Question about time in Bermuda on Mariner

[mafig]

I'm considering two cruises in May on Mariner going to Bermuda.  I question the arrival/departure times.  The cruise on May 15 seems to give more time in Bermuda and I'm wondering why.

 

May 15 - Day 3 - Leave Nassau 4 PM - Arrive Bermuda Day 5 -  1 PM.

                Day 5 - Leave Bermuda 1 PM

 

May 28 - Day 3 - Leave CoCo Cay 4 PM - Arrive Bermuda Day 5 - 6:30 PM

                 Day5 - Leave Bermuda 12:30 PM

 

Obviously the 15th  would give us more time in Bermuda.  I'm just wondering why.  Surely CoCo Cay isn't that much farther than Nassau to Bermuda.  Could it be other ships in port?  Tides?   ????

[leaveitallbehind]

It likely has to do with the sea route through the Bahamas waters and the resulting distance between the two ports and Bermuda. (CocoCay may actually be a bit further away). The only way it would likely have anything to do with ships in port is if there are already two ships in Bermuda and one is not leaving until mid-afternoon on May 28, which could result in a scheduling difference with the arrival as the the pier typically only handle two ships at a time and the normal ship entry lane into and out of Bermuda can only accommodate one ship at a time.

 

But in any case if more time in Bermuda is the goal then the choice IMO would be obvious.  The only other consideration I would have is Nassau v CocoCay.  Not being a fan of Nassau, that could have some influence.....

[mafig]

29 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

 

But in any case if more time in Bermuda is the goal then the choice IMO would be obvious.  The only other consideration I would have is Nassau v CocoCay.  Not being a fan of Nassau, that could have some influence.....

 

One other consideration is cost $$$$.  The 15th is more money.....I was looking for a JS and they seem to be sold out on the 15th.  

[leaveitallbehind]

19 minutes ago, mafig said:

 

One other consideration is cost $$$$.  The 15th is more money.....I was looking for a JS and they seem to be sold out on the 15th.  

...sounds like maybe your decision is being made for you, especially if a JS is the preferred stateroom.

 

That being said, Bermuda is a favorite port of call with us - planning on doing so again this June on Summit.  In particular we like the 3 days in port with that itinerary.  Not sure if travel to NJ would be out of the question for you, but there are nice alternative itineraries from there with Celebrity if Bermuda as the only destination would be of interest.

[orville99]

46 minutes ago, mafig said:

 

One other consideration is cost $$$$.  The 15th is more money.....I was looking for a JS and they seem to be sold out on the 15th.  

The Mariner cruise to Bermuda in August has Nassau and Coco Cay stops on the back end, so you may want to broaden tour search to include more dates (Mariner is sailing to Bermuda through October, and JS are averaging ~$1,500pp).

 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by orville99

[RedIguana]

2 hours ago, mafig said:

May 15 - Day 3 - Leave Nassau 4 PM - Arrive Bermuda Day 5 -  1 PM.

                Day 5 - Leave Bermuda 1 PM

 

May 28 - Day 3 - Leave CoCo Cay 4 PM - Arrive Bermuda Day 5 - 6:30 PM

                 Day5 - Leave Bermuda 12:30 PM

OK so the 15th arrives at 1 pm and leaves at 1 pm...no minutes in port. The one on the 28th leaves 6 hours before it arrives?

[Starry Eyes]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

The Mariner cruise to Bermuda in August has Nassau and Coco Cay stops on the back end, so you may want to broaden tour search to include more dates (Mariner is sailing to Bermuda through October, and JS are averaging ~$1,500pp).

 

 

Another consideration: October is far more likely to be rerouted due to storm.

[leaveitallbehind]

15 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Another consideration: October is far more likely to be rerouted due to storm.

With the Bermuda travel season typically from May to October and the hurricane season from June through November, virtually all of the itineraries for Bermuda would be subject to the same concern.  October perhaps more so than earlier in the season, but a concern for most of the season nonetheless.

[Starry Eyes]

10 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

With the Bermuda travel season typically from May to October and the hurricane season from June through November, virtually all of the itineraries for Bermuda would be subject to the same concern.  October perhaps more so than earlier in the season, but a concern for most of the season nonetheless.

Um, yeah, let’s review…The route is Port Canaveral to Bermuda on Mariner.  The first sailings discussed boarded in mid and late May; the risk of re-routing due to storms is relatively low.  Orville mentioned the availability and cost of JS in October.  Though storms can happen any time, those October cruises have have a much greater risk of re-routing due to storms than May (even extending into early June).  How much one might mind being disrupted by a storm is a question worth considering; to many it may be more important than cost.

[leaveitallbehind]

3 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Um, yeah, let’s review…The route is Port Canaveral to Bermuda on Mariner.  The first sailings discussed boarded in mid and late May; the risk of re-routing due to storms is relatively low.  Orville mentioned the availability and cost of JS in October.  Though storms can happen any time, those October cruises have have a much greater risk of re-routing due to storms than May (even extending into early June).  How much one might mind being disrupted by a storm is a question worth considering; to many it may be more important than cost.

Not sure what point you are trying to make in quoting me because you basically said the same thing I did.  Storm risk in May is little, storm risk in October is greater.  I just added that any sailing to Bermuda would be at risk with storms as the majority of their season is during hurricane season.  So, if storm consideration is important, then duly noted!   So, um, yeah, let's review.....

[orville99]

9 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Orville mentioned the availability and cost of JS in October.

Not exactly… What I said was that Mariner was doing Bermuda cruises from May through October and that the average cost of a JS across all of those sailings between May and October was ~$1,500 pp. I suggested that the OP expand his date search to see if he could find a better itinerary. BTW, the itinerary I posted is the one we are on in August.

Edited January 26, 2022 by orville99

[mafig]

6 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Um, yeah, let’s review…The route is Port Canaveral to Bermuda on Mariner.  The first sailings discussed boarded in mid and late May; the risk of re-routing due to storms is relatively low.  Orville mentioned the availability and cost of JS in October.  Though storms can happen any time, those October cruises have have a much greater risk of re-routing due to storms than May (even extending into early June).  How much one might mind being disrupted by a storm is a question worth considering; to many it may be more important than cost.

 

That's exactly the reason I was looking at May.  The August, September and October Mariner/Bermuda cruises have me concerned about a possible hurricane, either in Port Canaveral, Bermuda or the west coast of Florida (where we live).  

[mafig]

53 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

OK so the 15th arrives at 1 pm and leaves at 1 pm...no minutes in port. The one on the 28th leaves 6 hours before it arrives?

Yeah, I sort of messed up my typing. But you probably knew what I meant.

[Starry Eyes]

6 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Not exactly… What I said was that Mariner was doing Bermuda cruises from May through October and that the average cost of a JS across all of those sailings between May and October was ~$1,500 pp. I suggested that the OP expand his date search to see if he could find a better itinerary. BTW, the itinerary I posted is the one we are on in August.

Oh, sorry, but still a higher storm risk.  It is one consideration, especially if one really wants to maximize the odds of going to Bermuda rather than another trip to the Caribbean.
I often sail during the peak months of storm season.  Prices are usually lower while risk of storm disruption is higher.  

[RedIguana]

2 minutes ago, mafig said:

Yeah, I sort of messed up my typing. But you probably knew what I meant.

Lol, yeah I figured you messed up the dates. Was hoping you had figured out time travel though, that would be more fun. Are they overnighters or 2-3 nights there? 

[mafig]

1 minute ago, RedIguana said:

Lol, yeah I figured you messed up the dates. Was hoping you had figured out time travel though, that would be more fun. Are they overnighters or 2-3 nights there? 

 

 

two nights.

[RedIguana]

arriving at 1 gives you a chance to go do something that requires daylight that day, 6:30 is a nightlife day. I only jumped in here to learn, I am going to have the same questions as you when I finally get a Bermuda trip booked. I am not even sure whether to leave from Fl or Bayonne. 

[orville99]

6 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Oh, sorry, but still a higher storm risk.  It is one consideration, especially if one really wants to maximize the odds of going to Bermuda rather than another trip to the Caribbean.
I often sail during the peak months of storm season.  Prices are usually lower while risk of storm disruption is higher.  

We have been in Florida for more than 25 years, and over the course of that time there has been at least one named tropical storm or hurricane in every month of the year. BTW, the worst tropical storm we’ve ever experienced in Bermuda was in April.

[orville99]

2 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

arriving at 1 gives you a chance to go do something that requires daylight that day, 6:30 is a nightlife day. I only jumped in here to learn, I am going to have the same questions as you when I finally get a Bermuda trip booked. I am not even sure whether to leave from Fl or Bayonne. 

When we sailed to Bermuda from NYC, we had a day and a half of lousy weather both going to Bermuda and coming back to NY. 

[mafig]

12 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

arriving at 1 gives you a chance to go do something that requires daylight that day, 6:30 is a nightlife day. I only jumped in here to learn, I am going to have the same questions as you when I finally get a Bermuda trip booked. I am not even sure whether to leave from Fl or Bayonne. 

 

That's why we're probably leaning toward the 15th date and going with a balcony.

Arriving at night at Kings Wharf sort of limits us to just Kings Wharf.  I had read on the Bermuda boards that taxi/bus service can be pretty sparce from Hamilton at night.  

 

BTW there are not a lot of cruises that go to Bermuda from Florida.  We did one on Costa many, many years ago and I've seen very few since then.

Edited January 26, 2022 by mafig

[Starry Eyes]

9 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We have been in Florida for more than 25 years, and over the course of that time there has been at least one named tropical storm or hurricane in every month of the year. BTW, the worst tropical storm we’ve ever experienced in Bermuda was in April.

Sure storms can happen any time but we know the risk is not even.  While an April Bermuda storm is memorable to you, I believe the strongest storm to hit Bermuda in modern times was in August….of course Royal Caribbean will re-route you if, heaven forbid, a similar one is in the neighborhood this year.

[xtremegk]

Port traffic is very possible for the timing difference. I did one of the Anthem 5-nighters pre-pandemic, and one of the Celebrity ships made its way into the harbor and just hung out there for nearly 2 hours waiting for us to clear the dock so they could have the spot.

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

When we sailed to Bermuda from NYC, we had a day and a half of lousy weather both going to Bermuda and coming back to NY. 

And on one of our Bermuda trips out of Bayonne the water was calm as glass and the weather clear and sunny both ways.  Can be anything at anytime with no way to know. (Unless a particular weather system is in effect).

 

What we like out of Bayonne is the easy commute for us to the port and the nice length of stay in Bermuda - typically from 8:00 AM day one through 4:00 PM day three.

 

The ferries and buses run frequently and, in particular the ferries to Hamilton, run until around 10:00 or so at night. Very easy and convenient to get anywhere on the island. 

[sandebeach]

1 hour ago, mafig said:

 

That's why we're probably leaning toward the 15th date and going with a balcony.

Arriving at night at Kings Wharf sort of limits us to just Kings Wharf.  I had read on the Bermuda boards that taxi/bus service can be pretty sparce from Hamilton at night.  

 

BTW there are not a lot of cruises that go to Bermuda from Florida.  We did one on Costa many, many years ago and I've seen very few since then.

Yes, limited cruises to Bermuda out of Florida. Our previous cruises to Bermuda were out of Bayonne and one was out of Boston. Very excited to book Mariner in October out of Port Canaveral, we can drive to port instead of having to fly. 

[leaveitallbehind]

2 minutes ago, sandebeach said:

Yes, limited cruises to Bermuda out of Florida. Our previous cruises to Bermuda were out of Bayonne and one was out of Boston. Very excited to book Mariner in October out of Port Canaveral, we can drive to port instead of having to fly. 

Also looks like a very nice itinerary!