MITSUGIRLYS DAWN TO BERMUDA NOVEL (or review as some may call it)

[chasinraynbowz]

Here lately I have been over estimating what we plan on doing (and I'm doing that on purpose). Just like the example I gave...we had planned on going to the bowling alley at the hotel to bowel that night but it was still kinda "up in the air" as to whether or not we would be doing it. After not much sleep the night before because of such an early flight, we didn't know if we'd just want to relax or sleep early at the hotel. But I still estimated for it. We didn't end up doing it, so I saved money.

 

I never take the money out of the envelops until I get home...and I have been known to forget to do that. LOL Everything from the cruise from my folders to receipts and everything goes into a big bag (usually from a purchase from the gift shop on board) and goes into a chest at home where I will later come back and use everything for my scrapbook. I have been skipping around on my cruises and not going by the years in order that we have taken them and I just finished my Epic scrapbook from 2010 and found a little over $200 still left in the envelops from it. :eek: Then a few months later I did one for a 2013 cruise and found a little over $100 in it. I liked surprises I have to say. :p Normally I will take any money left over at the end and use that to pay for another cruise or payoff the final charges on the cruise once they hit my cc. :D

 

I have been known to find money in envelopes are our trips too (nice surprise by the way... lol) which is why I decided to take any extra money and put it in the last one. It's nice to come home with money.

 

I over estimate also, but if I am not sure my rule of thumb is $100 per person per day. We NEVER spend that much money, but its nice to have and I end up not having to use my credit cards!! :D

[bonvoyagie]

Kim,

 

I love you approach to trip planning - I do something similar - but not quite down to the level you do. I do have a Travel folder with sub folders for Cruise and Camping etc. Under Cruise I have information on cruise lines, and general stuff related I now have a folder for Canada 2016 - my next cruise - planning for 10 ports in 14 days for three people (whew). I now have a folder for each port with all kinds of docs and links as I search the internet for things to see and do. I also have a master spreadsheet listing all the ports, dates, and times. It will be fleshed out with our planned activities (names numbers $$ etc). I started this project in Dec and hope to have it finished by next year at this time - then I can relax until we start to pack :)

 

Still loving your novel :D

[mitsugirly]

Kim, Love all your reviews,have read every one.Thanks for your effort and keep up the good work. You and your family are lovely.

 

I think of Kev too. I went to Bermuda for the first time this year and often thought of him and his hilarious reviews. I " Motivated "to many of the places he did.. :)

 

Candy

 

Thank you so much for the comments and I'm so honored you have read them all. I know that takes a lot of time. :o

 

Some day I will rent that scooter just like he did and adventure out. I would love that. I just can't do it with Sakari so little at the moment.

[mitsugirly]

I have been known to find money in envelopes are our trips too (nice surprise by the way... lol) which is why I decided to take any extra money and put it in the last one. It's nice to come home with money.

 

I over estimate also, but if I am not sure my rule of thumb is $100 per person per day. We NEVER spend that much money, but its nice to have and I end up not having to use my credit cards!! :D

 

Isn't it nice to find money. I felt like I hit the jackpot when I was scrapbooking. I just kept snapping pictures of everything I was finding and sending to the hubby at work and he was laughing. I told him "more casino money!!" :D

 

Kim,

 

I love you approach to trip planning - I do something similar - but not quite down to the level you do. I do have a Travel folder with sub folders for Cruise and Camping etc. Under Cruise I have information on cruise lines, and general stuff related I now have a folder for Canada 2016 - my next cruise - planning for 10 ports in 14 days for three people (whew). I now have a folder for each port with all kinds of docs and links as I search the internet for things to see and do. I also have a master spreadsheet listing all the ports, dates, and times. It will be fleshed out with our planned activities (names numbers $$ etc). I started this project in Dec and hope to have it finished by next year at this time - then I can relax until we start to pack :)

 

Still loving your novel :D

 

10 ports in 14 days?!?!???? :eek: Wow, you are going to be busy. I think that's the only reason I haven't done a longer cruise is the amount of ports involved. There's just so much planning that goes into a 3 or 4 day port it wears me out. LOL :p

[#1TravelMom]

I HAD to show my husband your post on planning. He was sure I was the only "Crazy" person who plans so extremely. My computer files look like yours. I am making money envelopes for the next two weeks right now(Disney/Carnival Cruise). I will be visiting the bank to fill 16 days' worth of envelopes with the proper number of 1's, 5's, 10's, and 20's. My husband assures me I could get change anywhere, but I have my system!

 

He also makes fun of me on excursions. I know that it took 1 hour and 4 minutes to get to Dunn's Falls from Falmouth with an additional 24 minutes to get to Secret Falls where we spent 1 hour and 18 minutes. I'm not sure what is one step above OCD when it comes to travel planning - but I have self-diagnosed myself with it.

[mitsugirly]

I'm going to start with our DAY 3 coming in to Bermuda while some of my pictures download. (So in other words, this post will be just some flapping of the jaws as to the events this morning with no pictures...after all, remember how I wasn't able to get my camera charged last night?) :(

 

I set the alarm for 8am that morning. I know we weren't pulling into port until 11am but I was on a mission to try to get my battery charged (which takes 2 hours according to the people at the photo shop) and I needed every moment I got.

 

I headed out on the deck to check things out and IT WAS WARM!! WOO HOO. I finally felt like this was a cruise. My kinda weather. I sat around on the deck for a little bit kind of killing time because the photo shop said they didn't open until 9am. As I sat there I watched one of the ladies that worked at the bar area wheel a huge cart up to the bar filled with the large jumbo waters they usually sell as you head off the ship once in port (even though I never did see them when we got off that day). Anyhow...she went behind the bar and got buckets of ice, came out to her cart full of water and dumped the ice into it. HOWEVER, she spilled a bunch of the ice on the pool deck....AND PROCEEDED TO PICK THE ICE UP AND PUT IT BACK INTO THE CART OF WATER!!! Um, ok. Lady, do you know how many people have walked on that deck? You put the dirty ice back into your cart that's filled with (yes sealed) water, but the "dirtiness" gets all over the other ice and the outside of the bottles, which people will touch with their hands, who may end up putting them on their face or picking up food and eating. Just gross!! AND I watched this happen not once but TWICE!!! I had to walk away in disgust and decided to head down to the photo shop at 8:30am and just wait in the atrium for them to open.

 

When I got down to the atrium...the photo shop WAS ALREADY OPEN!! HALLELUJAH. I stopped and ask the worker about putting my battery on charge and they did. I told him I would be back in a few hours to pick it up. YES!!! SCORE!!! At least I would have a battery for the day.

 

I headed back up to the room to wake the family up for breakfast and we headed to Aqua this time for breakfast at 9:15am....of course with no camera. So no food porn. We (Sakari and I) had waffles, bacon, and hashbrowns. The hubby ordered eggs benedict, bacon and coffee. I gave him a :eek: look at didn't say anything. They brought his coffee, which ended up being cold. Yikes! Hubs + cold coffee = not a happy morning person. He flagged down the waiter and told them the coffee needed to be replaced and they quickly did. Our food came out and he looked at his eggs benedict and was like um....is this what this stuff is? LOL He didn't eat it and I knew he probably wouldn't. He had no idea what it was and it was kinda funny. He's not a big morning eater person, so he was just happy with his coffee, which was now hot.

 

One thing that I have always said is NCL goes above and beyond when it comes to cleaning. Like I've said before, sometimes if you go to get a drink, you'll come back and your plate is GONE! If you turn your head, you better keep one eye on your plate because they'll swoop it away in the blink of an eye. It's great they try to keep things cleaned up but sometimes there comes a point and time that it gets a little annoying. It starts to feel like they are rushing you to finish. This would be one of those times. I swear they were taking plates away before we were even finished...or at least putting their hand on the plate saying "finished?" while we were still shoveling the food in our mouths. This cruise got so bad with them doing this that the hubby got a little perturbed with it and said he'd rather them leave all the dishes on the table until we got up and left it was getting so annoying.

 

Once we finished eating, we caught up with Kendra, I headed up to pick up my battery and we decided to head to our rooms and pick up our beach bags and head down stairs. They were making announcements, but we couldn't exactly tell what they said. I honestly hate that you can't hear anything when you are in your stateroom.

 

It was 11am and we had been in port for a little while so we headed down to deck 4 on the elevators. When the doors opened, there were 2 other elderly couples and another family with a child there. Once we got off the elevator (our party of 8) the worker there started flipping out. He kept saying "there's way too many people here, you all need to go up to deck 7 to wait for the announcements" I said "Didn't they just make the announcement?" (Remember I couldn't hear bc we were in our room). He said "No, it's not time and there's just wayyyyyy too many people here and you shouldn't be here." Um, there were 15 total people...in the entire huge area. Seriously? We all kinda looked at each other like guy...chill out. So then the guy said "You can't get off here anyhow and need to go to the middle in order to get off". Whatever dude, we will leave so stop getting your undies all twisted up but I can tell you that I SEE the sign RIGHT BEHIND YOU that says "Gangway this way".

 

I can tell you that not one other person moved from the area but we went ahead and obliged so the guy didn't have a heart attack and went up to the atrium area where the herds of crowds were. Can you say "no people skills and rudeness?"

[Mogo0124]

Hi Kim. I'm still planning on getting that ornament for Sakari's tree on our Dream cruise in August. Less than 50 days can't wait - and it is Carnival that is cutting out the chocolates at turn down.

 

Can't wait to see your Bermuda pics. That may be the only way I can get my sister on a cruise with us.

[Chuck2810]

Ok, I am going to switch things up a little. (Stop all the moaning, I know you all are waiting to hear about our first day in Bermuda and I promise to get to it soon).

 

But I feel that this is the perfect time to go over this...my planning strategies. I have people constantly ask me on these boards (and even at home) how I do my planning and what all it takes.

 

I am VERY OCD when it comes to planning and vacations. Always have been, always will be....

 

Nuf said.... No one appreciated me either...;) On my second cruise I figured I spent 10 hours a week planning before hand for a year... Loved it. I can be flexible and spontaneous, but only because I've planned it that way all along.... Cheers!

[mitsugirly]

So yes, remember my OCD planning skills? Well prior to coming I had completely planned out our day minute by minute with 2 different scenarios we could go by.

 

Since the Dawn comes in on a Sunday, you are very limited to places to go using the bus/ferry system. You can not get a ferry to St George at all on Sunday, so that eliminated that option. We could get a bus to the Southshore beaches, BUT they stopped running early and since the Dawn doesn't get in until 11am, you have very limited time any place especially when you factor in the time to get there.

 

We are beach people. I have waited forever to see these beaches. I planned on getting the most out of the day...even if I had to pay for an expensive cab back to the dockyard...I didn't care.

 

MY PLAN FOR DAY 1: (Yes this is a word document that I made with both plans and I'm copying it).

 

Now when you see it saying "use 3 tickets", I am talking about the tickets you purchase in a booklet of 15...which can only be purchased I believe in Hamilton, which is what we discovered prior to arriving in Bermuda. Once again, an AWESOME person here on these boards "donated" a book of leftover tickets, which were just the right amount for our time spent there, for us to use. Tell me this board isn't the greatest thing ever!!!

 

So, this is me figuring if I was going to use the tickets for all of us or just use 2 tickets and pay the child price using exact "CHANGE"...eh hem...we'll discuss that LATER! :eek:

 

Now people on here did report that you could purchase tickets on a trip there, if you didn't use them all then you could use them at any future returns back to the island...no matter how long ago it was. So, I believe this person was there in 2013 that gave me the tickets, so, I figured the amounts of us paying cash...just in case they had changed the rules and could no longer be used, which is why you will see a price listed.

 

DAY 1

Catch the #7 bus to Warwick Bay- Use 3 tickets (or 2 & pay $2.75 for child-adults $5)

 

 

 

 

#7 Bus Schedule:

11:20am 1:20pm 3:20pm 5:20pm

11:50am 1:50pm 3:50pm 5:50pm

12:20pm 2:20pm 4:20pm

12:50pm 2:40pm 4:50pm

 

Arrive at Warwick Bay (40 min) around 12 noon.

 

 

 

Take pics and walk over to Jobsons Cove.

12:00-1:30 Jobsons Cove

 

 

1:30-2:30 Stonehole (large parrot fish) to Chaplin Bay

 

 

3-4:30 or 5:30 Horseshoe Bay and baby beach

 

 

HORSESHOE CONCESSION STAND:

*cheeseburger $5.75 x3

*French fries $4.00 x2 = $34.25 ($40)

*soda $3.00 x3

 

CHAIR RENTAL:

Chair=$11.00 + $5 deposit =$32.00 ($40)

Umbrella=$11 + $5 deposit

 

Catch the shuttle back up the hill at Horseshoe $2pp = $6.00

 

4:50pm Catch LAST bus back to dockyard.-Use 3 tickets (or 2 & pay $2.75 for child) Back to dockyard at 5:30pm

 

 

SHUTTLE TIMES BACK (from Hamilton):

3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30

 

 

 

 

(Or take a taxi back whenever for $50)

$7.90 first mile,

 

$2.75 2-10th mile

 

(total of 10 miles)=$32.65 + 25% Sundays $8.16=$40.81 TOTAL plus tip

 

 

 

 

 

Play putt putt that evening-open until 10pm

Adults $15.00 Children 12 & under: $12 =$42.00

 

 

Adjacent to snorkel park through the common archway

So this was our plan for the day after months and months of planning. I KNEW for a fact this was a "must see, must do" for the day (the beaches).

 

We just tried to find things to occupy our evening hours each night and prior to the cruise we had decided that evenings were going to be "adult" time without the little ones. I have never dropped Sakari off to the kids club during a port day. But I felt this was a little different and we all agreed that it would be the plan each evening for the cruise.

 

I went back and forth with watching the sunset at either Black Bay or sea glass beach (decided not to bc the buses stop running early which meant we would have to walk on the narrow dangerous streets at night). We thought about going on a sunset sail, but figured we could watch the sunset ourselves and save $$ by doing it somewhere else on a beach. We thought about doing the night sail to the "bermuda triangle" something or other with the glass bottom boat. But I read reviews and people were a little unhappy with it and it just sounded pretty corny.

 

So for the first night...we had decided on going to play putt putt. Easy to walk to and something to do.

 

HOW DO YOU ALL THINK OUR PLANS FOR THE DAY PANNED OUT??? Coming up next....our actual day. :p

[mitsugirly]

Hi Kim. I'm still planning on getting that ornament for Sakari's tree on our Dream cruise in August. Less than 50 days can't wait - and it is Carnival that is cutting out the chocolates at turn down.

 

Can't wait to see your Bermuda pics. That may be the only way I can get my sister on a cruise with us.

 

I have you saved in my email and I do remember and thank you SO SO MUCH from the bottom of my heart Maureen. I haven't told Sakari yet about it. She will be so excited about it. :D

 

Ok, I couldn't remember who cut the chocolates. I just know I was shocked when I seen chocolates on our bed that night. Sakari sure did love them so I wasn't complaining. :)

 

I hope you make it to Bermuda. It's beautiful.

 

Nuf said.... No one appreciated me either...;) On my second cruise I figured I spent 10 hours a week planning before hand for a year... Loved it. I can be flexible and spontaneous, but only because I've planned it that way all along.... Cheers!

 

Flexible and spontaneous...only bc I planned it that way all along...LOVE IT!

 

Everyone loves that I do all the planning. They just sit back and follow my lead. The hubby hardly ever knows what we are doing. Maybe that's why they all follow me like ducks in a row. hehe :D

[mitsugirly]

I HAD to show my husband your post on planning. He was sure I was the only "Crazy" person who plans so extremely. My computer files look like yours. I am making money envelopes for the next two weeks right now(Disney/Carnival Cruise). I will be visiting the bank to fill 16 days' worth of envelopes with the proper number of 1's, 5's, 10's, and 20's. My husband assures me I could get change anywhere, but I have my system!

 

He also makes fun of me on excursions. I know that it took 1 hour and 4 minutes to get to Dunn's Falls from Falmouth with an additional 24 minutes to get to Secret Falls where we spent 1 hour and 18 minutes. I'm not sure what is one step above OCD when it comes to travel planning - but I have self-diagnosed myself with it.

 

Yep, exactly. There's more of "us" out there than you realize. :D

 

Haha, I also research the time to get to places and I've been known to either do a screen shot of my phone (which includes the time so I don't forget), or take a picture of my watch for the times...otherwise I'll never remember. I have been "trying" to relax on that aspect lately though. LOL

 

OCTP=Obsessive Compulsive Travel Planning...that's us. :p

[KPfromCT]

Mitsugirly!!!!!:D:D

So glad I "strayed" from the Carnival boards....

I have been waiting for this review...

Imagine my surprise today to see 18 pages when I started (3 hours ago) and by the time I finished, up to 20 pages!:eek::eek:

 

As usual, your review is PHENOMENAL!!!!!!

Although I have zero desire to cruise NCL, I am LOVING your review.

Love seeing Sakari and you and your DH.

You guys are so fun to follow..........

 

Cannot wait for more.

 

Bermuda is on my bucket list. Just not at the top...:rolleyes:

 

Keep it comin'

[destaw7182]

Can't wait to read about your time in Bermuda!

[mitsugirly]

So a little about Bermuda to help with your planning needs before we get down to business. These are some of the things I used to help plan.

 

HERE is a link that has a wealth of information on it. I'm informed that it's not an "official" Bermudian that runs the site, so it might not be "up-to-date" with things, but it does help give you ideas of things to see, places to go and so on. I found it very helpful in my beginning stages of planning to get an idea of where we'd like to go and then I researched additional information after that to narrow things down. (http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/)

 

If you want maps and brochures THIS is the place to get them. It's an official Bermuda website with tons of information. (http://www.gotobermuda.com/get-here/maps-and-brochures/) Poke around the site for just about anything you could want to find out about Bermuda and it's there.

 

I used several maps to "learn" my way around the place. I did so much research, looked at so many maps that I felt like I had already been there.

 

 

 

 

Awesome map of the dockyard

 

 

I used this map to determine what bus route I would be using to various places:

 

 

 

HERE is a link to information on Bermuda's Beaches. (http://www.bermuda-online.org/beaches.htm)

 

 

I was completely fretting over the weather forecast for the time we were to be docked in Bermuda. Every day I checked it faithfully. Every day it called for rain and thunderstorms. I watched the cam at the dockyard and would see it raining or people posting that it was raining. I was really getting worried. I know that people will come back and complain that they had a crappy cruise and the weather was raining or whatever and people just tell them to "suck it up" you can't predict the weather. Of course you can't, but I can tell you first hand, it does put a damper on how you view things. I won't let it ruin my vacation, but it is a bummer when it happens and the entire mood is just not the same. I empathize with these people every time.

 

So...if you want to know about the climate and weather in Bermuda...HERE'S your link to at least see what is "average" for when you plan on going.

 

You will find the summer 2015 ferry schedule located HERE. (http://seaexpress.bm/Documents/Ferry/Summer%20Ferry%20Schedule%202015.pdf)

 

If you are a stalker like I am, you'll want to spend time viewing the dockyard webcam and watch the ships come in and out. I have to say it was quite interesting to see the Dawn docked back at the dockyard when they had the problem and hit the reef. I watched the divers go down and do the inspections/repairs while listening to the goats to "baaaaa" in the speaker from the governors house. LOL HERE is the link to the webcam. (http://portbermudawebcam.com/)

 

If you are one of those people that have to stay connected while on vacation, you can purchase a wifi pass for up to the 3 days for only $15. HERE is the link to information and where the wifi zones are located around Bermuda. (http://www.telebermuda.com/residential/wifi/)

 

Ok, that's everything I have (for the moment), it should keep you busy when planning. I will included additional information during the actual review because it will pertain to the places we went. :D

[soaringfalcon]

I followed along on several of your thread on the Bermuda board - you showed great restraint ;)

 

I'm an OCD planner too but I saw someone at the pier that totally had me beat. I have the folders and they all go into a plastic "envelope" that velcroes shut. This lady had clipboards for each family number and they each had their own folders so everything was in triplicate plus a master schedule on each clipboard. DH elbowed me and said I thought you were bad ;)

 

On a serious note, I love that you take the time to reply individually to each and every person who comments. That really shows the caliber of your kindness. I know that takes a lot of time and really adds to the overall time you put in. It's truly appreciated.

[mitsugirly]

I had planned to get off the ship and head straight to the buses without stopping because I knew that the very first bus after the time that we were to arrive would be at 11:20 according to the #7 bus schedule (remember it is Sunday).

 

 

I knew in advance that I already had the tickets, so I would not need to stop and purchase any passes/tokens or anything and there was no time to spare. However, Kendra and the rest of her family did not have tickets. We discussed this prior to going and knew that if you purchased tokens you could do so for $4.50 pp for adults and $2.75 for children. IF you decided not to purchase the tokens and had the correct change then you could just pay the full price for adults...which is ONLY .50 more=$5.00. I mean come on, is it really worth it to spend time standing in line to buy a token to save .50? It's not to me. It's a waste of time. So, we all agreed ahead of schedule that she would just pay cash (and I would too if my tickets did not work).

 

NOW LET ME START BY SAYING THIS... to US, here in Ohio, when you are told to have the "exact change" it means have the correct AMOUNT. It means an amount that won't require someone to hand you money back. I don't know what the rest of the world is like, but when I was told over and over by people on these boards that if you have the correct change you were allowed to ride the bus. Change meaning the exact amount, not CHANGE as in all coins!!!!! UGHHHHHHH!!!!!!! More on this in a few....

 

Number 1 complication coming up...

 

They did not let us off the ship (cleared customs) until 11:25. Yes, our "plans" were already off track. We had missed the first bus out of the dockyard and now everything just decided to go down hill from there.

 

Of course since we were sent up to the atrium to wait on these announcements (which of course would come as soon as we got up there), we were in a sea of people trying to get off at the same time as well, which meant a very long line with a lady in front of us with a walker that was screaming at the top of her lungs the entire time to the point that some of the crew members thought a fight had broke out at one point.

 

When we made it to the 4th floor standing in line close to the elevators, one of the crew members was standing there and she had the nerve to tell everyone "You can exit off the other end, just head that way"...which is where we were the very first time around and was told you could not get off there. Of course half of the herd took off running that way and I just shook my head knowing that we were standing right here by the exit and she was not going to fool me into walking the length of the ship to another exit only to be caught in that line as well. I politely told her "the person down on that end actually sent us this way and said we could not get off there" She was down right RUDE responding several times, "Oh yes you can, go that way to get off" and some other rudeness came out of her mouth, which kinda ticked me off. Once again I told her with a little more attitude this time around "Well, maybe they shouldn't be sending people this way saying you can't get off there then" She yelled some more rude comments and did a little attitude head shake and I walked on in my original line while others decided to take her advice and go the long route. Geesh!

 

We were finally off the ship and it was time to hit the streets running. But not before we stop to get our obligatory "getting off the cruise ship" picture with Mr Dolphin that seems to follow us to every port we visit. I'm pretty sure that he was just with us in Cozumel and Nassau and about 10 other ports.

 

I will not post my snap happy pictures along the way to the bus stop and will save them for my picture tour of the dockyard itself later. I really didn't have many of them because I was limited to my battery that was newly charged that morning and I wanted to save it all for the beautiful beaches I was about to see that day. There was plenty of other times for dockyard pictures on the other days if my batteries were depleted when we returned.

 

We were puzzled as to where to go once we got off the ship and walked out of the secured dock area. I did see the train and looked at my watch and thought, well, everythings already screwed up and off schedule and since I have no idea where I'm going, we'll just hop on it and ride until we see something that looks like it might be where the buses stop at...or the herds of people getting off and that should be it.

 

The photographer came around while we were on the train and took about 5 pictures of us hanging out of it. LOL I purchased 1 of them that had me, the hubs, Sakari, Chrissy (Kendra's bf's sister) and Shayla (her daughter) in it. There was no room for Kendra, Billy and Brayden in our car and she got the next one over.

 

 

No idea who the man was in the cart with us, but man was he happy about something. Could it have been the dolphin? His (?) spouse ducked behind him when she seen the photographer coming. I however, hung my head out of the window for a few goofy pictures and then the good one you see above.

 

We rode the shuttle straight to the bus stop, which I'm now glad we did since it seemed like it would be quite a walk. (It's really not but you know how when you are going somewhere for the very first time it seems like forever to get there and then super quick when you return?).

 

I'm really not sure I would have been able to pick this out as a bus stop and especially where the location was in the back. So, I'm glad we did take the "train" shuttle there.

 

Now even more fun begins...well, not "fun" in MY book. Just more aggravations and complications. :mad:

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Mitsugirly!!!!!:D

So glad I "strayed" from the Carnival boards....

I have been waiting for this review...

Imagine my surprise today to see 18 pages when I started (3 hours ago) and by the time I finished, up to 20 pages!:eek:

 

As usual, your review is PHENOMENAL!!!!!!

Although I have zero desire to cruise NCL, I am LOVING your review.

Love seeing Sakari and you and your DH.

You guys are so fun to follow..........

 

Cannot wait for more.

 

Bermuda is on my bucket list. Just not at the top...

 

Keep it comin'

 

Gasp, say it isn't so! You are on the NCL boards? Just kidding with you...only because that's a "normal" response around these boards when people seem to stray. I remember the first time I "strayed" over to the Carnival boards...only I was actually interested in my first Carnival cruise. :D Now I love both boards. :p

 

But honestly, I'm glad to have you here and I hope you enjoy the rest of the review.

 

You should honestly move Bermuda to the top of the bucket list...seriously. ;)

 

Can't wait to read about your time in Bermuda!

 

Thanks for the comments and glad you could join me. :)

[mitsugirly]

I followed along on several of your thread on the Bermuda board - you showed great restraint ;)

 

I'm an OCD planner too but I saw someone at the pier that totally had me beat. I have the folders and they all go into a plastic "envelope" that velcroes shut. This lady had clipboards for each family number and they each had their own folders so everything was in triplicate plus a master schedule on each clipboard. DH elbowed me and said I thought you were bad

 

On a serious note, I love that you take the time to reply individually to each and every person who comments. That really shows the caliber of your kindness. I know that takes a lot of time and really adds to the overall time you put in. It's truly appreciated.

 

Haha, I like the way you say that "great restraint" :D I try really hard, well it's a requirement as a nurse to bite your tongue a lot and I can tell you I have the cuts on it to prove it. ;)

 

I really try not to let people bring me down or take things personally, especially over the internet when you really can't tell the "tone" of someone's typing. I know that there's so many helpful people on these boards and I like to consider myself one of them. Then you have the other end of the spectrum where people would rather take the time to post "use the search engine" and other rude comments. My thought process is you took the time to type that, you could have taken the time to respond in a helpful way. I will always respond with an answer that I "hope" will help someone out. If I don't have the time to get into everything or just not in the mood, I will back out before ever posting something like that. So, I also learn to ignore others that post things that are not helpful. Everyone is new at once and even seasoned cruisers (which I think I might be somewhat considered that now) have questions and especially on new ports. I can guarantee I will go back to Bermuda and I will still have a ton of questions again. ;)

 

OH EM GEE...clipboards for everyone in the family? No never, that's just too much and would take away from having a good time. I think she needs medicated. :D Just saying... LOL

 

I like to show my appreciation by responding to each comment simply because people are taking the time to read my review and if they have time for me, I definitely have time for them. :) And thank YOU for your wonderful comments. They are very much appreciated from the bottom of my heart.

[mitsugirly]

Ok, I'm going to save the next segment for tomorrow. I have a few pictures uploaded to begin again tomorrow with our experiences and trip to our first beach day. Then I'll have to process the rest from the beaches.

 

I hope everyone is still enjoying the review and thanks for stopping by.

[jethrojam]

Loving the review, much better than mine lol. I chuckle every time you say the north says pop. Must be the north central, because in New England it's soda or tonic. Never heard it called pop by anyone local before.

The dunkies around here are everywhere. I recently refinanced my house and had to scan 7 pages of 2.56$ coffees at dunkies per month on my bank statements haha.

[perfect match]

Another member of the OCD planners group checking in here. The fact that we plan so much alike is one of the things that got me hooked on the first one of your reviews that I read. I've followed you ever since because you have helped me refine my planning style, and I have benefitted a great deal from the research you've done bu settinng me up with the right information to do my own research. I'll be back tomorrow for the next installment. :D

[PTAngel]

I was just in Bermuda on Grandeur of the Seas last month. I'm very interested to hear someone else' take on the island. We did not go to any beach but took a 5 hour island tour, then a ferry to Hamilton & explored it, & explored the Dockyard area. Made sure we got a picture in the Moongate also. So our experiences are totally different. Can't wait to see the rest of the story.

[nancynana9950]

I really like that you have OCTP and that you take the time to post not only all the info but also where you found it because then I DON'T HAVE TO!! Really saves me a lot of time so THANKS!

[lah66]

Great review, Kim! You really left me hanging, just about to depart for Warwick! So glad I have today off to keep reading! Your review has a tinge of "not quite right" about to come, so I am really, really curious!

 

I am a huge planner, not to your degree, but I have decided to start using the envelope system! I always had a page of notes for each port day, but what a great idea to put your notes, tickets, cash all in one place! That is brilliant! Especially for the cash...we use debit in our normal life so don't usually have a lot of cash with us. On cruises it is totally different, we are almost all cash in ports. I am always worried we will overspend in one port and be short on another. We end up taking out more cash than what we need, and I think we end up overspending too. Thanks for the idea!

 

Glad you appreciated the transportation tickets, but I am dying to know if they let you use them even though they were bought when the fares were cheaper! Nobody has reported otherwise, so hopefully the tickets were a blessing, not a curse!

 

Thank you again for such a detailed review of the Dawn, and to come, Bermuda!

 

Have you ever thought about cruising RCI? We just booked their newest ship, Harmony, for dirt cheap in Feb 2017! Prices are still super low! Sakari would love their Oasis class ships!

 

Lauri

[mitsugirly]

Loving the review, much better than mine lol. I chuckle every time you say the north says pop. Must be the north central, because in New England it's soda or tonic. Never heard it called pop by anyone local before.

The dunkies around here are everywhere. I recently refinanced my house and had to scan 7 pages of 2.56$ coffees at dunkies per month on my bank statements haha.

 

LOL, yea not sure about the pop vs soda thing. I just know I was raised saying "pop" and actually I was born (and so was all of my family) in Alabama, but was raised in Ohio. So it is a Southern thing then? I'm really not sure.

 

I've never heard the term "dunkies" before as people are saying on here. :D

 

The same goes for my hubby, you get pages and pages of "Tim Horton's" charges on our statements before you'll come to anything actually "useful" that you are looking for. :p

 

Another member of the OCD planners group checking in here. The fact that we plan so much alike is one of the things that got me hooked on the first one of your reviews that I read. I've followed you ever since because you have helped me refine my planning style, and I have benefitted a great deal from the research you've done bu settinng me up with the right information to do my own research. I'll be back tomorrow for the next installment. :D

 

Glad to know I'm not alone. :p