Dave's digital postcards from Paradise Islands on Marella Explorer

by **Dave** » 22 Dec 2018 15:20

We'll be setting off early tomorrow for Gatwick and a long flight to Barbados where we'll board Marella Explorer for this year's Christmas Caribbean cruise.

I enjoy posting updates from our holidays and (wi-fi permitting) I'll be adding regular accounts and lots of photos this time as well. :angel:

It's highly likely that this will be our last cruise - at least for the foreseeable future. Actually, we said the same thing last Christmas, but we enjoyed the Cuban Fusion cruise on Discovery 2 so much that we booked a cruise for this Christmas as soon as we got home. But I doubt we'll be tempted again. We've hardly given this cruise any thought and haven't even booked any excursions yet (we'll do it on board!), and we're really not looking forward to the hassles of airports and flights. After about 30 cruises in 13 years I think we're all cruised out!

However, stepping out of the plane into the heat of Barbados with six different golden beaches to look forward to, and with the added bonus of a new ship to explore, is starting to look very appealing...

by **Camela** » 22 Dec 2018 23:55

Season's Greetings to you both and hope it's a good cruise.....and won't be the last! I do agree about the hassles of travel these days but am mindful to do the longer trips whilst we can as there will always be 'closer to home'.

by **tomvet** » 23 Dec 2018 19:08

Have a good one Dave. Hope the drones dont impinge on your travels. Getting there is long enough without that hassle. The Barbados to LGW flight diverted to Shannon last week amidst the hassle.

by **Dave** » 23 Dec 2018 22:12

The travelling went amazingly well - better than usual! - and we're settling in nicely. :-)

We're impressed with what we've seen of the ship so far, and we like the cabin. It's smart and has a big balcony - with a hammock!

First stop was for coffee, followed by booking excursions. They look very exciting!

The ship is moderately Christmassy...

Next is the dreaded safety drill and then we'll go in search of the buffet restaurant...

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by **judgegeoff** » 23 Dec 2018 23:36

Very glad that you were not affected by the LGW drones and that your journey was less onerous than expected. A balcony with a hammock - now that is a new one on me!! Have a great Christmas cruise, I am looking forward to your future posts. Bon voyage!!!! :wave:

by **Dave** » 24 Dec 2018 01:34

judgegeoff wrote:Very glad that you were not affected by the LGW drones and that your journey was less onerous than expected. A balcony with a hammock - now that is a new one on me!! Have a great Christmas cruise, I am looking forward to your future posts. Bon voyage!!!!

Thanks Geoff. :-)

One last photo for today...

Despite being a modest 77,000grt, Explorer feels surprisingly large.

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by **Seamouse** » 24 Dec 2018 16:22

I like the look of the hammock. Enjoy your time in the sun. I am looking forward to hearing about it all, and the pictures of course. Glad the drones did not cause you problems.

by **Dave** » 24 Dec 2018 19:46

We're at Bequia, St Vincent & the Grenadines today. This morning we did a brilliant excursion called Bequia Boat Adventure which mixed a bit of sightseeing with a couple of beach/snorkelling stops.

Passing Marella Explorer as we were leaving Port Elizabeth:

We saw a lot of abandoned buildings - many of which were connected to whaling - as we sped along the coast:

That's me in the sea! We snorkled straight from the boat just off a tiny island called Petit Nevis.

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by **Dave** » 24 Dec 2018 22:27

This year I remembered to bring my ageing underwater camera... :-)

I saw a good many fish, including lots of interesting and large ones, but they seemed unwilling to appear in my photos. Never mind, here are some small ones... ;-)

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by **judgegeoff** » 25 Dec 2018 07:20

Merry Christmas Dave and Fred and thanks for taking the time to post on the forum. :clap:

The ship looks superb and very smart, although the sea and sky are a rather strange colour - very blue!!! It is a somewhat cold and grey morning back here in Kent, so I am rather envious. Continue to have a great time and we are all looking forward to reading your next posts.