Harbour Nights

[geegee1]

Has anyone been to Harbour Nights recently?  Is it as fun as the Bermuda travel sights make it it seem?

[Charles4515]

45 minutes ago, geegee1 said:

Has anyone been to Harbour Nights recently?  Is it as fun as the Bermuda travel sights make it it seem?

It is a street festival. It is not as fun as they make it seem but it is okay. The best part is the Gombey dancers at 7:30. After the dancers I hit Flanagans or another pub for a Dark and Stormy because they either have boring speeches or the Bermuda regiment marching and pounding drums. Restaurants are open but very few stores stay open. I get there at 7:00 and between 7 and 7:30 check out vendors. Also there is a vender who sell delious Portuguese Donuts. So I consider it a nice to do but not a must do. 

[geegee1]

23 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

It is a street festival. It is not as fun as they make it seem but it is okay. The best part is the Gombey dancers at 7:30. After the dancers I hit Flanagans or another pub for a Dark and Stormy because they either have boring speeches or the Bermuda regiment marching and pounding drums. Restaurants are open but very few stores stay open. I get there at 7:00 and between 7 and 7:30 check out vendors. Also there is a vender who sell delious Portuguese Donuts. So I consider it a nice to do but not a must do. 

Thanks

[Graciesmom2]

We did this excursion through Celebrity last week. Wasn’t what we expected. Lots of vendors selling various items. Very few stores open. Lots of very loud music with various dance groups. Best part of the experience was being out after dark! Something we had not done on a cruise before due to time limitations. 
 

note….the private ferry provided by Celebrity was clearly not up to Celebrity standards! Not a life  jacket to be seen. chairs were just folding chairs, not anchored to the floor. Upstairs the railings on the side were not up to any kind of code, anyone could have fallen off if the boat had shifted.  We have written our concerns to Celebrity. 

[Charles4515]

19 hours ago, Graciesmom2 said:

 

note….the private ferry provided by Celebrity was clearly not up to Celebrity standards! Not a life  jacket to be seen. chairs were just folding chairs, not anchored to the floor. Upstairs the railings on the side were not up to any kind of code, anyone could have fallen off if the boat had shifted.  We have written our concerns to Celebrity.

How much did you pay for that excursion? I have gone to Harbour Nights several times on the public ferry from the Dockyard.  Total cost round trip was $9. 
 

My experience over the years with cruise lines is that when they do boat excursions  or transfers it is they cram as many people on as will fit. I don’t think they have standards. 
 

 

Edited July 9, 2022 by Charles4515

[cruiserbear55]

On 7/8/2022 at 10:34 AM, geegee1 said:

Has anyone been to Harbour Nights recently?  Is it as fun as the Bermuda travel sights make it it seem?

   Not worth the trip, IMHO.

[Graciesmom2]

Charles4515 … we paid $50 per person for the excursion through Celebrity. We know now, total waste of funds! We thought by going through the cruise lines, we could save headaches of waiting for the ferry and possibly waiting in long lines to get back to the Dockyard. Live and learn! 

[philpcruiser]

On 7/24/2022 at 4:00 PM, Graciesmom2 said:

Charles4515 … we paid $50 per person for the excursion through Celebrity. We know now, total waste of funds! We thought by going through the cruise lines, we could save headaches of waiting for the ferry and possibly waiting in long lines to get back to the Dockyard. Live and learn! 

Saw a post on another site where someone complained that their X excursion to harbor nights, which was scheduled to return to the dockyard at 9pm left by 8:50, leaving them in Hamilton.   They had to make it back to the ship on their own.

[bunnyette]

On 7/8/2022 at 7:19 PM, Graciesmom2 said:

We did this excursion through Celebrity last week. Wasn’t what we expected. Lots of vendors selling various items. Very few stores open. Lots of very loud music with various dance groups. Best part of the experience was being out after dark! Something we had not done on a cruise before due to time limitations. 
 

note….the private ferry provided by Celebrity was clearly not up to Celebrity standards! Not a life  jacket to be seen. chairs were just folding chairs, not anchored to the floor. Upstairs the railings on the side were not up to any kind of code, anyone could have fallen off if the boat had shifted.  We have written our concerns to Celebrity. 

I was on the same excursion.   I have to agree on all points.  We found a nice place Bermuda Bistro & found it was $10 drink night so had some Dark nStormies along with some food.

[sato]

I don't recommend Harbour Nights. We went last year, and the vendors were mostly selling junk. It was also absolutely packed. The Gombey dancers, if you could get close enough through the crowd to see them, were interesting, but that's really it. Not worth going just for that.

 

 

[shipgeeks]

When our ships always docked at Hamilton, it was very pleasant to walk off the ship and be right there for the parade.  We had our Dark and Stormys on the ship at leisure.  Those were the days!

[Charles4515]

9 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

When our ships always docked at Hamilton, it was very pleasant to walk off the ship and be right there for the parade.  We had our Dark and Stormys on the ship at leisure.  Those were the days!

Yep Harbour Nights was pleasant when docked in Hamilton and walking off the ship. When docked at the Dockyard I skipped it most of the time. It is nice if you are already there. The vendors in recent times not as good but the local Gombey dancers are always a treat. The Portuguese Donuts by a vendor at Harbour Nights are really good. I had excellent Dark and Stormys at Flanigans accross the street whether it was Harbour Night or not. 

[sunshine55]

Go in eat dinner at Flanagans  on balcony andh you'll have front row seats..Something different.  Small street fair

[Luv2cruze me and u]

Thanks all for the info and confirmation.  We are on the Eclipse in June for two overnights and we planned one evening for this event.  Read elsewhere about the ferry and not taking the cruise excursion.  Plan to spend my money on a D&S and some dinner at Flannigans rather than give to Celebrity.

Edited January 20 by Luv2cruze me and u

[princeton123211]

6 hours ago, Luv2cruze me and u said:

Read elsewhere about the ferry and not taking the cruise excursion.  Plan to spend my money on a D&S and some dinner at Flannigans rather than give to Celebrity.

You really don't need to rely on excursions at all on Bermuda and especially not for just plain old transportation. Getting from the Dockyard to Hamilton via ferry is inexpensive and easy (as is getting from the Dockyard to St Georges for that matter). 

 

For what it's worth I think the Hog Penny around the corner is a much better pub than Flannigans. 

[luv2travel06]

On 6/22/2023 at 4:53 PM, shipgeeks said:

When our ships always docked at Hamilton, it was very pleasant to walk off the ship and be right there for the parade.  We had our Dark and Stormys on the ship at leisure.  Those were the days!

We were on the Veendam for HAL's last summer of regular cruises that docked in Hamilton--we booked the cruise for that reason. It was so nice to walk right off the ship so close to all the activities, including the Bermuda Day parade. One of my favorite souvenirs is a painting of that ship docked in Hamilton, done by a local artist, that we purchased at Harbour Nights.

[princeton123211]

22 hours ago, luv2travel06 said:

We were on the Veendam for HAL's last summer of regular cruises that docked in Hamilton--we booked the cruise for that reason. It was so nice to walk right off the ship

Oceania Insignia still offers three sailings from NYC that are similar to Veendam's itinerary docking in downtown Hamilton (with the added bonus of docking in St Georges as well). 

[Charles4515]

Just an FYI since this is a revived thread is that Harbour Nights this year 2024) are from May 15 to August 28. Wednesday evening in Hamilton starting at 7 pm. 

[dazey]

We have been to Harbour Nights a few times and the last time we had to wait forever to get the public ferry back to the Dockyard.  It was before Covid and they put so many people on the ferry that we were touching everyone that was standing nearby.  Probably they do not allow that anymore. I would plan to return before the crowd is ready to leave but then you may miss the parade.  We will not be going again in May to the parade.

[Charles4515]

8 minutes ago, dazey said:

We have been to Harbour Nights a few times and the last time we had to wait forever to get the public ferry back to the Dockyard.  It was before Covid and they put so many people on the ferry that we were touching everyone that was standing nearby.  Probably they do not allow that anymore. I would plan to return before the crowd is ready to leave but then you may miss the parade.  We will not be going again in May to the parade.

The parade is at 7:30 and there are ferries at 8:30, 9:00 and 10:30 so no need to miss the parade. I have taken the 9 and 10:30 ferries with no issues. The last time I took the 9 and it was not overcrowded. When I took the 10:30 ferry they had an extra ferry so the ferry was not crowded. Don''t know if they still do that. Also the most interesting thing in the parade is the dancers. So you only need to watch them for 10 to 15 minutes and then can go get a drink, food or catch a return ferry. If you have been before like you have skipping Harbour Nights is logical.