Ship Marella Explorer
08/03/2026 to 15/03/2026 – Taste of the Tropics
15/03/2026 – 22/03/2026 – Paradise Islands
20/03/2026 – Antigua
We decided to have an easy day. We had a walk round St Johns. And headed to the cathedral, the outside needs a little TLC, but the inside has already been worked on.
We were going to walk to one of the forts – but good sense and a friendly taxi driver, with a wife from Middlesborough intervened.
For a few Dollars he drove out to the fort. We then arranged to meet him a couple of hours later at the bar. He took our picture so he would recognise us.
The fort was very dilapidated,
But the location was wonderfu;
there were good views over the bay to the fort on the next headland.
Or just to the hills
We had a lovely walk back along the beach
It was unusual seeing someone take their horse for a swim
And a variation on a theme for the sunset including the front of Explorer.
21/03/2026 – Dominica
We booked a tour locally called Chasing Waterfalls Three waterfalls, a beach, and a trip down the Layou valley. We had selected this tour although it missed out the best known sites, it looked quieter and covered a greater distance so we had chance to see more of the island. The Waterfalls were all around 50 foot drops, so not huge.
Emerald Pool
A nice walk through the woods to reach Emerald Pool.
It was a nice waterfall, but it was the setting that made it special.
It got busy and a lot of people were going for a swim.
There were some crabs in the water.
The Spanny Falls
This was along a well-maintained path, through the rain forest before dropping down around 200 steps to reach the base of the falls.
Getting a decent photo was difficult as we were looking up at the sun.
Then it was back up the stairs.
The Jacko Falls
It was just a few minutes drive to the next falls. From the carpark there was a short walk down to the base of the falls.
And once again the setting was glorious
Layou Valley
This was slow going as the road was in need of major repairs but the scenery was spectacular
Mero Beach.
This had volcanic black sand.
We just went for a walk, admired the scenery inland,
and watched pelicans diving and feeding just a few metres out to sea,
Then sat on the rocks and watched small crabs strugging with the waves.
The island looked great from the sea
and why not a picture of the sea
Dominica was a beautiful island, but the towns and villages were unkept and littered with scrap vehicles. It is attracting more visitors, so hopefully there will be more money for the population.”
22/03/2026 – Barbados
On the last day of the cruise, we were not due to leave for the airport until 16:30, so we had most of the day to enjoy.
The day started when we went through immigration on the boat. It was a strange experience, two weeks after arriving, presenting my passport to a Barbadian official.
After leaving our hand luggage in the nightclub on board, we went out on a trip: Treasures of Barbados. Unfortunately, the guide was new and very proud of his country, and took us around numerous housing neighbourhoods and passed various schools, rather than focusing on the published itinerary. It got totally ridiculous when we went round the car park of an out-of-town shopping centre.
The first stop was Independence Square. Parliament, Church and the national monument to national heroes on the same square.
After a drive past the garrison and the Hilton, we then toured the neighbourhoods and schools of Bridgetown.
Unfortunately, the timings were shot, and we ended up with half an hour at Codrington and 45 minutes at St Johns. It also did not help that the weather was grim, and it rained very heavily by the end.
Codrington College. A theological college with impressive grounds.
St Johns. This is a parish church. It is a nice place but the major attraction was the view of the coast.
Gun Hill Signal Post. This is the highest point of the island with line of sight to most of the island. And gave a great view of the rain coming in.
Could see our ship and a larger cruise ship in the distance
The Lion at Gun Hill
Then it was back to the ship passing Kensington Oval and Rihanna’s childhood home.
The departure process was really smooth.
We got back to the ship, had some lunch, got our hand luggage, and then had a couple of drinks. Then it was a bus to the airport Our hold luggage had gone separately. We got off and were directed to a dedicated passport control for Marella passengers, through dedicated security, then waited for around 90 minutes before getting on the flight (There’s not a lot to do at the airport). Then, when we got back to the UK, our bags that we had left in the corridor on the last night of the cruise appeared on the carousel at Manchester Airport.
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