A Bermuda Cruise in Review: Summit (with pics!)

[ChampionCruiser]

We spent the next couple of hours on a self-guided walking tour of the town. There was a visitor information center in the town square that had great maps and directions. We quickly found that it didn’t matter if you knew where you were going, though. The locals were amazing and extremely friendly. We were offered help on a few occasions without even asking (I guess we looked confused :)) and that attitude is part of the reason that Bermuda is so amazing. It was unlike any place I’ve cruised to before.

 

 

St. George's definitely has an old world charm.

 

 

Here’s a house that didn’t age quite as well as the others.

 

 

Once we had seen enough of the town, we headed towards our next stop, Tobacco Bay. The Unfinished Church is on the way and it was worth a stop. It’s amazing to look at, even though visitors can no longer go “inside”.

 

 

[giantfan725]

Wow.... your report and pictures keep getting better and better. Sitting on the edge of my seat foaming at the mouth..... can't wait till 7/1 when I can see it for myself.....but this is the next best thing.

 

Thank you very much and keep it coming.

[ChampionCruiser]

Wow.... your report and pictures keep getting better and better. Sitting on the edge of my seat foaming at the mouth..... can't wait till 7/1 when I can see it for myself.....but this is the next best thing.

 

Thank you very much and keep it coming.

 

Thanks! It's taking a little longer that I figured it would but I hope it's worth it!

[ChampionCruiser]

The walk to the beach was supposed to take 15 minutes from the town but apparently we took a wrong turn somewhere. It took us over 30 minutes to get there, but at least we took a scenic route!

 

 

The beach area was smaller than I had imagined, but it was beautiful. The water is well sheltered and it was extremely calm…chilly, but calm.

 

 

The park is too close to St. Georges to pass up.

 

 

We got to the beach around 12:30 and rented two lounge chairs ($10 each). It might be a small beach, but it was quite with only a handful of people. It doesn’t have the pink sand of the south shore beaches, but we still thought that it was great.

 

 

A few steps away from the beach area is a scenic rocky area:

 

 

 

If you're planning on spending a day in St. George's, keep Tobacco Bay in mind!

[ChampionCruiser]

We spent over three hours lying out, swimming, and eating lunch at the park’s restaurant. The restaurant was slightly overpriced but that’s what I came to expect in Bermuda. It took a while for us to get used to the water temperature. It’s definitely not Caribbean water! It wasn’t unbearably cold, though, and we spend a good while swimming.

 

We ended up packing our complimentary Celebrity tote (nice touch!) and leaving a little after 4 in order to make it back to the Dockyard for dinner. We didn’t want to go, though!

 

 

One last glimpse of Tobacco Bay:

 

[ChampionCruiser]

We got back to the ferry location thirty minutes early but we were glad. The line ended up being f-o-r-e-v-e-r long and we wanted to make sure to get good open air seats.

 

(The walk back to town only took 15 minutes. We realized we made a wrong turn at the unfinished church before.)

 

 

The ferry provides a great way to view the island.

 

 

It wasn’t long before we were back. The ride goes by a lot faster when you have good seats.

 

[ChampionCruiser]

Even though we had to leave the beach, I was glad to make it back to the ship for dinner. I enjoyed it even though it was my least favorite menu (I ordered from the every night menu for the entrée and dessert). I had the shrimp cocktail (okay), pasta fagioli soup (yummy), sirloin (very good), and apple pie (good). Our waiters didn’t let us down and we really enjoyed their company. It was probably because many people were still off the ship, but the service was much more laid back and personal.

 

One great thing about overnighting is being able to walk on and off the ship as much as you want, even at night. After dinner, my sister and I decided to walk around the port area, even though most of the shops were closed.

 

 

We walked around the shops and made our way to the snorkel park beach, which is a pretty nice beach five minutes from the ships.

 

 

After getting acquainted with the port, we headed back for the production show, “Sirens”. It was great. The story line was a bit cheesy, but it was possibly my favorite production show that I remember for its entertainment factor. With 150+ costume changes and unique props, it’s worth watching if you enjoy the shows.

 

After the show we made an appearance at the island deck party before going back to the cabin. Apparently self-guided walking tours through towns and hills can be exhausting. Who knew? Plus, we wanted to be well rested for the next day’s destination: Horseshoe Bay!

 

I thought that our day in and around St. George's was great. The only disappointment was the shopping (or lack of) in the town but I was told that Hamilton is better for that anyway. We only needed to pick up a few gifts so we decided to take a trip to the capital city on the third day.

 

Up Next: Day 5, Bermuda

[ChampionCruiser]

Whew, that took a while to finish. I'll start typing up day 5 and will post again as soon as I can :).

[julia]

Whew, that took a while to finish. I'll start typing up day 5 and will post again as soon as I can :).

 

And your audience will be waiting! :):):)

 

Thanks for such an enjoyable review!

[maddea20]

Yes yes 2 1/2 more weeks for me me me me meeeeee.

 

Keep it coming.... I'll be doing your exact Bermuda itinerary. St. George 1st day, Horseshoe Bay 2nd day, Hamilton the 3rd day. :D:D

[g8rfan94]

We are about a week and a half away from our trip. Your review and pics are fantastic. It makes us all the more anxious for our trip (in a good way)

 

Thanks for taking the time to share. We really appreciate it :)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the review of your cruise. Great pictures.

[librarylady19]

Gorgeous photos of Bermuda! Didn't think I could get any mire excited about visiting but your photos really capture the picturesque quality of the island. We are planning to head to St. George our first afternoon and will follow your itinerary (minus the detour I hope!!).

 

Thanks for all your efforts, I knowit is very labor-intensive having done a couple of photo reviews but it is greatly appreciated.

[L11]

I have never been to Bermuda but your pictures and commentary make we wish it was on the schedule! Thanks for the great review. I'm waiting anxiously for the rest.

 

Linda

[fritzi164]

We also cruised on summit, first week in June.

Enjoyed all your pictures.

What type of camera did you use, and did you edit them?

The sharpness and color were lovely.

Would love to hear back on how you achieved such great results,

Looks like the great weather and blue skies helped.

Our weather first week in June was not quite as good, still had

A great time..

[dln929]

We're on the Summit this September and I feel like you're giving us our own personal tutorial. Thank you very much and keep it coming!

[cybergranny]

This review is amazing. I find myself waiting on tenterhooks for your next posting. I am taking notes and we will probably just follow in your footsteps on our cruise on July 15th. Many thanks for all the wonderful pictures. Celebrity should use yours for their promotions!

[ChampionCruiser]

We also cruised on summit, first week in June.

Enjoyed all your pictures.

What type of camera did you use, and did you edit them?

The sharpness and color were lovely.

Would love to hear back on how you achieved such great results,

Looks like the great weather and blue skies helped.

Our weather first week in June was not quite as good, still had

A great time..

 

For this cruise I used a Coolpix L series camera. Not the cheapest but nothing too fancy. I played around with the settings on the camera but didn't edit afterwards.

[fritzi164]

Thanks, is that an slr or just one of your basic point and shoots?

Again, congratulations on your graduation and thanks for sharing...

[sonsami]

For this cruise I used a Coolpix L series camera. Not the cheapest but nothing too fancy. I played around with the settings on the camera but didn't edit afterwards.

 

Count me in as another who is very much enjoying your review and beautiful photos.

 

I am on the Summit on this itinerary this August and based on your photos, am planning a day in St. George and Tobacco Bay.

 

(I was on this trip last August as well but it was during the holidays of Emancipation Day and Somers Day so we kept the travelling around to a minimum).

 

Thanks again for taking the time and congrats on your graduation.

[ChampionCruiser]

Thanks for all of the comments. It is time consuming but I enjoy reliving the cruise! And now for my favorite day of the trip...

 

Day 5: Bermuda

 

I woke up Thursday morning to more beautiful Bermudian weather. The forecast called for a slight chance of rain but it looked like our beach day would be unaffected.

 

 

My sister and I had made specific plans the night before. We decided to take the route 7 bus to the Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse and make our way to Horseshoe Bay from there. I’ve always liked lighthouses and couldn’t pass this one up since it’s on the way. I’ve been to every lighthouse in NC and a few others in the U.S. and this was my chance to add my first international one to the list.

 

I enjoyed the ferry ride more, but it was nice seeing the island by road. The bus dropped us off around a ten minute walk from the light.

 

 

It’s an uphill road and there isn’t a sidewalk, so we had to watch out for cars.

 

 

It was a scenic little trek, though.

 

 

By the time we reached the lighthouse, we realized that flip flops were NOT the best choice in footwear. If we only knew how much we would end up walking by the end of the day, we might have given up then.

 

At any rate, we reached the park without any trouble.

 

[ChampionCruiser]

We visited the gift shop and paid the $2.50 pp admission price to climb the tower and also stocked up on some water. It felt a lot warmer after walking in the sun.

 

I’ve climbed a lot taller, but Gibb’s Hill light is still pretty impressive, especially considering its age.

 

 

It was neat to read some of the history of this 166 year old light before climbing. There were also small exhibits on each landing.

 

 

It seemed like more than 185 steps to reach the top and it was a little nerve-racking. The worst part was passing people on their way down because there isn’t much room at all. We learned to listen and wait at the landing for them to pass.

 

 

Still, we eventually made it to the top!

 

[ChampionCruiser]

The ticket price was definitely worth it. On a clear day like this one you can basically see the entire island.

 

 

The cruise ships looked miniscule back at the Dockyard.

 

 

The view was great…

 

 

…but don’t look down :).

 

 

After a few minutes at the top we decided to climb down. We were ready for the beach!

 

[ChampionCruiser]

We said goodbye to the Lighthouse and moved on. We were ready to see why everyone always talks about Horseshoe Bay.

 

 

 

When we got off the bus earlier we asked the driver if we should wait for another one or walk to Horseshoe Bay. He told us that we were young so walking wouldn’t be a problem. That should have been a warning but we didn’t take it and the distance between Gibb's Hill and Horshoe was A LOT longer than we thought! The good news is that it was totally worth it.

 

We passed a lot of houses and met a lovely lady who asked if we needed any help. She told us the easiest way to reach Horseshoe and also where to make a pit stop along the way. She said there was a secluded beach off the main road that was almost always empty. It was tricky to find and we wouldn’t have known where to go without her help.

 

Instead of following the road, we turned off into a residential area and found an alleyway that led to some very steep stairs down to a small beach.

 

 

I wouldn’t mind living here...

 

 

The stairs led straight down to the beach and it was completely empty, like she had promised.

 

 

I was sick of stairs by this point, but all of the walking paid off.

 

[ChampionCruiser]

We felt like we were on our own private island. The water was calm and it was very quiet. We would have stayed here the entire day if we had our own chairs.

 

 

It wasn’t the worst place to accidentally find, for sure.

 

 

We enjoyed “our” beach for around thirty minutes before deciding to move on. We were pretty tired and the desire for lounge chairs was too strong.

 

Here we go again…

 

 

I snapped one last picture of our private little oasis before moving on: