Best ship to Bermuda for family with kids ages 14, 10 and 6?

[loveysbydesign]

Finally hoping to take a cruise to Bermuda in 2013.

Can anyone tell me what ship would be the best for us, kids ages 14, 10 and 6 at the time of travel? Is there a better month to travel with better weather?

Also what are a few "do not miss" things to do with them on the island? TIA :D

[SailBadtheSinner]

I can't help you with which ship, but I'll provide the steps I use in selecting a cruise ship. Also, I don't have any children to please.

 

Steps:

1. Cruise must be 7 nights in length;
   
2. Cruse does not include any weekend days, because of reduced bus/ferry schedules;
   
3. Cruise does not include visiting during a Bermudian public holiday, because of reduced bus/ferry schedules and store closures;
   
4. Tie breaker 1 - cruise ship that provides longest stay in Bermuda;
   
5. Tie breaker 2 - port of departure.
   
6. Tie breaker 3 - cruise ship that has the less passengers;
   

These steps work for me, YMMV.

As for weather, July and August are hot and humid; other months, less so; hurricane season, 6/1 - 11/30. I like May.

 

There is a 'to do' list here.

 

 

SBtS

[njhorseman]

NCL will have a brand new ship, the Breakaway, sailing from NY to Bermuda in 2013. It will depart weekly during the season on Sunday for a 7 night cruise.

 

Royal Caribbean will continue to have the Explorer of the Seas sailing from Bayonne, NJ in 2013. For most of the season this ship only does 5 night cruises to Bermuda. It only switches to 7 night cruises in late September and for the month of October.

 

Your children should be happy on either of the above , but NCL has the superior itinerary for most of the season, and the brand new ship will have all the latest bells and whistles, including substantially expanded entertainment and dining options.

 

Celebrity will offer 7 night cruises from Bayonne during the summer months, but their cruises often are a bit more expensive than NCL's and Royal Caribbean's, and the atmosphere on the ship is stuffier and more formal than either NCL or Royal...and the children's activities generally aren't as good...for that matter the adult entertainment isn't as good either.

 

We've sailed quite frequently on all three lines...including many cruises to Bermuda, and I would rank the NCL cruise #1 when you have children, with Royal Caribbean second. Also NCL's Freestyle dining works very well in Bermuda, where you're in port for three days and can come and go as you please. It's nice not to worry about being on board at a particular time for your dinner seating. Royal and Celebrity both offer their own versions of NCL's Freestyle, but its availability is quite limited and most passengers will have to take one the fixed seatings.

 

Royal Caribbean also offers cruises to Bermuda from Baltimore, but I'm not familiar with the ship sailing from that port...although my general comments on Royal Caribbean should still apply.

[Keith1010]

I highly recommend Celebrity.

 

To me great for the family including the kids and the parents.

 

Keith

[RedDragon90]

I have been to Bermuda on NCL, Royal, and Celebrity...all are excellent...for kids I would pick NCL because of the free styling dining...it is a nice option to eat when you want...just my thoughts of course...

 

 

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[sunsetbeachgal]

We just returned from a Bermuda cruise on the Enchantment of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) that sailed out of Baltimore. We were very pleased. Next year they are changing ships and I think the Radiance is doing it. All of these ships go to the Dockyard, so as others said, pick based on port times, price, etc.

[loveysbydesign]

We live in NE PA so NYC, philly and Baltimore aren't too far away!

[luvfamvaca]

Finally hoping to take a cruise to Bermuda in 2013.

Can anyone tell me what ship would be the best for us, kids ages 14, 10 and 6 at the time of travel? Is there a better month to travel with better weather?

Also what are a few "do not miss" things to do with them on the island? TIA :D

 

We booked Royal Caribbean's Explorer June 22, 2013 out of Bayonne. It is only 5 days but we are in between summer camp jobs and the end of high school finals so it worked out perfect for our group! The ship is great and has everything to keep a family with all age groups busy! (plus we don't have to fly!) We sailed Adventure of the seas years ago with our family and loved it (almost identical ship)

Good luck & happy cruising! :D

[njhorseman]

We live in NE PA so NYC, philly and Baltimore aren't too far away!

 

There aren't cruises departing from Philadelphia any longer.

 

Several posters have listed the options available from NY, Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ and Baltimore...so you have plenty of choices.

[iheartbda]

OP, NJHoresman and SailBadtheSinner IMO have given good suggestions.:) We've sailed to Bermuda out of NY, NJ, Balt. and Phila. If I was you, I would limit my choices to sailing out of NY and NJ, closer for you than Balt. and Phila. no longer a choice.

 

One more thing to consider is when. If you are beach and water people, the water takes longer to warm up so it will be cooler at the beginning of the season. Conversely, it will not cool down quickly toward the end of the season so it will be warm. How are you with heat and humidity? Less of both at the beginning, most during high season and less toward the end.

[loveysbydesign]

We booked Royal Caribbean's Explorer June 22, 2013 out of Bayonne. It is only 5 days but we are in between summer camp jobs and the end of high school finals so it worked out perfect for our group! The ship is great and has everything to keep a family with all age groups busy! (plus we don't have to fly!) We sailed Adventure of the seas years ago with our family and loved it (almost identical ship)

Good luck & happy cruising! :D

June 22nd is our 17th anniversary! :)

[loveysbydesign]

OP, NJHoresman and SailBadtheSinner IMO have given good suggestions.:) We've sailed to Bermuda out of NY, NJ, Balt. and Phila. If I was you, I would limit my choices to sailing out of NY and NJ, closer for you than Balt. and Phila. no longer a choice.

 

One more thing to consider is when. If you are beach and water people, the water takes longer to warm up so it will be cooler at the beginning of the season. Conversely, it will not cool down quickly toward the end of the season so it will be warm. How are you with heat and humidity? Less of both at the beginning, most during high season and less toward the end.

 

We're used to the heat and humidity, I always tease my hubby that some days in the summer it's hotter where we live(near Allentown,PA) then it is in Orlando :D I'd prefer the water temp. to not be too cool, although we are used to cooler ocean temp.'s when we visit the NJ and MD shores.

 

Guess I will do some more hunting around and see what prices I can come up with for the 5 of us. We generally book 2 inside connecting rooms but would be willing to share one cabin if it's cheaper. I see the cruises to Bermuda are most $$ then the Bahama and Caribbean ones.

[luvfamvaca]

June 22nd is our 17th anniversary! :)

 

…another reason to go!:D

[luvfamvaca]

We heard going out of Bayonne is very simple, I don't know much about the NYC port I believe Norwegian and Carnival are there? I can tell you the Explorer is a great ship for families, from reading CC the crew is supposed to be one of the best, I think it was $999 outside/midship. Not too bad. :)

[njhorseman]

We heard going out of Bayonne is very simple, I don't know much about the NYC port I believe Norwegian and Carnival are there? I can tell you the Explorer is a great ship for families, from reading CC the crew is supposed to be one of the best, I think it was $999 outside/midship. Not too bad. :)

 

NCL leaves from Manhattan. Carnival doesn't sail to Bermuda from the NY area.

 

Since you're from Long Island, Manhattan is even easier to get to and closer than Bayonne...but parking is more expensive...$35 per day in Manhattan vs $19 in Bayonne.

[luvfamvaca]

NCL leaves from Manhattan. Carnival doesn't sail to Bermuda from the NY area.

 

Since you're from Long Island, Manhattan is even easier to get to and closer than Bayonne...but parking is more expensive...$35 per day in Manhattan vs $19 in Bayonne.

 

A friend of ours did the Bermuda Norwegian out of NYC and said it was a very easy port to get to, their cruise was 2 days longer but they were also at sea a little longer than us. We opted for the 5 night, we liked that there was only 1.5 day sailing there 1.5 sailing back 2 days in Bermuda, would love 3 days or more there but didn't want to sail too much longer than a day or day and a half. We have also sailed voyager class before and its perfect for our kids :)