Cruise destination Barbados

Barbados was one of the first Caribbean islands I visited. It was during my first cruise on Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2). I had crossed the Atlantic several times on her before that but as the people at Cunard were adamant in pointing out, a crossing is not a cruise. Since I liked the experience onboard QE2 during these crossings, I decided to see what the ship was like during a cruise. Therefore, I booked one of the two or three Caribbean cruises that the ship did each year.

QE2 departed from New York City and using her incredible speed we were quickly out of the lingering cold weather of early Spring. Once down in the warmer waters, the ship slowed down and the days took on a lazy pace as well. We visited Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale), occupying what was then one of the few cruise ship berths in what was then still primarily a cargo ship harbor. Then we headed south to St. Thomas and St. Maarten, which were both still tender ports.

The southernmost point on the journey was Barbados. It was often called “Little England” then and so it was appropriate to visit the island on a British ship. I found it to be a pretty island with a charming, restful atmosphere.

I have been back to Barbados many times since then. It has changed over the years. To an outsider, the standard of living appears to have improved. There has been much construction and development but the island still has charm. It also still has a British flavor but perhaps less so now.

Barbados is not uni-dimensional. On the west coast, you have the beautiful Caribbean beaches, the expensive resorts and the fabulous yacht marinas. Going further east, the island becomes less developed but still scenic in its natural beauty. On the east coast, powerful waves roll in from the Atlantic, carving the coral rocks into unusual shapes.

Looking somewhat more closely, the island has historical and cultural attractions as well including plantation great houses, churches and military facilities. For most of its history, the island's economy thrived because the climate was so well suited to agriculture. The economy has moved on but the people have taken advantage of the climate to create flourishing botanical gardens.

Our section on Barbados begins with an overview http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-cruise-destination.html and a brief history http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-brief-history.html. There is a page providing information about the cruise port http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-cruise-port.html and a slideshow showing some of the cruise ships that have called at Barbados http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-cruise-ships.html. We then take a look at some of the attractions of the island including the beaches http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-attractions-beaches.html the Bathsheba beach and rock formations http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-attractions-bathsheba.html the great houses http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-attractions-great-houses.html the Gun Hill Signal Station http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-attractions-gun-hill.html and the botanical gardens http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-attractions-gardens.html There is also a links page with links to other websites with information relevant to cruising to Barbados.http://www.beyondships3.com/barbados-cruise-links.html

Finally, we have a video of the cruise ship Norwegian Jewel sailing from Barbados. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-jewel-video.html