Boston to Bermuda with Young Kids: August 15, 2014--TONS of photos

[lolavix]

This was a great day, but it's taken a long time to review!

 

We had our dessert and went back to the room. Here were our friends for the evening.

 

A bunny looking sideways...

 

and one of my favorites, because of the sidekick placement

I loved how Navel had DS2's penguin alongside the towel penguin.

 

We were all amused by this. :)

 

At this point, we all just crashed. It had been a busy, fun day and we had to get some rest as we had another wake up call to maximize our time for the last day in Bermuda.

[pathubia]

This is what the beach at St Catherines used to look like, not sure why it all closed.....

[lolavix]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lolavix]

 

This last flyer was included in the Day 5 Daily, which we received Monday night. I had heard about the laundry deal here, but I'm not sure why I'd want to do this if I were just going home after the cruise. Getting the clothes back Thursday night wouldn't really help me for the cruise, unless I just didn't want to bother doing laundry when I got home.

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

Pathubia--Wow, that is quite a difference! I don't know if I would have recognized it. Could it be that the most recent hurricane destroyed these structures?

[iheartbda]

This is what the beach at St Catherines used to look like, not sure why it all closed.....

The current condition there is the result of the old Club Med, seen up on the hill, being imploded. For years, it was promised that a new resort would be built on the site but nothing ever materialized which, BTW, there were other promises along the way. The developers probably wanted that stretch of beach to be included with what they proposed.

 

It's really unfortunate that all the utilites were removed since it was a good beach for those who wanted a beach day and did not want to snorkel at Tobacco Bay. Only thing is, now that ships do not dock in St. George's, Saint Catherine's beach would probably be fairly deserted like the town itself. St. George used to be quite busy with far more shops open.

[untailored bostonian]

 

[...] We decided to change back into our clothes, get some water, and head back to St. George's. We had heard that the walk was about 10-15 minutes, but I know that these times were underestimates, given the level of our tiredness and the fact that we had kids with us.

 

We did notice that there were many locals approaching tourists and offering rides to the ferry for fairly low prices. I started viewing these folks as a type of independent shuttle service, and we took one up on his offer. For $7, we got a ride back to town and were grateful for that.

 

[...]

 

That hill can be a killer at the end of a long day. Did you see the golf course? You would have to love the game to do 18 there. I recall a very large cistern near the top of the hill.

[soaringfalcon]

Love this review!!! You're doing a great job! Thank you very much!

[russianmom]

Fantastic review and fabulous photos!

24 more days until my turn- now I'm more excited than ever! :D

[lolavix]

iheartbda--Thank you for the explanation. We liked the short time we were there without the crowds, but facilities would have been nice, too. I wish I had taken a photo of Tobacco Bay, though, because it looked insanely crowded to me.

 

untailored bostonian--We were really hot and tired by the time we reached Tobacco Bay. The hill might have done us in! I have to wonder if, when I said "The path to Tobacco Bay sent us over a grassy hill for a bit, but eventually we met up with the road again," I was talking about the golf course. I just looked it up and it sounds like it's no longer functioning as a golf course.

 

soaringfalcon--Thank you for reading and your kind words.

 

russianmom--Thank you! You are going to love it!!

Edited August 28, 2014 by lolavix

[lolavix]

We got up around 6:15-6:30 again and readied ourselves and the kids and hit the Garden Cafe for breakfast. This was the day that the skim milk ran out, although magically, on Thursday, it reappeared. I think this was also the day that DH realized that he could ask for the omelet chef to just make him a fried egg...you can tell we're new to cruising when it didn't occur to him that he could do that. He asked a nice guy sitting next to us where he got the fried egg. I think the egg-eater was amused at our newbie mistake.

 

Our plan for the day was to go back to Warwick Long Bay and Jobson's Cove and swim until lunch, return to the ship for lunch, and then try to get some shopping in since we needed to be back on board by 5 PM for a 5:30 sail away.

 

We trekked over to the ferry with many others. I was a bit surprised, especially at the number of folks getting in the line to St. George's, because over and over I read that people stayed close to the Dockyard on departure day because they didn't want to miss the ship. Although I suppose some do, I can see that many didn't worry, like us.

 

The ferry to Hamilton was a bit slower this morning, and we didn't arrive until 9:22. This meant that we weren't going to be able to make the 9:30 #7 bus, and I thought we'd have to wait until 10. Turns out, there was a 9:45 bus that ran to Barnes Corner, not all the way to the Dockyard...but that would work as it follows the same route past he beaches at the #7 bus which does go all the way to the Dockyard.

 

We arrived at Jobson's Cove around 10:05 and walked down the hill.

 

 

 

The cove was busier than it had been Sunday afternoon, but it was still beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

DS2 near one of the coves within the cove.

 

A close up of a cove:

[lolavix]

Still poking around that same cove:

 

Note that everyone seems to have put their stuff near the shade. It was very warm in the sun.

 

 

 

The three main snorkelers in my family are here, plus a person we don't know in the background.

 

Sometimes you can catch a ride with daddy.

 

Parents: We brought cereal to try to feed the fish. Cheerios worked very well, because they float. The fish will eat All Bran as well, except that it sinks too quickly so the fish eat it off the bottom rather than snatching it from the surface.

 

 

These are the fish which loved the cereal:

[lolavix]

DH took the older two kids out beyond the cove, into the waters of Warwick Long Bay to do some snorkling. He took a bunch of blind photos, since the camera never did start working to allow us to adjust settings or view the photos we had taken with it.

 

 

Love all this coral.

 

 

 

 

I think this is misplaced and it's a photo I took of our cereal-lovers.

 

I also took this photo, as some of this was right by the shore.

 

 

[lolavix]

 

 

We played in the water until a little after noon. We bumped into this fellow, hanging out near our stuff:

 

 

We walked over to the bathroom/changing house. I will mention that this is not luxurious. I didn't use it, but I think it was a porta potty, not a toilet. My daughter said there was no light in the stall, so it was quite dark. We just threw our dry T-shirts and shorts on over out bathing suits and called it good. It still took awhile to do this, because we drank water and had a few snacks while trying to accomplish this. I knew we wouldn't make the bus which was due to come by around 12:15, so we took our time.

 

We hiked up the hill to the bus stop. This is a photo of the bus stop, across the street, going toward Hamilton. You can tell it's going toward Hamilton because the pole is pink.

 

 

The buses traveling away from Hamilton have stops with blue poles. We stayed where we were, because we were going to take the #7 bus originating in Hamilton and going toward the Dockyard, like we did on Sunday.

 

We had some company while we waited:

Amused me to see chickens wandering around the bus stop/main street.

 

Some others who had been at the beach joined us, and when the bus arrived, it was already pretty full.

 

I want to mention how incredibly friendly and nice the people in Bermuda are. There were locals already seated on the bus who warned us that this particular driver was driving too fast, and the small children should be seated. One older woman (probably in her 60s) offered to get up to give her seat to a child! I found their kindness just incredible. Fortunately, the child found another place to sit or grip.

 

I was sitting on a seat in the back row. These seats seemed particularly elevated, so I couldn't easily see out the window. It was probably just as well, since the bus driver did drive quickly.

 

As people got off, everyone had a chance to sit. The bus ride back to the Dockyard took about 40 minutes from Warwick Long Bay. It was about 1:30, and I was anxious to go have lunch so we could at least buy a few trinkets from Bermuda.

 

We dropped our stuff back in our room. DH took the kids to the Garden Cafe while I took a quick shower. I joined them and ate some Mexican food (tacos, vegetable burrito with cauliflower, of all things) and probably a few other items. DH finished before I did and went to shower quickly as well. We set out about 2:45 and knew we would be limited with where we could go. I had a few destinations in mind, so we figured we would just focus on those.

Edited August 28, 2014 by lolavix

[Hikini]

Great review and great pictures! You did a great job, especially for a first time cruiser!

[pathubia]

Thank you again and again, this is bringing back all my cruises to Bermuda and getting me excited for October!!

[g35girl]

Great review! I have never had an interest in going on a cruise to Bermuda and staying at one port for 3 days, however after reading about your adventures, I'm ready to book! Thanks for sharing!!

[aquarianne11]

Thanks for a very detailed review. Having a great time reading and looking at the photos.

 

I love that you included a lot of details (food prices, cheerios as fish food, etc...) and photos of the bus station and the bus stop. Thank you again :)

[mkmom50]

Great review

 

Loving the review. The Dawn was our first cruise and your pictures are bringing back memories.

[Susie51]

Thank you for posting lots of pics.

[lolavix]

Hikini--Thank you for your kindness and for reading along.

 

Pathubia--I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's almost September, so October isn't really that far off!

 

g35girl--It's funny you should say that, because my husband can't imagine jumping from place to place without having time to spend to poke around. He said that he didn't know if he'd like a cruise where you don't have more than a few hours in a given port. I told him that perhaps we could do a cruise like that to give us an idea of where we'd like to go for a more extended visit. It seems to me that having three days in port is really the exception, but it worked for us.

 

aquarianne11--You are very welcome. I always do detailed reviews of our land trips on my on-line journal, so I figured that this is killing two birds with one stone. I also know that there will be some people who enjoy all the details and photos. I'm trying to add some things that I would have wanted to know prior to cruising that I didn't know before.

 

mkmom50--You are very welcome. Where else have you cruised?

 

Susie51--You are welcome. More to come!

[lolavix]

We were off for our whirlwind shopping expedition. We only had about 2 hours to spend, so I prioritized. I will note that I would have preferred more, but I also know that there are concessions when you have lots of people/kids in tow.

 

I have mentioned that I did some editing on most of the beach photos. I did not do any editing of these photos of the water...it really is that blue.

 

Isn't it lovely?

 

This is the bar that I mentioned earlier, that is hopping for much of the day and night.

 

 

 

An added attraction is on the other side.

Can you see the person mid-jump? It was fun to watch as well.

 

We continued following the path to the stores I wanted to visit.

 

There are even some footprints to help guide you.

 

First stop--Glassworks!

 

The items are so beautiful, but very expensive. I will say it made me a little nervous to have my kids in the actual shop, especially when DD bumped her head on a shelf. Thankfully, all was OK.

[lolavix]

The colors are lovely, aren't they?

 

Some of my favorites

 

 

If you don't want plates or vases, how about some animals?

 

Or a fish dish, where you combine the best of both worlds? DS1 really liked that stingray plate in the middle, so I took a photo for him.

 

The high windows just add to the airiness and light.

 

You can watch the animals being made.

 

[adivineeternity]

Ooh... this entire thread has been awesome so far. My boyfriend are heading to Bermuda on the Breakaway in 24 loooong days (no, really, they're not moving fast enough) and we are so excited. This has given me so many ideas where we can go do photography and now I'm getting souvenir ideas.

 

Because my list of things to see wasn't already long enough...

 

Also, I'm sharing your pictures with him. He's beginning to get antsy.

Edited August 28, 2014 by adivineeternity

[pathubia]

:eek: Calico Jacks??? Looks like so much fun!! Going to be my first stop. :cool: That wasnt there in May!!!

 

Again, your pictures are BEAUTIFUL!!!

[lolavix]

 

You can also watch demonstrations of the plates and vases being blown. I think they do demos from 9-12 and then again around 1-4:30 or so.

 

She is rolling it in a type of pulverized glass/sand.

 

 

A lot of heating between each step.

 

 

Amazing how many people it takes to make one plate. Each person knew what they were supposed to do and the transitions from one step to the next were very smooth.

 

Even at this point, I wondered when it would be a plate.

 

But suddenly, there was some twirling and voila!

 

I don't know if different colors cost different amounts, but a pink one in the shop was about $145.

 

I will also add that it was hot sitting and watching them, so I can only imagine how hot it is to actually be making the items.

 

We needed to finish up, so I selected a Christmas ornament and we moved on to the other half of the shop, which sold rum cakes. I guess you could buy some cake and serve it on one of those stunning plates.

 

Parents: Kids are not allowed to sample these, although adults can. DH and I both tried chocolate, and it was good. You could definitely taste the rum. We purchased one as a gift and moved on. I still had one more place I wanted to visit, and time was running out. You can tell I was starting to hurry, as I have no photos of the rum cake part of the store.