Royal Naval Dockyard - St. George

[shyly8585]

I am currently considering a cruise that has a stop in Bermuda from 8:00am - 4:00pm.  Is that enough time to go to St. George, relax at Tobacco Bay, have lunch, check out the forts, and walk around the town?  I am going to assume that we don't actually get off the ship until around 9am - my last cruise stopped in Bermuda was about 1 hour late.

 

Thanks

[njhorseman]

6 minutes ago, shyly8585 said:

I am currently considering a cruise that has a stop in Bermuda from 8:00am - 4:00pm.  Is that enough time to go to St. George, relax at Tobacco Bay, have lunch, check out the forts, and walk around the town?  I am going to assume that we don't actually get off the ship until around 9am - my last cruise stopped in Bermuda was about 1 hour late.

 

Thanks

You can do a rushed visit in that time frame if ferries are running between Dockyard and St. George's . (I'm assuming you won't want to pay about $200 for taxis to get you to and from St. George's). "Relaxed" won't be part of the experience as you won't have a lot of time to spend at Tobacco Bay.

 

What ship will you be sailing and when will you be in Bermuda? There's no public ferry service to St. George's during the offseason and it won't resume until late April or early May. However, if you're on NCL they have private tender service for their passengers.

[princeton123211]

17 minutes ago, shyly8585 said:

I am currently considering a cruise that has a stop in Bermuda from 8:00am - 4:00pm.  Is that enough time to go to St. George, relax at Tobacco Bay, have lunch, check out the forts, and walk around the town?

There is enough time for everything there except the word "relax". It's a fairly busy day-- you can catch the ferry direct to St Georges depending on the time of year. The Orange route runs April to November and takes about 45 minutes each way so there's basically 2 hours gone. The complimentary NCL ferry runs whenever an NCL ship is there regardless of the time of year. 

 

If you want to see St George's go for it but just know your time at Tobacco Bay, keeping in mind the buffer you'll need to build in to make sure you get back to the ship, your time there will be briefer than you want. If you want a relaxing day at the beach I would just head to Horseshoe Bay. 

[shyly8585]

3 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

You can do a rushed visit in that time frame if ferries are running between Dockyard and St. George's . (I'm assuming you won't want to pay about $200 for taxis to get you to and from St. George's). "Relaxed" won't be part of the experience as you won't have a lot of time to spend at Tobacco Bay.

 

What ship will you be sailing and when will you be in Bermuda? There's no public ferry service to St. George's during the offseason and it won't resume until late April or early May. However, if you're on NCL they have private tender service for their passengers.

 

It is Royal Caribbean, I think Bermuda stop is on 5/25/2024.  Will it still be rushed if we just do Tobacco Bay/lunch, with slow walks between the port and Tobacco Bay?

[princeton123211]

Just now, shyly8585 said:

Will it still be rushed if we just do Tobacco Bay/lunch, with slow walks between the port and Tobacco Bay?

Your're correct in that you might not be off the ship til 9am. Your whole port stop is only 8 hours at at a very minimum 2 hours of that will be dedicated to boarding and riding the ferry to St Georges and you won't want to take the last ferry back so in reality you are looking at only 2-3 decent hours in St Georges. 

[shyly8585]

3 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

There is enough time for everything there except the word "relax". It's a fairly busy day-- you can catch the ferry direct to St Georges depending on the time of year. The Orange route runs April to November and takes about 45 minutes each way so there's basically 2 hours gone. The complimentary NCL ferry runs whenever an NCL ship is there regardless of the time of year. 

 

If you want to see St George's go for it but just know your time at Tobacco Bay, keeping in mind the buffer you'll need to build in to make sure you get back to the ship, your time there will be briefer than you want. If you want a relaxing day at the beach I would just head to Horseshoe Bay. 

 

Thank you!  We did Horseshoe Bay 2 years ago, and wanted to try something different and want to snorkel.  Now thinking about just go to Tobacco Bay with slow walks between the ferry stop and Tobacco Bay.  Would it still be not relaxed. 

 

Any other snorkeling spots we should consider, easier/faster to get to from Royal Naval Dock?

[shyly8585]

Just now, princeton123211 said:

Your're correct in that you might not be off the ship til 9am. Your whole port stop is only 8 hours at at a very minimum 2 hours of that will be dedicated to boarding and riding the ferry to St Georges and you won't want to take the last ferry back so in reality you are looking at only 2-3 decent hours in St Georges. 

 

Thank you!  That really helps with planning.

[njhorseman]

1 minute ago, shyly8585 said:

 

It is Royal Caribbean, I think Bermuda stop is on 5/25/2024.  Will it still be rushed if we just do Tobacco Bay/lunch, with slow walks between the port and Tobacco Bay?

If the 2024 ferry schedule is the same as 2023's the first ferry leaving Dockyard will be at 9:45 and arrive in St. George's at about 10:30. You would have to return on the ferry departing St. George's at 2 pm, which realistically about 3 hours there. So, no...slow walks, lunch and Tobacco Bay wouldn't work out well.

[shyly8585]

27 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

If the 2024 ferry schedule is the same as 2023's the first ferry leaving Dockyard will be at 9:45 and arrive in St. George's at about 10:30. You would have to return on the ferry departing St. George's at 2 pm, which realistically about 3 hours there. So, no...slow walks, lunch and Tobacco Bay wouldn't work out well.

 

Ugh.  Thank you!

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, shyly8585 said:

Any other snorkeling spots we should consider, easier/faster to get to from Royal Naval Dock?

Agree with horseman on all points. Just don't fall into the trap of Snorkel Beach in the Dockyard itself-- manmade beach and not a great place to swim or snorkel despite its name. 

[shyly8585]

30 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Agree with horseman on all points. Just don't fall into the trap of Snorkel Beach in the Dockyard itself-- manmade beach and not a great place to swim or snorkel despite its name. 

Thanks!