Pride Review to BERMUDA...9/18-9/25 lots of pics & details!!!

[GRTKJ]

I was there the day they had that relay event going on. Great pics, keep it up. That was the second time I finished runner up in that contest too! Bob

 

Are you serious, well I would say next time you should be the winner of both!!! Right!? :)

 

On another subject, how are things in your town after all the hurricanes, are things getting back to normal? I hope so!

[GRTKJ]

 

 

 

 

Love the review!

Where do you get the tokens for the ferry?

 

Glad you are enjoying the review! We bought the tokens at the Hamilton ferry stop. There was a small building to the right of the ferry where you could go in and get tokens, or day passes, and portable maps and route info. They usually sell them at all the ferry stops, which I believe are - Dockyard, Somerset, St. George & Hamilton. There may be 1 more but I can't recall for sure.

[Shelli]

There was a small ship docked at Hamilton. Aparantly the Carnival ship and the Norwegan Gem are too large of ship to dock at Hamilton, they only let the smaller ships dock there.

 

Several years ago, there was talk that Bermuda wasn't allowing ANY cruise ships to dock in Hamilton any longer-- only private yachts. However, apparently that really didn't happen, since small cruise ships still are allowed to dock there. But small cruise ships are now few and far between! It seems that only Holland America's ships are small enough. The ship in your picture is HAL's Veendam.

 

BTW, we docked in Hamilton (as well as in St. George and at the Dockyard) on our two Bermuda cruises. Both were on small ships that the cruise lines have since sold: the first was on the old Pacific Princess (the original Love Boat from the TV show!) in 2002, her last season with Princess-- it only held 640 passengers; and the 2nd was on Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas, a smaller ship that was sold after the 2007 season, when we sailed on her.

[GRTKJ]

Wednesday, Sept 21st was such a great day, we knew today (Thursday, Sept, 22nd) was going to be hard to beat, but we were excited about all the adventures for the day! Here was our "new" plan for Day 2 in Bermuda:

1. Jessie James Cruises - snorkeling tour to 2 reefs, a private beach area, and 2 shipwrecks.

2. Fantasea Bermuda Triangle Glass Bottom Night Cruise

Those were the big plans for today. Let me step back and say, we were suppose to have done the Jessie James tour on Wednesday at 9am. I had contacted them months before our trip and made the reservation, well while we were on the ship, I bought an internet card to check how things were at work, and noticed an email from Chloe, the lady with Jessie James tours. She was canceling my 9am apt I had made with her months ago, and letting me know we would have to change to 1pm today. Now, I was not happy that she couldn't have let me know this BEFORE we boarded the ship. So, I was unhappy because we had everything all planned out for each day in Bermuda, so this meant I was going to have to totally change all my plans around.......well it all ended up working out but to me thats not very professional or very considerate to contact someone about changing their apt at the last minute, especially when most don't get on the net while on the ship. Anyway, so I agreed to change to the 1pm apt the next day (Thursday).

So since we didn't have anything planned until 1pm, I got up about 9am and went shopping in the Dockyard area without Joe, he wanted to rest and relax, so reading how safe Bermuda was, I had no problem leaving the ship to go in that area without him. I told him I would be back at 11:30am to go eat lunch and then head to meet the Jessie James tours.

There are several, or should I say, lots of shops and looking areas in the Dockyard. It was probably good Joe didn't come anyway as he doesn't like to shop, so it really worked out!:p

As you get off the boat and walk straight, to the right is the Craft market, which like most craft markets, sold a lot of similar items. If you keep walking, it is connected to the Frong and Onion Pub, we didn't end up eating here but we read a lot about it. Several on our ship ate there, as I saw lots of our fellow passengers in their tshirts of the place when we were leaving! So its a popular place for sure!

Here is the line for the ferry stop in Dockyard. You can tell its a popular thing to do!:

 

Here are some signs showing the direction everything is:

 

 

Need to make a phone call??

Need to sanitize your hands? Interesting, how its a ball, but same principle as in the US:

[GRTKJ]

Several years ago, there was talk that Bermuda wasn't allowing ANY cruise ships to dock in Hamilton any longer-- only private yachts. However, apparently that really didn't happen, since small cruise ships still are allowed to dock there. But small cruise ships are now few and far between! It seems that only Holland America's ships are small enough. The ship in your picture is HAL's Veendam.

 

BTW, we docked in Hamilton (as well as in St. George and at the Dockyard) on our two Bermuda cruises. Both were on small ships that the cruise lines have since sold: the first was on the old Pacific Princess (the original Love Boat from the TV show!) in 2002, her last season with Princess-- it only held 640 passengers; and the 2nd was on Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas, a smaller ship that was sold after the 2007 season, when we sailed on her.

 

Interesting info regarding the smaller ships. I think now days "the bigger the better" and they obviously try to sail full since they sometimes call with upgrades. Someone else in Bermuda as one of the ferry stops I think was telling us something similar that even Carnival use to have a smaller fleet and that is would dock at Hamilton, I don't remember which lines though.

[GRTKJ]

Moving on down the street, was this pottery place where they made pottery. I am so mad now that I didn't buy a piece while I was there, I said oh I will come back but never did. Anyway, it was beautiful and colorful pottery! It was on the strip before you get to the Clocktower Mall. Speaking of which, here was the entrance to the mall:

 

This mall was pretty neat. It had several boutique type shops, as well as the typical tourist stuff. It was a neat mix of both, it also had a china shop, ice cream shop, and had some neat stuff! I ended up buying one of my favorite things in one of those shops, a Bermuda-made product, can you guess??!!.......a Gibbs Hill Lighthouse! Here it is:

Here are some pictures of the inside of the mall:

 

[amylee1178]

Hi Katie, great review so far. We were also on this cruise and had a great time. We arrived late at the Serenity area and didn't get to meet everyone, but I do remember seeing you there from your pics. In fact we can see our car parked under the pic of Joe standing on your balcony with a drink in his hand. We we're neighbors, but on the port side, cabin 7258.

By the way, for those of you reading this, I highly recommend this cabin. The balcony is huge, the size of 3 balconies put together.:D

 

We have this cabin in about 6 weeks. Can't wait!!

 

Katie, thanks for the review! We're doing the other itinerary, but anything on "our" ship keeps me from getting too antsy!

[GRTKJ]

Here is some pictures of Bermuda $. They have a $1 coin, just like Canada and several other countries. They also have a $2 bill. Here they are pictured below, and the small coin is a 10 cent piece. Both sides of the $2 bill are different, the other side has birds on it and it is so pretty and colorful!:

Also, I went in a pharmacy that was near the pottery store and to show the price of things, here is an example of sunscreen, about 2x the price in the US. Just about everything was higher. But almost everything is imported so there is tariffs and all that on the goods, plus the stores have to make a profit, so I understand the reason but glad we came prepared!!:

 

Another item I bought for my mother that she loved is a Christmas ornament of Bermuda! She has ornaments from all over the world at christmas its pretty neat!:

 

Here is a flag of the Bermuda Bird:

[southbayer]

Great Great Review!!! You make me want to book a Bermuda Cruise Now!:D

[GRTKJ]

It was getting close to 11am, so I knew I needed to start heading back to the ship to get bathing suits on, get some lunch, and get ready for a snorkeling trip!

Here is the ship as I walk back to it:

Here is a close-up of the ferry system below. It looks like a small boat but it had lots of seats on the bottom and top, so I would say there is probably room for 75 people at full capacity and maybe more!:

....and I guess Joe was looking for me LOL :rolleyes:....here he is on our balcony waving at me!!!!!!:

[GRTKJ]

We have this cabin in about 6 weeks. Can't wait!!

 

Katie, thanks for the review! We're doing the other itinerary, but anything on "our" ship keeps me from getting too antsy!

 

You're welcome!! It's a great cabin!!! Either way you will have a great time! The Pride is a great ship! :cool:Honestly, we were a little hesitant since it was an older class ship, but our PVP said it underwent a major restore/drydock a year or so back, so he said it was like new....we trusted his word and he was exactly right, you would have never known it was an older ship. Everything was very nice!! You will love it!! Go to the Ivory Bar, its a blast!! :p....oh and I hope you get Harry as your room steward, he was absolutely the best!

[GRTKJ]

Great Great Review!!! You make me want to book a Bermuda Cruise Now!:D

 

 

Thank you so much! Happy you are enjoying it! :) You should definitely book one to Bermuda, its a GREAT place, not to mention the beauty of the beaches!!!:cool:

[GRTKJ]

Well, its 11pm here, and I've got a big day tomorrow, so I better close for the day! I will be back with lots more info and pictures tomorrow evening on our Jessie James snorkeling tour as well as the Fantasea Bermuda Triangle Glass Bottom Night Cruise!!!....did I mention they give :eek: FREE Rum Swizzles on that, yes and they are GOOD! :cool: More to come tomorrow eve......

[JaniceB]

Thanks for all the dockyard pictures. Glad they have street signs everywhere.

[MSRussell]

Along with every one else, thank you so much for the fantastic reveiw, better yet, the pictures.

I am going on the Pride in November, for my birthday, can hardly wait.

I feel more comfortable now, a I go Solo, knowing what to expect.

Melanie

[TheCalicoCat]

Keep up the good work. I'll be on this cruise in 5 weeks!

[LBumb]

awesome job

[DEERINH2O]

I am loving your review. I am making sure to be able to read the rest

 

I will definitely lok into a cruise like this

 

Kathy

[GRTKJ]

Thanks for all the dockyard pictures. Glad they have street signs everywhere.

 

You're welcome! Yes they have them everywhere at dockyard! And to be honest, its a pretty small section of land, so its pretty easy to find things. :)

[GRTKJ]

Along with every one else, thank you so much for the fantastic reveiw, better yet, the pictures.

I am going on the Pride in November, for my birthday, can hardly wait.

I feel more comfortable now, a I go Solo, knowing what to expect.

Melanie

 

Melanie - glad you are enjoying it! Bermuda is a VERY safe place and honestly somewhere I would feel completely safe by myself. As mentioned previously, there is practically no crime, all the natives are so nice and willing to help with anything! I took a ton of pictures, obviously, but I wanted to do a thorough review for everyone else that has never been or that is considering the beautiful island.:)

What a wonderful birthday present that will be!!! :D

[GRTKJ]

Keep up the good work. I'll be on this cruise in 5 weeks!

 

Thank you!, and 5 weeks will be up in no time, speaking of which haven't Christmas decorations been out a couple weeks already??!! It will be here before we know it! Happy sailing.....Hope you enjoy it!!! :)

[GRTKJ]

awesome job

 

Thank you! :)

[GRTKJ]

I am loving your review. I am making sure to be able to read the rest

 

I will definitely lok into a cruise like this

 

Kathy

 

Kathy, thank you and I am glad you are loving it....wait sounds like we are at McDonalds!! LOL :p I still have a lot to post, so hope to get more done tonight. This certainly is a job doing these reviews, but its fun, so I do enjoy it! You should for sure look into a cruise like this, it was a wonderful place, with lots of history!

[zetaome]

What a fabulous review!!

 

I'm loving all your pictures (especially the food porn!!) as well as your great captions!

 

I'll be sailing on Sunday on HALs Veendam, the one you saw docked in Hamilton! While I have most of my days planned, I'm loving seeing what others did!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review/pictorial!

 

Happy Sailing,

 

Charlene

[GRTKJ]

What a fabulous review!!

 

I'm loving all your pictures (especially the food porn!!) as well as your great captions!

 

I'll be sailing on Sunday on HALs Veendam, the one you saw docked in Hamilton! While I have most of my days planned, I'm loving seeing what others did!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review/pictorial!

 

Happy Sailing,

 

Charlene

 

Thank you! It's been fun doing it!

 

The Pickled Onion is located literally across the street from where your ship will be docked! So you'll have to try it, we loved it!

 

Yes I'm going to try to get our 2nd day in Bermuda done after dinner tonight. I know, I enjoyed on the ship talking with others seeing what they had planned & found to be exciting! You will love Bermuda!!