Stacey's Girl Getaway on the Breakaway- BA to BDA 10/4-10/11

[sunbird21]

Finishing up Day 5 now, sorry for the delay...got slammed at work yesterday!

 

 

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[mickev99]

Stay tuned.... He gets worse

 

 

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Wow, can't even imagine. Can't wait for Day 5!!

Edited October 21, 2015 by mickev99

[SenatorsFan]

Wow, can't even imagine. Can't wait for Day 5!!

 

Me either. :eek:

Heather

[sunbird21]

Day 5

 

 

 

You would think with all of the shenanigans from the night before that I would finally sleep in a bit. I did, until about 8. Sigh.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s no wonder why when I returned home I had chronic fatigue and slept 12 hrs a night the first three nights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I was up again, and despite tossing and turning, was NOT going back to sleep. I knew that there was no chance in hell that the others would be up before noon, so I returned to the gym and Savor for my morning ritual.

 

 

 

 

 

As I was leaving the cabin, I found THIS little treat stuffed in the door…

 

 

 

 

 

Two more hours in Bermuda! Yay!! It may not have seemed like much, but returning to the ship at 4:30 versus 2:30 seemed like a huge difference. Perhaps we could actually go to Warwick tomorrow?

 

 

 

 

 

After the gym, I headed to Savor, where I found J and T, and the serve sat me at the table next to theirs, so we chatted and traded stories. They were planning on mostly staying on the ship, since they had been to Bermuda multiple times. Since I wasn’t sure how the day was going to go, I was okay with hanging out at Vibe if the others slept in very late, and said that I may see them up there.

 

 

 

 

I ended up back at the spa( are we sensing a routine here yet?) since it was drizzling a bit outside. It wasn’t very crowded this morning, and I did manage a few minutes of sleep on my heated lounger before I got a surprising early text from V saying that they were up.

 

 

 

 

 

I returned to the cabin, apologizing profusely for being crabby hours earlier, which V kindly accepted, citing that it had been a crazy night. With that, I listened to their tales from the night before.

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently, there is a beach party the first night in Bermuda every week at Snorkel Park, the beach near the ship. Much dancing/music/drinking ensued, and then they headed to calico Jack’s, where the party continued. I guess it is open pretty late at well. They said that they plank jumped twice into warm water, but that the connector from the dock to the boat wasn’t out, so they had to climb up on the pier and jump onto the boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I vowed to stay up late tonight and party with them, as it was the GLOW party tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As they got ready, we tried fiddling with the Internet again. This is where we encountered an issue that we would have the remainder of the time. It kept saying that devices were logged in when they weren’t, and we would all go through our phones/iPads and make sure that we were logged out.

 

 

 

Somehow, V’s phone wouldn’t let her type in the LOGOUT.COM in the URL bar like all of our other devices, and that seemed to keep her continuously connected. She powered down the phone without luck. We attempted to call guest services, but they directed us to Internet, which wasn’t open. With that, we were down to one device at a time to use the very poor connection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After they got ready and choked down some buffet food, we headed off the ship. Everyone was a bit sluggish today, especially the plank jumpers, and the cloudy weather outside wasn’t the most inspiring. However, we went ahead with our (my) plan to go to St. George and headed for the ferries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, once again, timing was not on our side, and we had a 45 min wait for the next St George ferry, so we took the Hamilton ferry and got a cab (about $25) to the Crystal Caves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we climbed out of the cab, V and L were hungry again, and we were all moving slow, so we went to the food bar to the side of the entrance. When we realized that the options were pretty limited here, I suggested going to the Swizzle Inn for a meal instead. Everyone had said that it was “right across the street” from the caves, so it seemed easy enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They didn’t need much convincing, so I asked for directions from the food bar, and we headed down the gravel driveway on the side of the entrance. As we were walking past a large grassy area in the front, we saw some paths but continued ahead to the street, since we were told that it was only a 3 minute walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we turned onto the “street.” Perhaps “giant sidewalk” might have been a better term. I hadn’t seen such a narrow road since my vacation to Ireland, where the rural roads were barely wide enough for a single vehicle, let alone two. Of course there was no ACTUAL sidewalk, so we decided to walk single file up the road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Without warning, we saw a pink bus appear in front of us, going about 50mph. We barely had time to leap onto the tiny patch of grass by the wall as it zoomed by on the OTHER side of the road, which still seemed as though it missed us by mere inches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

With that, we pretty much ran to the corner, which was probably about 500 yards away at that point. From that point, we could see the Swizzle Inn on the left hand side of the cross street, and there was more actual grass to walk on, so we made it to the restaurant with our lives intact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was seating outside on the porch, and the server said it was self seating, so we grabbed a round table near the front and pretty much collapsed. Yes, we were worn out from doing very little that day. At least the sun started coming out, so there was hope.

 

 

 

The Swizzle Inn is an interesting looking restaurant, with the walls and tables absolutely COVERED in graffiti. There’s actually a sign on the wall saying “No Graffiti,” which we later learned was pretty much a joke. There was also this interesting sign, which prompted C to ask what “baggies” were.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In case you were wondering, it’s the jeans around the knees/boxers hanging out look.You know, what the formerly pious Bill Cosby would refer to when he told guys to “pull your **** pants up!”

 

 

 

 

 

After ordering our food, V decided she wanted to be a graffiti artist, and started writing phrases into the table. I held my breath when the server came by, but he just pulled out a Sharpie and handed it to her.

 

 

 

We spent the next hour or so eating, rehydrating (on nonalcoholic beverages, don’t worry) and being entertained by a rooster that continued to wander over to us.

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the meal, I decided to give the Rum Swizzle another try. Unfortunately, it’s not my drink of choice…not sure what it is, I just didn’t like the flavor. V and L agreed, but C did manage to down the single glass for me, saying it was better than the one V had at the Pickled Onion.

 

 

 

 

As we left the restaurant, preparing for our journey back to the caves, I looked across the street….and saw this.

 

 

 

 

 

Clearly, I was not operating very well as a planner today. Good to know all those paths actually went somewhere though!

 

 

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[sunbird21]

We took the less death defying stroll back, found the ticket booth, and had about 10 minutes to spare before our tour. We had elected just to do the Crystal Caves for $22 each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our guide came to collect us and led us down an incline path, single file, before giving us the basic rules- primarily, that you could buy some extra time in an authentic Bermuda government establishment for taking a natural souvenir from the cave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With that, we climbed down the 80+ steps into the floor of the cave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The guide then told us the history of the caves-they were founded by a couple of boys who were playing cricket and had their ball disappear inside.

 

 

 

 

 

There was another group across the bridge that we had to wait for in order to go to the opposite end. As we waited for some people to walk past us, the guide asked if that was everyone.When one guy said no, he immediately turned out the lights, saying that “that will flush them out.” Sure enough, we heard a few shrieks, and once the lights came back on, a slew of people came running across the bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tour lasted about another 25 minutes or so, with the guide playing with the lights so that we could see different formations and “sculptures,” i.e., a dragon, a snake, Yoda, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, it was time for the climb back up to the top. Finally, here’s where living in a 5th floor walkup would pay off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once outside, C and L noted that while the caves were scenic, and the tour interesting, they didn’t feel that it was worth the $22 charge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we left, I was a bit better prepared for our next segment. I had inquired about the bus route to Tobacco Bay, and it seemed like the bus was just outside the Swizzle Inn, so we ventured back down the legit path. We walked by the Bailey’s Ice Cream shop, and, since we (I) had heard favorable things, decided to grab some ice cream before the bus ride.

 

 

 

 

 

I got an Oreo Cheesecake cone, and it was pretty good.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, timing was on our side-no sooner than we crossed the street did the bus for St George appear. The driver didn’t bat an eye at our ice cream, and was willing to let us know where the stop for the beach was.

 

 

 

 

It was about a 20 minute ride before the driver drove down a slightly busy street in St George and motioned for us to come up front. He pointed down a little street and told us to “walk down the hill about a mile” and that we would come to the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, we were on a narrowish street, not quite as narrow as before, but we were vigilant about looking for traffic as we walked. A black sedan pulled alongside us a few minutes later and rolled down its window.

 

 

 

“Where are you ladies headed?”

 

 

 

We told him Tobacco Bay. He flashed his smile at us and said “it’s a long walk girls, would you like a ride?”

 

 

 

 

 

I think the other three felt more than saw my death stare and declined politely. He shrugged and continued on.

 

 

 

 

 

A few minutes later, we felt a few drops splash down from the building clouds. I was getting hesitant as to whether or not the beach was worth it at this point, but we continued on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just then ,our friend reappeared. “Look girls, it’s raining,” he said. “You don’t really want to get all wet, do you? Hop on in!”

 

 

 

 

 

Umm…we’re going to the beach, dude. That kind of implies getting into the water.

 

 

 

 

 

I said a firm no at this point, and he went on his way again, never to be seen. Seriously, was the trip determined to turn itself into a cable special?

 

 

 

 

 

So we continued our walk, and came across what I recognized as the unfinished church. C stopped and exclaimed, “Oh cool! I wonder what that is?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

I informed her the basics of the unfinished church, saying that I hadn’t realized it was right here along the path to Tobacco Bay.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, this earned more comments about how I researched Bermuda to death. Yup, I researched the activities, just not the ferry schedules apparently.

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Anyway, we continued on, and ended up at Tobacco Bay a few minutes later. It was a pretty beach, definitely “cozy,” but at this point in time, there were only a few people there…and they were clustered by the building waiting for a bus.

 

 

 

 

 

I wondered if that was a good or bad sign.

 

 

 

 

 

I walked up to the shop to inquire the cost of the (abandoned) beach chairs while they walked onto the beach. The guy looked around , then at his watch and said, “Go ahead and sit wherever,no charge.”

 

 

 

 

 

Yay!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I approached L and C, who were talking to another guy, and said that the chairs were free. The guy gave me a disgusted look and walked away. Confused, I looked at my friends, who said “He was going to charge us $10 for the chairs.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry to steal your last bit of change there,bud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

With that, we walked down to the shore and grabbed some chairs. L and I took turns taking some photos at the edge of the ocean, deciding it was a bit too cool to go in the water. Instead, we collapsed onto our chairs and napped a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I woke up a little later, not seeing V or C. I went up to the restroom, finding the original guy sweeping the floors. He gave me a weird look when I came out and asked if we needed him to call us a cab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I declined, asking how often the little bus came by.

 

 

 

 

 

“The last one was a while ago,” he said. “And we are closing now, so unless you call for a cab, you have to walk back up the hill into town.”

 

 

 

 

 

Hint taken. I had to locate the other two first, but told him I would let him know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I told L that we were being evicted (super glad the chairs were free now), and we found the others off to the side of the beach in a little wading area. They were also surprised that the beach was closing, but we chose to walk back up the hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, we knew that we had missed the last ferry from SG back to the Dockyard, but decided to get a bus to Hamilton and take that ferry. Easier said than done. Once we made it back to the VERY quiet town square, we went into the visitors center to locate the bus stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had debated getting a cab, but even the visitors center staff said it was be too expensive, and encouraged up to make the next bus, which was just up the street, around the corner, and about 100 feet down-and leaving in 3 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, we found the last bit of energy we had at that moment, and RAN to that bus stop, collapsing about 10 seconds before it pulled up. We got and promptly fell asleep once we hit our seats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hamilton stop was the last on the line, so I wasn’t too worried about missing a stop, but even so, I only dozed for a little bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we made it to the bus terminal in Hamilton, I was ready to hunt out the ferry,but the bus back to the Dockyard was right next to ours, and before I knew what was going on, the other three were climbing on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to convince them that this was a longer route back, but their weary faces made it known that there would be no more walking at this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All I can say about the next ride was that IT WAS LONG. It was also dark by the time that we finally reached the Dockyard. We did have to stand for the first bit, and C and L struck up conversation with a local nurse on her way to work.

 

 

 

 

 

C was grilling her about life in Bermuda and what nursing was like on the island. The nurse replied that a lot of local nurses were leery about Americans coming over to take over their jobs. They continued their discussion, which left C convinced that she was going to relocate to Bermuda.

 

 

 

 

 

I think she had island fever, but she still talks about it almost two weeks later.

 

 

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[sunbird21]

When at last we returned to the ship, we were all bound and determined to rest for awhile before going to dinner. However, it was the GLOW party that night, which meant getting ready, which took time, and since the dining rooms were closing at 9:30/10pm…sadly, the naps were sacrificed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shockingly, I was again the first ready,so I left the room first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way out, I saw Levi. I thanked him for the towel animals the night before, adding that we were heading to dinner now (hint, hint).

 

 

 

“Oh yeah,” he said. “I was glad you girls left the room for awhile yesterday, because I needed to have a couple hours to really scrub it down, you know? I’m glad that you were pleased with it.”

 

 

 

(Needle scratching record).

 

 

 

WHAT???

 

 

 

 

OK, yes, we are four women with a lot of stuff. But did he really just imply that we were so messy that he needed a couple of HOURS to clean our room???

 

 

 

 

 

I had no reply, so I just gave a vague nod and headed to the Manhattan room to get a table. It was about 9:50, so they were closed. They directed me to the other dining rooms, and I reached Taste first. V came along a minute later. Thankfully, they sat us even though they were getting close to closing time.

 

 

 

 

 

The server gave us our menus and came by every 90 seconds to see if we were ready. I totally get that we were late, so I don’t fault him for this. I was getting antsy about the others showing up, but after about the fifth server pass-by, they did.

 

 

 

 

 

We did order quickly, and almost as soon as we did, the food was out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We scarfed the food down quickly, feeling slightly pressured by the vacuuming, light dimming, and continuous inquiries on whether we needed anything else.

 

 

 

 

 

After we left, we headed up to Spice, where the GLOW party was in full swing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

V and I had our typical Fireball shots and we all headed onto the dance floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ran into little A and a friend of hers, and said hi. They were very cute, dancing around. A few minutes later, she came up to me asking if I had seen her mom. I hadn’t, but I walked around with her in search of A. I ran into J and T, decked out in their glow accessories who said that A was up by the bar, so I escorted little A to her. I stayed up there with the group for awhile, chatting about our cruise adventures so far. A introduced me to a very tasty cocktail, the Bermuda Triangle.

 

 

 

 

 

I ended up purchasing one of those flashing glow cups with another drink, and found my friends on the thinning dance floor.

 

 

 

As the party wound down, we ended up at Bliss, where some more dancing and drinking occurred. I noticed the gentlemen clustered at one end of the club away from our group, and noted some tension but wasn’t clearheaded enough at the moment to really catch everything that was going on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then V and C suggested that we go off the ship to the beach party, and I agreed. We headed out to the elevators when V said she needed to go back to the cabin for something. C was shaking her head wildly, but we went.

 

 

 

 

Once inside, I laid down across my bed, not wanting to move. C glared at V, saying that this was why she didn’t want to return to the cabin-she knew that once I hit the bed, I was pretty much done.

 

 

 

 

 

Somehow V encouraged me back up, and, as it can only happen in the middle of a long, alcohol infused night, proceeded to fill me in on the drama between them and the gentlemen, complete with a whiteboard outline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suddenly, I had enough energy to get up, so we headed down to the gangway and off the ship. Once we got outside, the skies opened up, and we crossed paths with the gentlemen, along with a few others we had met in Bliss, who were running back towards the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say,whatever “party” was going on was shut down by the rain. Back on the ship we go!

 

 

 

 

 

With the off ship adventure vetoed, and the clock approaching 2, I decided that I had given it a fair shot, and to the protests of the others, returned to my very comfy bed.

 

 

 

 

 

Which had a Freestyle Daily…but no towel animal.

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Extra photos of the GLOW party...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Finally, here is Day 5 Freestylr Daily. Day 4 was the only one I couldn't salvage, sadly....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[motleyfan]

Finally, here is Day 5 Freestylr Daily. Day 4 was the only one I couldn't salvage, sadly....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Yeah I think I'm going to start keeping those

[motleyfan]

Extra photos of the GLOW party...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What drink is that and whats in it?

[sunbird21]

What drink is that and whats in it?

 

 

It's a Bermuda Triangle, has cranberry and OJ and goslings dark rum

 

 

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[thistimeplease]

Loving your review

[jjikids]

The people in Bermuda are very friendly. We were offered rides each time we were there by people passing. The first time we said no too thinking of our safety. We heard afterwards it is a common occurrence.

 

One time on a bus, a man stayed on until we got off to give us travel advice. He then got on the return bus.

 

Great review.

[sunbird21]

Since V just posted a zillion pics on FB, I have some extra to share.... Here are some more from Day 5 first

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On pier that morning....

 

 

 

Day 4, on cliff at Horseshoe....

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Day 5, at caves

 

 

 

Day 2, at dinner

 

 

 

Day 4, after the zillion Fireball shots when we got off the ship

 

 

 

Sorry for lack of continuity there, back to your regularly scheduled programming

 

 

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[sunbird21]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Day 6

 

 

 

Late night, still awake early-but I had good cause. Since this was our last day in port, and we now had extra time, I wanted to be able to have a good stretch of time on the beach. I was hoping to make it out to Warwick Long Bay, which looked to be the most picturesque beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had NO hope of the others waking or being ready to go as early as I, so I got up, got ready and headed to Savor for a quick breakfast. (They really did get to you and serve you quickly in these restaurants in the morning-I probably had my food within 20 minutes of being seated).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I returned to the cabin to collect my beach bag and write a note to the girls indicating where I was going and how they could get there later if they wished. As I started to write, L’s head popped up in her bunk and asked if I was going out. When I replied affirmatively, she asked if I was leaving “right now.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

I said I was leaving in the next 5-10 minutes (it was about 9:15) and asked if she wanted to go, indicating that I would allow her an additional five minutes. I did say this jokingly, ready to give her the directions for when she came later. Instead, she sat up and asked if I would give her 10 minutes (to freshen up super quick and get a piece of bacon. I offered to collect the bacon for her, but she declined, promising that she would be ready quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then V’s head popped up…and you can probably guess where this was heading. They both insisted that they would be ready in about 15 minutes….I decided to give them exactly that amount of time, and ran to the ATM on the ship to extract some cash for a cab or the bus (our two day passes were finito).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I walked down to and across deck 7, and spotted the A’s at O’Sheehans eating breakfast. I stopped to chat for a few minutes (giving V and L a bonus time period). It turned out that they were heading to Horseshoe, and A told me that she had heard that a cab was only $7. I hadn’t come across that in any of my research, but was willing to investigate it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then made my way to the casino, found one of the multipurpose changer/ATM/something casino related machines, and it was out of order. Of course. Thankfully, there was one on the other side of the room, and it was working! I managed to extract some cash for a mere $5.50 fee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I returned to the room, hoping against hope that the other two were ready, because I was ready to leave. I turned the door-and found that C was now awake, as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needle scratch again.

 

 

 

 

I now had to decide between forgoing my timeframe altogether, or leaving without them because, as I had mentioned earlier, C is my most time challenged friend. I love her, I do…but we were on borrowed time to have a comfortable stretch at the beach and allow for roundtrip travel, plus shopping time back at the port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They all laughed, because they could see my thoughts on my face. C looked at me guiltily and PROMISED she would only take 7 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least the other two were ready, albeit hungry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I gave C her 7 minutes, while we double and triple checked for everything, and by some miracle, we were actually out the door ten minutes later. And that included two quick run-backs to get things that had been forgotten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I held my breath until we were safely inside the elevator, heading for 15 (where else?) bfore I congratulated them ALL on quickly getting ready. L looked at me approvingly and said she was appreciative that I had acknowledged it. I reiterated our time frame for the day, stressing that we MUST BE BACK ON THE SHIP BY 4:30, and that this ship was well known for leaving people behind in Bermuda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Oh, we’ll be back long before that, “ they said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember those words, readers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So they quickly scrambled for food and ate, and we were actually truly off the ship by 10 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we walked down the pier, I mentioned the rumored $7 cab, but, as we approached the cab stand, we quickly saw that that was not the case. We did get a ride for $30 to Warwick, though, which in the interest of time and direct route was not bad.

 

 

 

 

Along the way, our cabbie gave us a brief rundown of Bermudian history and pointed out some landmarks along the road. C, who was up front, inquired about the local economy…and then the crime rate…and then the local schools.

 

 

 

 

 

Yup, she was still in her “I want to move to Bermuda” phase from the day before.

 

 

 

 

We did inquire about how the island fared under Joaquim’s visit, and the driver just shrugged and pointed to some trees. “See those trees? Some of the branches fell down,” he said nonchalantly.

 

 

 

So, not that bad, then.

 

 

 

 

 

We drove over the “world’s smallest drawbridge” and he pointed out some larger hotels. He also told us about the beach path between Warwick and Horseshow (which I was aware of) and said that it was a “quick 15 minute walk if you don’t dawdle” or a “45 minute stroll if you explore all of the little coves along the way.”

 

 

 

 

 

We made it to the beach at about 10:30, and found this sight before us.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was everything that every picture of it had promised. And today was definitely the sunniest,warmest day of the trip so far. It promised to be a perfect beach day.

 

 

 

 

 

Plus, there were literally only 5 other people on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

We quickly claimed our stretch of the smooth, pink sand, and then frolicked in the sparkling turquoise water. This time, sans Fireball, I stayed a safe distance to the shore. We also watched some daredevils jumping off of the mini cliff to the right of the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No worries, they landed safely. Although we did have to talk V out of trying it out.Thankfully, she was too tired.

 

 

 

The next couple of hours were pretty lazy-the others caught up on the napping that they would’ve done in the cabin. I rested and read and swam.

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Around 12ish, I was curious to see if Horseshoe was actually as close as the cabbie had promised. I was also thirsty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I told the others what my plan was, and L decided to tag along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We quickly found the path and walked along at a decent pace, noting these little mini beaches along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15 minutes came and went, and as I had said, we weren’t dawdling. The sun was getting hotter and we were becoming more dehydrated. The path took us through a tiny stretch of woodsy areas and a parking lot. When we hit the 20 minute mark, we started to question if this was a doable walk x 3(back to Warwick and back again to Horseshoe when we were done). The sun was growing warmer and we were getting more dehydrated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were in kind of a meadow/sandy area with no signs of a major beach in sight. We stopped and debated what to do. Finally, we decided to continue for 3 minutes, then turn back (it was 12:27, so that would take us to an even 12:30. No, I’m not OCD-just seemed like a god idea at the time).

 

 

 

 

So we continued through the meadow and around a small inclined corner…..

 

 

 

 

 

What do you know???

 

 

 

 

 

L couldn’t believe that we had been right there. Of course, we still at to CROSS the beach, but with the store in view, it was less mentally challenging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made it to the store, purchased drinks for ourselves and the others, and I also got an ice cream. It was supposed to be the best ice cream in Bermuda. Well, Bailey’s claimed to be the best in the world, so I guess this was the next best claim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BTW, neither were true, but it was good enough at that point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that we were cooled off somewhat, we headed back, noticing drawings and initials in the sand.

 

 

 

 

 

I had to make my mark, of course.

 

 

 

 

 

The path seemed a lot shorter on the return,except that after the parking lot, there is a gravel path that goes up an incline and one that goes across. We erroneously took the higher path, which we realized a minute later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we turned around, we heard a car behind us and quickly scampered onto the grass on the side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just then, the car slowed, and the window rolled down. It was two young guys, who grinned and said , ”Well, we sure don’t want to run YOU two over!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

So naturally, we walked over and chatted, did the usual exchange of information,yadadada. We gave them our emails on WhatsApp and went on our merry way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At that point, I had the bright idea of cutting through the grass to the lower path to save a few minutes, so L agreed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is now that I mention a crucial tidbit-L had walked barefoot, thinking that the walk was entirely in the sand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This grassy section also had a lot of those little spiky burrs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m sure that people at both beaches heard her shrieks and cries of bloody murder directed at me for choosing such a shortcut. She did survive, miraculously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we returned, we collapsed back onto our towels for a bit. L was insistent that we take a cab back from Warwick, but by the time 2pm rolled around, there were none to be found in the lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, we were faced with the 23 minute walk again. Unfortunately, at this point, my skin was fried, and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did set the initial quick pace, and then ended up a good bit in front of the others, who, not as fried, were taking their time to admire the little beaches and sights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, L did have her shoes on, though she stopped to point out the clearing where she almost “lost her feet,” looking at me pointedly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After this area, there was little chance of them wandering off the path, so I scampered further ahead, my only thought being of the showers at Horseshoe to rinse my scalding skin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sure enough, I was in the shower drying off after the refreshing rinse by the time they caught up. I also noticed that the beach was quite a bit more crowded, and I spied Carnival beach towels,so at least another ship had made it into Bermuda.

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, they got extra drinks and we sought a cab. I basically walked up to the first one, inquired if his A/C was working, and when he said yes, jumped into that one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the A/C was on and blasting, I was in a much better mood. This driver was friendly and joking with us. I can’t remember what we were conversing about, something about accents, I believe, but we were all cracking up.

 

 

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[sunbird21]

We were dropped off right outside Clocktower Mall, where I could see the Carnival ship in port…and it was the Dream!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why was I excited to see it? I can confess now…I had been doing some prelim plans for my next cruise, and now its official. I will be on the Dream Christmas week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, it was now just before 3pm, and while that seemed like enough time to shop and get back to the ship, there was another wrinkle. C and V wanted to jump off the plank at Calico Jack’s one more time. I had been citing warnings about the Breakaway leaving people behind, even telling them the story about the mother who left the ship to fetch her daughter at CJ’s and was left behind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They swore up and down that if we weren’t done with shopping by 3:30, they would forgo the jump.

 

 

 

With that, we entered the mosh pit-I mean, shopping mall. Seriously, 90 minutes before all aboard for 4000 people-where do YOU think everyone was at that moment?

 

 

 

 

 

 

C and I did some power shopping- we knew what we wanted, and founf it at the first few stores we wandered into. I purchased a shot glass and ornament(what I get at every stop I travel to), along with some pink sand heart earrings.

 

 

 

 

 

Naturally, the four of us split up at points, and wandered in and out of various stores. We did find this interesting landmark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had originally thought it was some momento that people could purchase. I had no idea it was the actual location.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once that was done, we entered the Bermuda Fudge factory, tried some samples, and V and I purchased some. I’ll just say, the peanut butter chocolate fudge is TO DIE FOR.

 

 

 

 

 

It was here that the shopkeeper told us that it was best to return to the ship by 4pm, as the lines were long at the terminal building.

 

 

 

 

 

We were probably done at that point, but all at different stores, so it took a bit to round everyone up, especially since once we got 3 together, one would run off into another store…and you get the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

The clock was fast approaching 4, and I was starting to get a bit antsy. Luckily, we all got together at one store and I practically shoved them out the door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is when I miscalculated how far we actually were from the ship. Yes, it was in sight…but it was not a direct route. We had to walk back down alongside a parking lot and around a couple buildings, then up the dock by the bars, then down the long dock to the terminal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anxiety increasing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were all walking along quickly, weaving in and out of various vehicles and casual Carnival cruisers who weren’t worried about missing their boat. At one point, some guy walked up to me and asked if I was on Norwegian, and I pretty much cut him short, speeding by him. No time for chitchat, bud. I’m NOT missing this boat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

C and V were joking about being left behind, saying that they wouldn’t mind the extra time in Bermuda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At last, we were on the second to last dock, and there was a noticeable amount of fellow passengers in front of and behind us strolling to the boat. It was about ten after four, but we did still have twenty minutes, and I knew we could make it at that point.

 

 

 

 

 

Then it happened. We passed Calico Jack’s. V and C had these longing looks on their faces. I shook my head. “Twenty minutes, “ I mouthed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V stopped. “We can totally do it, “ she said. “We’re going to just go in and jump off. It’ll only take a few seconds. Wait here, “ she said. With that, she and C dumped their bags at our feet and were running full speed onto the boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Calico Jack boat, that is-not the boat that we only has TWENTY MINUTES to get back on. The one that was TAKING US HOME.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My heart literally stopped. I was wordless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later, they all told me that my face was white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I stood there in shock for a couple of minutes, then looked at L, who was resting on a bench. I was unable to coherently put a sentence together, but instead sputtered out words like “twenty minutes” and “are they ^^*(&) crazy”

 

 

 

 

 

 

L calmly nodded and stated that she realized that, but continued to sit on the bench, cool as a cucumber.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did a mental distance calculation and told her that I was walking back to the ship in two minutes, with or without any of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I did just that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I reached the final dock and made the turn, I noticed the two of them running up to L, soaking wet, towels wrapped around them, and they were all headed back down the dock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before the terminal, the NCL gang had music playing and offered cool towels to wipe down with. I did so while speed walking, showed my ID to the security at the door and flew through the building. On the other side, I stopped, noticing that there was virtually no line of people at the gangway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I stopped,caught my breath, relaxing even more as I spotted my friends exiting the terminal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

V laughed and told me to chill, reminding me that she was responsible and would never have risked missing the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that we were reunited, and there was no line, we took a few final pics of the Breakaway behind us before stepping onboard for the last time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I breathed my final sigh of relief when the last person was firmly on the ship.

 

 

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[sunbird21]

V insisted that I needed a Fireball to calm down, so we headed directly up to 15, where we were just in time to see the Mr Sexy Legs competition (rescheduled from Day 2).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since it was sailaway time, and a sunny day, the deck was pretty crowded. It took a bit longer to get drinks at Waves, understandably so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The competition was quite funny, and had a LOT of participants. They also had more interesting challenges than our competition did, mainly involving a lot of butt/leg gyrating. It was hysterical, but hopefully not traumatizing to the large amount of children on the deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The winner was a veteran, which fit nicely with the Coast Guard female that won ours. Patriotic.

 

 

 

 

 

By that time, we had pulled out of port and were on our way. We ended up at the Uptown Grill snacking on burgers, watching us sail around Bermuda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seemed like this was the day to explore the outdoor activities-the rock climbing wall was packed and the ropes course was in full swing. We all wanted to try it all out, but decided it was also time to get some of our money’s worth at Vibe.

 

 

 

 

Despite the sun, Vibe still only had about 10-15 people there. We saw our bartender, Richard Banz, and he mixed us up some drinks. It was here that I found my favorite drink(on Day 6, I know!)-the Rebellious Fish.

 

 

 

 

 

This delicious little cocktail was a mix of Passion Liquor, orange juice, triple sec, and Grey Goose vodka, shaken not stirred(couldn’t resist) and garnished with vodka soaked berries. Pure heaven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We relaxed on the loungers and in the hot tubs, and may have consumed a few more beverages.

 

 

 

 

 

J and T were up there, and had been all day, so we chatted with them a bit. C and I also chatted with a honeymooning couple in our hot tub. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon that passed too quickly before we realized that we needed to head out to ready ourselves for Burn the Floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No ropes course for today, sadly. At least there was still tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once back in our room, we noticed it was halfheartedly cleaned ( bathroom and room trash empty, no new towels or towels on floor picked up, beds loosely made).No time to dwell on it, though- we were in a rush to get ready.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, I was finished first, so I went down to save our seats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The theater was a lot emptier this evening, and once I selected a row, there weren’t many people coming in where I had to contort myself again. Unfortunately, this included my group. The show started, and I watched the first few acts before V showed up, saying the others were taking some more time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn’t too stressed about them missing it, as there wasn’t a story in this show like Rock of Ages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

C and L showed up 10 minutes later, and we watched for a while before I started to feel a little woozy, so I headed to the restroom. Still not feeling better, I went up to the room for a few minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

L came to get me after a while, and I headed back down to the theater, but the show was wrapping up. All in all, I wasn’t disappointed, as I wasn’t that impressed with the show. It was mainly a bunch of dancing acts. They weren’t bad, just not the type of show I usually like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed off to Manhattan for dinner, stuffing ourselves sufficiently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also had the servers bring out a surprise cake for V, whose birthday was just before the cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we walked around the shops and photo gallery for a bit, then went to the 80’s party, which was just starting. I was really exhausted at this point, so I cut out after a few minutes, begging for a mini nap before the 11pm showing of the Second City.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I returned to the cabin, found that we actually earned a towel animal that night, and collapsed for about 30 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

I did stay true to my word and met the others at Headliners. I watched the first 15 minutes of the show, and I don’t know if it was the sun, the lack of sleep, or if it really was just not that funny, but I knew I had hit my wall. So, when there was a pause, I bid farewell and returned back to my cozy bed for the night.

 

 

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[sunbird21]

I will be back to answer questions, but FYI- I work this weekend and my company is insane with weekend work, trying to add 15-20 patients for me to see, so I will not be able to update the final day before Tuesday most likely. But, don't worry- I will get it done!!!

 

 

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[hansolosmom]

The beach sounds and looks great! I can't wait to get back to Bermuda next year.

 

I'm sure the sun and stress (& maybe the rebellious fish) got you that night. I probably would have passed out. I can't wait to read the rest. Good luck with all the extra patients.

 

Oh wanted to ask is Sunshine sailing from NYC in Dec?

Edited October 24, 2015 by hansolosmom

[sunbird21]

The beach sounds and looks great! I can't wait to get back to Bermuda next year.

 

I'm sure the sun and stress (& maybe the rebellious fish) got you that night. I probably would have passed out. I can't wait to read the rest. Good luck with all the extra patients.

 

Oh wanted to ask is Sunshine sailing from NYC in Dec?

 

Thanks!

 

I don't think the Sunshine sails from here, it's usually the Splendor, but I think Carnival is even pulling that out during the winter.

 

 

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[hansolosmom]

Oh ok, I knew it was an "S" named ship that was in NYC. I've been looking at the 4 or 5 day that goes to Canada in the summer