We had been itching to take another cruise after the amazing one we had taken on the Celebrity Equinox but we didn’t want to fly half way around the world to do it. After some research we found out that Norwegian leaves out of Boston which is only a few minutes drive from the house so we wouldn’t have to pay for airfare and they went to Bermuda which neither of us had been to before. It seemed like the perfect vacation and I have never figured out why we hadn’t done it before.
We booked our tickets for a balcony on the Norwegian Dawn and ended up getting an unexpected upgrade to a mini suite so we were off to a great start. We did all our normal trip prep and waited anxiously for embarkation day to arrive. Once it finally arrived we drove down to Black falcon pier in Boston, parked the car and with an astonishing ease boarded the Dawn in under an hour.
We settled in with a couple drinks and waited for the huge ship to leave port. We had chosen to take one of the last trips of the season since we really don’t like the large crowds of tourists in the summer months. It was a bit colder in Boston when we left since it was October but we knew it’d be much nicer in a couple days when we got to Bermuda.
it takes two days at sea before you get to Bermuda itself so there’s lots of time for relaxing or drinking or any number of other things that are offered on the ship. I spent a good amount of time enjoying our balcony, ate at the specialty restaurants and relaxed every evening in the cigar bar with a stogie and a bourbon.
By the time you get to Bermuda you are ready to get off the boat and check out the island. The dockyard is a great place to check out in and of itself. there are shops, restaurants and you can even swim with dolphins right next to where your boat is parked for three days.
After a quick meal at a place within a stones throw of the ship we hopped on a bus that took us to one of the top ten beaches in the world, Horseshoe bay beach. the bus we were on was one of the excursions from the ship so it brought us all the way down to the beach. You can also hop on a regular bus that will drop you off at the turn off that leads down to the beach.
The beach itself is gorgeous. It has pink sand which is stunning the first time you see it. There are rocks to climb on and paths through tall grass to walk along if laying in the sun or swimming in the surf isn’t your thing. After being knocked over by the larger than normal waves (they had had a hurricane just a few days before we got there so the surf was still a bit rough) I decided to enjoy the sun and sand for a bit. After a bus ride/guided tour back to the ship and a nap, we had dinner on the ship and turned in after a cigar and a drink or two
The next day we hopped a ferry after breakfast on board and made or way of to St George which is about as far away from the royal dockyard as you can get and still be in Bermuda. its filled with pastel colored houses and shops and the oldest church in north America. There is also a perfume factory/store and multiple shops to satisfy any die hard shopper and you can find a few shops that sell Cuban cigars which at the time you couldn’t get in the US. After a scenic ferry right back to the dockyard and a nap we had dinner on board again. back in our room later on we watched as a pirate ship pulled into the dock next to our ship. We found out later on that it is a floating bar/nightclub. I didn’t get a chance to try it out while I ws there but I am most definitely planning on spending some time there on my next visit.
The next day we took another ferry over to Hamilton which is more of the city center of Bermuda. It also has tons of pastel colored buildings and homes and has a gorgeous port area. It also has the most modern of stores that I saw on the island. lots of higher end brand name stores right across the street from the port. It was a nice enough area but not really what I’m looking for on a tropical island. We didn’t spend too long there and took the ferry back to the dockyard. When we got back we hopped on a trolley of sorts that ran around the whole dockyard area every 15 minutes. We checked out the glass blowing shop and the clayworks shop.The best meal we had in Bermuda was also located in the dockyard at the Frog and Onion pub. the onion rings were some of the best we’d ever had and the chickens roaming around the outside patio provided endless entertainment while we ate.
We left that night and began our trip home. Another two days at sea to rest and recover from all the fun. There were more drinks and cigars on the trip home along with a school of dolphins swimming alongside the ship for a few hours. All in all it was a wonderful vacation and I hope to do and see more on my next trip there which will be this October!