Jason Daniel Shaw

View Original

Best Excursions to do on a Carnival Cruise to Barbados

BRIDGETOWN | BARBADOS

Barbados is the eastern-most island in the Caribbean and the most south island that we visited on our cruise.  It is more flat than some of the other islands that we visited but the beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world.  We planned our Barbados excursion to spend our time in the clear waters and enjoying the beach.

ARRIVING IN BARBADOS

In Barbados, the cruise ship docks in Bridgetown, a much larger town than the others that we docked at on this cruise.  An industrial port, it may not be as picturesque as the other ports on arrival but don't let that sway your opinion of the island.  There is a port building that is setup with food, drink and souvenir vendors - it is also where you meet with your excursions.  That is where

EXCURSION IN BARBADOS

We chose the Jolly Roger Pirate Party Cruise and Snorkel that was offered through Carnival for $70 per person.  Even though we docked at 8:00, our excursion didn't leave until 10:15 so we took our time and enjoyed our morning.  The excursion got back at 3:30 and we didn't have to depart until 4:30 so that gave us time to pick up my souvenir magnet (I will explain more about my souvenir magnet obsession in another blog) from one of the port vendors.  The group met and we boarded a mini-bus for the short ride over to the wharf at the mouth of the Constitution River where our pirate ship awaited.

BARBADOS PIRATE SHIP | SHIPWRECK & TURTLES

The pirate ship was amazing!  They even had an open bar - that was open as soon as we were underway.  Our first stop was along the beach in Carlisle Bay, just a 5 minute boat ride.  There, we were able to snorkel a sunken tug boat (intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef).  The boat sat in 30 - 40 foot of water and there were lots of fish already calling it home.  There was also an area that you could swim with the turtles.  We had heard that there is only one turtle and a bunch of people surrounding him/her.  That wasn't the case at all.  We saw probably a dozen turtles and they would swim up to get some air and swim right by you.  We had about 45 minutes at this stop.

BARBADOS PIRATE SHIP | WALK THE PLANK

On the way to our next stop, lunch was served for anyone that had purchased it (it was additional - $5 for a burger and $15 for the buffet).  We opted to just enjoy the boat ride along the coast as we had a big breakfast.  Once we arrived at our next stop, they crew acted out a scene with one of the passengers in which they made her "walk the plank" - which she did willingly.  The plank was then opened up to anyone else that wanted to dive in or show off their tricks.  I was able to fly the drone after doing a couple backflips.  We had another 45 minutes in the turquoise waters there.  Also, there were several locals that came up to the boat on jet skis trying to offer rides.  While the crew would allow it, they warned that they were not affiliated with the cruise at all.

BARBADOS PIRATE SHIP | DANCE PARTY

On the way back to port, the party really came to life.  The drinks were flowing and the music was pumping.  All of the passengers and even the crew danced all the way back.  It was a fun day and our best excursion during the cruise.  I would highly recommend this excursion if you make it to Barbados.  Back at the cruise ship, we did a little shopping before boarding and then took up our station on the rear deck to say goodbye to Barbados and to another day at sea.  We were off to our next stop - St. Lucia.

OUR CARNIVAL CRUISE

We were on the 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Fascination (September 2, 2018 - September 9, 2018) out of San Juan visiting St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Maarten and finally returning back to San Juan.  Click on any of the links above to find out more about what we did in each of our ports of call or visit my Instagram.