Day 1(at sea): Saturday, October 6th
We ended up driving down to Kimmy's house Friday night so we could hitch a ride to Philly in the morning where we would board the ship. It was only about 40 minutes from her house so it worked out well. Besides, it was so nice to see Kimmy, the kids and Tiffany for a bit. Below is a picture of Gracie...she is getting so big!
We cruised with Royal Carribean on The Empress of the Seas ship. Come to find out, this was their smallest ship, holding about 15oo people. Their larger ships can hold up to 3500 people...much larger! Our first day revolved around settling into our room, checking out the ship, and eating...lots of eating! It was definitely our number 1 recreational activity throughout the week.
Our first night at dinner we got to meet our fellow dinner mates. I don't know if this is typical of most cruises but we were assigned a table with 6 other guests where we would enjoy dinner for each night of our trip. We had quite a young crew at our table...including a fellow Graphic Designer which was very cool! They were a really fun group! We had the opportunity to hang out with a few them at different times outside of dinner too, which was great.
*Cruise Tip #1: If you haven't cruised before, we recommend you do one of the larger ships if you can. We've been told that you feel the motion less and there are a lot more things to do. Also, pack light! These rooms are not too big so the lighter you pack, the better.
Day 2(at sea): Sunday, October 7th
The picture below says it all I think. I thought I would see how I would do without any of the motion sickness remedies and, I'm sorry to say, it didn't go well. By the time I took some medicine and had the bracelets on, it was too late. The motion had already gotten to me. My view for most of the day was of the inside of our cabin...not very romantic. Tom, on the other hand, wasn't too bad. He was able to venture out and explore the activities on board. It wasn't long before he came back to the room and had to lay down too. We had hit some rough waters going out so it was a bit rocky for a while.
Believe it or not though, the waters calmed down by the evening and we were able to emerge from the room. We managed to play a game of bingo and even got to enjoy the first Formal night at dinner. I do have a picture but I have to scan it...I'll post it another time. Anyway, from the picture, you would never guess that I was green only a few hours earlier. After dinner, we were able to enjoy 70's night in the disco room! No dancing for us but we still enjoyed listening to all the oldies.
*Cruise Tip #2: If you haven't been on a ship before, don't take any chances. Be prepared to be motion sick and then hopefully you won't have any issues. Dramamine is a good thing to take along, though it does cause you to be a bit tired. We took these bracelets along as well which seemed to help a bit with the nausea. Also refer back to Tip #1...go with a larger ship and you hopefully won't feel the motion quite as much.
Day 3(Hamilton): Monday, October 8th
Today was much better...no seasickness for either of us. We enjoyed a good breakfast, sat by the pool, played a bit in the casino room and then went outside to enjoy the view while we came into port at Bermuda. I was very happy to see land!!!!
Our first port was in Hamilton, Bermuda, their capital. It is a pretty big city as far as Bermuda goes. Since it was the afternoon when we ported, we didn't have a whole lot of time to explore before sunset. We took a stroll around the city, Tom took some pictures (he actually took most of the pictures during this trip so he gets most of the credit). Bermuda is a British island so they all drive on the left side of the road. It was strange to get used to at first. There were also motor scooters everywhere! We didn't rent one though...I was far too nervous to try it out. The drivers in Bermuda are crazy! Bus transportation was just fine with me, thank you! Although the bus drivers were a bit on the crazy side as well...I was pretty nervous at times!
The buildings were really beautiful! They were all very colorful. Yellows, pinks, blues...it was so interesting to see such a colorful mix of facades. All of the houses had white roofs made of limestone. The limestone works to keep birds off the roofs since rain water is collected to use in the homes. Very cool! This was just one of the many things Bermuda does to be an environmentally conscious island. Below is a picture of one of the houses we thought maybe we would buy...haha! You all would come and visit us, right?
Once we explored the island a bit, we returned to the ship for dinner. Something we didn't want to miss...the food was amazing! You get a 5 course meal and can order as much as you want. When they had shrimp cocktail one night, I ordered 2 of them...because we all know how much I adore shrimp! :) Besides, one order only came with 5 shrimp...who eats just 5 shrimp???
After dinner, we ended up going back onto the island. Since our ship wasn't leaving for another day or so there wasn't a curfew. I guess a curfew is typical if you are doing a multi-port cruise. Anyway, we went out on the town in Hamilton with a few of our dinner pals. We went to a pub called Hog Penny, just a few blocks from the cruise port. It was just a small, pretty normal pub. The coolest part about this place was the free drinks! When we initially arrived, one of the guys from our group went up to buy a round of drinks, the Dark and Stormy (a popular Bermudian drink made with dark rum and Ginger Beer). Well...our friend, Scott, comes back with the drinks and tells us they were all purchased for us. Some random guy at the bar paid for them. We were surprised but looked over and waved at the guy...we all thought that was awfully nice of him. We assumed he was the owner of the pub and was welcoming us to his place. But then, when everyone was almost finished with their drinks, one of the waiters came over and said that the same guy wanted to buy us another round. How bizarre, we thought! If this guy is the owner, he won't make any money off us tourists! So we asked the waiter who this guy was. Come to find out, he is just a VERY wealthy guy that comes in all the time and likes to buy random people drinks. Ok!!! Another round! So, he bought our group a second round! None of us have ever experienced such a thing. We had a great time that night...especially since it didn't cost us a dime! Well...I take that back, we did tip the waiter pretty well:)
*Cruise Tip #3: This is more of a Bermuda tip...if you don't plan to rent a motorscooter and want to take the bus, purchase a 2 day pass so that you can get on and off the bus as much as you want. We were limited to tokens or exact change which made it difficult to just go and explore the island. There weren't many places where you could purchase tokens along the way. Besides, a mutli-day pass is cheaper than purchasing tokens separately.
*FYI: We were really quite impressed with Royal Carribean's recycling and conservation efforts. There were recycling bins all over the ship and they also repeatedly reminded guests that they have a strict recycling program. Love that!
Day 4(Hamilton): Tuesday, October 9th
(our wedding anniversary)
Ah...our 2 year anniversary! What a great way to spend the day together. We started the day at the beach, Horse Shoe Bay Beach. It was about a 20 minute bus ride from the port at Hamilton. What a gorgeous beach! It is true...the sands are pink in Bermuda! Breathtaking! We didn't spend too much time there because poor Tom cooks like a lobster in the sun. The time we were there was nice though. The water wasn't quite as warm as Aruba but comfortable. It sure was hot that day!
Our afternoon adventure consisted of a ferry ride over to the Royal Navy Dockyard located on Ireland Island...the very tip of Bermuda. What a beautiful way to ride over. I loved the ferry! It was a very peaceful way to travel to the other end of the island.
Once we got to the Dockyard, we spent a lot of time walking around and checking out the sites. The Dockyard was filled with all sorts of shopping, arts and crafts and historical buildings. Towards the end of our visit, we wanted to check out the Maritime Museum while we were there but, alas, it was closed by the time we got there. Should have checked that first I guess.
For the evening, we decided to enjoy a more private, romantic night on our own. So instead of dinner on the ship, we enjoyed a fabulous meal in Hamilton at a restaurant called the Pickled Onion, which ironically is owned by the same people as the Hog Penny. I just found that out while looking for their website...funny! Anyway, it doesn't have the most appetizing name but it sure was delicious! It was a very nice restaurant, contemporary with a wonderful ambiance. The prices were surprisingly reasonable too. We had heard that Bermuda can be very expensive! It was fabulous though! We definitely recommend it if you are ever in Bermuda. It was a great way to spend the evening together.
After dinner, we headed up to the pool deck where they were putting together the most amazing spread! It was the coolest set up I had ever seen! Below are a few pictures. The dessert buffet was delicious...I wasn't even hungry but I sure did want to try those desserts! They had music and dancing on the deck and it was a beautiful night to be outside for such a fabulous party!
*Cruise Tip #4: I guess most ships do a luau of some sort, similar to the one we enjoyed on our last night at port. Be sure to go and enjoy the spread. It was such a wonderful display and a really good time so don't miss out!
*Cruise Tip #5: If the schedule allows, try to be awake when the ship takes off from port. On this trip, we found out that we missed out on quite a display when the ship was taking off to get to St. George. There were canon's on the island that were fired off and even some Bermudian Red Sox fan's with signs cheering the Red Sox on. I can't believe we missed that! It is also nice to see the island as you go around to the next port.
Day 5(St. George): Wednesday, October 10th
St. George was our next stop and it was a much different world than Hamilton. It was a very cozy town with cobblestone streets and lots of history scattered throughout. In fact, St. George used to be Bermuda's capital years ago. Tom and I enjoyed a self-guided walk around town, enjoying the historical buildings, learning tid bits about the history of the island. Personally, I loved St. George much more than Hamilton. It was just a personal preference I guess. Hamilton was very fast paced where St. George had a much more relaxed and cozier feel to it.
In the afternoon we decided to venture out again to the lighthouse on St. David's island. Well...this didn't go exactly as planned. It was about a 30 minute bus ride to the lighthouse and a 2 minute walk from the bus stop. Once we got the lighthouse, we discovered it was closed! Ugh!! Just our luck I guess. To top it off, the bus wouldn't be coming around again for another hour! There was nothing else to do close by so we had to wait. We took a few pictures of the view from the bottom of the lighthouse and walked around a bit. Oh well. At least we weren't the only ones in this little predicament. There were 2 other cruise passengers with us. We enjoyed talking with them while we waited for the bus. They ended up being from South Jersey close to where Kimmy lives.
The highlight of the day for us was the sunset sail. So pretty! Neither of us had been on a sailboat before so this was quite a treat. What a beautiful way to see the island. We were out on the water for a few hours. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy so we missed out on seeing the sun set but it was still a wonderful adventure. A very romantic way to spend the evening with my hubby!
Tom took this picture...he did such a nice job taking picturs during this trip!
Day 6(at sea): Thursday, October 11th
It was hard to believe we were leaving already! It seemed as though we had just arrived at the island. We were back on the open ocean...headed home. Our vacation wasn't over yet though. When you cruise, there are plenty of things to do on the ship. They do an amazing job of scheduling events for you every day so that you are never bored. The hardest part...deciding what to do. It was nice to take advantage of the many events or just relax by the pool. We weren't tied into anything. A great way to go. We played some more bingo, caught a show, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the ship. I tried to spend some time at the pool but it was so crowded I couldn't get a seat. So, instead, we ate:) I told you it was our favorite activity on this trip!
For dinner, we enjoyed another meal just the two of us. We ate at the Portofino Restaurant on the ship. They serve Italian food and it was delicious! It was nice to have another romantic dinner with just us.
*Cruise Tip #6: Believe it or not, we never got to see the sun set or rise while on the ship. Try to take advantage of this beautiful event while you are at sea. Being that I was sick 2 of the 4 days we were at sea, sunsets and sunrises weren't at the top of my list but they would have been nice to see.
Day 7(at sea): Friday, October 12th
Today was a rough day! 10 to 15 foot waves made for a VERY rocky day! I managed to make it out for breakfast and another game of bingo but then I was done. I couldn't handle the rocking anymore. I returned to the room and that is where I stayed until things calmed down later that evening. In fact, the ship was rocking so badly that the water in the pool was sloshing out onto the deck and was closed off! Crazy! Tom did ok...he has a much stronger stomach than I do. Poor guy though had to spend most of the day by himself while his wife was cowering under the covers in their room. Not the way either of us imagined the vacation to go.
Good news though, by dinner time the waters had calmed down and we could enjoy our last evening on the ship. We had dinner with our friends and spent some time with them afterwards in one of the ship lounges. It was a nice way to end the trip considering the day had started off so badly.
Our last night with our dinner crew, minus two of the guests.
You can visit our Bermuda Photo Album to see more pictures from our trip.
Cruise Rating: Out of 10 stars...I give this trip an 8. We truly had a great time overall...we both really loved Bermuda. I'm not sure how soon I will go on a cruise again but I'm sure it won't be long before I forget about my sickly adventure and pursue another one. However, Tom and I agreed that our next "big trip" won't be until our 5 year anniversary. Good thing that is only 3 years away! I'm thinking Italy...we'll see! ;)
I hope you all enjoyed our little story and photos. Thanks for reading!
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