Here, we're in another new island, this one a Republic within the Commonwealth. Barbados comes from "bearded" in Portuguese. Other ships scheduled on Wednesday are Explora and Celebrity Beyond.
The AzAmazing feature happens soon after arrival, Tuesday, on the ship. It's going to be an extravaganza of Caribbean cultures, per the book.
5 December Tuesday
This was a slow day. Nice day, partly cloudy, SS2. Our group A is assigned dinner at 1900 and the AzAmazing show at 2100. Group B has the opposite schedule.
At 0900 we can see Martinique off to port. Currently making 18 knots on course southeast-by-east. Soon we'll turn more easterly to a course for Barbados, passing between Martinique and St Lucia. We're due to arrive about 1600.
About 1030 we went to the MDR for Brunch, served on the platform in the center of the room. Everything good, and of course, no calories.
(cont'd)
We played a 3-sheet pad of Bingo in the Cabaret and won nothing. Back to the cabin, skipped the 1400 lecture. Went to the Living Room to look at the approaching island of Barbados. While doing so, Triivia gave us six participation points, since we won nothing. Back to the cabin at 1730 to change for dinner in Discoveries (MDR) at 1900 and the AzAmazing show at 2100.
During this 1930-2030 period D was researching and O was typing madly into this tome.
The harbor here is quite compact but seven ships are in it. Two small containers ships are loading containers, Onward, Oceania Insignia (same class as us), Mien Schiff 4, Ponant's Le Bellot, and Vista (whose line we can't quite make out). Don't know which might be leaving in the night or next day. We leave late tomorrow to go the 40 miles or so to St Lucia.
We ate in Discoveries seated next to Marilyn (our today trivia partner who is a little hard to figure out) and her husband. D & Marilyn chatted through the meal (O has schweinebraten) and at the end her husband wished us a good day tomorrow. Apparently Marilyn is going with us on tour. We were told rain has come to us and that the AzAmazing show will be moved into the Cabaret. We returned to cabin to wait for our time at the show. Oh,yes - Insignia got underway about 2030.
We got poor seats in the Cabaret for the show but we still very much enjoyed it. A narrator lead us through time from African slaves to today's Carnival. Drums, singers, dancers, dancers on stilts (yes), and extreme costumes with embedded LED lights. Photos above and below. Lots of their pictures will make it into the photo album and be linked from here.
Then to the cabin and to bed. Oops, forgot the half-pint of Mount Gay rum we found in the cabin as a gift (from whom, we don't know).
Photo Link
6 December Thursday, Bridgetown Barbados
We took a tour today to see an old plantation and hear its history. Saint Nicholas Abbey plantation was founded about 1650. A large home was erected and acreage added until it included 400 acres.
Of course, there's a long, involved history that goes with the property and with Carolina. The family held high office in Carolina & Barbados under the king. There was no monastery here. The name came about after two members were married in an abbey in England.
The owner, who was growing sugar cane for the sugar, started distilling the cane syrup into rum, adding much to its value and enriching him.
A small railroad (3'6"gauge) was built in the 1800's that wandered around most of the island. Later, it was downsized to 2'6" to match the gauge of the private cane-hauling railroads. It was gradually taken up in sections, the last bit in 1938. The part of it on Abbey property was restored in 2007 when the current owner bought the property and began running tours of it to make it self-sufficient.
At the end of the tour we were bussed back down the west coast of the island to the tourist center where we looked over schlock. D bought a lapel pin, We grabbed food in Patio and returned to the cabin to type these notes.
Photo Link
Link to Wiki about St Nicholas Abbey
After our rest period we attended Trivia in the Living Room. In General we had 12, and in Elvis only 9. Rather dismal performance, both of them. O's iPhone ran out of power during Elvis so we returned to the cabin to charge it.
Le Bellot backed out under her own power and departed about 1700. Did a spectacular rotation between the three other ships tied up. That leaves Explora I, Celebrity Beyond, and us. About 1745 MS James Cook (working vessel, registered London) pulled into the space former.y occupied by Le Bellot. Cook has all sorts of lifting gear on her back deck.
We decided to dine lightly with things from the buffet in Windows. While we were there, Explora I and Celebrity Beyond departed for their next ports. We'll depart at 2100.
The new entertainer on board is a comedian named Andrew Grose; neither of us is comfortable with shipboard comedy, so we'll skip it.