Caribbean Cruises from Barbados
The Caribbean island of Barbados has more than its fair share of sandy beaches, palm trees swaying in the sea breeze and warm azure waters. Add in the welcome and friendliness of the locals, and it’s no surprise you have a favorite vacation destination. In the 18 and early 19th centuries Barbados was run as a sugar cane economy under British rule, and you can still see a few original sugar plantations reborn as museums describing the hardships of the slaves working in the sugar fields. Nowadays the inhabitants of Barbados are called Bajans, and the ancestors of the old plantation system exist in relative harmony under a democratic government.
Of particular interest to the cruise vacationer is that Barbados is the easternmost Caribbean island so normally avoids the terrible effects of the area’s tropical storms. This is due to the fact that the island is situated just outside the main hurricane zone (on average a hurricane only strikes the island around one time every 26 years). This makes Barbados a very attractive cruise ship port, and in recent years, thanks to the well served and nearby Grantley Adams international airport, the island has justifiably become a very busy departure point for cruises.
Bridgetown Port
The Port of Bridgetown, or more properly called the Deep Water Harbour, was built in the 1960s just a mile to the north of Bridgetown (the capital of Barbados). In 2002 the central channel was deepened to enable larger ships to use the facility. The harbor deepening has been a great success, leading to a large amount of growth both in goods and cruise ship volumes. The Port has 4 berths giving 1,531 metres of quayside, and can handle 5-6 large cruise ships. The 4 berths are the breakwater (522m long), the sugar berth (307m long), berths 2/3/4 (total length 550m) and the Esso Jetty (244 meters), situated outside the breakwater. (Editor’s note – if your ship’s tied up at the Esso Jetty, don’t feel inferior, because you’ve normally picked an excellent value cruise!)
Between the quays and the port entrance sits the cruise terminal, officially opened in January 1994. Here is where you will book in for your cruise. The terminal houses the normal departments to handle cruise passengers, such as Immigration, Customs, Health Center, Animal Quarantine, Post Office and the Barbados Tourism Office. Plus restaurants and bars, a business facility, and an net cafe. The terminal has a lot of space devoted to shopping, with over 20 duty free shops stocking beautiful jewellery, attractive china, the latest in electronics, and locally-sourced crafts.
Bridgetown – Barbados
Barbados offers first-rate sightseeing, dotted around the rolling and lush interior are plantation homes and glorious botanical gardens to visit, and the British colonial garrison and parts of the capital Bridgetown are a Unesco World Heritage Site. If you want to take things easy, enticing beaches lie in easy reach of the port, good restaurants are plentiful,aswell as rum shops – laid-back and characterful bars that serve as cornerstones of local life.
Barbados is the departure port for many P & O Caribbean cruises, and it’s well worth considering adding on a couple of nights on land at the start or end of the trip. Doing so could enable you to sample one of the cosseting hotels that line the west coast and several of the island’s many gourmet restaurants. There’s also Oistins Fish Fry, a large-scale, food-oriented street party every Friday evening.
Cruise Ships & Itineries
Britannia (nov-Mar)
14 days, round-trip Caribbean
Departing from Bridgetown, Barbados Willemstad, Curacao Island, Dutch Antilles Oranjestad, Aruba Island, Dutch Antilles St Georges, Grenada Saint Vincent Island, Kingstown, Grenadines Castries, St Lucia Island Basseterre, Port Zante, St Kitts Island St Johns, Antigua Philipsburg, St Maarten Island, Dutch Antilles Arriving in Bridgetown, Barbados
7 days, one-way from Bridgetown to Castries
Departing from Bridgetown, Barbados Willemstad, Curacao Island, Dutch Antilles Kralendijk, Bonaire Island, Dutch Antilles St Georges, Grenada Saint Vincent Island, Kingstown, Grenadines Arriving in Castries, St Lucia Island
7 and 14 day cruises also depart from castries
Azura (nov-Mar)
14 days, round-trip Caribbean
Departing from Bridgetown, Barbados Saint Vincent Island, Kingstown, Grenadines Basseterre, Port Zante, St Kitts Island Philipsburg, St Maarten Island, Dutch Antilles Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos Tortola Island, Road Town, BVI St Johns, Antigua Castries, St Lucia Island St Georges, Grenada Arriving in Bridgetown, Barbados
Azura spens the rest of the year in Valletta (malta).
Carnival Fascination (all year round)
7 days, round-trip Southern Caribbean
Departing from Bridgetown, Barbados San Juan, Puerto Rico Saint Thomas Island, Charlotte Amalie, USVI Philipsburg, St Maarten Island, Dutch Antilles Basseterre, Port Zante, St Kitts Island Castries, St Lucia Island Arriving in Bridgetown, Barbados
Carnival Fascination also sails from San Juan
Royal Clipper (Dec-Mar)
7 days, round-trip Windward Islands
Departing from Bridgetown, Barbados Pigeon Island, Rodney Bay, St Lucia Portsmouth, Dominica Falmouth, English Harbour, Antigua Basseterre, Port Zante, St Kitts Island Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe Fort-de-France, Martinique Arriving in Bridgetown, Barbados
7 days, round-trip Grenadine Islands
Departing from Bridgetown, Barbados Mayreau Island, Grenadines St Georges, Grenada Mayreau Island, Grenadines Saint Vincent Island, Kingstown, Grenadines Bequia Island, Port Elizabeth, Grenadines Fort-de-France, Martinique Soufriere, St Lucia Island Arriving in Bridgetown, Barbados
Seabourn Odyssey (nov -mar)
14 days, round-trip Exotic Caribbean In-depth
Departing from Bridgetown, Barbados Bequia Island, Port Elizabeth, Grenadines Les Anses d’Arlet, Martinique Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe Charlestown, Nevis Island 0St Johns, Antigua Basseterre, Port Zante, St Kitts Island Philipsburg, St Maarten Island, Dutch Antilles Tortola Island, Road Town, BVI Gustavia, Saint Barthelemy Island Basseterre, Port Zante, St Kitts Island Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe Castries, St Lucia Island Mayreau Island, Grenadines Bridgetown, Barbados
14 days, one-way from Bridgetown to Philipsburg
Departing from Bridgetown, Barbados Pigeon Island, Rodney Bay, St Lucia Falmouth, English Harbour, Antigua Jost Van Dyke Island, Belle Vue, BVI Basseterre, Port Zante, St Kitts Island Fort-de-France, Martinique St Georges, Grenada Bridgetown, Barbados Bequia Island, Port Elizabeth, Grenadines Les Anses d’Arlet, Martinique Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe Charlestown, Nevis Island St Johns, Antigua Basseterre, Port Zante, St Kitts Island Arriving in Philipsburg, St Maarten Island, Dutch Antilles
Seabourn Odyssey offers 7 day cruises to/from Philipsburg
When to Travel
Bridgetown Average High/low Temperatures
For Caribbean vacations, high season has commonly lasted from December to April,The winter months in the Caribbean can be hectic. Half the known world seems to want to take their winter breaks here,
The temperatures at night in the winter months vary from as low as 10°C (50°F) in the far northern parts of the Caribbean around western Cuba and the northern Bahamas to as warm as 22-23°C (72-73°F) in the southern Antillean Islands. During the daytime in winter, the maximum temperature can vary from 24-25°C (75-77°F) in the northern parts, to 29-31°C (84-88°F) in the southern areas
In the summer, the humidity levels rise and so does the temperature. Temperatures above 36°C (97°F) are rare and if they do occur they only last a day or two. The most frequent region where this can occur is in the south eastern parts of Cuba.
The typical maximum daytime temperatures ranges between 29-32°C (84-90°F). At night time in summer, the minimum temperatures drop to around 24°C (75°F) with at least five nights where the temperature doesn’t drop below 28°C (82°F).
