Do the ferries get full? Dockyard to Hamilton

[molly361]

I think I read that they hold 200 people.  Is it hard to get one?  Do they fill up?

[princeton123211]

43 minutes ago, molly361 said:

I think I read that they hold 200 people.  Is it hard to get one?  Do they fill up?

I'm sure it's happened-- there is always a bottleneck in the morning right when the gangway drops. I'm a bit of a later riser and have never had an issue so it has evened out at least by 10am on a morning arrival and have never had an issue in either direction later in the day. 

[Charles4515]

57 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

I'm sure it's happened-- there is always a bottleneck in the morning right when the gangway drops. I'm a bit of a later riser and have never had an issue so it has evened out at least by 10am on a morning arrival and have never had an issue in either direction later in the day. 

 

1 hour ago, molly361 said:

I think I read that they hold 200 people.  Is it hard to get one?  Do they fill up?

 

I never had an issue getting the ferry to Hamiltion or St. George from the Dockyard at any time. Plus many are taking minibuses, taxis, and public buses to destinaions other than Hamilton and St. George, Horseshoe is very popular, doing excursions etc.   I do arrive at the ferry dock 15 minutes early when I take the ferry which has always been good enough to get a seat.  Everyone does not decide to take a  ferry at the same time. The demand is spread out during the day. The only time I ever had to wait for a later ferry was one time returning from St. George. The second to last ferry was full and I had to return on the last scheduled ferry.  That was before NCL had their private ferry for their passengers. 

Edited April 28, 2022 by Charles4515

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, molly361 said:

I think I read that they hold 200 people.  Is it hard to get one?  Do they fill up?

This year Bermuda announced they're planning to use the large ferry Bermudian for peak demand runs between Dockyard and Hamilton. It has considerably more capacity but is slower than the catamarans so the trip will take a few minutes longer.

[lx200gps]

7 hours ago, njhorseman said:

This year Bermuda announced they're planning to use the large ferry Bermudian for peak demand runs between Dockyard and Hamilton. It has considerably more capacity but is slower than the catamarans so the trip will take a few minutes longer.

We'll be doing our first ever visit to Bermuda on the Joy this June. What's the usual transit time for the two ferries (Dockyard to Hamilton and Dockyard to St George)?  The St George run seems to be particularly long. My wife's prone to seasickness, in rough weather how are the rides?

[Charles4515]

42 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

We'll be doing our first ever visit to Bermuda on the Joy this June. What's the usual transit time for the two ferries (Dockyard to Hamilton and Dockyard to St George)?  The St George run seems to be particularly long. My wife's prone to seasickness, in rough weather how are the rides?

Dockyard to Hamilton is generally 30 minutes. They do have a ferry or two that can do it in 20 minutes but expect 30. Dockyard to St. George is 45 minutes. In rough weather they usually cancel the St George ferry. The ferry to Hamilton is in Great Sound. Maybe I have been lucky but I never experienced a rough ride on that route. 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Charles4515

[lx200gps]

9 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Dockyard to Hamilton is generally 30 minutes. They do have a ferry or two that can do it in 20 minutes but expect 30. Dockyard to St. George is 45 minutes. In rough weather they usually cancel the St George ferry. The ferry to Hamilton is in Great Sound. Maybe I have been lucky but I never experienced a rough ride on that route. 

Excellent, thanks for the concise summary. Fingers crossed we'll have  calm weather.

[dazey]

The only time we had to wait a long time was the return from Hamilton to the ship at Dockyard on the Wednesday night(Harbour Nights).  We even tried to take a bus.  We eventually got on a very full ferry.  I would plan to leave earlier in the evening or very late.

[Charles4515]

4 hours ago, dazey said:

The only time we had to wait a long time was the return from Hamilton to the ship at Dockyard on the Wednesday night(Harbour Nights).  We even tried to take a bus.  We eventually got on a very full ferry.  I would plan to leave earlier in the evening or very late.

On Wednesday night when there are Harbour Nights they add ferries at 9:00 PM and 10:30 PM after the 8:30 ferry. I have been on that 9:00 ferry when I did not want to stay late. Since there is a scheduled 8;30 and 9:00 those probably won't fill up. When I did stay later and needed to get on the 10:30 ferry a few times in recent  years and found that they ran an extra ferry between 10 and 10:30. So I would get to the ferry terminal at 10:10 or so and board a ferry. It would fill up and leave when full before 10:30. They then boarded another ferry for 10;30. Post covid things  could change. Bermuda has had cutbacks. When Harbour Nights resume I will try to remember to check the marine traffic website and see if they are still running the extra. 

[moposh]

What is there to see/do in Hamilton?

[Charles4515]

7 hours ago, moposh said:

What is there to see/do in Hamilton?

It is a business district with shops, restaurants, parks, cathedral, fort, waterfront, harbour. 

[PAgirl_1968]

How close is the ferry to where we dock?  I’ll be traveling with a dear friend, she’s 71, uses a cane and broke an arm this last week.  Refusing to consider a wheelchair or scooter.  I want very much to visit Hamilton but will this be something I can do with her in tow? 

[Charles4515]

11 minutes ago, PAgirl_1968 said:

How close is the ferry to where we dock?  I’ll be traveling with a dear friend, she’s 71, uses a cane and broke an arm this last week.  Refusing to consider a wheelchair or scooter.  I want very much to visit Hamilton but will this be something I can do with her in tow? 

It is not very far. I think it is doable with a cane. There is a tram that goes around the Dockyard but unfortunately the tram stop is almost to the ferry dock. 

[dazey]

During the day the tram did come to the ship. Might want to check with the tram driver.  The one time I asked he said it depends on staffing.  It will come to the end of the dock where the ships are so that will save quite a bit of walking to the ferry or bus stop.  

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, dazey said:

During the day the tram did come to the ship. Might want to check with the tram driver.  The one time I asked he said it depends on staffing.  It will come to the end of the dock where the ships are so that will save quite a bit of walking to the ferry or bus stop.  

I've only seen it do that at Kings Wharf, never at Heritage Wharf because there isn't sufficient room for it to turn around on Heritage Wharf.