On November 1st, we had our first sea day of eight consecutive to get us across the Atlantic from Casablanca to Barbados. This is one of the longer stretches of consecutive sea days on cruise ship itineraries and we weren’t sure how anxious we would be to see land again after eight full days. Once we made it to Barbados, the experience was much better than expected. Other than the first two days after leaving Casablanca the seas were calm (Sandy had light motion sickness initially and ended up taking 1 pill that she got from guest services, and she was fine the rest of the cruise) and we settled into a regular routine that helped the days pass by without ever longing for land. It also gave us a chance to get to know the ship and the MSC cruise line better. Now that we are a couple of weeks into the cruise, we both have said that we have developed an appreciation for MSC and we would certainly consider traveling with MSC again. I guess we have yet to be on a line that we wouldn’t go on again, although it has been more than 20 years since our Carnival experience. Maybe we should try them again at some point. To summarize the crossing and the eight days at sea, here are highlights of how we spent our time.
I helped organize a pickleball tournament (that will hopefully end by the time the cruise ends) and a structure to the order of play and played every day for hours on end. We developed a group of 40 or so regular players – some having never played before. With only one court, there was a lot of waiting, which gave a chance to get to know people. It’s been a wonderful experience getting to play so much and meeting people from all over the world playing the game. Sandy calls me the president of the pickleball club. I can’t tell why but the position of the court on this ship does great for minimizing the wind when on the court.
Breakfasts and lunches during the week have been in the buffet areas – there are two on the ship. They usually have the ingredients to make the same salad we eat during the week when on land and able to make our own meals.
Dinners during the week have been at our scheduled table and time in the Seashore dining room. Leah (from Kenya) is our server and it has been fun getting to know her. She knows we aim to eat healthier during the week, so she has been bringing us fruit for dessert each night.
Friday nights, we have enjoyed happy hour at the taco restaurant – two for one margaritas and chips and then dinner at the main buffet. Saturday nights, we have enjoyed happy hour at the sports bar where they have a special running on John Smith’s beer. That is a beer I first had when I visited a pub in Basildon, England so it brings back good memories. Besides the Basildon Depeche Mode connection, one of the musicians onboard has played Depeche songs a couple of times now – Personal Jesus and Just Can’t Get Enough.
We have gone to the theater show almost every night and we have enjoyed the entertainment here on MSC. The cruise line’s staff productions have been pretty good and the guest entertainers have been great. Patricia Bernier (singer) three times, Gaston Quieto (magician) twice, John Philip (singer) twice, Hank Denson (comedian) twice, Duncan Heather (singer), the crew talent show where six crew members sang (and they were amazing), and Dan Bennett (comedian). Usually, after the shows, we take a walk outside to look for Mr. Moon.
We attended a couple of lectures about upcoming ports of call.
There was some kind of a medical issue shortly after leaving Casablanca and so we stopped in Funchal (Madeira Islands) to drop the person off; that was at 2am and we were sleeping so we didn’t see land there.
We had our normal office day on the first of November – the WiFi continues to work well across the ocean and we have turned our clocks back an hour four times in the eight days to get on Barbados time by the time we arrive.
We have been relatively successful at finding times in the gym that are not too busy. The afternoons are usually best. Once we tried 6:30am and it was packed.
There isn’t a laundromat on the ship and we don’t want to pay the ship to do our laundry, so Sandy has done a few pieces occasionally in the room and that is working out fine.
Sandy has spent a lot of time working on our journal and researching 2026 travel plans – at least starting to form an idea for what the first half of the year might look like.
One night at dinner in the dining room, we sat next to Steve and Leslie; it was great to meet them and provided more evidence of how small the world is – Leslie worked for Wells Fargo and we crossed paths with many of the same people, but during the return to office strategy, she and Sandy were on the same email to move into an office together in Sarasota (that never happened) – just crazy!
One of our Friday night happy hours, we spent time with Dylan and Stephanie; Dylan is my partner in the pickleball tournament; he and Stephanie moved to Ecuador from Houston after retiring early – we can’t wait to visit them there.
Yesterday, we woke up in Barbados and opened our curtains to see land for the first time in more than a week. We used Grok and ChatGPT to put together an itinerary for walking around the Bridgetown area. Bridgetown is the capital of Barbados. Our first stop was Saint Mary’s Church and their Sunday service had just finished. The people were all so nice. They all welcomed us to come in and see the church before locking it up for the day. Sandy noted that many women had short, short hair (almost as short as mine).
It’s Remembrance Day today (equivalent to Veterans Day in the US) and almost everything is closed. We also walked through Heroes Square and Independence Square. Rihanna is the most famous Bajan (Barbadian) and she is one of the honorees in Heroes Square. We watched the Caribbean Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championships for a few minutes. We met Marcie at Saint Michael’s Church, and she introduced us to the young deacon who delivered the sermon during the morning service. Marcie was very welcoming and explained a lot about the history of her family and the church to us.
We then walked along Carlisle Bay Beach and stopped for a Banks Beer (brewed in Barbados) at a restaurant on the beach called Lobster Alice.
We were back on the ship a little before 3 and we enjoyed excellent dark chocolate milkshakes at Venchi. Before calling it a night, we danced at the silent disco for about an hour – that was a lot of fun.
This morning, we woke up in Grenada – just a short hop to the southwest of Barbados. Again, we used AI to put together a walking itinerary and hit the highlights of Saint George’s, the capital of Grenada. This port city is beautiful – sitting on a horseshoe-shaped harbor and backed by green mountains. It’s very, very hilly town to walk around.
We spent time at the National Museum to learn about Grenada’s history and time at the Chocolate Museum to get a dose of health food while on the island.
It really was an excellent crossing and a welcoming vibe into the Caribbean with our first two ports of call.
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