CanadaJulie

The walk from Warwick to Horseshoe was quite easy. It was pretty hot but there was a breeze and it's not really that long.

I printed a google map so that I'd have some landmarks. Here is one that would work (although, I did one that actually had Horseshoe in it)

http://s206.photobucket.com/user/edbrunt/media/Facebook/Bermuda%202013/Bermuda%202013%20II/WLBEntr.jpg.html

We took the #7 bus to Warwick / Jobson's Cove. From the road, you walk the trail down towards where this map says bathrooms and food truck. We did not see the bathroom/food truck but since we just got there, it was no big deal. We went directly to Jobsons's and swam there. Fantastic spot for pictures. We brought water shoes and mostly kept them on since the sand there is 'chunky' (not powder fine). Plus you can climb the rocks and find little spots that are also great for pictures. The sand here is really pink !

We left and went over to the next beach which is Chaplin Bay. Maybe a 3 min walk. The map says "Stonehole Bay" but I've never heard that name before. We did not swim here but it was great for pics too.

We continued on the trail - see where it says "Warwick Camp Entrance" - under that and to the left there is a parking lot with a little square white roof. You end up there. This part is important: Cross the parking lot, follow the little road that curves towards the road, BUT then stay to your left along the tree line. Do not go to the road ! (I think this is where people get confused and end up on the road - stay on the tree line path). To your left are trees and eventually the ocean and to your right is a grassy field with numbered pickets. Keep walking maybe another 5-7 mins and you end up on the nearly secluded beach beside Horseshoe. We played in the waves there for a while then walked back to Horseshoe, used their facilities then took a taxi back to the ship. More pink sand here but a lot finer grain than at Warwick

The path is a very easy walk, not steep or rocky. It did help for me to have the printed map which I pulled out 2X to see about where we were. The parking lot made it easy to figure we were about 1/3 of the way. And it showed the curved path after the parking lot and grassy field.

If you do not stop for swimming and pics, the walk from one to the other is about 15 mins. This guy posted a video of the walk in the *opposite direction*. The entire video is 15 mins and can give you a good idea of the terrain. I think we took a different path than him, since I don't remember any of it being rocky.

NICE picture!

 

I don't remember any broken glass but then I had shoes on and wasn't looking down.;)

 

I do agree with you that there are gorgeous beaches as better alternatives. The only reason I see for going to Snorkel Park is on the last day when there's not a lot of time to go somewhere else. It may also be fine for someone that has problems walking. I know there are people that have enjoyed their time there but it would never be my first choice.

Thats what I was thinking too. "Morning doing X, evening doing Z so we'll do Snorkle Park for 2 hours in the afternoon".

Incidentally, we did the South Beaches on our last day - even though our ship left at 3pm. We got up early, took the bus around 9am. Went to Warwick, then did the trail from there to Horseshoe, stopping along the way to swim or take pics. Then got a taxi back from Horseshoe around 1pm. We wanted to do some shopping at the Dockyard, otherwise we would have stayed a little longer. All aboard was 2:30. Worked out fine !

While I cannot comment on Snorkle Beach personally, it apparently is a man-made beach and is kinda dirty. I have read that there is lots or rocks, broken glass on the beach. Again - just what I've read on these boards. It's basically a tourist trap

The south side beaches (Horseshoe, Warwick and everything in between) are spectacular. They are rated as some of the most beautiful beaches on Earth. Clean, HUGE, beautiful pink sand, and free !

Unless you are trying to kill and hour and don't have time to the South Shore beaches, it seems like a real waste of time going to such a crappy beach when just a short bus ride away, lies this

sea glass beach was one of the things I wanted to go to, but crossed it off of my list because I didn't feel like walking there. :) so by boat would be fab! what are the landmarks from the ocean to find it?

When you leave the dockyard, ask your taxi driver to point out Sea Glass Beach. The landmark is 4 minty-turquoise buildings side by side. You can see these nicely from the water - just aim for the 2 middle ones.

Once you get closer inland, you will notice something that used to be a "dock" (I use the word loosely, more like a rock/coral slab). The glass is on either side of that.

And a reminder: wear water shoes !! Do not get off the boat at Sea Glass without water shoes !

I have about the same info at Mitsugirly in this thread, but has some pics

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2255538

Are there caves you can swim in for free? In researching, I am finding that the Grotto Bay Resort caves are for their guests only.

The ones at Grotto Bay are for guests only (which is too bad, I hear they are nice).

The one you can swim in is in Blue Hole Park. Our group swam there and I thought it was really cool. If you check the Facebook link above, I have pics. (after the towel bunny is the cave swimming).

The cave is on a path that I might not have found on my own. There is a pic of it too ! In my FB album, find the one with the group of us standing in front of a pond. The one before that shows the actual pond. This pond is off the main trail on the right hand side (assuming you are coming from the entrance right off the causeway, near Grotto Bay resort. If you are coming from Tom Moore's tavern, then it would be on your left). The pond is visible from the trail, but you have to go down an embankment to get to it. If you are standing in front of this pond, facing it, there is a path to your left that goes up - that path leads you to the cave you can swim in. Just go straight on this path and it leads you right to it.

If you are able to view the Facebook album, scroll down to the very last photo - I added a Google Map of where there points were.

If you go to Sea Glass - it's right in front of these 4 Mint-Turquoise apartment buildings. You can see them from the water

http://s100.photobucket.com/user/SailBadtheSinner/media/SeaGlass.jpg.html?t=1296503598

 

 

We are renting from H2O next month for their 5 hour rental special. We would love some suggestions - particularly if there is a place to grab sandwiches and beer/wine before we head out or a place to dock to jump out and grab some.

Thanks!

We did this too. We had the rental from 9am-2pm (and could easily have gone longer).

We arrived about 8:45 and got the briefing, life jackets, steering wheel, throttle. Super easy. We were off a few mins later. We had 2 boats since we were 11 people.

We went directly to the HMS Vixen and anchored just past it. This is a shipwreck with a part of it's bow above the surface. Easy to spot. We snorkled there for a while. Bring Cheerios - the fish LOVE them. It was super funny being swarmed by fish (who never get close enough to touch you) when you throw a handful of Cheerios. Lots of fish on the Vixen.

From there we went to Sea Glass Beach which I really enjoyed. The girls all had fun hunting for treasure and the "one perfect piece" but the boys weren't as impressed. I suggest bringing a mask and snokle here too - lots of smaller fish that were fun to watch if you are not into the treasure hunt aspect. And most definitely WATER SHOES. Do not get out of the boat at Sea Glass Beach without water shoes.

From there, we went back to Mangrove Bay (which is basically where we started from). Have the guy at H2O point out Sandy's Boat Club. Its a big yellow building in the bay with a dock. Since we did not require any service from the boat club, we didn't want to use their dock. We just beached in the bay. I hoped off and climbed up the small embankment. Once on the road, turn left - there is a liquor store right there. We bought cold Champagne and chips there (I had brought plastic glasses from home. Bring some rom the ship, it's easier). Across the street, if you keep going in the same direction, you will see a small cafe - I think it was called The Village Cafe. Pink building. They are like a 'chip stand' and had fries, sandwiches, chicken fingers. If you want to save time, go to the restaurant first, place your order, walk to the liquor store to buy what you need, then hop back to pick up your food. I walked back down to the boat with our lunch.

We went straight across the bay to Middle Kings Point which is the middle of 3 islands at the mouth of the bay. It was BEAUTIFUL !!! We had our Champagne picnic then explored the 3 islands. We were at low tide so you could easily walk from one to the other with waist deep water at most. Bring a camera - breathtaking views, lots of interesting rocks and nook and crannies. I did not want to leave. I kept joking that they should forward all my mail to "1, Middle Kings Point, Bermuda" and that I would just live there from now on.

About 1:55, we reluctantly hoped back in the boat and went back to H2O. I think we spent 10$ in gas !

I have some pics here - I believe you should be able to view them even if you don't have Facebook. We forgot to take pics at Sea Glass beach.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156034917580707.1073741835.886890706&type=1&l=c82e4e18f5

Totally agree. Basically what they are saying is there is a 60% (or whatever percent they are saying) that it will rain, at some point in the day. So if it rains for 10 mins at 3am - that could well be it.

We had rain forecast everyday - we had not even a drop.

Unless you have some major tropical storm heading your way, I would not even worry about it !

If you are going into St-Geroges or Hamilton, they sell booklets of 15 tickets good for both bus and ferry. Adults (16 and up) is 37.50 and kids were 9.50$ For 15 tickets. That is by far the cheapest you'll get however, they do not sell them at the Dockyard. In Hamilton they are sold at the Ferry Terminal and in St-George's, at the post office.

If you use these tickets, you need one for each bus or ferry. So for example when we went to Blue Hole Park, we used one on the ferry to St-George, one on the bus to Blue Hole, another for the return bus and another for the ferry back to the dockyard.

Back to your original question: we really enjoyed Blue Hole park. We hiked through the trails, found the cave you can swim in (so very very cool !!) and jumped of 10 foot "cliff" into the blue hole.

Also, for a beach day: we took the #7 bus to Warwick Long Bay and walked the trails from beach to beach back to Horseshoe Bay. It's not a long walk (maybe 20 mins ?) it was super easy and so so pretty ! We stopped a Jobsons Cove to swim, Chaplin Bay then the beach just before Horseshoe. We pretty much had it to ourselves and played in the surf there until we had to leave. We walked to Horseshoe, used the washrooms and changing rooms, then grabbed a taxi back to the ship.

Are you renting the boat from H2O ? I have some suggestions of places to go !!

We just got back and had a ton of fun !

That is so weird. I wonder why they were asking for it on our week ?

<Shrug> The fun of dealing with customs !

We really noticed the hallways and tight spaces !! A few days before our cruise, my brother ruptured his Achilles tendon and required an operation. We was in a wheelchair for the cruise. I called and was told the door was 26". My brother measured his wheelchair and we figured we were all set. Nope - the door does not open all the way and would not let his 25" wheelchair through, sigh... :rolleyes:

Deck 10's hallway was insanely narrow. Deck 5 seemed pretty good

Great info! :D Was there much glass on the beach? Coming onto the beach from the water I assume if there is a sign not to take the glass, you cant see it? ;)

There was TONS of glass. Again: WATER SHOES !! :)

We had lots of fun hunting for treasure. There was a sign but it's kinda between both beaches - you kind go over what may have been a dock from one beach to the other. You could easily miss the sign :) We may or may not have taken 2-3 very small pieces as souvenirs but I won't admit to anything ! Bring a mask and snorkel, it was fun to hunt for pieces under water. Unfortunately, I did not take any pics at Sea Glass Beach but there was TONS of it.

To get there, we followed the 4 turqoise apartement buildings. They were our landmark. The taxi driver pointed them out on our drive and we just aimed for them from the water side. In fact, the staff at H2O gave us some good landmarks too - there is a small bridge (tiny) with a hole big enough for a person under it but not big enough for the boat, the beach was slightly beyond that. The 4 turquoise buildings were easy to see

Our group of 11 was sitting towards the end of the cruise discussing what we had done and seen and my Mom asked if we'd book NCL again. This was our first time with NCL and I am not sure if I'd choose them again...

For one, there were lots of unexplained changes before we sailed - from the spontaneous addition of the room service charge after a 1 week 'trial', to the 2 increases in DSC. They dis-allowed bringing food to the room, then revoked that. They changed our departure from Bermuda to 3pm instead of 5pm about (for no apparent reason) 3 week before our sail date so I had to switch some of our plans around. I mean, we booked in March - this is a lot of changes in a few months.

On board, the issue with our missing OBC kinda weighed on me. 1600$ of yours (me and my brother combined) goes missing, you worry about it ! It took the entire cruise to sort it out.

My mom was actually hit IN THE HEAD by one of those plexiglass exit signs. It fell out of it's socket on the ceiling and hit her on the head, then scraped a decent amount of skin off her arm on the way down. She was knocked out for a few seconds and came to on the floor, bleeding. She was brought down to the medical facilities and released shortly after her but then no follow up was ever done. I mean - some object falls onto your head (totally NCL's fault - she didn't trip down the stairs because she was wearing flip flops) and no one ever bothers to even call her the next day to see how she is doing ? Not the medical team, security, no one ? *WE* watched for signs of a concussion and infection but no one from the ship followed up ?? I really thought that was poor service.

(side note: the lady from security who came down to the medical sneter with us said she's "seen loose signs and signs fallen on the floor but had never seen anyone injured by the signs falling on them" - SERIOUSLY ?? What does it take for your maintenance team to check ALL the damn signs ?? Someone getting hit in the head with one ?)

I'm not one to scream "compensation !!" but somehow a call from the Guest Services Manager to apologize after the OBC mess, or a free meal at Le Bistro for my Mom after her injury would have gone a long way. As it is, we went through all this and it seems NCL is like "oh, it' fixed now".

Unless I get the DEAL OF THE CENTURY I'm pretty sure NCL is NOT where I will spend my next vacation dollars...

Did you take a bus to H20?

We took a taxi. since we were 11 people, the taxi dispatcher put us in a mini bus however, I learned afterwards that 2 taxis (they have 6 pax vans) would have been less expensive. They charged us 5$ per person X 11: 55$

For the return, we did take 2 taxis. Cost us 13.95 (plus tip) per cab.

You can take the bus. If it's a hot day, it might not be worth it. We had 1 person in a wheelchair and 3 70 year olds. A taxi was a better option for us. Here are the directions we were given by H2O

Bus #7 and 8 leave from the Dockyard and you can take either and get off in Somerset Village. From there you walk past the post office and along Mangrove Bay and you will eventually see a curve where you can continue left or go right. There you turn right towards the Public Wharf on Mangrove Bay and that's where we are located. The walk is approx. 10 minutes.

The boat rentals sound like something I need to do. Can you stop at any beach where there is room to land? Are there many restrictions on where you can't go or things you can't do?

It's very easy to handle. Steering wheel, throttle forward and back. Just go slow and watch for the dark spots in the water - they are rocks or coral. Go around those ! They give you a map with a suggested itinerary, we did our own thing. Stopped at the HMS Vixen, Sea Glass Beach and Middle Kings Point. You can go all the way over by the Dockyard if you want.

You can stop at any beach so long as you don't have to go through private property to get there. So coming from the water is fine. Having said that, I would never just pull up on someone's front yard ! You don't even need to go far, Middle Kings point is literally within a stones throw from H2O and was stunning !! We were there at low tide and you could walk from one island to the other. Gorgeous !! You can see Sea Glass Beach from there (just across the bay) and that was really interesting too - bring water shoes !!

The only restriction was to not go beyond the lines he drew on the map. However, that was basically from Hamilton to just before the South Beaches. Lots of room to play around in !!

It really was so much fun !! I'd do it again in a heartbeat

Julie, you guys sure looked like you were having fun at Blue Hole Park. At that point I wished I had brought my bathing suit!

I tried to post a picture of me jumping from the 10 foot "cliff" but it wouldn't upload. You'll just have to believe that I did it !

Just an FYI for everyone...don't bother with we site confirmations. Ask your PCC or TA for a copy of your Amenity Confirmation before you sale....that is the best document to have.

I purchased it online, through the NCL website so that's the confirmation I brought. Didn't go through a TA to purchase it

One question. Before you left, did you see all of your onboard credit listed on your vacation summary under "gifts and more"?

I actually didn't check it so I can't say if it was listed or not. I wasn't worried since I had my confirmation printed - until I got onto the ship and they said I hadn't paid for it...

Seems like quite a few have had issues with this recently. Hope they get it straightened out sooner rather than later. No one wants to be hanging out at guest services during our vacation...

You know, if the guest services attitude were better than I would say all is well BUT the attitudes and nonhelpfulness you encountered are totally unacceptable to me!

 

I think they would have had quite the scene from me....

Totally agree ! It took 6 days to sort this out. On one of my trips down, the guy with the attitude was there and I purposely sent the person behind me to deal with him just so I could get anyone else.

Turns out that person that I sent ahead *did* make quite the scene ! She said she'd been calling '911' and '00' for 35 mins because her daughter was sick and no one answered. She came down to ask to speak with the manager and got the same rude/unhelpful guy who refused to tell her who the manager was. She lost it... and rightfully so...

I didn't catch his name but if I had, I would have complained higher up on my return. His attitude towards me and the lady with the sick daughter was completely unacceptable.

I kind of thought it may have to do with being purchased with a Canadian credit card but it seems others had the same issue who were American, so I'm guessing that's not it.

The weird part is that of the 4 purchases our group made, 2 were OK and 2 were missing. The good thing is that it happened to me and not my Mother who is already sceptical about purchasing stuff online. Glad hers was no trouble.

Just a heads up to anyone buying OBC before your cruise: print your confirmation paper from the NCL website and to be safe, print your credit card statement showing the charge. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it makes it easier to prove it.

Here's my story: We are just back from the Breakaway 2 days ago. Out of 4 cabins, 3 of us purchased OBC about a month prior to our trip. Normally I would not do this but as we are from Canada, NCL's exchange rate is much better than the banks. 1.11% vs the 1.35% is a no brainer. My brother bought 1000$, I bought 600$ followed by another 400$ and my mom bought 200$.

So we get on board and I have a 'voucher' in my room for 400$ of credit. Nothing for the 600$ ?? My mom has hers and my brother has nothing.

First trip down to guest service to ask about the credit. She checks my account and it's only showing the 400$. The 600$ is nowhere to be found. She sends an email to Miami asking about it.

I went back to my room to get my printed confirmation of the 2 purchases (400$ and 600$). 2nd trip down to guest services to give them the proof that I had purchased it.

Next day, I get a message in my room saying that the paper was only a "receipt of the request to purchase" and that my card was not charged. 3rd trip down to guest services to argue that. Both the receipts for the 400$ and the missing 600$ were identical. Plus I had paid the Mastercard bill prior to the trip and know that it was charged. The guy at guest services was horrible - he smirked at me and told me to prove I had paid it and suggested that maybe I didn't paid my CC bill and that's why NCL didn't have it's money so they revoked my 600$. *** ??? I told him that if they'd allow me to log into my online statement I could prove it had been charged to my card and that it was paid. He told me to go purchase an internet package and waved me off then called "Next" and dismissed me.

Next day in Bermuda, I bought the internet access at the Dockyard, logged into my CC account and took a screen shot of the Mastercard statement, showing that I had indeed paid for the 600$ (and the 400$ !). 4th trip to guest services to show them that. They insisted I phone Mastercard. Why ? I have no idea !! The guy on the 1-800 line told me that same thing my statement did - the card was charged and I paid. Another email was sent to Miami.

Next day, no news so I went back down to guest services for the 5th time. No answer from Miami yet.

Later that day, I got a phone message to please call or come to guest services. I took my 6th trip down (easier to deal face to face than over the phone). They told me they had found my OBC and it would be posted to my account...

My brother had a similar experience except that they posted it to his account then subsequently removed it ! He had to make 2 more trips to guest services to get it back...

So - moral of the story - bring a printed copy of the receipt and your credit card statement because without that, I'm not sure what would have happened ! And have fun at guest services !

I actually like the noise. Makes it feel lively and entertaining. And I'm sure that is their intent and that most people feel that way. They would not put on such events if people were not interested in them.

I agree. People were having a blast. I watched the "battle of the sexes" in the Atrium and cheered everyone on. I just think the idea of putting those events in the same space as guest services, where people are trying to sort out problem is an odd choice.

Like I said, the cruise was great. But the ship was just not my favorite. Le Bistro and the casino in the same space (one floor up, but you could smell the smoke on the "terrace" of Le Bistro) - who though that was a good match ?

I have never had a problem hearing at guest services.

I had to go down 6 times and my brother 4 to solve a problem. We had purchased OBC from the NCL website and despite our printed confirmation, the ship had no record of it. They kept having us come back later so it took us both a total of 10 trips to guest services to sort it out. They even had me call MasterCard (not sure why, I had the printed confirmation and my online banking statement proving it was purchased and paid for). It was super noisy ! They had a dance competition going on with lots of people watching and cheering to the music - and guest services is 20 feet away.

As for the closet in the balcony cabins, I agree if you get one of the balcony cabins that has the bed near the closet door. Luckily after reading here on Cruise Critic and looking at the deck plans there is another option.....choose a balcony cabin that has the bed near the sliding door and the sofa near the closet. That option is much better as far as getting into the closet. :)

Yes I suppose this is a "work around" for the poor design. Unfortunately, we didn't have that option - we were 3 people in our room (with our bed up against the closet) and my brother next door was 4 in a cabin (sofa bed and pull down against the closet). Someone's bed was going to be against the closet

Maybe I should try it again with no kids ? :D

I agree with you - if you left home with only a birth certificate and no photo ID, you'd be hard pressed to come up with one standing on the pier on Bermuda. The girl they were questioning was about 13 yo and she looked a little nervous.

The Ship card does not indicate that I'm from Canada vs the US so I don't think that was a factor.

That's why I posted - I figured I'd give a heads up based on what I saw to anyone travelling in the future that you *may* be pulled aside for more questions (and maybe not, depending on the officer on duty) if you don't have photo ID, so bring it if you have it. I'm quite sure they will let you back on the ship, but it just took more time without photo ID.