Another Adventure - Bermuda June 26th Cruise Review

[bnurick]

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!  @mcclarke1and I are getting ready to check off a bucket list item of visiting the island of Bermuda, embarking in just 7 days.  We booked this cruise while on our March Spring Break cruise on the Edge.  This will be our 3rd cruise of 2022, the other being a late January Southern Caribbean cruise on the Equinox, which was a COVID rebooking (hoping our immunity levels are still at 90%+).

 

We secured a Sky Suite and scored a total of $1,100 of OBC's with all the promotions added to the booking while onboard perk.  The OBC's have been all expended on specialty dining and excursions. More to come about those later...

 

Our Cincinnati direct flight to Newark this coming Saturday was cancelled and we were rebooked to a suboptimal connecting flight.  We went full negative on that option and Delta was kind enough to rebook us to a Friday direct flight giving us a full day in NYC now.  While I am a fan of NYC food options, I am not a fan of the noise levels.  So using Hilton Points we were able secure two nights at the Conrad Downtown in the Financial District where it will be nice and quiet and a view of the Hudson.  An added benefit of all this is the chance to dine at our favorite NYC restaurant, Il Mulino New York Downtown, the original location.  We are already drooling...

 

Both of use have our "APPROVED BERMUDA TRAVEL AUTHORISATION" emails and we are setup for the "Bioreference - Scarlet Concierge Service" for our COVID tests which we tested out the option in March and felt it was very convenient.

 

More to come from both of us as this Bermuda adventure unfolds.  Everyone have a wonderful Father's Day!

 

Brian and Cameron.

Edited June 19, 2022 by bnurick

[Azulann]

Look forward to your trip report. I went to Bermuda for the first time last July on a Viking Ocean cruise. I loved Bermuda , a beautiful island. Enjoy the rum drinks, beaches and any boat excursion  you can find. 

[kpark895]

Myself, my daughter and my son-law will be joining you on this cruise!  This will be my 4th cruise to Bermuda - it's a beautiful island with beautiful beaches.  All of the people there are so friendly and helpful.

 

[bnurick]

40 minutes ago, kpark895 said:

Myself, my daughter and my son-law will be joining you on this cruise!  This will be my 4th cruise to Bermuda - it's a beautiful island with beautiful beaches.  All of the people there are so friendly and helpful.

 

Awesome!  Any top highlights you can share from your experiences with Bermuda and the Summit?  Many thanks!

[Jim_Iain]

Looking forward to coming along on you fun vacation.   We will be sailing on Summit in August so may pick you brain on who the Retreat Hosts and Retreat Manager are. 

 

Have a wonderful trip and if you have time take the Ferry to St. George.    It is both a scenic boat ride but a much quieter town than Hilton.  

 

 

[bnurick]

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Looking forward to coming along on you fun vacation.   We will be sailing on Summit in August so may pick you brain on who the Retreat Hosts and Retreat Manager are. 

 

Have a wonderful trip and if you have time take the Ferry to St. George.    It is both a scenic boat ride but a much quieter town than Hilton.  

 

 

Appreciate it!  Will be sure to post our experiences navigating The Retreat.  Enjoy the rest of the day.  Brian

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Enjoy!  If Lobo is still the maitre d' in Luminae, you're in for a treat.

 

[peanut head]

Thanks for posting…we’ll be right following along.

[bnurick]

1 hour ago, peanut head said:

Thanks for posting…we’ll be right following along.

Thank you Peanut Head 🥜!

[kathynorth]

We'll also be cruising along with you as repeat Bermuda visitors. I second Jim_lain's recommendation to take the ferry to St. George. 

[bnurick]

1 hour ago, kathynorth said:

We'll also be cruising along with you as repeat Bermuda visitors. I second Jim_lain's recommendation to take the ferry to St. George. 

Thanks Kathy!  See you onboard!

[jzad]

Would like to try this cruise next year, following along!

[vickykay]

You can purchase a two or three day pass ( can’t quite remember) for the buses and ferries. There was a kiosk right by the pier. Agree with Jim. Take the ferry to St. George. They used to have a short walking tour. Then the bus to other places of interest on the way back.   I’d also recommend Horseshoe Bay and the lift house the second day.  In the evening (/or third day) you can take the ferry to Hamilton.  Enjoy. Love Bermuda!

 

 

 

 

[LJJQ]

A beautiful view is from the former Coast Guard Base at Governors Island in New York Harbor! Sure there is a ferry that takes you out!

 

https://www.govisland.com/plan-your-visit/ferry

[kathynorth]

29 minutes ago, vickykay said:

You can purchase a two or three day pass ( can’t quite remember) for the buses and ferries. There was a kiosk right by the pier. Agree with Jim. Take the ferry to St. George. They used to have a short walking tour. Then the bus to other places of interest on the way back.   I’d also recommend Horseshoe Bay and the lift house the second day.  In the evening (/or third day) you can take the ferry to Hamilton.  Enjoy. Love Bermuda!

 

 

 

 

vickykay, what is the lift house in Bermuda?

[kathynorth]

28 minutes ago, LJJQ said:

A beautiful view is from the former Coast Guard Base at Governors Island in New York Harbor! Sure there is a ferry that takes you out!

 

https://www.govisland.com/plan-your-visit/ferry

 

Thanks for the tip! I just saw that the ferry is free on Saturday and Sunday and starts as early as 7am.

[parrothead33]

Looking forward to following along.  Have a great cruise!

[vickykay]

Oops.  The Lighthouse.

[jimbri]

Have a great time.

[kpark895]

On 6/19/2022 at 11:13 AM, bnurick said:

Awesome!  Any top highlights you can share from your experiences with Bermuda and the Summit?  Many thanks!

 

If you go to St. George in Bermuda, try to be there sometime around midday, where, at certain times, they do a re-enactment of a dunking in King's Square (if, post-covid, this is still going on).  It's pretty funny, like a 15 minute, one act play.  Also, we took a horse and carriage ride thru St. George.  The carriages were found in King's Square also.  We had a lovely driver, Crystal, from Bronco Stables, who took us around the real life places in town, and even to her home, which was basically a working farm-type area, with various animals and flowers and vegetables.  Along the way she made various stops and was always explaining things about the island.  It was a great way to tour St. George.

 

If you go to Horseshoe Beach, I would suggest taking the mini-bus shuttles that are located in the parking lot on your right as you are walking from the ship to the dockyard area.  $7 one way.  They actually take you down the hill at Horseshoe, which can be quite a walk if you take the public bus, which only stops at the top.  To get back to the dockyard, these shuttles will be waiting at the bottom of the hill.  No reservations!

 

We always visit the Frog & Onion Pub in the dockyard for a craft beer (and some free wifi, if you need it).

 

Wednesday evenings there is a celebration in Hamilton, called Harbour Nights.  Lots of vendors set up outside along their waterfront street and a parade with their Gombay dancers also happens - fun to watch.  Just be warned that this can get crowded, and if you actually want to sit at a restaurant with views of the parade, it might be difficult, unless you arrive really early.  Easiest way to get here is by public ferry, which is $5 one way, I believe.  It departs the dockyard and Hamilton on a set schedule.

 

As for the Summit, just enjoy!  I loved the fact that it was a smaller ship, and it seemed you would run into the same people all the time, and actually get to have conversations.  A more relaxing cruise compared to the mega ships, where you feel the need to try everything (case in point - I was recently on the Oasis).  Main dining room food was great, as were the buffet selections.  Now, I assume that things may have changes some since Covid, but probably not the quality.  Also, the pastries at Cafe al Bacio are great (and free), and if you have the beverage package, try some of their specialty coffees.  One thing I've learned from CC is to ask for an affagato, which is gelato with espresso poured over it.  It's not on the current menu, but according to some recent Celebrity cruisers, they'll make it if you ask.  I haven't tried it yet but Jim-Iain here on CC swears it's the best thing at the cafe.

[kathynorth]

4 hours ago, vickykay said:

Oops.  The Lighthouse.

Sorry, I should have guessed that. Just thought I may have missed a site on prior trips. lol

[barbpretz]

Hello, @bnurick.  Thank you so much for doing this live review.  Would you (or anyone else onboard) be willing to post the dailies for this cruise?  I'm new to Celebrity and doing this cruise in July, so I'd love to see a full list of the activities so that I can better plan my trip.  I realize that some activities are on the app, but it doesn't seem comprehensive, so I'm hoping to get a more complete idea of the options.

 

Thanks for this review and your help!

[bnurick]

2 hours ago, barbpretz said:

Hello, @bnurick.  Thank you so much for doing this live review.  Would you (or anyone else onboard) be willing to post the dailies for this cruise?  I'm new to Celebrity and doing this cruise in July, so I'd love to see a full list of the activities so that I can better plan my trip.  I realize that some activities are on the app, but it doesn't seem comprehensive, so I'm hoping to get a more complete idea of the options.

 

Thanks for this review and your help!

I actually have been doing this on my other reviews and would be happy to do so.  Thanks!

[bama4cruisin]

9 hours ago, kpark895 said:

 

If you go to St. George in Bermuda, try to be there sometime around midday, where, at certain times, they do a re-enactment of a dunking in King's Square (if, post-covid, this is still going on).  It's pretty funny, like a 15 minute, one act play.  Also, we took a horse and carriage ride thru St. George.  The carriages were found in King's Square also.  We had a lovely driver, Crystal, from Bronco Stables, who took us around the real life places in town, and even to her home, which was basically a working farm-type area, with various animals and flowers and vegetables.  Along the way she made various stops and was always explaining things about the island.  It was a great way to tour St. George.

 

Thank you for this recommendation!  We will be on the Beyond repositioning cruise in October with a port day in Bermuda.  We’ve spent time in the Dockyard and in Hamilton on a previous stop, so we’re already looking at St. George.  The carriage tour is perfect.  I’ve bookmarked their website and will work from there.

 

thank you!

[CTSandy]

The carriage tour is something I haven’t done in many trips to Bermuda, sounds like fun.  I tried to check prices on it, but couldn’t find anything.  Do you remember what the charge was?