njhorseman

It used to operate every week day regardless of whether a ship was in port. Now Bermuda doesn't seem to care whether any residents want to use the ferry so they've reduced service to only days when a ship is in port, and as you say it's not even operating on some days when a ship is in port but will be departing...probably because not a lot of cruise ship passengers traveled to St. George on departure days.

If Bermuda had quietly raised its port taxes by $40 per person you'd be none the wiser or if your cruise line raised your fare $40 per person you wouldn't give a moment's thought to it. The real problem isn't the money in and of itself, it's the unnecessary and aggravating bureaucracy they've created with it.

FWIW the public ferry from Dockyard to St. George has not run on weekends in recent memory, if ever. It has nothing to do with the pandemic or the $40 fee .

Viking Ocean tests its passengers every day.

Thanks for taking the time to produce this blog. It was a pleasure to "travel' with you every day. I'm having some difficulty understanding why I don't have any luggage to pack tonight. 😉

i just looked at the Trans-Bridge website and they are resuming service to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal on Monday June 6, but service to Cape Liberty remains suspended until further notice.

One additional possibility. Take the ferry to Hamilton and then a taxi from Hamilton to BAMZ. Timewise it actually wouldn't take much longer than taking a taxi all the way from Dockyard to BAMZ because the ferry takes a very direct route to Hamilton . If look look at a map of Bermuda you'll see what I mean. A taxi from Hamilton to BAMZ should cost about $20 .

That bus has not resumed service.

A taxi would be expensive. About $55 in each direction Monday through Saturday for 1 to 4 passengers.

I can't help you with Quebec City testing sites, but you should take a close look a Holland America's testing requirements. Based on my reading of their protocols (which are consistent with those of many cruise lines)an antigen test needs to be taken within two days of embarkation . A PCR test can be taken within three days of embarkation .

There's no direct bus service from the Dockyard to BAMZ. You can take a #7 or 8 bus from Dockyard to Hamilton (a 1 hour ride) and then transfer to the #10 or 11 bus. This would be the most time consuming route. Or you can take the Blue Route ferry from Dockyard to Hamilton, walk to the Hamilton bus terminal, and take the #10 or 11 bus. This is the quickest route. Or you can take the Orange Route ferry from dockyard to St. George and the take the #10 or 11 bus to BAMZ. (If you were on NCL you could take their free ferry from Dockyard to St. George rather than the public ferry.) Transportation passes, ticket books and tokens are good on every public bus and ferry.

Check trinityreservations.com. They've been a reliable source of these packages for a number of years. Depending on the date you need the hotel room they offer packages at several hotels.

Other than the optics of other passengers seeing the quarantine cabins, what is careless about it? There's no danger to the other passengers from having quarantine rooms on the same corridor as other occupied cabins. As our resident retired chief engineer @chengkp75has taught us each cabin has it's own air supply so there's no possibility of air containing virus particles from a quarantine cabin making its way into another passenger cabin . From what I've read some cruise lines under certain circumstances do permit quarantined passengers remain in their original assigned cabin.

Yes, on a full transit you stay on the ship, unless it is also doing a port call in Colon on the Atlantic side prior to the transit or Fuerte Amador on the Pacific side after the transit.

Yes, both ships will use the new locks because of their size. Otherwise you've read a lot of misinformation somewhere or misunderstood what you read. Both ships will be doing a full transit because they're starting in LA and ending in Miami. There's no other way to do that than a full transit (or a cruise around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America or a world cruise crossing the Pacific and working your way back through Asia, Europe and the Atlantic Ocean). No, you don't have to disembark when you use the new locks unless your ship is doing a port call at either Fuerte Amador on the Pacific side or Colon on the Atlantic side, in which case you will have the opportunity to disembark to do excursions.

The NCL ferry is used for transportation between the Royal Naval Dockyard and St. George. The thread referenced by @ColeThornton is about ferry transportation between Dockyard and Hamilton, which is a public ferry, not NCL's ferry.

You're both pontificating about something that has nothing to do with what was being addressed...the poster's concern about not being able to take their cruise if they didn't get their renewal passport back in time.

You're mistaken when you say that everyone is familiar with closed loop cruises because the poster thought that making a port call in Victoria meant it wasn't a closed loop cruise. The poster's travel agent also didn't know the documentation requirements for this cruise and incorrectly said that a passport was required. Personally, I wouldn't travel without my passport but that's not relevant to the issue I was addressing. The poster was concerned they would be unable to take their cruise if they didn't get their new passport back in time. I was advising that in fact taking the cruise would still be possible. TSA has nothing to do with this. They work at airports, not cruise ports. In my years of cruising I've seen numerous people have absolutely no problem with US Customs and Border Protection when reentering the country with a birth certificate and driver's license.

In addition to what was already said the ship can only leave during daylight hours. The ship channels are too narrow and too shallow to allow navigation by a large cruise ship at night . http://www.rccbermuda.bm/pilots_about.aspx Pilot Service This Section provides Branch Pilots to assist international shipping to safely navigate Bermuda’s narrow channels. Transit of Bermuda's channels is limited to daylight hours only, however night pilotage does take place on a limited basis in cases where ships on passage may divert to Bermuda with medical cases onboard or where ships alongside at the ESSO Oil Docks complete their cargo discharge and are able to shift to anchor in Murray’s Anchorage.

There are two different train/trolley tours, one in Hamilton and one that takes people from the Dockyard around to various locations in the West End. I believe you have to stay on the tours . Personally I wouldn't bother doing them. Spend some time reading this board and you'll find lots of discussion of places to go and transportation.

That's likely not the train/trolley tour you're seeing. It's the trolley that shuttles cruise passengers around the Dockyard.

Yes, the test satisfies both your cruise line's and Bermuda's requirements.

FYI, United does not have "several terminals in which it is the only carrier". There are only three terminals at EWR, A, B and C. United is the sole tenant in Terminal C. Terminals A and B are used a by numerous airlines, including United. So while United may be able to dictate conditions in Terminal C they don't have control of the other two.

Yes, in your case one of the proctored self tests is the way to go.

If this is what you mean http://www.bermudatrain.com/ the answer is yes . Someone recently posted a picture of the trolley in Hamilton.