amybeth28

After the BAMZ we went to the blue pole bus stop to head back to St. George. We could have taken the bus to Hamilton or all the way back to the dockyard, but I thought it might be less bus time this way.

We were lucky because a very nice bus driver stopped, even though his bus said off duty. Maybe he took pity on us and the few other people, red and tired from a long fun day? He took us straight to St. George, just making a few stops for other tired looking people.

The last ferry back to the dockyard leaves at 5:30. Knowing how crowded the ferries can get, we got in line at 5:00, and there were already quite a few people waiting. This time we sat on the open deck and enjoyed the view and the breeze. This ferry ride felt like an excursion, it was the perfect temperature with the breeze, and the sun was less intense.

This was a wonderful day, and I was so pleased that we were able to negotiate the transportation system so easily. We were glad that we had lanyards to carry our transportation passes, and all we brought was sunscreen and bottled water in a backpack.

Next Day 3: Horseshoe bay beach:)

Jlrf, Thank you very much. I really depended on the combined experiences of the people on these boards and wanted to add to it.

Txskier, that is so funny, what did you think of the excursions?

Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo . (BAMZ)

The BAMZ admission is $10 for adults, ages 5-12 is $5, under 5 is free. It is open from 9am-5pm, but the last admission is at 4pm.

They have a natural history museum, with interactive exhibits. It was interesting to learn little bits and pieces about the animals here.

The zoo is designed like a nature walk, and the trails will lead directly into many animal enclosures. There doesn’t seem to be as much separation between you and the animals as I have experienced in American zoos. For example, you can stroll right through the lemur enclosure with the overhead netting. They have exhibits from the Caribbean, Australia, American alligators and some local animals.

There are small areas with benches to rest in the shade. There is also a nice playground and gift shop in the zoo.

When we visited, the Aquarium was under construction, so we could only visit the large tanks in the front. There are benches set up in front of the tanks, and plenty of room for kids to roam around.

This part is air conditioned and we spent about 20 minutes cooling down and watching the huge fish. Some of the fish were as big as a person. It was beautiful and I was sorry we could not see the rest of the aquarium.

I would recommend the BAMZ, especially as an afternoon activity for children. It is inexpensive and there is plenty to see. There was a bus full of kids there during our visit and they were obviously having a great day!

Bailey’s ice cream

After lunch, we crossed the road for ice cream at Bailey’s. It is a cute little place with counter service and seating inside and outside. They have hard serve homemade ice cream in a variety of interesting flavors, like banana coconut, cherry chocolate chip or rum raisin.

I believe that they only take cash. I should mention that you can use American money anyplace in Bermuda. A lot of places will ask if you want change in Bermudian or American.

We tried the pistachio and the dark and stormy, both in waffle cones. I think it cost about $13 or $14 for both. We sat outside under the umbrellas and enjoyed the breeze.

The ice cream was wonderful, rich and dense with a lot of flavor. However, it melts pretty quickly in the warm breeze!

After the ice cream we went to the pink bus stop to catch the number 10 bus to the Bermuda Zoo and Aquarium.

Swizzle inn-

We decided to go to the swizzle Inn for lunch, based on recommendations on these boards. Several people in Bermuda told us that during your trip, you have to try a Dark and Stormy, a Rum Swizzle and the Fish Chowder.

The Swizzle inn is across the street from the caves and has a bus stop right in front. It was really busy and there were no seats inside. We sat outside where each table has a sun umbrella or cover. Even though it was hot, it was nice to sit in the shade and feel the breeze. The place was full of couples and families; everyone was very casually dressed in shorts and tee shirts.

Even the décor is busy, decorations and signs cover every inch of the walls, and the tables are very close together. It is loud, in the fun way that crowded family restaurants can be. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and there is a lot of talking between tables as people compared notes.

I was surprised at how fast the service as considering the crowd. A waitress came with menus immediately after we sat down. The service was fast and efficient, but in such a busy place there was no extraneous chatting.

We started by ordering a pitcher of rum swizzle, $23. You can also get a half pitcher. The pitcher had enough for about 5 small drinks. It was delicious, but with more of a pineapple flavor than the ones on the rum cruise.

The menu is mostly pub food, burgers, wings, nachos and pizza. However, they did have a few things identified as local favorites, like fish chowder, conch fritters, Rockfish and Fish sandwiches and a Wahoo burger.

You can download the menu online, but just so you get an idea for budgeting your lunch: Wings are 8 for $11, Fish chowder is $8, Fish sandwich is $17.50, a burger is $16, the Rockfish is $31.50, a 12 ounce rib eye is $29.50.

We ordered the fish chowder, which is Bermuda’s national dish. It is thick tomato based chowder with onion. It is seasoned with black rum and a sherry pepper sauce. There is a lot of fish, and it is kind of minced or shredded so that it makes the whole chowder very thick. It is slightly spicy and very rich. It is served with long thin cracker like bread sticks. It was a meal in and of itself, so we didn’t order anything else. Plus, I wanted to save room for the ice cream shop across the street.

Overall, we are glad we went to the famous swizzle Inn and tried the Fish Chowder. It was a fun place and convenient to our plans. I wouldn’t travel all the way there just for this restaurant, but would stop in again if we passed by. More to come.:)

Rumpunchgirl-Thank you so much, I will talk more about the ship later in the review. From your signature it looks like you have cruised with carnival a lot, I am wondering what you will think when you compare the two? I have read great things about carnival on these boards too.

Otsbork-yes, the pool is filled with kids of all ages. They also have the T-rex kids pool for the youngest ones.

The Crystal and Fantasy Caves

Right up the street from Somers Garden is a bus stop. In Bermuda, the bus stops with the pink poles go toward Hamilton, and the blue poles head out of Hamilton. We waited at the bus stop for any bus with the number 1,3,10, or 11. We waited for about ten minutes and when the bus came, it was ½ empty.

The seats were comfortable and it felt cool after being in the hot sun. The bus ride itself was an adventure; they drive very fast in Bermuda on very narrow roads!

We arrived at The Caves in about 30 minutes, the bus stops often. You will know that you are at the Caves bus stop, when you see the Swizzle inn. We asked the bus driver to tell us when we got to our stop, but it is hard to hear after the bus gets full.

When you get off, look for the ice cream shop and there is a sign for the caves right in front. You will follow a path through a beautiful park and get to the ticket building and gift shop. We bought a ticket for both cave tours for $30 each. They will give you a number and call you when your tour group is ready.

While we were waiting, we shopped in the gift shop. They have very cute things, and rocks which you break with a hammer to get to the crystals, which I bought to take home for the kids. They sell water and cold drinks. There is also a little café.

When they call your number, you will head down a set of stairs and meet your tour group and guide. The guide will give a brief talk and overview of the tour and then will lead you on a short walk to the cave entrance. Our group was headed to the Fantasy caves first. The guide will warn you about the number of steps, and how slippery they are. You should wear good, non-slip shoes.

When we got to the entrance, we waited for another group to come out. I had read the reviews, but was still not prepared to see fit 2o year olds huffing and puffing and covered in sweat as they came to the top! Lucky for us, our guide said that because he is older, he takes the steps more slowly.

As we entered the caves, it immediately became cooler and darker. There are handrails on both sides because the steps are steep and wet. I would suggest a backpack or cross body bag for this trip, you may need two hands.

The caves are amazing! I have never seen anything like them in my life, and even the best pictures don’t do it justice. The rock formations are incredible and there is a lake at the bottom. All of the formations have cute names, and our guide took his time to explain each one.

When I looked up, a drop of the water from a formation went into my eye. It really burned! The lady next to me said that I had been blessed by the caves:)

When the tour was over, we went back up the stairs. It was hard and I can see why people were huffing, but so worth it. I think the caves are something you should see at least once in your life. It was very hot and we were a bit tired, so we decided to head to the famous Swizzle Inn for lunch before doing the next cave. To be continued:)

Bermuda, day 2-St George, The Crystal caves and Zoo and Aquarium

After reading all of the helpful tips on these boards, we decided that on our second day in Bermuda, we would head off and explore on our own.

We purchased one day passes from the shore excursion desk on the ship. This desk is in the atrium. You can buy day passes here, but I don’t believe you can buy individual tokens. You can buy passes and tokens from the kiosk right of the ship, or the visitor’s center, a short walk into the dockyard.

The woman who works at the Kiosk was so helpful and explained every step that I needed to take to get around Bermuda!

One thing I learned in Bermuda is to never be afraid to ask questions, people are so kind and helpful. This helpful attitude includes Bermudians, NCL staff and other passengers. Some of the best advice I got was from the cruisers standing next to me!

Our plan was to head to St. George first on the earliest ferry. The ferry leaves the Dockyard at 9:30, but the woman at the kiosk said to get there no later than ten past. We got there at 9, and there was already a line forming.

Now normally, waiting 3o minutes for something I would view as an inconvenience. The wonderful thing about Bermuda is that even standing in line can be a great experience. The view and weather are beautiful, and we passed the time chatting with the people near us in the line. This couple had been on this same trip many times and told us all about their favorite places on the island.

The ferry arrived on time and, based on the advice from these seasoned travelers, we decided to sit in the air-conditioned inside section. The seats were very comfortable and the views amazing! The ride took about 35-40 minutes.

The ferry terminal is right near the world heritage center. We stopped in and found a cute little thrift store. We walked up Water Street into King’s square. There are a lot of shops and restaurants along the way and quite a few in King’s Square.

In King’s square, we found a little souvenir shop and bought cute little things for friends at home. They had Christmas ornaments for $9.00 and cute magnets for $4.00. King square has stocks on display and you can watch local children jump into the ocean. This town is beautiful; each building looks old but maintained and gorgeous.

From King’s square, we walked up the Duke of York Street to see the unfinished church. I would recommend that you bring water, because the walk up this hill in July is a little tough…but worth every minute. The Unfinished church is truly unique and not to be missed if you are in St George.

After resting in the shade and admiring the Church, we headed down the hill and explored Somers Garden. The garden is lovely and there are paths and little benches everywhere. The trees and plants have little signs that help identify them. This was such a nice place to rest and plan the rest of our day; I wish I could have a picnic here. They also have a moon gate, which you walk through for luck!

The bus stop is right outside the garden, and we waited there for the bus to the crystal caves. More to come:)

Atunee-yes it was a great trip, the boat appeared to be all fixed and in perfect condition!

Gosling’s Sunset Rum Cruise excursion

I booked this excursion, online, for day 1 because I didn’t want a deadline when we self explored the island. It was a little difficult to find a variety of reviews for this excursion. I found plenty of reviews for the sunset cruises, but not Gosling’s rum cruise. However, the ten or so that I did find all seemed positive. The cruise is 1 and ½ hours and cost $54 per person. ($57 if you book on the ship). It leaves right from the pier in front of the ship.

The crew was very engaging; from the first moment we met the young woman who took us to the boat. It was a boat with two floors, both covered with open sides. The main presentation is on the top floor, but the drinks are made downstairs.

There was one gentleman who could not do stairs and sat on the bottom floor, I am not sure if he heard the presentation. However, I could hear him laughing and chatting with the woman who prepared the drinks. Of course, I can’t speak for him but it sounded like he enjoyed the trip. On the top deck there were plastic lawn type chairs. They were stable and comfortable.

The trip is a slow cruise around the island as the sun sets. It is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. By the time we set out, at 7:30pm, it had cooled down and there was a slight breeze. I hate to say anything is perfect, but this cruise around Bermuda was as close as I have experienced!

As we cruised around the island, our host gave a presentation about the history of rum making on the island and the Gosling brand. He also sprinkled in information about the houses we saw and his experience living in Bermuda.

There was a sampling of different drinks. Starting with a rum swizzle, light rum, dark rum, a dark and stormy and aged rum. Our host explained the flavors and characteristics of each one and demonstrated how to make drinks with them. I had no idea that rum was so complex. Finally, we had a sample of three different flavors of rum cake.

These samples were larger than I expected and I felt like I had experienced two or three full drinks and a dessert! They do have a bar, but no one used it. I am not sure you would have time, between samples.

They offer duty free bottles, which you can buy and they will deliver to the ship. Children can go, but I would not recommend it. On this excursion, everyone tipped the crew, and it seemed like that was the expectation. The cruise returned on time.

Overall, I would highly recommend this cruise if you enjoy rum, or just for the beautiful cruise around the island! More to come:)

Rising Sun II Swim and Snorkel excursion.

We went on the Rising Sun II swim and Snorkel excursion in the afternoon. The trip was 3 hours long and left from the Dockyard. We booked this excursion for the first day because, as I mentioned, I was a little nervous about using the public transportation on a Sunday.

Your excursion tickets will be in your room the night before, with instructions about where and when to meet your group for the excursion. Most meet right outside the terminal building on the pier. There will be an NCL staff holding a sign. Don’t be late because a few people were left behind, the Catamaran leaves right on time!

The Rising Sun II was large and stable with plenty of seating. You can sit inside in the shade or outside in the front on the netting over the water. We sat outside and laid our towels on the netting. The netting is like criss crossed seat belts.

You can purchase rum punch and beer on the way to the Snorkel site. On the return trip the rum punch is free, *and FULL of rum! You can get a cup of water for free the whole trip. There is about a half hour ride to the snorkel site, the crew will sit with you and talk about the island. They were very entertaining and we learned a lot about what it is like to live and work in Bermuda.

When we arrived at the site, it was very crowded with a lot of locals. Our guide told us that on Sunday there are a lot of Bermudian families out on their boats in these hidden coves. They parked the boat off to the side and gave a brief safety talk.

The area had a small sandy beach and tall cliffs filled with little caves and crevices to explore. The water was clear and very warm. They offered a few paddle boards to share and snorkel gear. The kids seemed to really like the boards, and were very good about sharing them. The snorkel gear was a bit old and a little leaky, if you have it, I would bring your own.

We snorkeled and swam for about two hours and saw a lot of fish, sea fans and coral. The fish were colorful and some were very big! The sea fans are a beautiful purple color. After about two hours we got back on the boat. You have to climb a small ladder, which should be okay for most, but be careful if you have knee problems.

The return trip was just as entertaining, maybe more so because everyone was having free rum punch! Overall, I would say that this is a great trip for families, or anyone who wants a low key, easy snorkel with a lot of things to see. I think it cost $89 per person through NCL, I am sure it is less if you book independently.

The trip returned exactly on time. When they help you off the boat you can give them a tip if you would like. It seemed truly optional, we gave them $20, because they were so wonderful. I would say about ½ the people tipped and half did not. When we got back, we rushed to get changed and grab something to eat in the Garden Café because we booked a sunset rum cruise for 7:30.

We strolled over to the Clock tower Mall, passed all the interesting buildings and sights, of the Dockyard. There is a park area, victualling yard, several restaurants and many little shops. The mall itself is small, and most of the shops seemed very similar to me. The prices were high, but this is to be expected. The best thing was that it was cool! The air conditioning was great after being in the strong Bermuda sun.

We went into the pharmacy, which had all the personal items you may have forgotten to pack. You should expect to pay about double what items cost here. The glass blowing shop was amazing and the things were so beautiful. They have demonstrations, but we didn’t get to see them as we only had a few minutes to look around. There were bowls, ornaments, vases…almost anything that can be made from glass. I would be careful with small children here:)

After walking around the dockyard, we headed back to the ship to grab a quick lunch in the Garden Café and get ready for our snorkel excursion. I was surprised by how many people stayed on the ship. I expected everyone to be in a rush to get off and explore Bermuda. A lot of people that we spoke to have been on this trip many times and said they like to relax on the ship the first port day.

Bermuda: Day One.

We arrived in Bermuda at 11, and watched the Ship dock from the promenade deck, that is the outside on deck 7. We had a shore excursion booked for 2 pm, so we decided to head out and explore the dockyard. I found all of the different transportation options a little overwhelming at first. There are buses, shuttles, taxis, vans and people everywhere! However, the woman at the transportation kiosk helped identify which was which and I felt more confident. I will talk about what I learned on day 2 a bit later.

Once the ship is docked in Bermuda, you can get on and off whenever you want, for the entire time. At peak times, there are two ways on and off the ship, deck 4 forward and deck 4 aft. During less busy times, they will close one entrance.

For U.S. citizens, you must have your ship card and photo ID to get off and especially back on the ship. I am not sure what you need for non U.S.citizens. I must have seen a dozen people turned back to their cabin for not having the ship card. We also saw several people waiting while a family member went into the ship to get their photo ID so they could get back on the ship.

When you get off, they will scan your ship card and you will walk down a walkway onto the dock. There is a small building that you pass through, which has officials who check again and let you out. They have a metal detector and they may search your bags.

You cannot take fruit off the ship. There was a huge pile of fruit on the table, every morning that was confiscated. You CAN take water bottles and sealed food like granola bars. You can also take the beach towels from your cabin.

Once out of the building, you can meet your tour group or access buses and ferries. There is a free shuttle that looks like a mini train that does a circuit of the dockyard, you can just hop on and off.

Bermuda!

As I have said before, I am a nervous and inexperienced traveler. I did a lot of research in order to plan our time in Bermuda. Most people talked about how easy it is to use the public buses and ferries. I did read comments about how different and more limited the schedules are on Sundays and holidays.

I decided to take ship sponsored excursions on the first day, Sunday, to get exposed to Bermuda. We also decided to take the ship excursion to Horse shoe bay beach on the last day. I had read many stories about people missing the ship, and decided I would pay a bit more for my own piece of mind. If you are a more experienced or confident traveler, you could easily manage self guided trips here.

I felt brave enough, with the advice from these boards, to try to get around by ourselves on day 2. I will say, now that I have some experience in Bermuda, I will use the public transportation only on my next trip, and save quite a bit of money.

I booked our day one excursions online about a month before the trip; the excursions cost a few dollars more when you book once you get on the ship.

Poker pro-I believe that Gail posted below with information about the specialty restaurants. I did see a few older children in Pearly King, and many did sing with parents earlier in the night. The Pub is kind of a main walkway through the ship, so it was not unusual to see a whole family sit for awhile and watch. I did not see or read about any contests in the freestyle daily…sorry.

Gail, thank you for adding that information, I am sorry to hear about your experience with the reservations:(

Andoria, thank you I hope you have a great time!

Synderela, Thank you, I hope you write a review of your cruise!

Samstress-I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

The show Band ballroom and more-Spinnaker, 6:45pm day 5

We really enjoyed the music during the production shows, so we decided to go and listen to the show band. We also like dancing, however not many people were dancing during this performance. I really like horn players, and these folks were really a joy to listen to. It was one of the many musical performances we listen to. On the ship, there is music almost anywhere you wander.

Masquerade duo-these two sang in the atrium almost every night and drew a large crowd.

Great ideas-This was the party band and played at the oasis pool and in the night club.

Luke, The piano, the voice played in Gatsby’s. On day 4-, he played an Elton john Billy Joel tribute, which was wonderful.

To be continued with our experiences in Bermuda:)

Jocka and Maria Q and A- Day 7, 2:15 stardust theater

Since we missed the Jocka and Maria show, we made a point to attend the question and answers. This event was fairly well attended, and the people who came seemed really impressed with the aerialists. Jocka and Maria were dressed casually and had a lot of their gear and equipment on the stage. An NCL crew member walked around with a microphone and allowed the audience to ask questions. There were a lot of questions about their history and techniques.

When the audience asked about a particular trick or technique, they would explain it in detail and then demonstrate it on stage. It was wonderful to hear how they performed their act, and then see it. They are both charming and obviously extremely talented and hard working. I would recommend seeing this Q and A session. more to come:)

Barb, I am glad you had a good cruise! Patti and Jose were not on our cruise, and I was a little disappointed because they seem to be a favorite on these boards.

Second City adult unscripted- spinnaker lounge Day 7, 10pm

This show is definitely adult themed, and I would not even bring teens to this show. They also had a family unscripted the previous evening. The troupe asks for suggestions from the audience and then creates funny skits, based on the suggestions.

This show was really crowded! We arrived about 15 minutes early and it was hard to find seats. I wish we had gotten there earlier. We did eventually find seats, thanks to a kind gentleman offering the extra ones at his table, and were able to see most of the show. There were many people standing in the back.

I was a little hesitant to attend because I am not usually a fan of “adult’ humor. However, we really enjoyed the other Second City Shows, so we decided to try it. I am glad I went, it was pretty funny. There wasn’t any swearing but some definite sexual themes and jokes. The audience was laughing enthusiastically and I didn’t see anyone who was put off by the jokes. We really enjoyed all of our experiences with this troupe and liked that they all had such distinctive personalities, but melded well together. To be continued:)

Who wants to be a Bazillionaire game show-Spinnaker

There are several different types of game shows that happen during the cruise. The games are run by the cruise staff and people in the audience sign up to participate. In some games there are cash prizes, some give away NCL merchandise. If you play deal or no deal you could win a cruise or $5,000. The only game we attended was who wants to be a Bazillionare, they had two games and picked someone from the audience to be the contestant.

If you want to play, you put your name in a bowl and they picked two. The prize was a bag of NCL stuff, like cups, hats and a Frisbee.

They ran the game from a laptop and had a projector. It was a casual and laid back game and if the contestant was about to choose the wrong answer, the staff would cough or say something funny. It was fun to watch and we learned some interesting trivia. I wish we had attended the other shows because I heard many people talk about how fun they were. I guess I will have to cruise again to play

Close Up Magic with David DaVinci -day 5 in the spinnaker lounge at 8pm

We got to this show early and got front row seats because DH loves magic. They had a table with 2 chairs set up on the dance floor and a video camera set up with a large screen behind the table. It looked like you would have had a good view from any seat. The magician chose two people from the audience to sit at the table and watch his tricks up close. The camera would aim at his hands, and project the image on the huge screen, so you could see each trick clearly. The show involved a lot of amazing card tricks and other close up tricks.

One of the best parts was watching the reaction of the two people who were watching him at the table. They were stunned by the performance! David DaVinci is very entertaining and charismatic and he talks about his life and love of magic while he performs. If your schedule allows, I would recommend seeing this show, it was fantastic! more to come:)

Dblane, I hope you have a great trip!

Cruzin’ nana,-Thank you very much, I hope you enjoy your trip! I’m sorry, but I didn’t hear anything about the chef’s table.

The Dawn Casino

We visited the casino several times during our cruise. I only play the slot machines, so I cannot really speak about the table games. However, I did notice that there seemed to be plenty of room at the tables if you did want to play. They do offer gaming classes, and I might take one the next time we cruise. They also offer a lot of tournaments on both the tables and the slots.

Although the casino is small, there was always plenty of room and machines to choose from. They have video poker, traditional slots (with bars and cherries) and the slots that have character themes and lights. I’m sorry if I am not describing these well, I am not much of a gambler in my everyday life. I saw slots ranging from $1-1 cent. I prefer the $.25 pull slots with simpler themes. When I played these I won $200. I did try a game with a goldfish theme and ended up leaving with an extra $100. Although, I am still not sure how these work. They are colorful and fun and have a lot of bonuses and extra spins! My strategy is that I start with $20 and print a ticket when it gets over $120. I give the ticket to DH and then put another $20 in, if I lose this, we will be finished for the night. At the end of the cruise, we cashed in the tickets and felt lucky. I don’t really think this is a sound gambling strategy, but it does keep me from spending all of our money..lol.

DH is a terrible gambler and will lose his budgeted money quickly. He did win about $70 on a penguin themed slot, but lost it all in 10 minutes. He is mainly the person who gets the drinks and holds the money:)

There is a lot of smoking in the casino, it didn’t bother us, but some people were commenting on it, so I thought I should mention it. I had heard that there is a non smoking section, but didn't see it. I thought there was plenty of ventilation, and didn't have an issue at all.

The servers seemed to focus on the table players, but the bar service was good and it gave DH something to do other than lose more money :) . He really enjoyed talking to the friendly bar staff and people who were gambling at the bar. I enjoyed our time in the casino. Hopefully, there is someone with a little more experience in casinos to give a review about how this casino measures up:) To be continued:)

Karaoke- Pearly Kings pub

They have Karaoke in the pub every night. Sometimes it says karaoke madness and sometimes adult karaoke in the freestyle daily. We watched Karaoke, a little bit, almost every evening. We never planned to go, but we would be walking through the Pearly Kings pub and hear a fun song and just have to stay for a drink and listen.

The energy and enthusiasm of the crowd was contagious. In the earlier hours there were some older children singing. There was a mother and daughter(?) who sang Taylor Swift type songs, and it was wonderful. The crowd was so supportive and you could tell that this young woman would remember this for a long time. What I loved most about this event was that everyone received a positive response from the crowd whether they had a great voice, a great deal of enthusiasm or just a great deal to drink..lol.

As I mentioned previously, the table service was good and there was one waiter who was invited to sing with a group of enthusiastic cruisers. He didn’t sing, but he did cheer them on! I will say that we were both surprised at how talented some of these singers were. I would recommend stopping by the Pearly King for Karaoke, if you have time! to be continued :)

Norwegian’s night out

Norwegian’s Night Out happens on day 2 and it is the “dress up…or not” night. People have the option of dressing up, or staying with the resort casual look that is typical of the rest of the cruise. You can meet and get your picture taken with the Captain and other ships’ officers. The pictures are in the atrium from 6-6:30 pm.

After dinner there is a Norwegians night out party in the spinnaker lounge. At the party there is a DJ who plays music from the 50’s to today. The party was fun and pretty well attended. The party started at 10:45pm.

We dressed up a little bit; I wore a nice, but comfortable silky dress and a shawl, while DH wore a shirt and tie. I felt like we fit right in with most people’s choices. However, I saw people in everything from polo shirts to a few in tuxedos. There were women in evening gowns and children in suits and fancy dresses. Some people didn’t dress up at all. I think you will be comfortable in anything that you choose to wear. This is the night that they serve the Lobster pasta in the Garden Café. We didn’t get to try it, instead we had dinner at Aqua. I do wonder if anyone on here did and how it was?

Port and tour presentation-Stardust Theater

This was a slide show presentation about Bermuda and what was available in the port. The pictures were very nice, but I had done extensive reading on these boards and others about Bermuda. We left after about ½ hour. If I had not done a lot of research, I would have stayed. As it was, cruise critic was the best source of information for us!

Bingo-Spinnaker lounge

We played Bingo on the night they advertized it as “Bargain Jackpot Bingo” These cards were a lot less expensive than the other Bingo games, they also came with the instant win strips. The game was a coverall and if you got Bingo in 47 numbers or less you won a jackpot. If no one won the jackpot, the game goes on and the winner gets a cash prize. The jackpot was $4000, but no one won it. The winner of this game won $700, if I remember correctly. We had a great time playing, and the bargain prices were just right for us, you can get a starter card for $10.

We got there early and got comfortable seats with a table. The drink service was quick and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Children can “help play”, but need an adult to claim the prize. I thought the pace was good and was impressed that some people can play 10+ cards and still keep up! They have different Bingo games each day with different prizes and card prices. If you have never played, or are hesitant about the price, look in the Freestyle daily for the Bargain Bingo game. On our cruise it was day 6 at 4pm. to be continued:)