JLMoran Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 I'm looking at this 5-night sailing to Bermuda (and only Bermuda) as a possible "second cruise for the year" kind of thing. It gives you two days in Bermuda instead of just one, so it's not quite as much of a "the ship is the destination" kind of cruise as the 4-night option. It's also still pretty inexpensive, especially if I were to go before school lets out (May / June) or after the new school year starts (September / October). I was thinking more of a "long weekend" getaway for the wife and me, rather than a family cruise. Has anyone here done that particularly itinerary or have any feedback on Bermuda in general? It's on Anthem, so would be my first Q-class ship. There's also a 9-night "Bermuda and Caribbean" itinerary that sails on the dates in between the 5-night Bermuda-only trips that could be an option for a full-family cruise (albeit at peak times in the summer), along with some 12-night Southern Caribbean itineraries that seem to fall only very early in the year or very late; I'm assuming the 12-nighters are at those times because the weather in Bermuda is too iffy or cold to make cruising there worthwhile. Cape Liberty is only about an hour from where I live, so it would be nice to take a cruise or two from there and not have to spend money on airfare, just a car service or parking. Would let us afford the expense of sailing in peak season a little better, or getting a suite in an off-season sailing. Oh, and this is all in the context of when the 2018-19 itineraries come out, so there is NO hurry here with finding a booking or itinerary. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 I've done that exact itinerary .... only out of Baltimore on Grandeur .... so, I can speak about Bermuda, NOT the ship... To put it plainly .... my wife and I LOVED it ... so much so, we booked the exact same cruise this coming September (we were there last September) ... The place is clean, beautiful, and the people are amazingly friendly. Thanks to the local bus/ferry network, getting around the island is incredibly easy..... plus, you can get a 1 or 2 day Bus/Ferry pass, ride anywhere as often as you like. Let me know if you have more specific questions. Mark JLMoran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Still looking at doing this, but prices seem high for April and May when I looked...maybe in the fall during hurricane season I can find a deal!..ha But I LOVE the idea of the ship as a floating hotel for a night or two while I can explore on my own...... Once I get something booked, I know I will be full of questions! coneyraven 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Still looking at doing this, but prices seem high for April and May when I looked...maybe in the fall during hurricane season I can find a deal!..ha But I LOVE the idea of the ship as a floating hotel for a night or two while I can explore on my own...... Once I get something booked, I know I will be full of questions! It is absolutely amazing at night --- Peaceful .... and we felt completely safe .... we walked around the entire royal dockyard area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted March 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Hi Mark, Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much, and that the island is so pleasant to visit. I did a quick lookup on Wikipedia and I see that there are a fair number of sights to see, and that it's not just a "beach island". I'd definitely want to spend one day (probably the second one, since it's shorter) just lounging on the beach and maybe wandering around Hamilton (assuming that's the port location), but the other day I'd like to spend seeing some of the island's sights, maybe through a Private Journey option so we can take our time and also have a guide to tell us about the things we're seeing. Seems like there are enough historical and cultural places to see that I'd need a few trips to the island to see it all, and that would be totally fine by me. ;) What's typical to do in the two days there as far as taking breaks for meals? Did you and other passengers tend to return to the ship for lunch and dinner, or did you mostly eat on the island? I've heard that it's pretty expensive there, and I'd imagine that dining on the island could cost a lot vs. getting the meals that are included in your cruise fare. If you did dine on the island, what's typically served? My wife is NOT a fish fan, while I would fish every day if I could, so I'm hoping they have a decent variety that would leave both of us happy. Bearing in mind that Grandeur is a smaller ship than Anthem, how was it spending most of your trip at sea? That's probably my biggest concern about any trip like that, just going stir crazy from being on the ship all that time with land only available in the middle of the trip. Honestly, it's always been my biggest concern overall with cruising. Even picking our first cruise ever for next year, I really wanted a trip that had more port days than sea days, or at least a 50/50 mix (which is what we got). I know the newer ships have plenty to do and boredom is certainly not anything to worry about, and the ships are more than large enough that I doubt I'd ever feel confined or trapped; but I'm not sure I'm one of those people who will be happy with a trip that has most of the time at sea and much less in port. I probably have to do a few cruises (purely in the name of research :)), to find that out. I suppose it's the idea that I spent a ton of money just to spend my time in a floating city / hotel, instead of doing "real" vacation things like seeing sights and doing tours and experiencing the culture of a new place. Can't wait for the 2018-19 itineraries! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Ok .... Where to begin.. First, you don't dock in Hamilton, you dock in the Royal Naval Dockyard .... The ferry can take you to Hamilton ..... The island is shaped like a fish hook with the top being St. George, going down and curling to the west and back up a little...it's at THAT end where you dock. Hamilton is midway down below St. George. We found getting around the island was amazingly easy.... the ferries stop running in the early evening with the buses going a lot later..... Most shops, we noticed, tend to close around 5:00 (Bars & Restaurants stay open later). Most major beaches do have places in which to get a bite to eat and a "cold one". Don't worry about cash, all the places we encountered take the US Dollar, the exchange rate is 1:1 so there's no price differential. We ended up eating dinner and breakfast the next morning on the ship with lunch being wherever we may be when we get hungry. We didn't do any excursions, we used Day 1 to go out to Horseshoe Bay (via Bus #7) and just enjoy the sights of Hamilton with Day 2 staying closer to Dockyard area to get souvenirs and gifts to take back. The Royal Naval Dockyard is huge, there's a Beach nearby, the Clocktower Mall and many shops to enjoy. Might I suggest, download the Bermuda Tourism app, we found it to be very helpful, heck, we still refer to it for our upcoming trip back in September. One piece of advice, DO NOT RENT A SCOOTER..... We saw many injured folks arriving back at the dock. Between the narrow roads, the vehicles driving at breakneck speeds, and the fact that you drive on the left side, I value my life enough to NOT get a scooter. Now, regarding being in the middle of the ocean for 2 sea days (one going out, one coming back) --- we probably enjoyed those days the most, the ability to just decompress from the world and watch the clouds go by to sound of a steel drum is priceless. That's not to say there's not anything to do..... This is one the many areas where Royal Caribbean excels ....there's so much going on, the real challenge is choosing what you want to do at any given moment. There's no way you could ever get bored.... I hope this helps ...... feel free to fire off any other questions ..... Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mworkman Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 I've been looking at this cruise as well, some how the wife doesn't thing it will be worth the trip. When is the best time to go with weather being the key driving factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Hmmm, I would assume in the spring or summer ..... in the fall there's always a risk of a hurricane..... I was reading an article about how Bermuda really doesn't get as many hurricanes as people think.... the fact that it's used as a point of reference for hurricanes makes people think Bermuda/Hurricanes in one cohesive thought....that doesn't exactly help their tourism in the fall. I know when we went last September, it was perfect.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighlandBoy Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Our family did the 9 night Bermuda and Caribbean on Anthem last year as our first ever cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Anthem was great with plenty to do on sea days. In Bermuda we stayed in the Royal Dock Yard area as the weather was very wet in the morning and had a good look round the many shops. For lunch we went to the Frog And Onion which served good food at a reasonable price. You must try the Dark and Stormy if you like Rum. JLMoran and coneyraven 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted March 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Thanks, Mark. That definitely helps! And your comment reminded me that in the case of the 5-night itinerary, the trip satisfies my desire for 50/50 balance on sea and land time. :) For some reason, I was inflating the sea time and thought it was two days going out, two days on land, and two sea days going back. coneyraven 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted March 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 I've been looking at this cruise as well, some how the wife doesn't thing it will be worth the trip. When is the best time to go with weather being the key driving factor. I just read that in the middle of summer the heat index there gets really bad, mainly because of the high humidity (temps stay in the 80s). So general recommendation is go in spring or early summer, or else September / October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Thanks, Mark. That definitely helps! And your comment reminded me that in the case of the 5-night itinerary, the trip satisfies my desire for 50/50 balance on sea and land time. :) For some reason, I was inflating the sea time and thought it was two days going out, two days on land, and two sea days going back. Exactly .... two full sea days --- I don't include the ones in which we are arriving/departing Bermuda or Baltimore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mworkman Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 I just read that in the middle of summer the heat index there gets really bad, mainly because of the high humidity (temps stay in the 80s). So general recommendation is go in spring or early summer, or else September / October. Sounds good. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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