Result!

BA is NOT our favourite airline! Over the years they�ve consistently managed to fall well below our expectations whenever we�ve flown with them.

Against better judgement, we chose to travel with them for our recent holiday to Barbados. When the return journey went t***-up and we had to find another way to get home, they flatly refused to refund the return-journey ticket price because we�d flown back with someone else. That may have been that, but our friends who flew out with us at the same time (and had the same travel difficulties) got theirs paid in full!

So, after a bit of fighting from our end, BA changed their mind and agreed we should have had a refund! A happy ending today then, when we discovered that our credit card had been credited with the full amount!!!

Result!!!

Barbados - Extra

Thursday 7 January
4.00am local time. Well, here we are. Still. After yesterday's announcement that our flight today has been cancelled, we're still no further forward.

The BA Helpline sent us on a wild mongoose chase to the Airport, whilst the Airport advised us to return to our B and B and 'ring this number'. We did. Probably around 50 times. Engaged. Constantly. The US number has now closed and so we have no flight and no news of a replacement and no other numbers to ring.

We tried the BA web-site, under the manage my booking, but that took us through a series of pages and then proudly announced: cannot process your booking, please contact us.

6.45am local time. Trying to ring the BA 0844 number seemed to be getting us nowhere, so Ann suggested checking out the say-no-to-0870.com website to find the proper telephone number. We got the number and rang it. Success. Sort of. We're through but listening to a recorded message about BA's special offers. 

Finally, finally, with Ann's judicially net-searching, we managed to secure a flight home by way of an overnight stay in Boston, USA, with and an overnight stay and a Sunday flight back to Heathrow.

So, we checked out of Bayfield House and headed back to Sweetfield Manor.

4.00pm local time. OK, we're here at Sweetfield Manor, having dropped off the hire-car at the Airport, we're now chilling-out with one of George's speciality rum-punch drinks.

6.00pm local time. We're shattered, and Ann's caught a cold. Time for bed.

Friday 8 January
8.30 local time. A fantastic gourmet-style breakfast from Anni, sets us up for the day. All appears to be OK with the flights until we get an email from American Airlines to call them urgently! Uh-oh!!! Apparently, they can't verify our credit card details because our UK address doesn't exist and our verification telephone numbers don't work either!!!! ehh!!! After a ridiculous amount of faffing around, we're finally confirmed on the flights.

We're encouraged by email to check-in on-line. After the Barbados-internet decides to kick into life we trawl through the pages to the right one to check-in. Err, computer says 'no' as we're not allowed to check-in on-line because we're not American citizens.

1.00pm local time. We've spent the rest of the day in the sun. Tonight, we'll eat locally and get in an early night because we need to be at the Airport by about 7.25 tomorrow morning.

We then fly to San Juan...then onto Logan Airport, Boston, for an overnight stay in the Hilton and then the final (hopefully) leg of the journey, Boston to Heathrow, landing around 8.40pm Sunday night. Then we just need to get home from our friends up the road in Princes Risborough, and everything is back to normal!!

Signing-off now - thanks to Val and Karen for keeping us updated and organised back at home.

Home soon (we hope!!)

BayField House - Day Five

Again, there is no hot water this morning. Perhaps it's part of the process to get us acclimatised to the UK weather, when we return!

Today we're took a drive to Bridgetown, which was very nice - that's when we got a text from BA saying our flight home had been cancelled due to bad weather. We drove to the airport to try and get things sorted (on advice from the BA Helpline), but that turned out to be a waste of time. We tried the BA Helpline number in the UK and that was closed, and the Helpline in the US had an hour's wait time! So far, no progress.

BA is saying that they can't get anyone home before next Tuesday!!!

BayField House - Day Four

Arghhh! - no hot water again this morning!! Ralph beat me talking with the owner, Trevor, about getting it sorted out. This is getting silly, we've asked three times now to ask for the problem to be resolved. Hopefully, tomorrow, will be a hot-water day!

We're all slightly grumpy now!!!!


After breakfast, we set off for Orchid World. Ann drove, whilst Karen navigated, and we were there in no time. Orchid World turned out to be a little disappointing as there weren't that many orchids to see - according to the web-site and leaflet, over 25000...but more like 25 today!

Having said that, they were all very pretty...

We then drove a short drive into Holetown on the west-coast and stopped at Indigo's for a light lunch. We parked right outside, the service was good and there was an extensive menu - perfect!!!

We then headed back to the B and B for a freshen-up. I remained there to catch-up with my reading whilst the others hit Mullin's Beach for a bit of sun-worshipping and to sus-out a place to eat tonight. Plenty of sun apparently, but nowhere quite suitable for us to eat tonight - Trevor stepped in and suggested an Italian restaurant called Spago.

On arrival, it looked good, but it turned into interesting experience. Firstly, they sat us at a table near the sea where the waves were already crashing over the rocks INTO the restaurant area. They moved us back, but we had a feeling it was going to get worse. It did! Five minutes in, and the mother of all waves came crashing over the railings and soaked Ann and me. There must have been a river of two-inches of water washing around our feet.

How did the staff handle it? Poorly! Well, actually, they didn't handle it at all, apart from moving us to the other side of the restaurant! So Ann and I sat there for most of the evening in soaking wet clothes - luckily, the warm evening more-or-less steam-dried us...not that the staff would have noticed!

All-in-all then, good food and crap service! And will someone tell the waiters that they are supposed to smile, because a) It's their job and b) it's Barbados - and 99.9% of the population are permanently smiling anyway!

Back to the B and B for a nightcap where we chatted with Trevor and Pat until around 10pm.

The tree-frogs are singing which means it's time for bed!

Bayfield House - Day Three

We were up slightly later this morning and had breakfast around 9.30. I seem to left the fever part of my cold behind to be replaced with feeling totally bunged-up! (too much detail!!!!)

11.00am. We're to explore the north part of the island today - the Parish of St Lucy.

We started off at Speightstown (the second largest town on the island after Bridgetown) - a really nice little place, with plenty of life and lots of shops. We thought this would be a good opportunity to pop into the bank to change our eastern Caribbean money in to something more recognisable. The Barbados National Bank was our choice and typified the Barbados work ethic - totally relaxed and no sense of urgency. :) Ann must have queued for about an hour.

After the experience in the bank, we needed sustenance and took advice from the bank's security guard. He pointed us to a little cafe near the beach called strangely: the-cafe-on-the-beach where we chilled out with cappuccinos, banana muffins and chocolate cake - and took in the view (above)

 

Booked FishPots for Wednesday evening on the way through driving north to Parish of St Lucy to Animal Flower Bay (err, no animals and no flowers!) - the most northern point of the island. Crashing waves, spec views howling gales and drinks all round!

 

Next, it was onto River Bay, another spectacular view with plenty of places to sit and eat. We tucked into a nutritious picnic of Pringles and Beer.

Booked Mango's which is on the beach-front in Speightstown for tonight at 7. Another great view...

We got back to the room and miracle-upon-miracles, they've fixed the shower and it now gives us hot water too!

6.45pm. We took the short drive down into Speightstown and parked near the restaurant. We got a great table inside and the meal at Mango's was as expected, superb!

Back by 9.30 - off to bed!!

BayField House - Day Two

I was up about 7am after a restless night where my sore throat turned into a chesty cough! (great!!)

After a hearty breakfast, and a 'planning meeting', we decided to take a picnic and head for the east-coast. Ann's driving today with Karen navigating, whilst we heckle from the back! :)

Trevor is cooking tonight, so we're eating 'in' - that'll keep the food-kitty in better health after last night's extravagence!

First stop today was St Nicholas Abbey. This is a restored Jacobean-style house dating back to the 17th century and the days of slavery here in Barbados. The house was in excellent condition and had its own rum-making facility on-site. A lot of money has been sent on it in recent years and they have big plans for the future including getting the steam-driven Mill up-and-running again. 





The highlight for me was the film they showed taken in the 30s of life here - amazing!

After an hour-or-so looking round, we then decides to head for Bath Beach. Aptly named, it's the only beach on the east-coast where it's permitted to swim! Trevor had recommended the area because of the view and the shade. After a long twisty journey, we finally arrived and it was pretty quiet, with plenty of shade and a choice of picnic tables.



It got busy very quickly, with a number of large families all arriving at about the same time. After taking in the view, we jumped back in the car and headed back

Last place on our travels today is Codrington College. A rather run-down place built as (deep breath): "the centre of excellence in the delivery of theological education and training of applicants for ordination in the Anglican Communion in particular, and for the promotion of Christian Education and the enhancement of the ministry of the laity within the context of ecumenism in general".

When we arrived there was clearly some restoration work going on, and as I mentioned earlier, the whole place looked really run-down. We agreed it was the sort of place that with enough time and money, it could be turned into a rather select hotel. In the meantime, it just looks sad and very tired. Even the trees were falling part as Karen noticed as a branch suddenly detached itself and fell within, a metre of where she was standing.

Time to head back to base at BayField House.

By now, my cold was getting the better of me, so I just went to bed when we got back around 5. But still well enough to sample Trevor's cooking, which turned out to be excellent! Soup then Pork and then Bread-and-Butter pudding. Yum Yum!

Hopefully, a better night's sleep tonight!

BayField House - Day One

We had a horrendous night's sleep on the ship (as we thought we would) because of the sea conditions. It seemed to be that we woke every few minutes or so, to coincide with every violent twist and turn of the Ship.

However, we were still up-and-about by 7.30 finishing off our last minute packing and getting ready to disembark. Ralph and I queued to settle our bills and caused some confusion because Ralph wanted to settle our bill with his credit card!!

We filled in the guest questionnaire and then met up with Ralph and Karen (Birthday girl today!) for our final breakfast on-board. 

We then got our last bits and pieces together and left the Ship. On leaving, we quickly spotted the Stoutes car-hire office and sorted just outside the Terminal and proceeded to fill out the paperwork required to get our transport for the next five-days. We had been worried that the Corolla we ordered wouldn't be big enough to take us four and all our luggage, but fortunately, they upgraded us to larger four-wheel SUV vehicle (A Daihatsu) and it all fitted in without too much trouble. Not sure about the bright red colour though - makes us a bit of a target!! :)

Ralph was first to drive, and we were son heading for our next accommodation - BayField House, run by Trevor (a Brit) and Pam (An American, we think).

We were too early to check-in, so we dumped our bags and we took Trevor up on his recommendation to visit The Round House in Bathsheba on the east-side of the Island. After a slightly scenic tour there, we arrived. Wow! what a view!!!

See the location map HERE


After a great lunch, we headed back to Trevor and Pam's and checked into our rooms. They seem very well appointed and after a local rum-punch created by Trevor, we went to bed for a couple of hours!

18.00. We had a shower and got ready for a visit to the local hostelry - Mullins Restaurant at Mullin's Bay, literally a five-minute walk away.

 
The food, service and atmosphere was fantastic, but I guess at 115 pounds per couple, it should have been!!! Hey, it's only money! - Eeeeekk!!!

22.15. We were almost the last to leave the restaurant (they seem to eat quite early here) and took a slow walk back in the warm evening air and retired at about 10.45.

Out exploring by car tomorrow...

New Year's Day - St Lucia

We slept in slightly later - but we were up at 7.30 mainly due to the noise of the Ship docking. I then spent an hour-or-so ringing round wishing happy new year to those that were up-and-about.

A lazy day is planned. I've picked up a sore throat from somewhere (probably the smoke from all those cigar-smoking women in the Tropical Bar last night!), so I'm taking it easy today.
We've also started to pack in preparation for disembarkation tomorrow - it didn't take very long and we're now well-sorted!

Weather-wise, it's been a strange day. We popped up on deck just before lunch to find is pouring with rain. I retreated to the Piano Lounge whilst Ann braved the elements!

We had our last full lunch in the restaurant and then I settled in the room to catch-up with my reading, whilst Ann went up on deck to soak up the little amount of sun that was shining.



4.45pm. A rare opportunity - The Captain is arranging for a Tender to take a group of us photographers out from the Ship and then photograph it in full sail - brilliant!!!



5.45pm. Just time for a drink at the Tropical Bar and to watch the Sun go down on our last day on board - Ann took the photo above. It's been a unique and very enjoyable experience!

6.00pm. We got ready for our final evening meal on-board - we'll be disembarking tomorrow morning after breakfast. Karen didn't feel too well with her cold and so chose not to join us for the meal. I wasn't feeling brilliant either

7.00pm. Oh dear, the sea conditions have turned nasty..and even the salty-young-sea-dog of a wine-waitress was looking green around the gills!!! We ate little and quickly and then attempted to get back to our cabin....boy is it rough! Cutlery took on a life of its own and slid noisily across the restaurant floor whilst various guests returned to their room!

9.00pm. Conditions didn't seem to get any better even by the time we returned to our room. That's when we learned that all our cases had to be put outside the room before we went to bed! Trying to pack, whilst wrestling with the forces of nature was an interesting challenge.

With the curtains at 30 degrees to the windows and Hughie being the most popular name for babies born during the passage back to Barbados, this has definitely been a journey to remember...!

9.30pm. Time for the uphill journey (literally) from one side of our cabin to the bed...

Boy..the Ship is very rocky!!!! Hope we get some sleep!

New Year's Eve 2009 - Martinique

7.00am local time. It looked a bit cloudy as we anchored in Fort de France, Martinique on the west side of the island. (Historical note: Martinique is not a colony, but actually part of France. Those living here are considered French and it's one of the few islands in the Caribbean that has always belonged to France. Currently it has a population of around 360000).

Ann didn't sleep too well last night, and we think it's not enough food nor alcohol! :)

We had breakfast on the ship as normal, and then took a walk into Martinique town. It was only a short-ish walk - 15 minutes or so, but it felt longer because of the heat! We saw a sign as we sat sipping coffee - 33 degrees and it was only 10am!

Martinique was very different to many of the other Caribbean islands we've visited...as 'buzzy' but it was clear there was more money around here. Designer shops and BMWs, Minis and Mercedes cars were the giveaway! It was a literally a piece of chic-France (Ann described it as 'chavvy') transplanted onto an island!

We found a shorter walking-route back to the Ship - which was a good thing as the day seemed to be getting hotter!! Luckily, the Bar on-board was soon was in sight and we collapsed over beers and bitter-lemons!!



12.10. We're leaving Fort-de-France and sailing south round the island, heading for the beach at Les Anses d'Artlets. We grabbed some lunch - a full Asian Buffet today - and then noticed it was POURING WITH RAIN!!! So, we sat out on deck in the shade for a while and decided to brave it to the Beach. The irony was, that on landing on the beach, it was such a small area that we couldn't find anywhere to pitch our towels that would be warm enough to enjoy the Sun, but provide some shade when we needed it! Ralph decided to brave the elements and stay behind, whilst we three jumped on the next Tender back to the Ship!

Once back on board we found a good shady spot on-deck.

Time to get ready to see the new year in...

We decided to eat a little later so that we'd be awake for midnight. On arriving at the restaurant, it was already very busy - as we think others had the same idea as us, and it was therefore difficult to get a table for four. However, the waiter ushered us into a separate room together with another group and although we got to sit together as a foursome, we were somewhat detached from the main centre of activity. Consequently, when the Captain (who we've now affectionately dubbed Captain Meercat because of his accent) made his speech, we couldn't see him.

The food was its normal high quality fare - we all had extra courses to make the meal last longer (another strategy to help us get through 'til midnight!) After the meal, we wandered up to the Tropical Bar when a talent contest was in full swing made up of passengers and ship's crew - everything from juggling waiters (that's waiters juggling bottles not waiters being juggled!!!), energetic male-waiters' dance routines and songs dedicated to Grandmothers - Simon Cowell would have felt right at home!

We had a few more drinks and then wandered up onto the main deck to see the sails unfurl and hear the now familiar Vangelis theme blast out on the ship's speakers. Captain Meerkat appeared on deck to count us down to midnight - three minutes...two minutes...one minute...30 seconds...10 seconds...5...4...3...2..1...
We made it - under a full moon (a blue one as it happened) and full sail, 2010 has officially arrived!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! - SEE YOU IN 2010!

Tomorrow it's St Lucia...

St Vincent and Bequia

We both slept well, although Ann woke with a pretty bad head - must have been the alcohol last night! 

Another day, another island! Well, actually, we get two for the price of one today - St Vincent and Bequia (later today).

As normal, we had a lazy breakfast and then took the Tender ashore. St Vincent looked pretty sleepy from a distance - but we were going to be surprised!! On landing we were surprised at the rather sophisticated Cruise Terminal - quite a few shops and some places to eat. 



We left the terminal and headed into the town. That's when it all came alive! Ralph made a new friend - although not deliberately - who led us into the main shopping area. Once we got to the centre, he asked for some money, but when we declined, he disappeared into the distance!

After a quick look round, we made our way back to the Terminal, stopping-off for a drink in one of the Bars in the Terminal. It was quite humid, so we sat outside, enjoying the through-breeze from the town to the sea.

After a thorough chill-out, we went through the rather simplistic security area and waited for the Tender. We were back on board for more food! :) and to see the Ship sail for Bequia.

Ralph and Karen explored Bequia, but as Ann's head was still bad, we went to bed in an effort to shake it off. I went out like a light (as normal!), but Ann just couldn't sleep. We got up about 6pm to get ready for the evening meal. Absolutely NO ALCOHOL for Ann tonight!!!

The meal tonight was excellent and Karen and I even managed to persuade our Waiter to go off-menu and get us some rum-and-raisin ice-cream...Perfect!!!

We stayed up late tonight to watch the Ship's music-quiz, a rather manic affair on deck where the objective was to collect dominos (as points) for every correct answer. As always with these things, it was taken very seriously by those taking part and half the fun was watching the behaviour of the contestants.

We called it a night around 10.45pm.

The ship arrives at Martinique tomorrow morning at around 8am.