willed, and energetic...

I love the places you have been visiting..
enchanting post.

Cloudia said...

"Rocked gently by the sea..."
Indeed! though your boat was bigger than mine by far LOL.

They tend to make speed at night.
You 2 look like naturals there in your suite. Lovely, Dear


Aloha,


Comfort Spiral

Susan at Stony River said...

Look at that blue sea and sunshine! What a wonderful holiday it must have been!

snowelf said...

Oh, I love it. It's like I am going along with you. And what wonderfully spacious quarters for a ship cabin--pure lovliness!
I'm so glad you had a wonderful time!! :)

Staying tuned!

--snow

Linda said...

Wow! You had some totally gorgeous accommodations onboard what has got to be one of the biggest ships I've ever seen! Nothing like sailing in the lap of luxury!

Can't wait to see and hear some more of your wonderful trip!

Nessa said...

Can't wait for more. Lovely suite.

Poor Tuesday

Spiky Zora Jones said...

akelamalu: Yay! I'm living this cruise through you. I love big boats. the biggest we were on was Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Sea.
Do they make animals with your towels when they clean your room...they put sunglasses on a towel monkey.

more please...

layter honey. xxx

Mimi Lenox said...

I always love your photos. The sea is sooo blue and you both are just beaming. Thank you for the tour!

(I was in the wardrobe closet. In the suitcase. Did you hear me??!!)

Akelamalu said...

It was CG :)

Glad you enjoyed it Jingle

Oh yes a much bigger boat than yours Cloudia but I bet I know which you'd rather have. x


The colour of the sea is just beautiful Susan and of course the sunshine make you feel great!

I hope my travelogue brings you some sunshine Snowelf x

Our ship was small to some we saw Linda if you can believe that!

More to come Nessa :)

They didn't do the towel animals on this cruise Spiky though they did on the Nile cruise we did a few years ago. They're fun aren't they? :)

I heard you Mimi - I hope you enjoyed sitting on the balcony whilst we were out! (wink)

buffalodick said...

Sounds like you had a real good start to your trip!

Akelamalu said...

Definitely Buff! :)

Nishant said...

how exciting to be underway at last! Except for those twin beds, your cabin looks comfy!

Work From Home

Akelamalu said...

The beds were comfy Nishant and by the end of each day we were so tired we'd have slept on the floor! LOL