Do all ships sail around the island?

[klepton]

I was on the Liberty of the Seas a few weeks ago that was in Bermuda for one day, and then left for St. Maarten. The ship did a magnificent route for sailaway where it hugged the shoreline all the way east and then turned south to head to the Caribbean. Unfortunately I missed this as DD made some friends at the pool, and I didn't want to force her back to the cabin just so I could sit on the balcony for sailaway.

 

That said, I'm going to do an NCL Breakaway cruise next summer, and I'm wondering if all ships take that same route (maybe it's the only channel for big ships?) or if the NYC/Boston ships take a more direct route north and skip that part.

 

Related question, do ships take that route when coming from the north and sailing in to port?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[dkjretired]

I was on the Liberty of the Seas a few weeks ago that was in Bermuda for one day, and then left for St. Maarten. The ship did a magnificent route for sailaway where it hugged the shoreline all the way east and then turned south to head to the Caribbean. Unfortunately I missed this as DD made some friends at the pool, and I didn't want to force her back to the cabin just so I could sit on the balcony for sailaway.

 

That said, I'm going to do an NCL Breakaway cruise next summer, and I'm wondering if all ships take that same route (maybe it's the only channel for big ships?) or if the NYC/Boston ships take a more direct route north and skip that part.

 

Related question, do ships take that route when coming from the north and sailing in to port?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

Probably the route you are talking about is taken by all the ships as there are many coral reefs around Bermuda and the harbor pilot has to take the ships in a certain way.

[klepton]

Well that would be great if all ships go this way... I'd love another shot at seeing it.

 

I looked around a bit more and found a map someone else posted of the Grandeur leaving Bermuda:

 

 

It was posted on a live trip report here.

 

That is the route we took, and then headed south. I may not have explained myself properly before, so wanted to add the map as visual clarification.

 

Perhaps this is the only channel out?

[biker@sea]

Yup 1 channel through reef . The reef circles whole island .

 

All the ships come in and out by way of St.. George area .

[iheartbda]

Yup 1 channel through reef . The reef circles whole island .

 

All the ships come in and out by way of St.. George area .

Actually, there is a second channel in the north that eventually merges with the other channel near St. George. They don't seem to use that one now but in 2007, the Grandeur of the Seas used the north channel, which BTW, is the deeper of the two.

Edited June 27, 2015 by iheartbda

[njhorseman]

According to this 2011 study, the ships do use the North Channel, which was also my personal impression . I can't recall any ship I've taken to Dockyard at least in recent years using the South Channel. When the Norwegian Dawn ran aground a few weeks ago it was definitely in the North Channel, and they intend to dredge the North Channel to accommodate the Anthem of the Seas.

 

http://www.marineandports.bm/Img/downloads/BMOC/Channel%20Study%20Handouts%20Oct%202011.pdf

Edited June 27, 2015 by njhorseman

[iheartbda]

NJH, I have no idea which channel was used on any of our cruises.:o I just know that I didn't like saying goodbye to Bermuda as the land disappeared in the distance..:(

Is it possible that the bigger ships use the north channel, since it's deeper, and the "smaller" ones use the other?

[klepton]

NJH, I have no idea which channel was used on any of our cruises.:o I just know that I didn't like saying goodbye to Bermuda as the land disappeared in the distance..:(

Is it possible that the bigger ships use the north channel, since it's deeper, and the "smaller" ones use the other?

 

Judging by that PDF, it would appear that it's the other way around. The study said that tier 4 ships (specifically calling out the Freedom class ships for RCL) weren't able to use the north channel. This might explain why the Liberty of the Seas (a freedom class ship) went out via the south channel when I was on it.

[njhorseman]

Judging by that PDF, it would appear that it's the other way around. The study said that tier 4 ships (specifically calling out the Freedom class ships for RCL) weren't able to use the north channel. This might explain why the Liberty of the Seas (a freedom class ship) went out via the south channel when I was on it.

 

That study was done in 2011. At that time Tier 1 to 3 ships were already using the North Channel. If IIRC they subsequently dredged the North Channel in order to accommodate the Norwegian Breakaway starting in 2013, which is 144,017 gross tons and has an 8.8 meter draft, but it will have to be dredged again before the Anthem of the Seas, which is 167,800 gross tons, but less draft than Breakaway at 8.5 meters, can come to Bermuda.

 

I think you missed an important sentence: "Use of the South Channel for cruise vessels up to Tier 2 requires deepening to -11.0 m CD." This means that the South Channel at the time wasn't even deep enough for a Tier 2 ship, much less a Tier 4.

 

PS...in rereading your original post I note that you didn't personally see how close you were to the shoreline. Since it's still possible to see parts of the North Shore from The North Channel, you could have been following that route and not the South Channel that the map of the Grandeur's route shows.

Edited June 28, 2015 by njhorseman

[njhorseman]

NJH, I have no idea which channel was used on any of our cruises.:o I just know that I didn't like saying goodbye to Bermuda as the land disappeared in the distance..:(

Is it possible that the bigger ships use the north channel, since it's deeper, and the "smaller" ones use the other?

 

I agree about not liking to say goodbye! It's actually fairly easy to determine which channel is being used when leaving Dockyard. A ship using the South Channel would head almost due east toward the North Shore and then follow the North Shore more or less in the same way the Orange Route Ferry to St. Gorge's does. It would be sailing fairly close to shore. A ship using the North Channel heads north when leaving Dockyard as if heading directly out to open water and then heads east, sailing much further from the shoreline than ships using the South Channel.

 

It's my understanding that only relatively smaller ships like the Grandeur can use the South Channel...that's why I'm puzzled by the OP's statement that the Liberty took this route...but you can still see the North Shore from parts of the North Channel after the ship turns east so the ship could actually have been in the North Channel without hugging the coastline.

[jaydog240011]

one way in one way out take around 1 hr

[klepton]

PS...in rereading your original post I note that you didn't personally see how close you were to the shoreline. Since it's still possible to see parts of the North Shore from The North Channel, you could have been following that route and not the South Channel that the map of the Grandeur's route shows.

 

I certainly can't say for sure. Most of the time I was sitting on the pool deck, I could see land through the lido windows and it looked very close, but looks can be deceiving.

 

By the time I got back to my room we were close to rounding the corner and heading south and I got a good look, we were definitely hugging the shoreline at that point. If I understand correctly, the north channel eventually merges into the south channel, so it's quite possible we had taken the north channel to that point and I just misjudged the distance.

[jollyjones]

To go back to the OP's question - ALL ships sail east along a north shore channel after leaving their berth at either Dockyard or Front St in Hamilton (once out of Hamilton Harbour) - this is, indeed, the only way out, they have to go the full length of the island to get through the reef. After going through Murrays Anchorage, then the Narrows (just off Fort St Catherine) and then through the channel out to deep water at the east end of the island, those heading to east coast ports (New York, Boston etc.) will turn to port and almost double back on themselves but outside the reef line, quite a long way offshore. Those heading on down to the Bahamas or the Caribbean will turn to starboard and go along the south shore outside the reef line which is much closer in on the south so the views of the island are spectacular.

Edited June 28, 2015 by jollyjones

[Keasel]

FWIW, Norwegian Dawn is currently in the north channel on the way to the Royal Navy Dockyard

 

http://www.portbermudawebcam.com