On the cheap

[kkttc]

Hi, Been thinking about the Boston -> Bermuda NCL Dawn cruise for many years, being only 45 minutes from the Boston port. Obviously much cheaper than flying to FL or driving to NYC, etc. If we did this, we would do so with cost in mind.

 

Viewpoint would be the cruise fare would be the bulk of the money we would spend, and try to do island touring as inexpensive as possible - would be in late July or August so I figured just beach days would do it for me - also interested in seeing the caves and my daughter would like to do dolphin swim.

 

Question is, for those who have done this sailing, is it possible to not spend a lot on island touring, enjoying the island but relying on the $$ you have already paid for ship services (pool/food, etc) for most of the entertainment.

 

I figure one expense would be lunch, as depending on where you are on the island, going back for lunch would be troublesome.

 

Thanks for any advice....

 

Ken

[kkttc]

forgot to mention, age of 'kids' would be 20, 17, 14....

[Charles4515]

Hi, Been thinking about the Boston -> Bermuda NCL Dawn cruise for many years, being only 45 minutes from the Boston port. Obviously much cheaper than flying to FL or driving to NYC, etc. If we did this, we would do so with cost in mind.

 

Viewpoint would be the cruise fare would be the bulk of the money we would spend, and try to do island touring as inexpensive as possible - would be in late July or August so I figured just beach days would do it for me - also interested in seeing the caves and my daughter would like to do dolphin swim.

 

Question is, for those who have done this sailing, is it possible to not spend a lot on island touring, enjoying the island but relying on the $$ you have already paid for ship services (pool/food, etc) for most of the entertainment.

 

I figure one expense would be lunch, as depending on where you are on the island, going back for lunch would be troublesome.

 

Thanks for any advice....

 

Ken

 

Bermuda has a great , safe and clean, public transportation system. I have done most of my touring over the years taking buses and ferries. So a bus to the beach is $5. A ferry to Hamilton or St. George is $5. (less if you get tokens) Or you can get a transportation pass. A two day pass good on ferries and buses is $31.50 and a three day is $44. I usually buy the two day pass and use that the first two days. Do some reading, follow this board and you can easily make a plan that does not spend much. Of course there will be an admission fee to the caves and whatever the cost of the dolphins.

 

Since you will have at least four (maybe 5) you could also share taxies to the beach, since that would reduce the cost of a taxi which are per taxi, not per person.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Charles4515

[Jasalth]

I fully understand how you feel and there was an NCL deal last year (even though I already had a cruise booked and paid for!) to Bermuda I just couldn't pass up.

 

We were going to be like you, 2 adults and 2 kids (14 and 18) but now our 18 yr old isn't going but meh, his loss! We would be sailing out of NYC though with that added expense.

 

I actually just sat down today and broke down my cost structure. Then again this is something I do in every port, but TBH, we are getting Bermuda for 3 (had KSF) in a Mini for only $3300.

 

In my breakdown, I figured I would end up spending about $500 extra on the island at very most. We will be taking the public transportation and walking everywhere in general. Out of that $500, $250 is budgeted for extra food/drink/misc expenses while out.

 

Since you mentioned the dolphin's and caves, those were something I just looked into for pricing today even. I was looking for my 14 yr old also, and it seems like he could go alone, and prices start at $220 which.. for 20 mins seems well, as a budget conscious person a lot!

 

I assume you were looking at Crystal and Fantasy caves which run @ $30 a person for both. This is in my budget, but I have seen so many mixed reviews and have almost decided today to skip them and just spend more time in Tom Moore's Jungle/Blue Hole Park area exploring.

 

What I really suggest and helped me out was if you go to the main Bermuda tourism page GotoBermuda you can order a really amazing set of tour guides! When I requested one last year, it had everything from walking tour guides included, to full bus/ferry scheduled. I am waiting for my new one to come in the mail actually to fully plan.

 

I think that is the best thing about cruising TBH. My mother will go somewhere, and spend $400 a port on shore excursions. Our last cruise (Sure, was just Grand Turk, Freeport, Carnival Private Island) I spent a total of $40 over our cruise fare. And 1/2 of that was because I tweeked my knee in Grand Turk hiking on beaches and stepped on a rock wrong so bought a knee brace!

[lolavix]

We did the Boston to Bermuda cruise two summers ago, and the bulk of our spending was for the cruise itself. My kids were 10, 8 and 6 at the time.

 

On Sunday, we purchased the three day transportation passes. We used these to get to the south shore beaches the first day. On Monday, we used the passes to visit Tom Moore's Jungle, and then we went to Fort St. Catherine's Beach by way of St. George. We took the ferry back to the dock that afternoon. On Tuesday, we spent the morning at the beach again and did a little bit of shopping before we departed.

 

Besides the passes, we bought lunch at Horseshoe Beach on Sunday. We brought pre-packaged snacks for Monday's lunch, but we also got ice cream during our travels. On Tuesday, we were back at the ship for lunch so we didn't spend any money that day, except for our souvenirs.

 

We didn't spend a lot of money on the ship--mostly on some photos and a few more souvenirs.

 

Right now, I am planning a southern Caribbean cruise, and the cost of the excursions is making me :eek:, because my one and only basis of comparison is the Bermuda cruise, where we spent virtually nothing additional to get around the island. I know that there are excursions you can do, but since we were brand new to cruising and knew we wanted to see the beaches, that is primarily what we focused on. I also believe that you could probably research the excursions and do them on your own...the nice thing about Bermuda is that you are there for 3 days, so you don't have to worry about being back on board at a particular time until the last day.

 

Have fun!

[turning40withMickey]

We did the Boston to Bermuda cruise two summers ago, and the bulk of our spending was for the cruise itself. My kids were 10, 8 and 6 at the time.

 

On Sunday, we purchased the three day transportation passes. We used these to get to the south shore beaches the first day. On Monday, we used the passes to visit Tom Moore's Jungle, and then we went to Fort St. Catherine's Beach by way of St. George. We took the ferry back to the dock that afternoon. On Tuesday, we spent the morning at the beach again and did a little bit of shopping before we departed.

 

Besides the passes, we bought lunch at Horseshoe Beach on Sunday. We brought pre-packaged snacks for Monday's lunch, but we also got ice cream during our travels. On Tuesday, we were back at the ship for lunch so we didn't spend any money that day, except for our souvenirs.

 

We didn't spend a lot of money on the ship--mostly on some photos and a few more souvenirs.

 

Right now, I am planning a southern Caribbean cruise, and the cost of the excursions is making me :eek:, because my one and only basis of comparison is the Bermuda cruise, where we spent virtually nothing additional to get around the island. I know that there are excursions you can do, but since we were brand new to cruising and knew we wanted to see the beaches, that is primarily what we focused on. I also believe that you could probably research the excursions and do them on your own...the nice thing about Bermuda is that you are there for 3 days, so you don't have to worry about being back on board at a particular time until the last day.

 

Have fun!

 

Tell me more about Tom Moore's jungle....

What did you do there? Did you have any trouble finding it on your own?

[turning40withMickey]

Hi, Been thinking about the Boston -> Bermuda NCL Dawn cruise for many years, being only 45 minutes from the Boston port. Obviously much cheaper than flying to FL or driving to NYC, etc. If we did this, we would do so with cost in mind.

 

Viewpoint would be the cruise fare would be the bulk of the money we would spend, and try to do island touring as inexpensive as possible - would be in late July or August so I figured just beach days would do it for me - also interested in seeing the caves and my daughter would like to do dolphin swim.

 

Question is, for those who have done this sailing, is it possible to not spend a lot on island touring, enjoying the island but relying on the $$ you have already paid for ship services (pool/food, etc) for most of the entertainment.

 

I figure one expense would be lunch, as depending on where you are on the island, going back for lunch would be troublesome.

 

Thanks for any advice....

 

Ken

 

We visited Bermuda a few years ago and bought a book of bus tickets at the dockyard. There are five of us, we shared the tickets and it was much cheaper than the all day passes. We took the bus to a stop near Gibb's lighthouse, climbed that, and then got back on a bus and traveled on to Warwick Bay. We then walked along the beaches and trails back to Horseshoe Beach. We enjoyed the small beaches and the walk was not difficult. We took a bus back to the dockyard from Horseshoe. This was a very inexpensive day. It took three bus tickets per person for this day.

 

Another day we walked to the sea glass beach from the dockyard (and should have taken a bus, probably, there was a lot of whining from the kids about this walk!) We walked back and went to the shops in the dockyard, eating meals on the ship.

 

We also did Hartley's Helmet Dive, which was about 100 per person, so not a cheap day, but a great experience! That leaves right from the dockyard, too. The guide (Greg Hartley) was quirky but fun and informative.

[njhorseman]

We visited Bermuda a few years ago and bought a book of bus tickets at the dockyard. There are five of us, we shared the tickets and it was much cheaper than the all day passes. We took the bus to a stop near Gibb's lighthouse, climbed that, and then got back on a bus and traveled on to Warwick Bay. We then walked along the beaches and trails back to Horseshoe Beach. We enjoyed the small beaches and the walk was not difficult. We took a bus back to the dockyard from Horseshoe. This was a very inexpensive day. It took three bus tickets per person for this day.

 

Another day we walked to the sea glass beach from the dockyard (and should have taken a bus, probably, there was a lot of whining from the kids about this walk!) We walked back and went to the shops in the dockyard, eating meals on the ship.

 

We also did Hartley's Helmet Dive, which was about 100 per person, so not a cheap day, but a great experience! That leaves right from the dockyard, too. The guide (Greg Hartley) was quirky but fun and informative.

 

FYI, the ticket books have not been sold at Dockyard for the past couple of years, and until someone reports otherwise we should assume it won't be available there this year. The closest place to buy the ticket books is in Hamilton.

[lolavix]

Tell me more about Tom Moore's jungle....

What did you do there? Did you have any trouble finding it on your own?

 

If you follow the link in my signature, you can read about Tom Moore's Jungle in more detail and see some photos(page 5). We basically just walked around for about an hour. We didn't do any swimming in caves, as I know organized tours will do, but it was pretty and a bit different from the beach.

 

The sign on the street was fairly well marked, and I think we told the bus driver that we wanted to get off there. There was another couple on the bus with us who also visited the jungle, so you might not be alone there.

[elaine5]

we were there for a week with teens in Aug. No need to spend much $$. Public bus/ferry, free beaches, many free things or minimal cost in St. G., minimal coast for dockyards. We took our own snorkel gear and a few blow up rings to float around in the water. HB has rental chairs/umbrellas. HG has good snorkeling off the shore, but Elbow beach is really good--and no one goes there. The bus stops right there.

[Gershep]

Never took the ferry to St. George from Dockyard, is it located in the same area as the ferry to Hamilton?

[Charles4515]

Never took the ferry to St. George from Dockyard, is it located in the same area as the ferry to Hamilton?

 

Yes.

[turning40withMickey]

FYI, the ticket books have not been sold at Dockyard for the past couple of years, and until someone reports otherwise we should assume it won't be available there this year. The closest place to buy the ticket books is in Hamilton.

 

 

Ah, this is important info! Thanks

[turning40withMickey]

If you follow the link in my signature, you can read about Tom Moore's Jungle in more detail and see some photos(page 5). We basically just walked around for about an hour. We didn't do any swimming in caves, as I know organized tours will do, but it was pretty and a bit different from the beach.

 

The sign on the street was fairly well marked, and I think we told the bus driver that we wanted to get off there. There was another couple on the bus with us who also visited the jungle, so you might not be alone there.

 

Excellent review, I really enjoyed it.

This trip we are on the Grandeur and only in Bermuda a day, starting on a Sunday....I don't think Tom Moore's is going to be in the plans for this trip. Calico Jack's is new (to us) too, and I am sure my adult-ish kids will enjoy visiting there!

Thanks for your review, it is very informative!