Bermuda Cruises

The Perfect Cruise Destination

You can fly to Bermuda in just two hours from the US east coast, but the location and isolation of this tiny island country 500 miles out to sea make it the perfect cruise destination. If you're going to take a cruise, this is one of the best destinations you can find, with a cruise time that's not too long but just long enough to make you feel you've really traveled somewhere exotic and far away. You can cruise to Bermuda, spend four days at port, and cruise home in the space on one week, and have a fabulous time on the white sand beaches and streets of Bermuda.

The Basics

Bermuda has three large harbors that accommodate the Cruise ships that arrive here each week. They are in Hamilton, St. George's and the royal Naval dockyard. Ships aren't allowed to stay in port on the weekends, so cruise packages are arranged around a schedule that puts the ship at sea on the weekend, and at port in Bermuda during the week. Bermuda is popular, especially as a cruise destination. Make no bones about it, lots of people want to cruise to Bermuda. The government in Bermuda has wisely been concerned about overcrowding on their tiny island country, so limits have been put in place. The limits are on both the number of ships at port at any given moment, and on the number of cruise lines that bring tourists to Bermuda. The number may change, but at present only six ships from five cruise lines can arrange regular cruise packages to Bermuda. Keeping in mind this list changes every year, at the moment the six ships working the ports of Bermuda are:

• Pacific Princess
  Operated by Princess Cruises
• Norwegian Majesty
  Operated by Norwegian Cruise Line
• Nordic Empress
  Operated by Royal Caribbean International
• Zenith
  Operated by Celebrity Cruise Line
• Crown Dynasty
  
• Horizon
  Operated by Celebrity Cruise Line

Getting Ready

Most people book their cruise through a travel agent, and get an air-cruise package deal. It really is much more convenient to buy the various components of your cruise vacation from one source because you'll have someone to whisk you from the airport to the ship, and back again at the end of the trip. However you make your arrangements, make sure you know exactly how you'll get from the airport, if you're flying to your port city. Most cruise lines will have a shuttle waiting for you, with someone to meet you in the airport and drive you in the shuttle to the ship. This takes a lot of the stress out of your vacation, not having to hail a taxi to get to the dock, or waiting for a bus that may not go when you're ready to go, or even just wondering where to go after you get off the airplane. Your vacation-and your relaxation- begins earlier when there's someone to meet you at the airport. You can just follow and relax.

Packing should be easy: bathing suit, dressy outfit, comfortable walking shoes, and a couple of easy-wash separates. Cruise ships usually have laundry facilities and toiletries so you'll never be in dire straights. The dressy outfit is for formal evenings on board the ship, and keep in mind that Bermuda restaurants, if you dine at one, usually require a coat and tie for men and comparable for women. You can bring your appliances if they were bought in the USA, since outlets match these.

As for personal items, bring extra glasses/contact lenses and enough prescription medicine, if you take any, to last you the whole trip. Keep your medicine in its original packaging or else customs might get suspicious. If you bring a prescription, have your doctor write it out in its generic name, since brand names vary from country to country. Bring your passport, since most cruise lines require that you have one anyway. Ask your travel agent and read your cruise paperwork to make sure you have all the documnetation that's required.

Getting Settled

After your shuttle drops you off at the pier, you will check in at the ship. Here, employees of the cruise line will check and stamp your ticket and ask for your passport. They'll give you the keys to your cabin and then you get on the ship, after passing through security measures similar to what you find in an airport. As you walk onto the ship, a professional ship's photographer will probably take your picture, which you can buy. Ships usually have a period of time they reserve as boarding time, maybe 3 hours or so. There are good times to arrive and board, and bad times. Keep in mind the bigger the cruise ship, the more people there will be standing in line to board. A bad time to arrive and board is at the beginning of the boarding time. Usually this is when lines are longest. Wait an hour into the boarding time and you might get through faster. Go directly to your room and check it out. If all goes well, your checked luggage will be there waiting for you. If not, notify someone and they'll work it out for you. If something is wrong with the room, ask to be moved immediately, before the ship takes off. There are usually some empty rooms on board for situations where, for example, you didn't get what you asked for in the way of cabin type, or the toilet doesn't flush.

Your Cruise

Meals are a big part of the cruise experience, and there are many options for each passenger to choose from, to make this experience as pleasant and memorable as possible. You will be assigned a table for dinners, and usually breakfast and lunch are open seating. There will probably be a main dining room for all meals, and cafeteria style dining open for breakfast and lunches. There's also room service. Whatever time of day or night, you'll be able to get food and beverages of some sort.

Activities include live shows, nightclubs, bars, casinos, game rooms, and if you like it, Bingo! But you could spend all your time at the pool, or at the gym if you'd rather, or on the observation deck, or reading on the sundeck, or in your cabin. The choice is yours...it's your vacation!

The Final Steps

After you've sailed to Bermuda, spent some time there, and then sailed back to home port, you'll go through the disembarkation process. This involves such large processes as collecting, organizing, and unloading thousands of pieces of luggage, getting lots of people through US customs, and getting passengers off the ship in an orderly way that allows for those with earlier flights to disembark first. Needless to say, you have to have patience because all this can take some time. Indeed, the process begins the night before you actually get off the ship. You will put your luggage in the hallway and it will have color-coded tags attached, which will later determine when you get to leave the ship. Fill you customs forms, submit them, stake out a place in one of the lounges to wait your disembarkation, and hold on to that relaxed and happy feeling you got while in the lovely island nation of Bermuda.