Boston Cruise Port Oct. 2021

[latebloomer56]

Anybody here if Boston will be allowing NCL to cruise from Boston to Bermuda this Oct.?

 

[princeton123211]

2 hours ago, latebloomer56 said:

Anybody here if Boston will be allowing NCL to cruise from Boston to Bermuda this Oct.?

I don't think its been totally ruled out but it isn't likely-- especially with the size of ship that NCL uses to go to Bermuda. 

 

The government of Bermuda has granted the right to operate cruises from Bermuda to both RCCL and now Viking. The RCCL itinerary will depart from Bermuda and sail to Royal Caribbean's private island and return back to Bermuda. The Viking itinerary will sail between Hamilton, St Georges, and Dockyard-- never leaving the island except for 2 sea days. 

[latebloomer56]

19 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

I don't think its been totally ruled out but it isn't likely-- especially with the size of ship that NCL uses to go to Bermuda. 

 

The government of Bermuda has granted the right to operate cruises from Bermuda to both RCCL and now Viking. The RCCL itinerary will depart from Bermuda and sail to Royal Caribbean's private island and return back to Bermuda. The Viking itinerary will sail between Hamilton, St Georges, and Dockyard-- never leaving the island except for 2 sea days. 

Can't fly to Bermuda for our trip :(. Hope that changes with 5 of us RT air plus the first night hotel just don't see it happening for us. The cruise is paid 100% or wouldn't be able to do this either.

Thanks

[Nitemare]

If we can get up to 75% or so vaccinated and Bermuda allows it and they have some way of verifying vaccination status, I can't 100% rule out cruises leaving from Boston this fall.

 

But if you made me bet, I'd want at least 4-1 odds to put my money on Yes

[princeton123211]

On 4/9/2021 at 8:01 AM, latebloomer56 said:

Can't fly to Bermuda for our trip :(. Hope that changes with 5 of us RT air plus the first night hotel just don't see it happening for us

I believe both cruise lines are offering discounted airfare-- I haven't looked into it too much but thats what I heard when I read the announcement. And if it was booked through the cruise line you technically wouldn't have to fly in the night before as the ship would wait for you if there was a delay. 

[navybankerteacher]

On 4/12/2021 at 1:01 PM, princeton123211 said:

I believe both cruise lines are offering discounted airfare-- I haven't looked into it too much but thats what I heard when I read the announcement. And if it was booked through the cruise line you technically wouldn't have to fly in the night before as the ship would wait for you if there was a delay. 

Of course, someone living in Mass. would strongly prefer a Boston embarkation.  While I was never a great fan of NCL, they did have ideal itineraries for their smaller ships which did not have to go to that Dockyard tourist trap.  I had a couple - on the Dream and the Majesty - alongside at St. George for three nights.

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course, someone living in Mass. would strongly prefer a Boston embarkation. 

We did Veendam from Boston to Bermuda once and it also was a great size ship that could dock right in Hamilton. 

[George C]

On 4/20/2021 at 12:10 PM, princeton123211 said:

We did Veendam from Boston to Bermuda once and it also was a great size ship that could dock right in Hamilton. 

It’s great docking in Hamilton, we did same ship from nyc years ago. I think there is a good chance it will sail.

[Expat Cruise]

It is a nice cruise if it happens. The first day and last day can be cold and windy... It is late Fall in New England. 

[amberjohn]

On 4/8/2021 at 10:25 AM, latebloomer56 said:

Anybody here if Boston will be allowing NCL to cruise from Boston to Bermuda this Oct.?

 

I had herd that there would be no NCL cruises from Boston until 2022.

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, amberjohn said:

I had herd that there would be no NCL cruises from Boston until 2022.

Per NCL's website their first scheduled cruise from Boston is on the Norwegian Pearl to Bermuda on April 8, 2022.

[Janet524]

On 4/22/2021 at 11:17 AM, George C said:

It’s great docking in Hamilton, we did same ship from nyc years ago. I think there is a good chance it will sail.

Sadly, the days of docking in Hamilton are gone.  The cruise terminal was torn down several years ago.  All ship now dock only at the Royal Navy Dockyards.  I remember how nice it was to be docked right downtown in Hamilton.  I also remember sailing on Celebrity Horizon and going through the cut to get into St. George.  You could almost reach out and touch the rocks as you went through the cut.

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Janet524 said:

Sadly, the days of docking in Hamilton are gone.  The cruise terminal was torn down several years ago.  All ship now dock only at the Royal Navy Dockyards.  I remember how nice it was to be docked right downtown in Hamilton.  I also remember sailing on Celebrity Horizon and going through the cut to get into St. George.  You could almost reach out and touch the rocks as you went through the cut.

Not correct.
 

 Oceania, Windstar and Silver Sea all have Bermuda itineraries calling at St. George and mooring alongside Front Street in Hamilton.  It is just that the gross heffalumps of the seas, which now largely dominate cruising, are too fat (in addition to being too crowded) to call at many of the more attractive ports.

Edited October 11, 2021 by navybankerteacher

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, Janet524 said:

Sadly, the days of docking in Hamilton are gone.  The cruise terminal was torn down several years ago.  All ship now dock only at the Royal Navy Dockyards.  I remember how nice it was to be docked right downtown in Hamilton.  I also remember sailing on Celebrity Horizon and going through the cut to get into St. George.  You could almost reach out and touch the rocks as you went through the cut.

You're wrong about the days of docking in Hamilton being gone.

While the cruise terminal at berth 1 was torn down, the berth 5/6 terminal is still there and in use. Viking Ocean homeported from there all summer doing an all Bermuda plus sea days itinerary.

Assuming next summer's planned cruise schedules hold up Oceania will resume cruises from NY calling on both Hamilton and St. George as they had done for a couple of years prior to the pandemic. I'm sure some other smaller high-end ships including those mentioned  by @navybankerteacherwill be making occasional calls there too as has been done in the past.

Edited October 11, 2021 by njhorseman

[GTJ]

5 hours ago, Janet524 said:

Sadly, the days of docking in Hamilton are gone.

As has been noted by others, there remain "some" cruises that serve Hamilton. And while that remains technically the case, you're right that the old glory days of steamships transporting passengers to and from Bermuda, and docking in Hamilton, are over. Some might argue that Furness Bermuda suspending its regular service between New York and Hamilton in 1966 was the beginning of the end. The vessels still calling at Hamilton are largely the smaller ones, with the higher-priced fares, and attempting to re-live those glory days is typically expensive proposition that only a few can enjoy. The rest of, ordained to the mass market megaliners, will be docked at the King's Wharf (or maybe St. George's). When we last in Bermuda, in 2019, we were able to cruise to and from Hamilton itself only because we traveled round-trip on a Hamilton Harbor "cruise" from the city centre ferry terminal . . . but otherwise we had to travel each of the four days we were there by bus or ferry between Hamilton and our vessel docked at King's Wharf.

[njhorseman]

23 minutes ago, GTJ said:

The vessels still calling at Hamilton are largely the smaller ones, with the higher-priced fares, and attempting to re-live those glory days is typically expensive proposition that only a few can enjoy. The rest of, ordained to the mass market megaliners, will be docked at the King's Wharf (or maybe St. George's).

It can only be the smaller ships with more expensive fares because the larger mass market ships are too big to enter Hamilton Harbor.

 

No...those mass market ships  can't dock in St. George's as even some ships that are small enough to dock in Hamilton are too big to pass through Town Cut to dock in St. George's .  A perfect relatively recent example is Holland America's Veendam, which when it was advertised as providing cruises that called on Hamilton and St. George's turned out to be incapable of navigating Town cut. At first they just anchored at Murray's Anchorage and tendered passengers to St. George's but subsequently cut St. George's from the itinerary altogether and just docked in Hamilton during their entire Bermuda call. I believe there is not a single remaining mass market ship capable of docking in St. George.

[GTJ]

9 hours ago, njhorseman said:

I believe there is not a single remaining mass market ship capable of docking in St. George.

In looking at 2022 schedules, all I see calling at St. George's are Regent Seven Seas, Oceania, Seabourn, Windstar, and Silversea, all part of that upper echelon. Yet, Royal Caribbean International has a page on its website, urging potential passengers to "cruise to St. George island, Bermuda." If my memory from a 2019 visit remains accurate, Royal Caribbean operated, or arranged for, a smaller vessel to ferry its passengers from King's Wharf to St. George's, but would that really count? Is it the same as Holland America Line tendering its passengers into St. George's from an off-shore anchorage? In any cases, the 2022 schedule affirms that the masses are relegated to King's Wharf, and only the smaller, more intimate, and expensive, lines can call elsewhere in Bermuda!

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, GTJ said:

In looking at 2022 schedules, all I see calling at St. George's are Regent Seven Seas, Oceania, Seabourn, Windstar, and Silversea, all part of that upper echelon. Yet, Royal Caribbean International has a page on its website, urging potential passengers to "cruise to St. George island, Bermuda." If my memory from a 2019 visit remains accurate, Royal Caribbean operated, or arranged for, a smaller vessel to ferry its passengers from King's Wharf to St. George's, but would that really count? Is it the same as Holland America Line tendering its passengers into St. George's from an off-shore anchorage? In any cases, the 2022 schedule affirms that the masses are relegated to King's Wharf, and only the smaller, more intimate, and expensive, lines can call elsewhere in Bermuda!

It was NCL, not Royal Caribbean that ran a private ferry to take its passengers from the Dockyard to St. George's. That service was part of their contractual agreement with Bermuda for docking rights. They bought a former Bahamian ferry, the Bo Hengy Ii, which they later refurbished and renamed to Spirit of St. George .

[Janet524]

20 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Not correct.
 

 Oceania, Windstar and Silver Sea all have Bermuda itineraries calling at St. George and mooring alongside Front Street in Hamilton.  It is just that the gross heffalumps of the seas, which now largely dominate cruising, are too fat (in addition to being too crowded) to call at many of the more attractive ports.

I stand corrected.  The cruise lines I'm aware of (and can afford) haven't docked in Hamilton for years.  Thanks for showing me the error of my ways so quickly.  🙂

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, Janet524 said:

The cruise lines I'm aware of (and can afford) haven't docked in Hamilton for years.

For what its worth (and I would never presume to know your personal budget) but the Oceania sailings are quite reasonable in comparison to the larger ship lines. Over the same dates in July that Oceania sails there, NCL is charging between $970-$1100pp on 7 day trips, RCCL is around $700 for a six day. Oceania is charging $1499 for a 7 day.

 

Sure, its a bit of a premium but its not huge. We've found these sailings to be a tremendous value with the small ship, docking in Hamilton + St Georges, and they often include things like free bar and internet in that price. Also worth considering (and I have to go back and see if I can find what we paid) but I remember those trips on Horizon not being cheap-- actually much more expensive than a similar cruise today.  

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Janet524 said:

I stand corrected.  The cruise lines I'm aware of (and can afford) haven't docked in Hamilton for years.  Thanks for showing me the error of my ways so quickly.  🙂

Oceania is not that much more expensive than the mass market lines - in fact, depending upon accommodations selected, their fares are close to comparable.   Cruising is like much else in life - you get what you are willing to pay for — so when we go out to eat, it won’t be  to an inexpensive chain restaurant which lacks ambience and food quality, and when we cruise it won’t be on a mass market behemoth which doesn’t really go where we want it to go.  Yes — we do it less often, but enjoy it more.

[GTJ]

10 hours ago, njhorseman said:

It was NCL, not Royal Caribbean that ran a private ferry to take its passengers from the Dockyard to St. George's.

In thinking about it some more, what I observed was almost certainly would have been Norwegian Cruise Line, not Royal Caribbean International. We were in Bermuda for four days via Celebrity Cruises from Bayonne, and it being part of the Royal Caribbean Group, there would not have been a "competing" Royal Caribbean International vessel at the same time. You sparked my memory into recalling that it was Norwegian Cruise Line that was operating a competing service out of Manhattan, so it must have been that line's small vessel that I saw ferrying its passengers to St. George's. The important point, though, is that none of these carriers are operating their megavessels into St. George's.

[GTJ]

7 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Sure, [Oceania is] a bit of a premium but its not huge. We've found these sailings to be a tremendous value with the small ship, docking in Hamilton + St Georges, and they often include things like free bar and internet in that price.

You are very much on point that each of us have our own financial limitations, even though the premium might not be extreme. We traveled to Bermuda in 2019 via Celebrity Cruises, 7-nights (with 4 days in Bermuda) for $846 per person. By having budgeted responsibly for a few years we were able to afford that amount, but we would not have been able to afford the higher Oceania fares. We don't drink, don't use internet enroute, and neither of us were are fazed by using public transportation service, so the Oceania extras would not have been critical for us. We would like to be able to afford the "premium" lines--it is the great intimacy of a smaller vessel that I find most appealing--and even though the premium is not huge, for the time being we cannot. For those who can, it may be a worthwhile and reasonable expenditure. For us, however, it is choice between an inexpensive cruise and no cruise at all.

[princeton123211]

On 10/11/2021 at 5:18 PM, njhorseman said:

I believe there is not a single remaining mass market ship capable of docking in St. George.

I believe you are right, at least mass market ships that could ever realistically be in service there. The old Royal Viking triplets could-- I believe I saw Albatross (it could have been Black Watch-- I could only see the funnel) there in 2018 but looks like all three are being scrapped right now. 

 

You can make an argument that Oceania Insignia is sort of a hybrid between mass market and luxury-- she doesn't cleanly fit into either categories (hence how appealing she can be). The entire Azamara fleet can do it-- they are in a similar category as Oceania although probably more mass market. I wouldn't put Windstar in the luxury category and their three former (stretched) Seabourn sisters could easily do it. 

 

The old Astoria is still with us, could do it, and is mass market but she's laid up. The former Prinsendam could as well I believe (slightly smaller than the Celebrity ships). Deutschland is small enough as well but unlikely to ever get that way. I believe Empress of the Seas could call on St George's, but she's now been sold out of RCCL to an Indian cruise line.

 

Both Horizon and Zenith are still afloat, although it's questionable what will happen to them in terms of being scrapped or brought back into service. Wouldn't it be amazing to bring one of them back on the run (after a substantial refit)?

 

But aside from those most everything else is too big. 

[njhorseman]

18 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

I believe you are right, at least mass market ships that could ever realistically be in service there. The old Royal Viking triplets could-- I believe I saw Albatross (it could have been Black Watch-- I could only see the funnel) there in 2018 but looks like all three are being scrapped right now. 

 

You can make an argument that Oceania Insignia is sort of a hybrid between mass market and luxury-- she doesn't cleanly fit into either categories (hence how appealing she can be). The entire Azamara fleet can do it-- they are in a similar category as Oceania although probably more mass market. I wouldn't put Windstar in the luxury category and their three former (stretched) Seabourn sisters could easily do it. 

 

The old Astoria is still with us, could do it, and is mass market but she's laid up. The former Prinsendam could as well I believe (slightly smaller than the Celebrity ships). Deutschland is small enough as well but unlikely to ever get that way. I believe Empress of the Seas could call on St George's, but she's now been sold out of RCCL to an Indian cruise line.

 

Both Horizon and Zenith are still afloat, although it's questionable what will happen to them in terms of being scrapped or brought back into service. Wouldn't it be amazing to bring one of them back on the run (after a substantial refit)?

 

But aside from those most everything else is too big. 

I'm excluding Oceania and Azamara from "mass market" . Having cruised on both lines (Azamara when under Royal Caribbean ownership) they are clearly in a separate category that's above mass market though not on the true luxury level of say Regent, Seabourn, Crystal and the like.

 

The last true mass market ship in active use operated by a cruise line based in North America that was capable of docking in St. George's was the Pacific Princess, which was sold to Azamara earlier this year. All eight R ships are now owned by either Azamara or Oceania, four by each.

 

Loved the Zenith...Sunday departures from Manhattan to Bermuda.