Should I Try a Cruise to Bermuda?

[kentuckyluckyguy]

Looking at future cruises after getting off the Elation on Saturday.

 

Who on here has done the 7 day Bermuda cruise? Thoughts, observations, opinions? I kind of like the idea of having three days docked and the ship being my floating hotel...I'm curious what sea days are like weatherwise in terms of temperatures, esp if sailing out of the Northeast in the Spring or Fall...

 

Does the MDR operate as normal while in port for three days? Is there anything majorly different from a regular cruise?

 

I don't particularly like the "fare"...but if I book far enough out I can manage it I think....plus I've never been to Bermuda...looking for opinions.

[H82seaUgo]

Looking at future cruises after getting off the Elation on Saturday.

 

Who on here has done the 7 day Bermuda cruise? Thoughts, observations, opinions? I kind of like the idea of having three days docked and the ship being my floating hotel...I'm curious what sea days are like weatherwise in terms of temperatures, esp if sailing out of the Northeast in the Spring or Fall...

 

Does the MDR operate as normal while in port for three days? Is there anything majorly different from a regular cruise?

 

I don't particularly like the "fare"...but if I book far enough out I can manage it I think....plus I've never been to Bermuda...looking for opinions.

 

did it once on carnival, and multiple times on other lines.

 

just pulling in, i turned to my wife and said "this is where we will cruise every summer", except carnival never repeated the summer sailings.

 

we had seas of glass on all but one.

 

 

 

 

.

 

bermuda is what a cruising destination should be.....CLEAN, POLITE, with beautiful beaches.

[kentuckyluckyguy]

just pulling in, i turned to my wife and said "this is where we will cruise every summer", and carnival never repeated the sailings, except in april, and now this year outside our cruising window.

 

bermuda is what a cruising destination should be.....CLEAN, POLITE, with beautiful beaches.

 

 

WOW!!!! That sounds marvelous!!!!! I am looking now as I type this and have an email to my PVP...thinking 2013 for this one.

[H82seaUgo]

WOW!!!! That sounds marvelous!!!!! I am looking now as I type this and have an email to my PVP...thinking 2013 for this one.

 

don't lock yourself into one line. if you are sailing out of ny harbor, you also have rccl, ncl (on a brand new ship by then), and i think even celebrity.

 

carnival was the best value.

[kentuckyluckyguy]

What's your harbor??? I think I'd be wide open to trying something new for the best price/value. Carnival doesn't have any prices yet for 2013 to Bermuda.

[LemurCat]

Both spring and fall are a crap shoot. You can't guarantee warm weather in the spring (as Bermuda is off the coast of the Carolinas) and fall is hurricane season.

 

I'll echo what H82seaUgo said and suggest you don't lock yourself into one line. See if you can't go during the high season. CCL got locked out of all the premium dates for Bermuda because of standing contracts with RCCL and NCL.

[H82seaUgo]

What's your harbor??? I think I'd be wide open to trying something new for the best price/value. Carnival doesn't have any prices yet for 2013 to Bermuda.

 

lol

 

not my harbor. ny harbor. :D

[kentuckyluckyguy]

lol

 

not my harbor. ny harbor. :D

 

 

LOLOL The old vision isn't what it used to be!!!!!!!! I was gonna ask for a Cruise Critic Discount if it was "your harbor" LMAO.

[kentuckyluckyguy]

Both spring and fall are a crap shoot. You can't guarantee warm weather in the spring (as Bermuda is off the coast of the Carolinas) and fall is hurricane season.

 

I'll echo what H82seaUgo said and suggest you don't lock yourself into one line. See if you can't go during the high season. CCL got locked out of all the premium dates for Bermuda because of standing contracts with RCCL and NCL.

 

Yeah, I've noticed particularly this year that most of the Atlantic tropical storms have curved towards Bermuda. I'd probably worry myself silly during hurricane season but it'd be worth it for a nice trip!!!!!

[yogimax]

Just remember that Bermuda is not in the Caribbean and the weather tends to be more like D.C. than Florida

[kentuckyluckyguy]

Thanks Yogi! That's a great piece of advice to consider! Prolly means looking at July-october then...either picking "peak season" or "hurricane season" if this is what I decide to do.

[katcas]

I was just reading a review of someone who did this cruise out of Baltimore on the Carnival Pride. I just read it last night and it was an excellent review. She wrote it from the cruise each day and took a ton of pictures. Look it up if you can. It made me want to go. When I went on the Carnival website just to see, you can only book until April 2012 which is odd. Next year is our 20th anniversary and would love to do this cruise. Maybe in the summer where the weather would be better.

[geckog]

I've seen a few recent reviews of Bermuda cruises that certainly have me yearning to go. Look around, there are at least three recent ones in the Carnival forum.

 

And not to be a traitor to Carnival, but NCL's new ship will be doing Bermuda cruises out of New York in 2013. I think they start selling on the 17th.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I've done Bermuda twice and I don't have a strong desire to go back.

 

Both trips we were rocking and rolling to the point that they had barf bags taped to the hand rails in the hallways and in the elevators the first trip.

 

That was on the way down. On the way back we had smooth sailing.

 

The next trip was just the opposite. Smooth going down and very rough coming back.

 

I don't know how it is these days but when we went the shops on the ship and casinos were not open the whole time we were in Bermuda.

 

Bermuda was beautiful though.

 

Bill

[Say Goodnight Gracie]

My far my favorite cruises. I would go back in a heartbeat. Loved, loved, loved Bermuda. Had to leave 1/2 day early because of Hurricane Fabian, but it was still fabulous!

[golfadj]

Just back from Bermuda on the Miracle about 3 weeks.

 

The middle day in Bermuda was a washout due to tropical storm and had rough weather on a sea day heading back to NY.

 

Other than that great roll call and cruise and we will want to do it again.

[H82seaUgo]

I've done Bermuda twice and I don't have a strong desire to go back.

 

Both trips we were rocking and rolling to the point that they had barf bags taped to the hand rails in the hallways and in the elevators the first trip.

 

That was on the way down. On the way back we had smooth sailing.

 

The next trip was just the opposite. Smooth going down and very rough coming back.

 

I don't know how it is these days but when we went the shops on the ship and casinos were not open the whole time we were in Bermuda.

 

Bermuda was beautiful though.

 

Bill

 

what months did you go? we always go in july or august. love them warm bermuda breezes, even at night, with the lighthouse spinning......

[kentuckyluckyguy]

We rocked and rolled on the Elation coming back from Mexico last week and on the last two days they had the barf bags out by the Elevators....but GF said she'd go on another cruise in a heartbeat. I'm really torn....I love the way Bermuda looks and I've never been there..but I also really want to do the Southern Caribbean itenerary as well and haven't been there either.

 

What makes Bermuda so attractive is that I've always felt "rushed" in port to get back to the ship and I think having three days would be awesome!!!! But...I haven't decided yet.

 

Also, is NCL comparable to Carnival? With Carnival, after 5 cruises, I know what I'm getting. I don't want to go on a different line and find myself comparing it to something that's better (of course if the other line is better then that's good for me!) LOL.

[LemurCat]

We rocked and rolled on the Elation coming back from Mexico last week and on the last two days they had the barf bags out by the Elevators....but GF said she'd go on another cruise in a heartbeat. I'm really torn....I love the way Bermuda looks and I've never been there..but I also really want to do the Southern Caribbean itenerary as well and haven't been there either.

 

What makes Bermuda so attractive is that I've always felt "rushed" in port to get back to the ship and I think having three days would be awesome!!!! But...I haven't decided yet.

 

Also, is NCL comparable to Carnival? With Carnival, after 5 cruises, I know what I'm getting. I don't want to go on a different line and find myself comparing it to something that's better (of course if the other line is better then that's good for me!) LOL.

 

Just remember that you're going to have to cross the Gulf Stream to get to Bermuda, which can make for high seas. We had 18 to 20 foot rollers the first time we went and 10 to 12 foot waves the second.

 

NCL is extremely comparable, but just make sure it is a newer ship. They do terrible things to their old ships before selling them. Our last NCL cruise was to Bermuda on an old ship and I thought "The reviews are all exaggerated and it can't possibly be that bad". It was. I actually considered jumping the rail when the Virginia coast came into sight.

[kentuckyluckyguy]

Just remember that you're going to have to cross the Gulf Stream to get to Bermuda, which can make for high seas. We had 18 to 20 foot rollers the first time we went and 10 to 12 foot waves the second.

 

NCL is extremely comparable, but just make sure it is a newer ship. They do terrible things to their old ships before selling them. Our last NCL cruise was to Bermuda on an old ship and I thought "The reviews are all exaggerated and it can't possibly be that bad". It was. I actually considered jumping the rail when the Virginia coast came into sight.

 

I think the 8-10 foot rollers we had last week were the biggest I've encountered in five cruises so i can't imagine 20 foot rollers LOL.

 

What do they do so bad to their ships before selling them? I will probably end up taking the itnenerary/line that offers me a good deal on something OTHER than Western Caribbean.

[LemurCat]

What do they do so bad to their ships before selling them? I will probably end up taking the itnenerary/line that offers me a good deal on something OTHER than Western Caribbean.

 

Yeah, the two older ships I was on, they really let the maintence go; like to the point where I was afraid of getting Legionnaire's Disease from the AC pipes leaking in the insulation in the ceiling of our cabin. And to see them take the panel down and try to duct tape the leak, then shrug when it didn't work and decide to "fix" it by turning our AC off ... yeah. The ship was dirty, fixtures were broken and not repaired, the pool was day-glo green (no lie, not even the most adventurous kids were swimming in it), and the crew was just like "Why bother? I'm being sent to another ship next week".

 

(And for the record, I sailed the Carnival Celebration shortly before she went over to another line and the ship, though a bit worn was clean, comfortable and accomodating. The crew was stellar. Even the slightest problems were addressed.)

[kentuckyluckyguy]

OK. Then from what I'm gathering from the last hour's worth of research and comments:

 

If you go on an older NCL ship it may well be junk/nasty.

If you go on a newer NCL ship it will likely have smaller cabins than Carnival.

 

So, I'm thinking NCL is probably out of the question and I'm back to between Carnival and RCL...with an outside shot at Princess (I know I'll pay more) IF they offer the right itenerary.

[LemurCat]

If you go on a newer NCL ship it will likely have smaller cabins than Carnival.

 

I think I might have confused you on this point. Their newer ships have the same size cabins as CCL. Their older ships had cabins the size of shoeboxes.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

what months did you go? we always go in july or august. love them warm bermuda breezes, even at night, with the lighthouse spinning......

 

we went the middle of June the first time and the second time was middle of July.

 

I know it's the luck of the draw with mother nature but 2 for 2 is not good and don't want to go 3 for 3.

 

Bill

[GranysT]

Kentucky,

 

I cruised to Bermuda back in 05, when Grandeur of Seas sailed out of Baltimore. I don't remember any particular rough seas, either direction. This was about mid July. I believe the rougher water is somewhere between NY and Baltimore. Seems all the cruises out of NY hit it somewhere on each cruise. The weather in Bermuda, in July, was terrific. In low 80's. I had previously flew to Bermuda for 4 nights, end of Sept one year. No hurricanes at that time, and also about 80 degree's. Bermuda is a gorgeous island. We rode the local bus out to a popular beach, and learned a bunch of info, just listening to the locals talking on the bus. Bermuda has some of the friendliest people in the world. Every one you meet or pass, will at the least give you a huge smile. Most ask, how are you, having a good time? Please come see us again. They know the tourists are their bread and butter, and they actually "like us".

 

Yes, the ship will serve all their reg meals. At night they will have the usual main lounge show, after dinner. All the bars and clubs will be open. Alas, none of the ship stores, or casino will be open while docked. I say alas, cause I love to spend awhile in the casino each night, after the show. I'm not big on bars and clubs myself. Hope this helps, if you have any more questions just ask. Cruise On.