WannaCruise Posted May 18, 2020 Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 For anyone that has been to Kings Wharf Bermuda, do you like it there? Anything specific to do with kids (teen and a pre-teen)? How does it compare to places like St Thomas, Roatan (just listing places with beautiful beaches). We have 5 night Bermuda cruise booked on Freedom next summer. We also have a 4 night Mariner cruise for this summer....so either we cancel Mariner, or Lift and Sift to next summer and replace Freedom. Never been to Bermuda or on Freedom, which made it a nice choice at the time. Also have yet to make it to CoCo Cay since the changes (booked, but kept getting cancelled). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted May 18, 2020 Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 Absolutely love Bermuda! Do understand that King's Wharf is where you dock; it's one of the two docking ports at Royal Naval Dockyard. From there, you'll need to take a ferry to either St. George's or Hamilton if you want to go to the two main city / town locations; or a shuttle to Horseshoe Bay beach (home of the famous pink sand!). Other locations on the island can be reached by bus, but it will take time. Horseshoe Bay is a great beach for everyone. It has some small grottoes at each end that are sheltered from the waves, along with the long main beach. It does get crowded, so I recommend going there on the second day (after everyone else got it out of their systems) and going as early as you can to beat the crowds. And there are other beaches you can visit instead, including Tobacco Bay just outside of St. George's (about a half-mile walk); although that one is much smaller, and is more rocky than sandy, it's a hidden gem and has a nice restaurant. St. George's itself is kind of the art and jewelry capital of the island, with a small historic area right on the water. Hamilton has a great food / restaurant scene if any of your kids are foodies, along with being the central hub for the island's public bus system. Royal Naval Dockyard offers a fair bit, including the Frog & Onion pub and several stores dedicated to art and craftwork created entirely by local artists. There's also the Crystal Cave, an aquarium / zoo, a botanical garden in downtown Hamilton, and more. I've been to Bermuda twice with my wife, and we just love it! Both times were 5-night sailings on Anthem; you can find the links to my blogs in my signature below. Should give you a good idea of what it's like. Pinging @coneyraven because if there's anyone who's a bigger fan of Bermuda than me, it's him! ehw51 and WannaCruise 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted May 18, 2020 Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 Bermuda is like our second home ..... we love it there. Funny thing is, Tyna and I were just discussing over the weekend that we need to get back there. The transportation (getting around the island) is so simple. You have many options (as Joe mentioned above) --- Ferry, The Famous Pink Buses, Taxi's, Shuttles ...... One thing to take note though, getting from one end to the other can take some time due to the narrow, windy roads. We always us a combination of ferry and pick buses. Never a problem. WannaCruise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted May 18, 2020 Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 btw, very good resource that I used a lot is bermuda4u.com. They have the bus and ferry schedules; info on all the beaches, tourist attractions, restaurants, etc.; weather info; and a lot more. Baked Alaska and WannaCruise 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted May 18, 2020 Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 Right near the dock is a fantastic miniature golf course - Bermuda Fun Golf. http://www.fungolf.bm/ First six holes are mini replicas of famous Bermuda golf holes, next six are famous US golf holes (the 9th hole on this course goes straight out at the ocean just like its inspiration - #7 at Pebble Beach), and the final six from Scotland (the 18th is the Road Hole from St. Andrews). coneyraven, USCG Teacher, WannaCruise and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehw51 Posted May 18, 2020 Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 Great place, we love it there, zoo/aquarium very nice, but small. Clock tower is a great little mall, most of the vendors are very friendly and will make you a deal. Beaches are fantasti, especially horseshoe bay. Snorklel Bay is within walking distance to the ship, but very small and crowded. Gibbs lighthouse really cool, craft market at kings wharf is really fun ,National Museum is a very nice tour and really interesting history. Fantastic Island we have been there a dozen times and we always have fun. WannaCruise and JLMoran 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCG Teacher Posted May 18, 2020 Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 2 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said: Right near the dock is a fantastic miniature golf course - Bermuda Fun Golf. http://www.fungolf.bm/ I just checked out the website, this is really cool! It's also definitely the closest I'll ever get to playing on anything remotely resembling a PGA course! JLMoran and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted May 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 Thanks for the replies. I didn't realize that King's Wharf is just the dock name..lol. Pink sand sounds pretty nice! Horeshoes Bay sounds nice. Sounds like nice culture too. @JLMoran , I remember following your last review. I may take a read again. Thanks for the link too. Will take a look. It also seems to have many transportation options which is helpful. Nice golf course! Our kids would like that.And thanks for the suggestions for the aquarium and museum. Ok...sounds like Bermuda is a really nice place to visit. The only thing I don't like is the fees & taxes as it bumps up the cost of the cruise (but maybe since it's an overnight stop). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted May 19, 2020 Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 12 minutes ago, WannaCruise said: The only thing I don't like is the fees & taxes as it bumps up the cost of the cruise (but maybe since it's an overnight stop). The dirty little secret of Bermuda that the cruise lines don’t want you to know. With an overnight, there is zero reason to book a ship-hosted excursion! Just plan out what you want to do ahead of time, use the available mass transit options, and save a ton of money! There’s no time that you must be back on the ship during the overnight. Stay out until midnight and they will still let you back on (although you’ll have a hard time finding a ride that late). Its probably the best part of going there. coneyraven, USCG Teacher and SpeedNoodles 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted May 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 33 minutes ago, JLMoran said: The dirty little secret of Bermuda that the cruise lines don’t want you to know. With an overnight, there is zero reason to book a ship-hosted excursion! Just plan out what you want to do ahead of time, use the available mass transit options, and save a ton of money! There’s no time that you must be back on the ship during the overnight. Stay out until midnight and they will still let you back on (although you’ll have a hard time finding a ride that late). Its probably the best part of going there. Never thought of it that way, but that makes total sense. Thanks for the tip. Especially if we want something different or further out, to try it the first day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted May 19, 2020 Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 24 minutes ago, WannaCruise said: Especially if we want something different or further out, to try it the first day. Exactly! We learned to do Horseshoe Bay on the second day because (a) it's very close to the port, and (b) it doesn't get quite as crowded the second day, and (c) it lets us do whatever activities we want on the first day with no need to book through the cruise line. SpeedNoodles, USCG Teacher, WannaCruise and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCG Teacher Posted May 19, 2020 Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 FWIW, the bus system (https://www.gotobermuda.com/sites/default/files/bta19-bus-schedule-may.pdf) and ferries (http://www.rccbermuda.bm/ferries_about.aspx) are both very easy to navigate and very affordable (https://www.gov.bm/bus-fares). @JLMoran is right, outside of departure day, the biggest reason to do cruise line-based excursions is gone. We managed to do Horseshoe Bay and St. George's on our own at a fraction of the cost of organized excursions and had a good time getting there and back, especially skirting along the north side of the island on the Orange Route ferry out to St. George's! JLMoran and coneyraven 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted May 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 9 hours ago, USCG Teacher said: FWIW, the bus system (https://www.gotobermuda.com/sites/default/files/bta19-bus-schedule-may.pdf) and ferries (http://www.rccbermuda.bm/ferries_about.aspx) are both very easy to navigate and very affordable (https://www.gov.bm/bus-fares). @JLMoran is right, outside of departure day, the biggest reason to do cruise line-based excursions is gone. We managed to do Horseshoe Bay and St. George's on our own at a fraction of the cost of organized excursions and had a good time getting there and back, especially skirting along the north side of the island on the Orange Route ferry out to St. George's! This is really helpful! I will save your links so can refer to them closer to our trip. Thanks. USCG Teacher 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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