Our Caribbean cruise starting from Barbados

Today we are in Dominica. For breakfast today we went to the Atlantic Classic, which is a buffet restaurant in the morning. We liked the food here too, but it was a bit hectic.

After breakfast, we went back to the cabin to pack our bags for the excursion. Then we received another call from the onboard tour guide. My husband answered the phone this time. I only heard something about not getting our luggage and I have to say, I was close to a nervous breakdown. The tears flowed, I would have liked to fly back home. So much bad luck, and on our honeymoon. Our clothes were also not back from the laundry. It was despairing. I had to calm down first.

Before we went to the meeting point for our excursion, we went straight to the onboard tour guide's office. She explained that the next best option to send the luggage somewhere would be the ABC Islands. The first one we would stop at would be Bonaire. She had found a flight connection but didn't want to decide without us. The luggage should then go via Munich to Newark and then to Bonaire. At least we would still have our luggage in the second week so we agreed. The other two cabins, which were also affected, decided to try it. I received a light blue polo shirt from Mein Schiff as a gift, which they still had in stock. That was nice.

Now we went to the theater, where the meeting point for our excursion 'Natural Wonder Titou Gorge and Sulphur Springs' was. We were then led off the ship as a group. There was someone from the photo team in front of the ship again to take pictures. We were then taken to small buses. The bus we were assigned to was almost full. My husband found a seat in the back and I sat in the front, next to the driver. Our tour guide was an English-speaking lady. She made an effort to speak slowly and clearly, so that we could understand most of it.

First, we drove through Roseau and then through a constructed park. There you could see the school bus crushed under a tree. Luckily nobody was sitting in it at the time. We could still see many damages from the last hurricane in 2017. But we also saw many diligent workers who were trying to make everything beautiful again. But it will surely take years.

The first stop was at a viewpoint. From there, we continued uphill in a serpentine manner. In Dominica, they drive on the left. However, in the curves, they often veer strongly to the right. Once a larger truck was coming towards us and there was a general exclamation in the bus. But nothing happened.

At the second stop at the Titou Gorge, the movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was also filmed. There were changing rooms above the path, as well as tables and benches where we could leave our things. But you shouldn't leave any valuables there, as everything is unattended. Next, we each received a life jacket. They didn't fit very well because you couldn't fasten them around your waist. The disadvantage was that they rode up to our chin in the water, which was very uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I was glad to have one, as I'm not a very good swimmer and it's already about 30m to swim to the waterfall through the gorge. There were stairs leading down into the cool water. At first, it was very cold, but we quickly got used to it. One of the guides then swam ahead through the gorge and we followed. It was great, the view from above was wonderful. Just before the waterfall, there was a higher ledge where the guide stood to help us up. There was already a counter-current there and I had difficulties swimming against it. My husband pushed me a little and then I made it. Grin. The waterfall was simply awesome. Nature's massage. There was also a photographer from the ship who filmed. We could see ourselves in the travel film later. There was also a photographer who took pictures, for example when we came out of the gorge again. To go back, you had to somehow get down that ledge again. Most people just jumped down, but I didn't dare to do that. But I was lucky that our tour guide was standing there and kindly helped me.

After that, we continued to the Sulphur Springs. Since we were still wet and the air conditioning was on in the bus, I started to feel a little cold. That's when the warm sulphur springs came in handy. It was really lovely and so relaxing. Then someone came around and served rum punch. It was delicious and it didn't have too much alcohol.

Afterwards, we headed back to the ship. It was a really great excursion. The first highlight of our trip for us. I was the one in charge of the boarding pass control this time and a new photo was taken. Why? I have no idea.

After lunch, we took a walk to the souvenir stands at the port. I bought a beach dress for $20.

In the afternoon, we had an appointment at the spa for an Ayurvedic full-body massage for two. It took place in one of the spa cabins. We were given a 'sexy' pair of underwear to put on. Creepy. The massage was great. So good that I almost fell asleep. Definitely something you should treat yourself to.

After that, we took a cocktail to our cabin and enjoyed the sunset from the balcony.

After dinner, we went to the onboard shops to get the essentials. They were open again from 7 pm. Unfortunately, we didn't find a suitable pair of pants for my husband. The ones he liked didn't fit and he didn't like the small selection of short sizes, and since a pair of pants cost around 100€, we decided not to buy one. But he did find a shirt that he liked. I also found a top and a bikini...mine dried very slowly... along with a pair of slippers and a body lotion for each of us. We spent 190€ in total, with the sailor discount already deducted.

When we went back to the cabin in the evening, a nice surprise awaited us. A large fruit platter and a chilled bottle of champagne. Attached was a card from the onboard tour guide. A small gesture for our honeymoon. We were happy, it was a nice touch. We then sat outside on the balcony with a glass of champagne and enjoyed the fresh evening air.

In the next post, we will continue with St. Lucia.