MarylandCruiseCouple

That is sad to hear.

We hired Colin in May 2012 and had a fantastic 5 hour tour of the island that lasted 6 1/2 hours. Well worth the price and we saw more in that time then we could have in a week by ourselves.

Five star in our opinion.

We are thinking cruising to Bermuda out of NYC on 5/1/16. Has anyone been in early May? Is it warm enough for the beach and to get into the water? We have been before but in August and I'm worried it won't be warm enough in early May for the beach.

We've been to Bermuda twice in May. While not beach goers in general we did venture into the water once. A bit too chilly for our liking. And the jelly fish were abundant but not like when we were there one June. Try the beach, if it is too cold there are plenty of other cultural things to do on the island.

Enjoy your cruise. :)

Let me be the first non-retired :( person over 55 to post a reply.

The wife and I are looking forward to retirement in about 10 years. I can't plan that far ahead so it is a vast unknown right now, but we will continue cruising.

Sea Days?

Early morning breakfast followed by an hour or so of reading then off to find some fun activity or two. A leisurely lunch followed by more activities. A late afternoon cocktail and then dinner in a specialty restaurant. Nighttime is a visit to the casino and off to dance and listen to music until the wee hours.

Can't think of a better way to spend a day at sea. :)

There is also a small multi-car tram that circles through the Dockyard area. It takes just as long as walking but if you have mobility issues....

I was wondering if there is a big difference docking at King's Wharf vs Hamilton? I realize that different cruise lines have their favorite docks. Are there more things to see and do near one dock as compared to the other ? I realize that people take excursions, but using water taxi's and buses might be more abundant at one location compared to another. Thanks.

Sali

There is no comparison to being docked in Hamilton. You can come and go as you wish 24 hours a day and you are at the transportation hub of the island.

The only advantage of King's Wharf is the direct ferry to St. Georges which takes 40 minutes or so. The bus takes a bit over an hour, but you do see a great deal of the north shore of the island.

The ferry between Hamilton and King's Wharf is a quick 10 minute hop.

Tell hubby to relax. My family has snorkeled in and around Bermuda several times. Have yet to see a shark.

Most memorable was snorkeling out in the Atlantic over two shipwrecks, the Constellation and another whose name escapes me, in about 40 feet of water. Saw a group of scuba divers below us about half way down and a school of barracuda trolling the wrecks.

Well worth the price, even with the increase.

My wife and I scheduled a private taxi tour of Bermuda with Colin Jennings. I believe his e-mail address is colinjenningstaxi@yahoo.com. Contact him way in advance as he is a popular guy. We had a great tour from Hamilton to St. Georges and all the way back to the Shipyard.

Here is a link to a Cruise Critic thread with more information about private tours. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1198339

Enjoy!

The title of my reply sums it up in one word. And to repeat myself, the word is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My wife and I spent three days before and One day after the cruise in Rome which added immeasurably to our vacation, but you are looking for information regarding the Epic, not our vacation.

As an older couple and seasoned cruisers we did not take part in many of the deck party entertainment and partying geared to the younger cruisers. Also there was only one sea day on our cruise.

The on-board entertainment, whether in the main theater or the various lounges was great. The jazz combo and the dualing piano players were great to listen to with an after dinner drink. A definite must is the Cirque show in the Spiegel Tent. We didn't eat there, we just saw the show from the upper balcony which may offer a better view than from ground level.

We purchased the upgraded dinner package and had first class meals every night:

• Teppanaki Room was the most ordinary of the upgraded restaurants. No better than most quality Japanese restaurants on shore.
  
• La Cucina offered extremely tasty Italian cuisine without overpowering the natural flavors with garlic.
  
• Cagney's offers great steaks cooked to perfection.
  
• The churrascaria meats in Moderno were extremely tasty with exquisite flavors. The meal is very filling.
  
• Le Bistro has the best French dinners of any cruise ship we've been on. So good it was the only restaurant we ate in twice.
  
• We did not partake of Wasabi, Shanghai's or Chef's Table.
  
  

O'Sheehan's has good pub fare 24/7 but the service was a bit slow. Not a bad thing though as we had a leisurely breakfast away from the buffet on our sea day.

The Garden Cafe buffet offered standard fare that all cruise ships offer. The food ay have been a bit better than most other lines but we ate a small quick breakfast (eggs, bacon or sausage, coffee) before heading out on day long excursions. On negative about the buffet is that it is crowded early so look for an outside table if possible, and weather permitting, so you can enjoy breakfast.

The Ice Bar was cold and the drinks strong. Blue is best. You'll understand if you go.

Our cruise originated in Rome (Civitavecchia) and the other ports were Livorno (Florence and Pisa) Cannes (France), Palma, Majorca (Spain), Barcelona (Spain), Naples (Italy) and back to Rome. Since cruises originate and end in both Rome and Barcelona embarkation and disembarkation is quick and uncrowded.

We did cruise ship excursions every day. The reason for booking withe NCL as opposed to private tour operators is that if the tour is delayed the ship waits for you. The ship doesn't wait for outside tours and heavy traffic can cause issues.

As we spent four extra days in Rome we saw more than you can see in just the one day excursion from the ship (those starting in Barcelona) but the Colosseum and the Vatican are a must.

We took a bust trip to Pisa and Florence. The Leaning Tower and da Vinci's The David are must sees.

From Cannes we took a bus trip to Eze and Monaco, Of all the excusrions this was out least favorite but it was still good. Princess Grace's tomb and the Start/Finish line of the Monaco Gran Prix were the highlights.

We took a trip to a winery and had a tasting. Good wines. Great hosts. then it was back to the harbor for an hour or so of sightseeing. 95 degrees in early May made for a casual stroll along the waterfront.

From Barelona we took an excursion to Montserrat. Aside from the religious aspects of the monastery and attending Sunday mass the view from the mountains is superb. Unfortunately there was a Catalonian Seperatists rally which pretty much closed Barcelona down so we didn't see the city.

Naples was superb. Our excursion was to Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri. Pompeii was awesome!!! We were on THE funicular in Capri.

If you can swing extra time in Rome than do it. There is so much to see - the Forum, Palantine Hill, the Pantheon, etc, etc, etc.......

Our last day we went to Ostia Antica, the old harbor city of ancient Rome. The ruins are bigger than Pompeii. This city was abandoned as the coastline changed and its port was rendered useless. You can actually walk into most of the buildings and on ancient mosaics. If you can get there I suggest going. You will be amazed.

Here are a few reasons why we cruise:

• First and foremost we enjoy getting away from everything, especially the electronics. No computer or cell phone (except real emergencies) for 7 to 12 days is nirvana.
  
• We enjoy the destinations we travel to. Alaska, Aruba, Bermuda and the Western Mediterranean are our favorites, although we haven't hit all the ports in the Caribbean yet.
  
• The price of cruising is so reasonable for the on-board amenities available and the ports of call visited It far surpasses comparable land based vacation.
  
• We are not big fans of flying. We do fly when we must but we have several ports within a few hours drive so getting an east coast cruise is relatively easy.
  
• We have a great time together on a cruise - just the two of us (our kids are older and out of the nest).
  
• We enjoy meeting people and becoming friends (in-person or social media) after the cruise.
  
• When we can arrange it, we enjoy cruising with our friends in a large group.
  
  

:mad:just a warning. At least one of the shops at King's Wharf is selling fake Pandora charms. Wife did not have her bracelet with her so we could not verify it would fit prior to buying. Hole is too small to fit on bracelet. Going to see if jeweler can team hole a bit.

When cruising, we don't want to feel like we're in 'God's waiting room', but neither do we want a 'family atmosphere'. We have an intolerance to young children running around and squealing! We also like fairly high standards of comfort etc, without being in a position to shell out for premium prices.

Can agree with the above. As empty-nesters we enjoy fellow travelers that are our age range (55ish). Like most people we can afford cruising but do not want to get hosed with outrageous pricing.

Based upon limited experience and knowledge of what's on offer, Celebrity seems to fit the bill for us. RCL, despite offering discounts for over 55s, reads like it encourages families and, shock horror, appears to have water slides and gaudy colours :eek: HAL, I notice is popular, but I don't know enough about them. Princess? My impression is its considered to be on a par with Celebrity by many. I need to know more about P & O and Fred Olsen may be a little more down market.

A July 27th cruise to Bermuda will be our first on Celebrity and we are hooing it meets our expectations as well. Agree with you on Royal. Cruised on HAL to Bermuda for our 30th anniversary and had the most wonderful cruise. Yes there was nothing to do after 9:00 PM and the buffet was jammed at 6:00 with the prune juice patrol , but the ship docked in Hamilton for three days (when ships still did that) and we had a great view of the harbor from our balcony (booked port side cabin just for that reason.) l think HAL might be the best for our age group.

So it would be great to hear from more experienced cruisers about favourite cruise lines, disliked cruise lines and why. All views and experiences welcome :)

It may seem that I dissed Royal earlier in this post, but was not doing that. Was just agreeing with OP. The first cruise we went on was with Royal to Bermuda and it ranks as 3rd best on my list (after HAL to Bermuda and Princess to Alaska) as we were with four couples, all of us friends from childhood. 20 years later we still reminisce.

Did Tracy Arm on another cruise line. No music, just limited commentary about the fjord, scenery, Sawyer glacier, etc., Naturalist did spend a bit of time with a story about the color Amy Tan described the glacier on a previous cruise - Windex Blue.

Found - Was having trouble closing the lower draw of the cabinet. Dug deep behind the drawer and came up with a half dozen pair of women's panties. Thankfully all clean and folded. :(

Left - Following the advice I found on another post somewhere on this board regarding air travel and how to make sure you stay under baggage weight limits, I took all 'older' clothes for day wear, exercising and beach. Left a bag of clothes as garbage. Went home with a suitcase weighing 20 pounds. :)

Great reply and great attitude!!

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June 2009 - Day 1 off the coast of North Carolina the Coast Guard arrived to airlift a woman who had a heart attack.