Into the Caribbean

It is ironic that the weather around the south part of South America surpassed expectations – warmer than it could have been and with little rain, wind or rough sea. But the Caribbean has produced the roughest night of the whole trip, most of the rain and some strong winds – it is not even the hurricane season. No problems for TSH and Diva but this is not going according to plan.

Oh, yes, the plan. This blog has already told of one future change of port but Captain Arma has now told the guests about his problem. When leaving Rio, a propeller was damaged, so Silver Spirit cannot travel as fast as normal. So the itinerary for the last leg of the cruise cannot be achieved. Bonaire will be omitted and a day at sea substituted. A temporary repair has supposedly been carried out by the divers who attended the ship in Barbados and a fuller repair will be done at Fort Lauderdale.

TSH and Diva went on a short excursion in Bridgetown, Barbados, mainly to see the Andromeda gardens, which are very attractive. There was an unfortunate incident with an animal that Diva is phobic about and another one when TSH and Diva were refused a rum punch without ice (which is potentially full of bacteria). ‘Ice’, they were told by the waitress, ‘is mandatory’. Eventually, the manager appeared with an apology and the offer of an ice-free drink. There was no more time for this, but there is a plan for rum punch in the Silver Spirit bar later. But a reasonable tour on the whole. Diva saw a green monkey in a garden.

Crew members all seem to know Diva by name and keep offering her Earl Grey tea. Her complaint about the lack of supply at some stages of the journey has obviously been communicated to all. There is a suggestion that the pool deck bar has a special box of it kept for her personal use.

Other cruise ships in Barbados: P&O Britannia and Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas. And a luxury yacht – Wind Star.