bromleypod

I heard that horseshoe bay is closed on Thursday due to a large event? Is that true??

And will the shuttle bus from the Dockyard still running?

Hi

We have ordered a car service to take us to the port, where do they usually drop you off and where are the check in desks?

I was going to ask what ship. Not surprised. He generally gets good reviews. I put him as bad as Ruth was.

 

We had him a few weeks back and it was literally Wednesday before he even said "hello" when we passed his desk.

 

The last day DW went over by the desk and he said something along the lines "...are you waiting for something..." and she said, "..yes, to disembark.." and he had one of the staff escort us off. That was it all week.

I think we had him on the Epic last year, is he on the Escape now? We found him neither useful nor friendly on the Epic last year!

The balconies in the regular penthouse courtyard rooms (we were in one a couple of weeks ago) are much bigger. Couple of chairs and a small table.

It just depends on whether you think you will be using your balcony much. We had a huge balcony on the Epic’s DOS but never really used it much as it was either too hot to sit out or we were out doing stuffs round the ship! This time we have booked the FF penthouse on the Escape.

So I don’t know why, but the spacing is messed up. I’m trying to conserve my Internet as much aspossible, with two sisters at home with a menagerie of kids (and tripletbabies) Internet is for keeping tabs on them. In Bermuda I’ll try and fix the spacing, but really, I know I’m anoutstanding writer (it’s my birthday today, so you can’t argue against that) but if you can’t bear the spacing issue, youcan read this later and it really will not hurt my feelings.

 

Alright, back to vacation…

 

It would appear that this will not be a cruise where I willbe sleeping in. Which is fine, althoughI hope to catch something comedy-related while here.

 

Monday, breakfast. Ihave to say, I’m really not a breakfast person and really enjoyedbreakfast. They have all the typicalbreakfast foods, of which I don’t eat most, and some out of the world hashbrowns, some perfectly ripe fruit, and they offer both crispy and not crispybacon. I am so not a bacon person(really, don’t eat much pork), and it was delicious. My parents joined me for breakfast, and theyseemed to love it as well, and then I brought cereal and milk back to mystateroom for sleeping beauty.

 

We wandered around a bit after getting ready for the day,checking out the Deal or No Deal game, checking out the line for bingo, andthen going to get lunch before the CruiseCritic Meet and Greet.

 

Lunch was exciting because I found the Indian food. I didn’t eat Indian food until right beforemy 30th birthday; I had this whole list of 30 things to do before Iturned 30, and expanding my food horizons was one of them. Thanks to that foray into Indian food fouryears ago I have become a bit of a food snob in a very general sense, and theBug has been able to expand the foods she likes while criticizing those shedoesn’t. On the Epic last year, theIndian food was by far the thing I loved the most, I would start with that forlunch, and then end with something new just to try and did not see that therewas an Indian station here. Turns outthe Indian food is with the Asian food. I should have known that, and now I do.

 

Lunch was delicious. There was the burger bar, with great looking hot dogs (no clue ifthey’re beef or not, but I will be finding out today), some pizza, the mostridiculously good chicken fingers, and fruit with some desserts. The Bug started with breakfast “appetizer”and then moved to lunch food. She’s alittle goofy in that, she has to eatbreakfast before moving to lunch.

 

After lunch we met at the District Brewhouse for the CruiseCritic Meet and Greet. I don’t reallyhave anything to compare it to, but my mom said she had never seen a M&Glike that, and the people who attended seemed extremely happy. They had all of the exec-level officers whichwas really awesome, and they were giving out beer (and soda) and snacks toeveryone. The Cruise Director spoke a bit, and it was a really awesomehour/hour and a half. A lot of peopleshowed up as well.

 

After the Meet and Greet we had about an hour to kill andthen a slot pull. This was my first timeever doing a slot pull, and I’m not really one who loves slot machines, but itwas fun to mingle with others.

 

On our way to Bingo from the slot pull we walked past theAtrium and saw they were playing Deal or No Deal. My dad, who really wanted to play (and thereis a game today that we are going to do) sat down and we all ended up watchingthe second half of the game. I didn’tcatch this on the Epic last year, but it was such a blast, and even though weweren’t playing, it was awesome. So weare definitely doing this today. I cando whatever I want today, not only am I on vacation, I’m officially“mid-thirties.”

 

Bingo. So this wascrazy; this was the game where they name the Queen and King… and as someone whodoesn’t win very many things, I 100% was not expecting to be named the BingoQueen. And then they called my name andI thought I was going to pass out. Thelast thing I want to do is get up on stage in front of however many people werethere, but it wasn’t that bad, and I didn’t die. And now I get to play bingo for free allweek, which the Bug thinks means shegets to play bingo for free all week. It’s a good thing she’s so cute. Bingo was a lot of fun; at home we play once or twice a month and itdoesn’t feel as much fun as it did on the ship. The prices were a little high, but it’s fun and that’s all thatmatters. I’m not a big gambler, bingo iswhere my “casino” dollars go.

 

After Bingo we had some time to kill before dinner, but Iwanted to get showered etc. So I took asuper hot bath, and then a shower before getting dressed for dinner atModerno.

 

Monday night was the dressy up night, and I thought welooked great. I’m feeling pretty beat upfrom a crossfit comp I did Saturday, so it felt nice to feel pretty while my quadsare dying and my shoulders scream at me. We go to dinner, and it was really surprising to see how many peopleshowed up in t-shirts, flip flops, and shorts. On the Med last summer in the specialty restaurants it seemed as thoughpeople dressed up. It would appear tonot be the case here. It’s not somethingI would let ruin my vacation (now that would be stupid), but it was something Inoticed, and was sort of surprised about. I know there are a ton of people out there who this would ruin theirvacation, so be forewarned.

 

Dinner itself was stupid good. We got there right when they opened, and theappetizers were good, and fortunately our server, Rakesh, reminded us that weshould not fill up on that, because there is a lot of meat coming our way. I think because we arrived early they werestill finishing up the cooking, so while we had lots of the many steakvariations, and my parents enjoyed the lamb, it wasn’t until towards the end ofthe meal that the chicken came out and by then I was stuffed. The best part of the meal was when thegentleman with the pineapple came out. The pineapple is by far my absolute favorite thing. First, he brought me a fresh one, then wasmore than happy to give me extra slices, and then when I wanted anotherserving, he loaded up my plate with amazingness. If you’ve never had the pineapple, itsbasically the meat of the fruit, covered in brown sugar (I think) and baked sothere’s this stupid good glaze on the outside. They cut it just like they cut the meats, and you 100% have to tryit. I could have just eaten thepineapple for dinner. Dessert was alsogreat; I had the chocolate coconut tres leches cake that the Bug was absolutelynot going to try, but she did, andshe absolutely loved it, so being the kind and generous mom I am, I shared itwith her. My mom ordered tea, and sharedmy dad’s banana meringue (pretty sure I spelled that wrong). We explored some more after, took somephotos, and my mom went to play craps.

 

For many people, this is where the night started… for me, we’regetting towards the end. We did end upwandering around a bit more because our steward wasn’t done in our rooms, butwhen we got back to the room and he was still there we just hang out on thebalcony, and enjoyed the cool evening, the sound of the waves, and the fact thattomorrow (today) was going to be all about me and whatever the heck I wanted todo. I have been taking photos too, sosometimes tomorrow (Wednesday) in Bermuda I’ll figure out how to upload themall.

 

Today (1 May) is my birthday, so if you're glum waiting for your cruise, in my honor, do something nice for someone, and make their day better. It'll help turn yours around too! :) And if you do something nice for someone, I really would love to hear about it!

 

And oh yeah, I’ve finished my first book of the trip.

Well I have been at work today and being that I am a healthcare professional I have helped many people already today and it’s not even my lunch break yet! 🤪. Happy birthday!!!

Sounds like they may not be cruising at all!

Oh gosh hope they make it

Have tried both NA beer and wine, prefer beer

I can’t drink , allergy to alcohol (I know!), and it’s so boooooring to drink juice/soda. So yeah would be nice to have a bit of NA fizzz

yes, it is 4:30pm and the ship is tied to the pier. i read on facebook, the ship may not leave until around 6

Oh wow sounds like a bit of hiccups.

Is it late leaving NY as well?

Birdtravels which website did you use for the deck cam please?

Live: it’s total chaos in the cruise terminal of manhattan [emoji23]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Not a great start but why is it chaos? What time are you leaving NY? Hope it gets better!

Managed to watch the live webcam, fantastic! Thanks all

The max capacity for a taxi is 7 adults.

 

Estimated fares:

 

 

• Front ST, Hamilton to the caves - $27 plus tip, 1-4 paxs, Mon.-Sat. travel; $34,plus tip, 5-7 paxs.
  
• King's Square, St George's to the caves - $17 plus tip, 1-4 paxs, Mon.-Sat. travel; $22,plus tip, 5-7 paxs.
  

SBtS

Is King’s Square where you get off at St. George’s ferry terminal?

Not all, but most do close because they have to get a license which has a fee to stay open and they have pay the employees double time. Since the Dockyard caters to cruise passengers it is more likely that some will be open at the Dockyard.

Thank you Charles for the information. I wish I knew before I booked

August 2 is Emancipation Day and August 3 is Somers Day. The two days are known as Cup Match. There is a two day Cricket game. Cricket matches take a long time. Everything shuts down. So shops will not be open as normal. In the recent past the ferry has operated as normal but they don't anounce that until a few days in advance. Buses will run on a holiday schedule.

So all the shops/restaurants in Hamilton and Dockyard will all be shut ?

Hi everyone

We will be in Bermuda on August 1-3rd and I think 2/3rd August are public holiday. Will shops and ferry be open as normal??

Jplovestocruise, thank you for asking the question about the Haven experience. Also, Vyhaneck, thank you for your comments regarding the Haven on the Epic.

 

My wife and I sail the Epic in the DOS in November 2018. The last time we sailed NCL was 2007. Long before the Haven model and a lot of the new concepts being offered in cruising. We are so looking forward to the 11 day cruise on the Epic and in the Haven..

 

Any other tips or thoughts that come to mind please jump in with more info and that goes for anyone who cares to share.

Again, thank you jplovestocruise for asking the question! enjoy your next cruise!

We were in the DOS on the Epic last summer and it was an amazing experience! The suite itself is extremely spacious and we had Maria as our butler who was a gem! All drinks in the suite were complimentary and Maria let us choose the 3 bottles of liquors of our choice even though some of them were not listed on the menu!

IN WHICH VENUES WILL MY SPECIALTY DINING PACKAGE BE HONORED?

Specialty dining packages are honored in the following specialty restaurants: steakhouses, Churrascarias, French, Teppanyaki, Los Lobos, Q Steakhouse, Margaritaville at Sea and Italian restaurants. Guests who have purchased the package may also choose to dine in other select à la carte priced restaurants, entertainment-based restaurants, Bayamo, Pincho Tapas Bar, and Ocean Blue restaurants, for the following per person upcharges:

 

• Ocean Blue - $15 USD
  
• Bayamo - $15 USD
  
• Cirque Dreams/Illusionarium - $10 USD regular seats/$15 USD premium seats/$35 USD VIP seating on Breakaway
  
• Sushi -$7 USD
  
• Raw Bar - $7 USD (Seafood Platter not included)
  
• Pincho Tapas Bar - $7 USD
  

Ahhh...fantastic! Thanks

The best meal I had on the Escape was at Pincho Tapas! We had the Specialty Dining for 3 meals and used one credit for lunch here. So worth it!!

Can you use SDP for pincho??

:) Tobacco Bay Beach :D

Are there plenty of taxi to take you to tobacco bay and back if we can’t walk ?

We like Woodys located just outside the dockyard and right on the water. Their food is great and it’s a place locals eat. We take the bus from the dockyard

Which bus should we take for this place please?

Wonderful photos, thank you for sharing them.

We are sailing on the Escape to Bermuda end of July and really looking forward to it!

Was the photo of the sandy beach you took at St George’s?

Just got off the Getaway. Had a PH suite and can tell you that it is only 1 bottle of water, not replenished, and 1 bottle of sparkling wine, not replenished.

 

The table in the suite is suitable for 2 or 3 people and cramped if you have 4. We were 2 adults and 2 children (5 & 8).

 

If you are PH Aft, the balcony is huge. It is also a long walk to the haven.

We are booking from the UK, perhaps that’s the difference as my amenities definitely states one bottle of water pp per day

Your butler will prove white tablecloth breakfast service from any restaurant. There will be “standard” check box breakfast cards in your suite. Ignore the check boxes and write in what you want. Fried eggs, filet steak, fresh fruit, cheese, breads, juices, coffee. Anything off of the breakfast menus at the MDR or suites restaurant. Free.

 

Minibar is NOT included in the penthouse suites (Princess Geill equivalent). and you will be charged for anything removed from it. People in Owners Suites (Queens Grill equivalent) get some items from the mini-suite.

 

In a penthouse suite, you get one bottle of water which is NOT replenished. You can purchase additional bottles.

 

You can ONLY order what is on the menu in all restaurants, including the suites restaurant. No “can you cook special fish table side for me”. It is just a high street restaurant.

 

No reserved table in the suites restaurant. You need to wait for tables. We are Platinum members on Cunard and miss the service in the Queens Grill. But like the itineraries on NCL.

We are booked in a penthouse suite for this summer on the Escape and the amenities stated one 1L bottle of water per person per day is provided.