Shore Excursions - NCL Getaway to Bermuda

[Melody7]

Hi, everyone!

 

I'm booked on the Getaway from NYC to Bermuda in April 2022. I know it's still very early and A LOT is up in the air in the cruise/travel industry, but I am EXCITED to possibly make my first trip to Bermuda, so I had a question about listed shore excursions. When I log in to my NCL account, 34 chore excursion options appear, but none of those are available for the first day in Bermuda; the only ones available are for days two and three in port. The ship docks early in the AM, so I see no reason why there wouldn't be excursions that day. Am I being impatient and just need to wait for more excursions to be finalized and populated into the system? Or is this standard for a Bermuda cruise to not have any excursions on the first port day?

 

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

[ShelleyQT]

Cruise lines will always book excursions for every day they can.  It's a huge revenue source for them.  If there are none listed right now, it's probably because they are still negotiating with excursion vendors and maybe even the Bermuda government. 

 

I've taken cruises to Bermuda pre-covid, and there were always excursions offered.  However, as someone who has now been to Bermuda several times by sea and on land-based vacations (I just returned from a 10-day trip to Bermuda a few days ago), I would advise you to skip the excursions (if you're allowed to), and just do your planning yourself.  The island is REALLY small.  You can drive the entire length of the island in a car in a little more than an hour.  The bus system is very easy to use and the locals are extremely friendly and helpful.  It's a fairly short bus ride to any of a number of beautiful beaches, or you can take longer bus rides to Hamilton, the Crystal Caves, Swizzle Inn, etc.  

 

You could also take a ferry from the dockyard to Hamilton or to St. Georges.

 

One caveat is that the line for the first buses and ferry on the first day can be very long.  Get off the ship the earliest you can to beat the line.  You can learn a lot more about this on the Bermuda message board under Ports of Call:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/118-bermuda/

 

Finally, other options for getting around Bermuda are car rentals (of course), scooter rentals (very popular) or your could rent a Twizy.  A Twizy is a tiny two-person tandem electric car.  They are small with no trunk or storage, but we were able to carry snorkel gear, towels, a beach tent, and a cooler!  Here we are in our Twizy:  

[roger001]

Cruise there two years ago, soon as we docked we had an excursion already booked.  If it is available, I recommend the mini bus excursion guided tour.  About 4 or 5 hours and covers the entire island with stops at a few places.  It gives you the big picture of the place and you can then pick which you might want to visit later some more.  I would be hesitant to drive myself.  Only three main roads on the narrow island and traffic driving like crazy.   You can get a bus pass and the busses are easy to use.  Was one of our favorite cruises.  As someone said, too early to have all tours listed in detail.  

[Charles4515]

18 minutes ago, ShelleyQT said:

.  

 

You could also take a ferry from the dockyard to Hamilton or to St. Georges.

Finally, other options for getting around Bermuda are car rentals (of course), scooter rentals (very popular) or your could rent a Twizy.  A Twizy is a tiny two-person tandem electric car.  They are small with no trunk or storage, but we were able to carry snorkel gear, towels, a beach tent, and a cooler!  Here we are in our Twizy:  

 

The only car rentals in Bermuda are the two seat electric mini cars like the Twizy you pictured. There are some other electric two seater electic cars for rent but no regular car rentals. 

 

As you say the bus and ferry system is good. There are also minibuses to Horseshoe Beach. The island Tour Centre at the Dockyard  books independent excusions so no need to book NCL excursions.

 

Also NCL has been provides a complementary ferry from the Dockyard to St. George's. They own the boat. Hopefully that will be back in operation next season. 

 

 

 

[cruiserbear55]

2 hours ago, Melody7 said:

Hi, everyone!

 

I'm booked on the Getaway from NYC to Bermuda in April 2022. I know it's still very early and A LOT is up in the air in the cruise/travel industry, but I am EXCITED to possibly make my first trip to Bermuda, so I had a question about listed shore excursions. When I log in to my NCL account, 34 chore excursion options appear, but none of those are available for the first day in Bermuda; the only ones available are for days two and three in port. The ship docks early in the AM, so I see no reason why there wouldn't be excursions that day. Am I being impatient and just need to wait for more excursions to be finalized and populated into the system? Or is this standard for a Bermuda cruise to not have any excursions on the first port day?

 

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

According to NCL, ship doesn't dock till 1:00 PM. After dealing with customs, gangways,security, etc.,could be 2:00-3:00 before people are allowed off ship. There will probably be some excursion operators who list for that day, but not all due to the late time.

[Charles4515]

6 minutes ago, roger001 said:

Cruise there two years ago, soon as we docked we had an excursion already booked.  If it is available, I recommend the mini bus excursion guided tour.  About 4 or 5 hours and covers the entire island with stops at a few places.  It gives you the big picture of the place and you can then pick which you might want to visit later some more.  I would be hesitant to drive myself.  Only three main roads on the narrow island and traffic driving like crazy.   You can get a bus pass and the busses are easy to use.  Was one of our favorite cruises.  As someone said, too early to have all tours listed in detail.  

 

You can book minibus tours independent of the cruise line. Ricky's is a well known minibus tour operator. You can also find other operators by just walking off the ship. The cruise line uses the same minibuses and adds an upcharge for thye same tours you can do on your own. The Taxi's also offer 4 or 5 hour tours. The Blue Flag taxi tours are the best tour option. 

[1025cruise]

There is no reason to book excursions in Bermuda through the ship. Since you are there for a couple of days, its easy to do whatever you want.

[hladygirl]

Just to let you know. The water in Bermuda in April is cold. If you do not like cold water ( which I do not) then do not plan any water sports.

[ClevelandCruisin]

We did the evening bermuda triangle cruise, famous homes and hideaways,  sunset catamaran swizzle cruise, bermuda Island drive by mini bus, Horseshoe Bay beach transfer.

 

Loved the sunset swizzle cruise!

 

If you do the evening bermuda triangle cruise... bring a jacket.

[BirdTravels]

You can get cheap transfers to major beaches on the dock. But, with the $50 shore excursion credit, it may be cheaper to take the ship transfer. 
 

Pre-pandemic, NCL had a complimentary ferry over to St George’s. 
 

The public ferry to Hamilton is cheap, but we only go over if we are in port for the street fair. 
 

This was our Bermuda cruise on the Breakaway a few years back

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by BirdTravels

[billslowsky]

6 hours ago, cruiserbear55 said:

According to NCL, ship doesn't dock till 1:00 PM. After dealing with customs, gangways,security, etc.,could be 2:00-3:00 before people are allowed off ship. There will probably be some excursion operators who list for that day, but not all due to the late time.

First day isn't bad to take the ferry over to Hamilton, depending on how late may not be much open besides some pubs/restaurants.  Or go to the Frog and Onion in the Dockyard and use their wifi.

[kelib]

Be aware that the water/air temps out of NYC will be quite chilly till you get into the Gulf Stream, so make sure you bring some warmer clothes. I was there the last week in May and we had a windy/chilly night in Bermuda due to a storm in the area so was happy to have jeans and a light weight jacket with me. 
 

[EllieinNJ]

We are going to Bermuda on the Breakaway in September.   The only day the excursion for Restless Native catamaran that was available was the first day we are there  the other catamaran excursions were available all three days. It came out cheaper booking through NCL with the $50 off plus platinum discount.  We also booked NCLs mini bus tour for the second day.  It was cheaper also plus they aren't certain yet if buses and ferries will be running on schedule yet.

[Laszlo]

Like others have said yo do not need to book excursions thru NCL. Maybe a Catamaran tour, but that's it. Bermuda has plenty of great public transportation. 

 

If you want to do something on the water check out https://www.h2osportsbermuda.com

[Melody7]

Thanks, everyone, for your help! The ship does in fact dock at 9am (according to my on-line documents) and not 1pm, which is why I was surprised to not see any listed excursions for the first day. I've been reading up and Bermuda and saw how easy it is to get about without excursions. But as multiple people said, with the $50/day credit and latitudes discount, activities end up being cheaper through the ship! And thanks for the tips about the weather - I've totally been anticipating the "not your typical Caribbean cruise" temps.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Melody7 said:

Thanks, everyone, for your help! The ship does in fact dock at 9am (according to my on-line documents) and not 1pm, which is why I was surprised to not see any listed excursions for the first day. I've been reading up and Bermuda and saw how easy it is to get about without excursions. But as multiple people said, with the $50/day credit and latitudes discount, activities end up being cheaper through the ship! And thanks for the tips about the weather - I've totally been anticipating the "not your typical Caribbean cruise" temps.

So that sounds more like a glitch. Someday, Day 1 Shore Ex will be added for your cruise. 

 

 

[kates6044]

If you book an excursion that will be the day you arrive, will you get to get off the boat before everyone else to make sure you make it?