OT: Bermuda Trip Report....I skipped STJ for this???
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:24 pm
I <3 Bermuda as does my husband. Two years ago we were asked to plan a family reunion celebration for my inlaws 50th Wedding Anniversary. A trip was taken the prior year by family members to honor another golden anniversary and everyone felt my inlaws should do the same. The only caveat was 
the trip was going to be a CRUISE. 
Let me just say we have cruised in the past and quite frankly did not feel the need to ever do so again. It's just not our cup of tea. For this trip with the possibility of what we thought were 15 to 20 people from all around the country, a cruise was the best option. Lots for everyone to do, meals included and a ship big enough for everyone to get together or get away from each other as needed. After much consideration, we opted to take the Norwegian Dawn from Boston to Bermuda. We live in the area and as the previous anniversary couple chose to cruise out of their home port of Tampa, we decided to cruise from our home port. I was happy as the ship docks overnight in Bermuda so I knew we would not be forced to take only mind-numbing, wallet draining cruise ship excursions with large groups of cruisers most concerned with where the nearest souvenir shop was and if they would be back in time for the lunch buffet that THEY PAID FOR AS PART OF THEIR CRUISE. By the time I had chosen the dates and we were ready to depart 32 family members from 10 to 83 had decided to hop on board our adventure. For the entire time I was packing, I continually grumbled: $%#%@$^@%$ If we were going to STJ I wouldn't need this dress $#%@^@&$^ If we were going to STJ I wouldn't have to bring anything to be pressed at the dry cleaner....need I say more? So date of cruise comes, we load the limo like we are moving out of state and we are off to the cruise terminal. We hopped out to a hot steamy day and herds of people waiting to get on the ship. Where's the beer stand? They have one in Red Hook! Uh Oh, another STJ comparison. I knew I had to stop. So we and the rest of the cattle...er passengers were herded through line to make our way onto the ship. By the time we got on the ship many cruisers were already eating (apparently if you get there early enough you can get an extra lunch in). We were eager to bring our stuff up to our cabin and bask in the luxury that was to be ours in our deluxe mini suite. BAHAHA The white cotton, waffle weave robe was a nice touch. In STJ everyone has their own room.....
That evening at dinner we met everyone who had booked the cruise. There were relatives my husband did not know. Cousins he had heard about but never spent time with and great aunts, uncles, and cousins that my kids had never met. We quickly realized all 11 kids had no interest in organized "kids and teen club" activities and they wanted to make their own fun. It was a relief to us as our STJ loving teens have never been into preplanned fun. They tend to make their own. We had 2 days of at sea bonding. It was lots of drinking, lots of laughing and alot of yelling after the kids "Be sure to come back here and check in at 8:30" as they ran off to go in the pool, sit on the stairs and talk or get into other good clean mischief. Before I knew it, we were on the cruise 2 days and we were pulling into the Royal Navy Dockyard in Bermuda. The days at sea had gone by quickly and instead of looking for all I did not like about the trip I found myself laughing, drinking and enjoying the company of my husband's family and other travelers. Kind of like STJ. As people clamored to choose excursions through the excursion desk, I had already done my homework. A good friend suggested we rent a Whaler at a local dive shop and take the boat over the Castle Island in Bermuda. I had made arrangements before we left and my husband boys and I took the ferry and long bus ride to Grotto Bay to pick up the boat. Surprisingly, 12 of the other cruisers in our group wanted to come along! They thought it sounded like a great idea and were willing to take the chance on getting a boat. PSSSH here we thought we were going on vacation with a bunch of "cruisers" but the truth was they werent' what we all have come to think of as cruisers. Unfortunately, the boats were sold out but our family members were really great about it. They told us to go and have fun, not to worry about them and went off on their own adventure. We quickly got out onto that gorgeous sky blue water and the cruise was forgotten. This was like STJ! We followed a map that took us along the coast of Bermuda. We identified different landmarks and in a distance we saw a structure on top of the hill that sloped down to a gorgeous, deserted pink sand beach. We pulled the boat in and enjoyed our own private island for the afternoon. On our way back, we motored over to Nonsuch Island, a nature preserve that also had a small ship wreck that you could snorkel. The kids jumped out for a snorkel where they saw 2 beautiful Rainbow Parrot Fish and schools of other smaller fish. Not STJ beautiful but very cool none the less. After a long day on the water we headed back to the ship. When people asked us what we had done that day on the ferry ride back to the ship, we got mixed reactions. Everything from "Cool, how did you know about that?" to "You ventured out on your own...without a tour guide..what about lunch..did you get to shop?" LOL The rest of our time in Bermuda and the cruise went by quickly. We just enjoyed the scenery, did our own thing and enjoyed each other's company. By the time the ship departed we all realized that the point of the vacation was for us to all meet and enjoy each other's company. The cruise ship was literally just a vessel. The last 2 days of the cruise were filled with some quiet moments stolen away during the day followed by nights of fun with family. We all had got to the point where we were discussing visiting each other in our home states and keeping in touch. When we docked in Boston, we had forgotten we were on a cruise we really weren't sure was worth skipping STJ for...in the end it was. So as of today, I vow when I am on Trunk Bay and watching the herd of cruise ship passengers scramble out onto the beach to get their 90 minutes of beach time I will not....oh who am I kidding? Of course I'm still going to laugh at the sight and enjoy my laid back vacation choice. But I do understand now how a cruise can be fun and that is does make sense for a vacation for large groups or people with varying degrees of mobility and interests.
the trip was going to be a CRUISE. Let me just say we have cruised in the past and quite frankly did not feel the need to ever do so again. It's just not our cup of tea. For this trip with the possibility of what we thought were 15 to 20 people from all around the country, a cruise was the best option. Lots for everyone to do, meals included and a ship big enough for everyone to get together or get away from each other as needed. After much consideration, we opted to take the Norwegian Dawn from Boston to Bermuda. We live in the area and as the previous anniversary couple chose to cruise out of their home port of Tampa, we decided to cruise from our home port. I was happy as the ship docks overnight in Bermuda so I knew we would not be forced to take only mind-numbing, wallet draining cruise ship excursions with large groups of cruisers most concerned with where the nearest souvenir shop was and if they would be back in time for the lunch buffet that THEY PAID FOR AS PART OF THEIR CRUISE. By the time I had chosen the dates and we were ready to depart 32 family members from 10 to 83 had decided to hop on board our adventure. For the entire time I was packing, I continually grumbled: $%#%@$^@%$ If we were going to STJ I wouldn't need this dress $#%@^@&$^ If we were going to STJ I wouldn't have to bring anything to be pressed at the dry cleaner....need I say more? So date of cruise comes, we load the limo like we are moving out of state and we are off to the cruise terminal. We hopped out to a hot steamy day and herds of people waiting to get on the ship. Where's the beer stand? They have one in Red Hook! Uh Oh, another STJ comparison. I knew I had to stop. So we and the rest of the cattle...er passengers were herded through line to make our way onto the ship. By the time we got on the ship many cruisers were already eating (apparently if you get there early enough you can get an extra lunch in). We were eager to bring our stuff up to our cabin and bask in the luxury that was to be ours in our deluxe mini suite. BAHAHA The white cotton, waffle weave robe was a nice touch. In STJ everyone has their own room..... That evening at dinner we met everyone who had booked the cruise. There were relatives my husband did not know. Cousins he had heard about but never spent time with and great aunts, uncles, and cousins that my kids had never met. We quickly realized all 11 kids had no interest in organized "kids and teen club" activities and they wanted to make their own fun. It was a relief to us as our STJ loving teens have never been into preplanned fun. They tend to make their own. We had 2 days of at sea bonding. It was lots of drinking, lots of laughing and alot of yelling after the kids "Be sure to come back here and check in at 8:30" as they ran off to go in the pool, sit on the stairs and talk or get into other good clean mischief. Before I knew it, we were on the cruise 2 days and we were pulling into the Royal Navy Dockyard in Bermuda. The days at sea had gone by quickly and instead of looking for all I did not like about the trip I found myself laughing, drinking and enjoying the company of my husband's family and other travelers. Kind of like STJ. As people clamored to choose excursions through the excursion desk, I had already done my homework. A good friend suggested we rent a Whaler at a local dive shop and take the boat over the Castle Island in Bermuda. I had made arrangements before we left and my husband boys and I took the ferry and long bus ride to Grotto Bay to pick up the boat. Surprisingly, 12 of the other cruisers in our group wanted to come along! They thought it sounded like a great idea and were willing to take the chance on getting a boat. PSSSH here we thought we were going on vacation with a bunch of "cruisers" but the truth was they werent' what we all have come to think of as cruisers. Unfortunately, the boats were sold out but our family members were really great about it. They told us to go and have fun, not to worry about them and went off on their own adventure. We quickly got out onto that gorgeous sky blue water and the cruise was forgotten. This was like STJ! We followed a map that took us along the coast of Bermuda. We identified different landmarks and in a distance we saw a structure on top of the hill that sloped down to a gorgeous, deserted pink sand beach. We pulled the boat in and enjoyed our own private island for the afternoon. On our way back, we motored over to Nonsuch Island, a nature preserve that also had a small ship wreck that you could snorkel. The kids jumped out for a snorkel where they saw 2 beautiful Rainbow Parrot Fish and schools of other smaller fish. Not STJ beautiful but very cool none the less. After a long day on the water we headed back to the ship. When people asked us what we had done that day on the ferry ride back to the ship, we got mixed reactions. Everything from "Cool, how did you know about that?" to "You ventured out on your own...without a tour guide..what about lunch..did you get to shop?" LOL The rest of our time in Bermuda and the cruise went by quickly. We just enjoyed the scenery, did our own thing and enjoyed each other's company. By the time the ship departed we all realized that the point of the vacation was for us to all meet and enjoy each other's company. The cruise ship was literally just a vessel. The last 2 days of the cruise were filled with some quiet moments stolen away during the day followed by nights of fun with family. We all had got to the point where we were discussing visiting each other in our home states and keeping in touch. When we docked in Boston, we had forgotten we were on a cruise we really weren't sure was worth skipping STJ for...in the end it was. So as of today, I vow when I am on Trunk Bay and watching the herd of cruise ship passengers scramble out onto the beach to get their 90 minutes of beach time I will not....oh who am I kidding? Of course I'm still going to laugh at the sight and enjoy my laid back vacation choice. But I do understand now how a cruise can be fun and that is does make sense for a vacation for large groups or people with varying degrees of mobility and interests.
