Just not that much time on the Island!

[bsg5698]

A group of 12, 55+ year "youngs" are going to Bermuda via Grandeur of the Sea next month. This is our dilemma... we get to Kings Wharf at 3:00 PM and have reservations for the glass bottom boat cruise at 6:30. Dinner at 8:00. The next day we have reservations to go snorkeling from 1:30 to 4:00. We leave the NEXT day at noon! It looks to me we only have one afternoon AFTER snorkeling to do anything beyond King's Wharf. Knowing the size of our group and the short amount of time, what do the experts suggest? Should we go to St. George's or Hamilton or just head to Horseshoe Bay? Personally, I'm open to cancelling one of these excursions just to get a larger chuck of time to see the island...or just plan to return next year! Thanks for your suggestions!

[sebas030]

Hi,

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic,

 

There are plenty of excursion that combines glass bottom and snorkeling, i.e. : http://www.jessiejames.bm/ , Chloe ( captain and owner ) was great with us !

 

That would save you some time.

 

I would absolutely do a private taxi tour. You can find a van that accommodate 12. Or you could split the group in 2 and easily find 2 reputable tour guides for a 5 hour tour of the island...IMHO doing the private tour is a must for a first visit to the beautiful Island.

 

 

If you need more info, just ask here !

 

 

Have fun !

[jdarch]

Hi,

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic,

 

There are plenty of excursion that combines glass bottom and snorkeling, i.e. : http://www.jessiejames.bm/ , Chloe ( captain and owner ) was great with us !

That would save you some time.

 

Definitely agree. While fun, the afternoon snorkeling excursion is eating up your visit. There is so much to see above the waves! With limited time, I wouldn't bother with Hamilton - it's basically a business center - good for shopping, but you can do that in Dockyard your last morning.

We like to prowl on our own, so I'm not familiar with what excursions are offered; I think because they try to coordinate large groups (in addition to yours) they take up more time. For a beach, I would try to get to Horseshoe Beach (in the a.m - it gets crowded by midday); for an island walkabout in the afternoon, St Georges is beautiful. Perhaps you can get a tour that gives you time in each. At any rate, keep track of the threads on the local bus issues going to Horseshoe- waiting for a bus would be no fun.

Enjoy your cruise! :D

[Va. Plumber]

Winsome Tours offer a five hour tour of the island for $60.00 per person.

They have a 15 person van. I am booked with them for cruise in October.

[jdarch]

Winsome Tours offer a five hour tour of the island for $60.00 per person.

They have a 15 person van. I am booked with them for cruise in October.

 

Just checked the Winsome website. All their tours look pretty good, but the Sunset Dinner Tour sounds awesome! Tom Moore's Tavern is about as historical as it gets and very well rated - we might have to try that ourselves next time!

[wasiii]

.....it was a 6 day cruise with an overnight in Bermuda and a port day in Rhode Island.

 

We got to Bermuda about 1pm on Saturday. Spent the day walking around Hamilton and around 6pm alot of things were shutting down. Went back to the ship, spent the night on board and went back to Hamilton the next day, Sunday, only to find everything closed. We did manage to find a bar that was open broadcasting soccer and spent a while in there, then left Bermuda that afternoon.

 

Now that's a pretty much waste of a trip to Bermuda.

 

:eek:

 

wasiii

Edited August 19, 2014 by wasiii

[puddles99]

It really does come down to how you want to spend your time. I just spent the better part of a day with Ralph from WInsome Tours and it was time well spent. He has lots of stories to share, ensured we saw everything we wanted to see, and made the most of the day despite poor weather. We had a lovely lunch at a local place simply called "The Restaurant" in St. George's as well. Hope you enjoy Bermuda as much as we did!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[reno3]

Is Dockyard the same as King's Wharf :confused:

[$hip$hape]

Is Dockyard the same as King's Wharf :confused:

Yes, same:

 

http://www.explore-bermuda.com/kings-wharf-bermuda.html

[jdarch]

Is Dockyard the same as King's Wharf :confused:

 

Gets confusing doesn't it? "Royal Naval Dockyard" is the whole area at the tip of Ireland island; King's Wharf is the historic dock area; and Heritage Wharf is the new extension to the northwest that was added a few years ago so Dockyard could accommodate two cruise ships at once. Heritage Wharf had some modifications two years ago to fit even larger ships like the Breakaway. Most of the time, the larger cruise lines each reserve a particular area: Celebrity/RCCL uses Kings Wharf, NCL uses Heritage Wharf.

[reno3]

Thank you for the informaiton, very helpful.

[meatball_nyc]

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[meatball_nyc]

Also see this site:

 

http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_000029.htm

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[wasiii]

Gets confusing doesn't it? "Royal Naval Dockyard" is the whole area at the tip of Ireland island; King's Wharf is the historic dock area; and Heritage Wharf is the new extension to the northwest that was added a few years ago so Dockyard could accommodate two cruise ships at once. Heritage Wharf had some modifications two years ago to fit even larger ships like the Breakaway. Most of the time, the larger cruise lines each reserve a particular area: Celebrity/RCCL uses Kings Wharf, NCL uses Heritage Wharf.

 

.....if NCL always uses Heritage Wharf, why does NCL still use King's Wharf as the destination name on her itinerary? You would figure that NCL would want to separate themselves from the pack, no?

 

wasiii

[njhorseman]

.....if NCL always uses Heritage Wharf, why does NCL still use King's Wharf as the destination name on her itinerary? You would figure that NCL would want to separate themselves from the pack, no?

 

wasiii

 

It's just poor management quality control on NCL's part. There's no excuse for them to continue to say they dock at Kings Wharf when their normal berth has been at Heritage Wharf ever since it was built several years ago.

 

But I disagree about wanting to "separate themselves from the pack". The two berths are adjacent to each other so I'm not sure how using one name versus the other creates any meaningful separation of their product from anyone else's. Frankly "Kings Wharf" has been used incorrectly to mean Royal Naval Dockyard for so many years that lots of people really have no idea that it's just the name of a pier where cruise ships tie up and that Royal Naval Dockyard is the correct name of the complex where the two piers are located. There's a lot more to Royal Naval Dockyard than the two cruise ship piers.

Edited August 22, 2014 by njhorseman

[wasiii]

It's just poor management quality control on NCL's part. There's no excuse for them to continue to say they dock at Kings Wharf when their normal berth has been at Heritage Wharf ever since it was built several years ago.

 

But I disagree about wanting to "separate themselves from the pack". The two berths are adjacent to each other so I'm not sure how using one name versus the other creates any meaningful separation of their product from anyone else's. Frankly "Kings Wharf" has been used incorrectly to mean Royal Naval Dockyard for so many years that lots of people really have no idea that it's just the name of a pier where cruise ships tie up and that Royal Naval Dockyard is the correct name of the complex where the two piers are located. There's a lot more to Royal Naval Dockyard than the two cruise ship piers.

 

.....kind of a little deceptive marketing. They could say that they are at Heritage Wharf now and you might get a lot of non-NCL cruisers wanting to try out the other dock who did not know they were next to each other.

 

:rolleyes:

 

wasiii

Edited August 22, 2014 by wasiii

[ComeOnLetsGo]

A group of 12, 55+ year "youngs" are going to Bermuda via Grandeur of the Sea next month. This is our dilemma... we get to Kings Wharf at 3:00 PM and have reservations for the glass bottom boat cruise at 6:30. Dinner at 8:00. The next day we have reservations to go snorkeling from 1:30 to 4:00. We leave the NEXT day at noon! It looks to me we only have one afternoon AFTER snorkeling to do anything beyond King's Wharf. Knowing the size of our group and the short amount of time, what do the experts suggest? Should we go to St. George's or Hamilton or just head to Horseshoe Bay? Personally, I'm open to cancelling one of these excursions just to get a larger chuck of time to see the island...or just plan to return next year! Thanks for your suggestions!

 

I know you received some good information from other posters, however if you find that you still need some help, let me know and I'll help you as much as possible.

 

Your New Bermuda Friend

[Anubi]

Also see this site:

 

http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_000029.htm

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

 

Thanks for posting the link. We just decided to book a Bermuda cruise so I'm at the beginning of checking things out...always a fun thing to do. :D:D

[jdarch]

.....kind of a little deceptive marketing. They could say that they are at Heritage Wharf now and you might get a lot of non-NCL cruisers wanting to try out the other dock who did not know they were next to each other.

 

:rolleyes:

 

wasiii

 

Hm...not really deceptive - all just shades of where it is.

As in saying the departure is from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal vs Pier 88 vs. New York.