Errol Barrow Day... Read this January Cruiser to Barbados! - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

LuLu · 12-09-2007, 10:32 PM

Errol Borrow Day is January 21 ... or the closest Monday... Public Holiday!

We happened to have had a cruise stop on this Public Holiday a couple of years ago.

Never was it mentioned on the ship.

Thing is ... EVERYTHING in town is closed. The shops at the Cruise Terminal were open. Taxis were running but we were informed by the taxi driver that later there would be less taxis around.

We went to Boatyard which is open every day of the year and had a great time!

Please keep this in mind if you have a port stop on Errol Barrow Day ... and book an excursion thru the ship or make totally sure what you want to do will be open.

No big thing ... but "best to know before you go!"

jp20 · 03-23-2008, 01:05 PM

Thank you for your information, that happened to us on Cabo; it was Easter Sunday and it was dead, nothing was open.

MD11F · 03-23-2008, 01:37 PM

Yes LuLu, being from the Caribbean, I am aware that on public holidays, unlike here in the U.S, everything shuts down. This is also true on Sundays, and most places shut down at noon on Saturdays.
I remember Errol Barrow, he was the Prime Minister of Barbados.

MD11F · 03-23-2008, 01:47 PM

Jan 1 New Years Day
Jan 21 Errol Barrow Day
Mar 21 Good Friday
Mar 24 Easter Monday
Apr 28 National Heroes Day
May 1 Labour Day
May 12 Whit Monday
Aug 1 Emancipation Day
Aug 4 Kadooment Day
Nov 30 Independence Day
Dec 25 Christmas Day
Dec 26 Boxing Day

*Whenever a holiday falls on a Sunday, it is observed the following day.

MD11F · 03-23-2008, 01:53 PM

Jan 1 New Years Day
Jan 21 Errol Barrow Day
Apr 10 Good Friday
Apr 13 Easter Monday
Apr 28 National Heroes Day
May 1 Labour Day
Jun 1 Whit Monday
Aug 1 Emancipation Day
Aug 3 Kadooment Day
Nov 30 Independence Day
Dec 25 Christmas Day
Dec 26 Boxing Day

* Whenever a holiday falls on a Sunday, it is observed the next day.

Char · 03-23-2008, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD11F

Jan 1 New Years Day
Jan 21 Errol Barrow Day
Mar 21 Good Friday
Mar 24 Easter Monday
Apr 28 National Heroes Day
May 1 Labour Day
May 12 Whit Monday
Aug 1 Emancipation Day
Aug 4 Kadooment Day
Nov 30 Independence Day
Dec 25 Christmas Day
Dec 26 Boxing Day

Kadooment Day intrigued me, so I looked it up.

Quote:

Crop Over, a five-week summer festival, is Barbados' most popular and colourful festival. It's origins can be traced back to the 1780's, a time when Barbados was the world's largest producer of sugar. At the end of the sugar season, there was always a huge celebration to mark the culmination of another successful sugar cane harvest - the Crop Over celebration.

As the sugar industry in Barbados declined, so too did the Crop Over festival and in the 1940's the festival was terminated completely. However, the festival was revived in 1974 and other elements of Barbadian culture were infused to make the extravaganza that exists today ..... an event that attracts thousands of people from across the globe.

The grande finale is the Grand Kadooment! This carnival parade features large bands with members dressed in elaborate costumes to depict various themes. Designers compete for the coveted Designer of the Year prize while the revelers seem more intent on having a good time! The revelers make their way from the National Stadium to Spring Garden accompanied by the pulsating rythym of calypso music. When they reach Spring Garden, the party continues with more fantastic music, lots of food and drink and, for some, a quick swim at the nearby beach. A grand end to a grand festival.

MD11F · 03-23-2008, 04:56 PM

Yes Char, it's a Carnival festival celebrating the end of each sugar harvesting season in Barbados.

LuLu · 03-23-2008, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD11F

* Whenever a holiday falls on a Sunday, it is observed the next day.

This is something ALL of us need to know! Thanks!

MD11F · 03-23-2008, 10:08 PM

Also LuLu, in Trinidad & Tobago, if two holidays fall on the same day, the following day is also observed as a holiday. This may hold true in other countries of the West Indies, I'll check when I'm idle.

LuLu · 03-23-2008, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD11F

Also LuLu, in Trinidad & Tobago, if two holidays fall on the same day, the following day is also observed as a holiday. This may hold true in other countries of the West Indies, I'll check when I'm idle.

Oh, PLEASE do! While it's fairly easy to check the REAL dates, knowing when they're actually observed is a totally different story!

People really can NOT depend on the info from cruise ships! For Example: There was NO mention WHATSOEVER in our HAL Bulletin about Errol Barrow Day being a Holiday. Lots of folks who went into town were not happy!