Bermuda experience

[evelyn51]

Hamilton vs St. George's?

 

If you had to choose.

[jsf]

For what?

[jbethel11]

20 minutes ago, evelyn51 said:

Hamilton vs St. George's?

 

If you had to choose.

St. George, since I haven't been. I have been to Kings Wharf (the official port of Hamilton), twice, however St. George looks more rustic and island like. 

[George C]

Like both and easy ferry ride to get from one to the other, but prefer Hamilton for all the bars and restaurants.

[Charles4515]

4 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

St. George, since I haven't been. I have been to Kings Wharf (the official port of Hamilton), twice, however St. George looks more rustic and island like. 

 

In Bermuda you can dock in Hamiltion, St.George's or the Royal Navy Dockyard. King's Wharf is located at the Royal Naval Dockyard, not Hamiltion. King's Wharf is not the official port of Hamiltion. 

Edited June 25, 2019 by Charles4515

[jbethel11]

4 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

Nope, Hamiltion is it's own port. In Bermuda you can dock in Hamiltion, St.George's of the Royal Navy Dockyard. King's Wharf is located at the Royal Naval Dockyard. 

Yep, you are right! I have never seen a cruise ship port Hamilton, but have seen ships registered to Hamilton.

[daninwi]

If you chose to go to Hamilton, and have the opportunity, I highly recommend heading to The Little Venice in Hamilton.  Although we visited Bermuda via air and not a cruise, we wound up there twice.  The pasta flambeed in the wheel of parmesan was amazing!  

[George C]

All smaller ships can dock in Hamilton, we did about 5 years ago on a smaller hal ship , docking there is great walking distance to lots of restaurants and bars. No ships dock at st George,they would need to tender , decades ago some ships would do st George for a day then Hamilton for a couple.

[Charles4515]

19 minutes ago, George C said:

All smaller ships can dock in Hamilton, we did about 5 years ago on a smaller hal ship , docking there is great walking distance to lots of restaurants and bars. No ships dock at st George,they would need to tender , decades ago some ships would do st George for a day then Hamilton for a couple.

 

Ships do dock in St. George’s. All they need to do is fit thru the cut. The HAL ship ( Veendam) was supposed to dock in St. George’s but they added cabins aft after they announced the itinerary and did not account for the added draft. There are cruise ships that dock in Hamilton and St. George’s. Below is a cruise ship docked at Pennos Wharf in St. George’s. 

 

 

[George C]

Thanks, ships need to be pretty small veendam is not big at all. 

[rafinmd]

It would be nice if Empress did some cruises to Hamilton.

 

Roy

[George C]

Ship pictured is pretty small , I see it’s a old renaissance ship , we did that or a sister ship in Europe in 2001 right before line failed, very nice ship .

[kearney]

Most ships dock at Dock Yard... on the western end of the island. You might take the Ferry to St George and take a public back... I believe you have to change buses in Hamilton... then.. if you don't transfer... you can walk a few blocks from the bus terminal..down to front street... check out bars and restaurants there ... and then take the ferry back to dock yard. If you do transfer..see if you can take a bus that goes along the south shore .... for a beautiful view..... or if you haven't seen much of Hamilton...you can take a bus that goes along the harbour road... will have nice view of Hamilton from the other side of the water. St Georges is a small town compared to Hamilton... both are nice to see.... It has been a number of years since I have been... but if you google "public transportation bermuda" you will find a few government sites dealing with bus routes and fares and such.

[Ocean Boy]

8 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

It would be nice if Empress did some cruises to Hamilton.

 

Roy

Empress used to. We were on Celebrity's Horizon and were docked in Hamilton with Empress. Maybe with cruises to Cuba being disrupted RCI could consider bringing her back on her old Bermuda runs to Hamilton? It is such a convenient location to be docked in.

[Charles4515]

Empress used to. We were on Celebrity's Horizon and were docked in Hamilton with Empress. Maybe with cruises to Cuba being disrupted RCI could consider bringing her back on her old Bermuda runs to Hamilton? It is such a convenient location to be docked in.

Horizon and Zenith used dock in both St. George’s and Hamilton. Veendam has been doing Cuba cruises. It would be nice if Veendam returned to to Hamilton.


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[Charles4515]

Thanks, ships need to be pretty small veendam is not big at all. 

The problem with Veendam and St. George’s was that the added tonnage from the added cabins increased the draft. Celebrity Horizion and Zenith used to call at St. George’s every week.


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[George C]

Would like to see Veendam do nyc to Bermuda like it did in past docking in Hamilton.

[Charles4515]

Ship pictured is pretty small , I see it’s a old renaissance ship , we did that or a sister ship in Europe in 2001 right before line failed, very nice ship .

Yes, that is an R ship. It is small, although I would not say pretty small. Celebrity Zenith was larger, 47,000 tons and 1800 passengers. I was on her 4 times when she docked in St. George’s. In August I will be in St. George’s docked on another R ship Oceania Insignia. Loved those itineraries that did both St. George’s and Hamilton and looking forward to doing that agian. I really would not pick between them. St. George’s is a World Heritage Site and historic. Hamilton is commercial with shops and restaurants, easy access to the rest of Bermuda.

Funny question to me to pick one or the other! I was in Bermuda at King’s Wharf the week before last and didn’t do either. I did beaches, Horseshoe Bay and Warwick Long Bay.

[Charles4515]

Would like to see Veendam do nyc to Bermuda like it did in past docking in Hamilton.

 

I would too. I did Veendam twice out of NYC and would do her again if they brought her back.

[Charles4515]

St Georges is a small town compared to Hamilton... both are nice to see....

 

I agree both are nice to see. I think it is funny to call St. George’s a small town compared to Hamilton. Both are small towns but the commercial area of Hamilton makes it seem city like. Population of St. George’s is 2,600. Population of Hamilton is about 3,600, but about 13,000 work there during the day, during the week.

 

[jascruise]

We've been on Royal and Celebrity ships that docked in St. George's and Hamilton, years ago.  Getting through The Cut was quite an experience.  Standing on/above the bow, you would swear that there's NO WAY this ship is gonna get through!  But it did.  Thankfully.

 

 

[Maplemoose]

We were to both a couple of years ago and in Hamilton they had a free walking tour with the town crier. Excellent and over 2 hours long. Larger and more shopping and such in Hamilton and also seemed safer with some roads in St. George with small or no sidewalks and cars whizzing by. The highlights in St. George are some old churches and heritage buildings plus the "dunking of the wench ceremony", either a hoot or politically incorrect depending on your sense of humour. You may want to google and check if Hamilton still has the free walking tour. 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, Maplemoose said:

We were to both a couple of years ago and in Hamilton they had a free walking tour with the town crier. Excellent and over 2 hours long. Larger and more shopping and such in Hamilton and also seemed safer with some roads in St. George with small or no sidewalks and cars whizzing by. The highlights in St. George are some old churches and heritage buildings plus the "dunking of the wench ceremony", either a hoot or politically incorrect depending on your sense of humour. You may want to google and check if Hamilton still has the free walking tour. 

 

They have the free walking tour. Reservations are required. http://www.cityofhamilton.bm/things_to_do/city_tours/city_of_hamilton_walking_tour.php

 

The ducking of the wench in St. George’s begins at 12 noon. The ducking happens around 12:30. I never found the streets to be unsafe and Water Street is pedestrian only during the day. 

 

[Sizzlechest]

I'm not sure what the OP is asking, but here's my two cents...

 

Hamilton is a little city with more going on, but quite frankly, there isn't much to do. St. George is more rustic, but unless you're doing a tour, not much to do unless you have an itinerary in mind.

 

Some general comments about Bermuda: Do NOT do excursions through the cruise line. Bermuda's currency is locked to the US dollar. Credit cards shouldn't hit you up for a 3% foreign currency fee. There are lots of places at the dockyards you can do excursions if you so choose like glass bottom boat or snorkeling. The cabs are regulated, so no scams. The public transportation is great. There are ferries and buses at reasonable rates.

[Ocean Boy]

7 hours ago, Sizzlechest said:

 Bermuda's currency is locked to the US dollar. Credit cards shouldn't hit you up for a 3% foreign currency fee. 

Foreign transaction fees are just that. And Bermuda is a foreign country. It doesn't matter whose currency it is pegged to.