At Sea

After experiencing our first Caribbean sunset on board the Wind Surf, we decided to make a reservation for dinner. The Wind Surf has four dining venues to choose from plus room service. The casual option 'Candles' seemed like a good place to start. Outdoor dining on the Main Deck serving Steaks... mmmmm. We quickly realized most of the other passengers were making reservations for the whole week! We couldn't think past the first night let alone know what we wanted to do for the rest of the week so we figured we'd wait and plan later. This, it turned out, was not the best idea, but more on that later.

As we were sailing as part of a group, we had a private cocktail party organized by our host where we met the rest of the members of the group. This is where we met a couple of other fellow travel agents from Ontario, which worked out well as we now had dinner and drinks companions.

After our sumptuous steak dinner at Candles, we headed up to the Compass Rose Bar for some drinks and entertainment. Now, keep in mind, Wind Surf is a small ship, so no big Broadway shows, just small intimate ensembles. Perfect for the relaxing atmosphere we were embedded in. Before we knew it, it was midnight and time for bed.

The next morning we awoke to the bright Caribbean sun shining into our cabin and after dragging ourselves from our comfortable bed, realized I was nauseous. Yes, I was seasick! We had a whole day at sea and I was not going to spend the day feeling queasy! I remember some old advice about keeping my stomach full when seasick and so Glen and I headed straight out to breakfast.

We went to The Veranda where they were serving hot and cold buffet breakfast, or a la carte. After forcing down a few mouthfuls of toast I realized I was immediately feeling better! Thank goodness. Now I could enjoy a full breakfast and then spend the day working it off, lying in the sun by the pool, reading my book.

Well, I lasted only an hour under the hot sun and then had to move into the shade of the Pool Bar to read my book. Turns out my pasty white British skin can't handle more than a few minutes of the searing Caribbean sun. But, before I knew it, it was tea time and I was more than halfway through my book! Amazing how quickly the time flies when you are having fun.

The evening started off with a cocktail reception with the Captain and Hotel Manager and an overview of the following days shore excursions and sightseeing highlights presented by our Cruise Directors Greg and Moira ( from Sarnia, of all places!) then dinner in Degrees.

Degrees is reservations only, 6 course meal. Quite the culinary experience! At this point, we realize, it doesn't matter where we decide to eat, it's going to be fantastic fare.

We turned in early after a day of sea air, the subtle sway of the ship lulling us into sleep.

Day 1 - Barbados

We arrived in Bridgetown after a fairly uneventful flight from Toronto. One tip though, Westjet uses Bell Satellite TV onboard their planes, which doesn't work once you leave the "Bell" region. So, it was a VERY long flight with no tv to distract us for about 4 hours of the 5 hour flight! But, I kept myself busy knitting a summer tank top and was able to finish two thirds of the whole thing in 4 hours.

We arrived in Bridgetown at about 4:00pm and was pleased to find a Hilton Needhams Point rep waiting outside the Arrivals terminal. I had not booked a transfer to the Hilton as we figured it would be just as easy to grab a taxi, but the rep had our name on her list and a taxi was waiting to take us straight to the hotel!

Once at the hotel we were given a fantastic room with an oceanview balcony. Delightful but loud. The surf in Barbados is VERY noisy. We had just enough time to check out the property and clean up for our dinner at The Cliff Restaurant.

The Cliff is a local and tourist favorite. My husband and I had dinner there 7 years ago on our last visit to Barbados and it hasn't changed a bit. In a good way. The food is phenomenal. Exquisite. The service is impeccable. The view is breathtaking. I think it is my most favorite restaurant of all time. It's not cheap, but worth every penny. I suggest a dinner at The Cliff for anyone visiting Barbados. It's a really memorable, fantastic time.

A few other tips - the cabs/taxis are NOT metered in Barbados. It seemed like every trip, whether 10 minutes away or 30 minutes away was $20US per ride. This was a bit confusing when going from the Hotel to the Pier to meet the Windsurf which was only 5 minutes away from the hotel. We managed to negotiate down to $15US once we realized all the other taxis dispatching their riders were charging $15US. The ride all the way up the South Coast from Needham's Point was over 20 minutes and still only $20US. The ride to the airport is $22US-I guess to cover the cost of hauling your luggage? And the exchange rate is $1US to $2BBD which is a very easy conversion. And they ALWAYS give you change in BBD so make sure you take lots of small US bills or you'd get stuck with lots of BBD at the end of your trip.

Next time: Meeting the Wind Surf for the first time.

Inaugural Post

So, finally, Cruisenet has started a blog... and not a moment too soon! Chelsea has just returned from her first Windstar cruise aboard the msy Wind Surf. She has plenty of photos and insights to share from this amazing experience. Over the next few days/weeks she's going to write about the cruise and ports and even share some photos. We'd love to hear your comments and feedback on our posts and even suggestions for future posts! Muriel has such a wealth of travel experience and insights to share, we're not really sure where to start, so your ideas are more than welcome.