CHARLOTTE – Barbara and I were fortunate enough to take a luxury trip to Sandals Royal Barbados, from October 19 to Oct 24, 2022. I must say, this was an even better trip than we imagined. There are no direct flights from Charlotte to Barbados as of today, so we did a one-stop flight through Miami. We started off with a reserved space at “The Parking Spot” off Wilkerson Blvd. here in Charlotte. Since our departing flight was one of those “Super Early Bird” 6 am flights, we were arriving at the Parking Spot by ourselves. By the time we had parked our car, the transfer bus was pulling up to pick us up. After a quick 10-minute ride, we were dropped off at the lates entrance to Charlotte Douglas Airport Departures. My goodness, the changes that have occurred!! I am sure this will be an amazing terminal when it is finished. Despite the construction and the changes inside, we were at our check-in counter for American Airlines within 5 minutes of following the signs. A quick 1-hour 25-minute flight to Miami and we were deplaning and transferring to our international departure gate for Barbados. The distance between gates was less than I had thought, and we were at our gate in time to find a restaurant for a quick bite and a needed toilet break. Our departure was on time. Our flight to Barbados was smooth, and after 3 hours we were preparing for a landing on the most gorgeous of all islands. It seemed we were floating above the deepest blue-colored water forever, as we circled for our approach. A smooth landing, and a typical rolling ramp deplaning from both ends of the aircraft, had us headed for Immigration and Customs quickly. We had filled out the required information in advance at home, had our passports in hand, and had asked for assistance in the Terminal. With our more than a friendly assistant, we were ushered through everything so quickly and seamlessly, that we beat our luggage to the carousel. I had to be reminded once again, that we were on “Island Time” and everything would be alright.
Phil and Barbara own Leisure Travel experts in Mint Hill. They are proud members of the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce. Feel free to contact them anytime at (980) 406-1650.
