Bermuda

Chapter 14 will Focus on Bermuda.

Day 4,

We woke to some light vibrations, this is my guess. I think overnight the ship slowed down to a crawling speed as we were so close to the port. At around 6:30 we started moving faster and that is what caused the light vibrations (but nothing like when we left NY).

I took a few pictures.

The sun was barely out.

As you go into Bermuda the ship zigzags a lot! This is a man made canal, and the only way for the large ships to enter Bermuda. The reason why there are so many shipwrecks around the island is because the coral reef extenders for miles. In the past the first 40 families that settled into Bermuda used to light up fires to trick ships into pulling into the island to resupply. Most ships passing by though it was a safe harbor and they would attempt to pull in, once they shipwrecked the locals would go and steal everything from the ship including the wood.

The 40 males of the families were called the 40 thieves. With all the wood they would build ships and sell these ships, that was the main economy of the island back then. Soon enough the queen found out about it and attempted to put a stop to this. In any case those first 40 families are now the richest families of the island, and their decedents pretty much own most of the profitable businesses in the island.

The main income of the island right now is insurance reassurance, which means that companies like Allstate, state farm and such go there to insure themselves. Tourism only accounts for 7% of their GDP, although they are hoping for the number to increase with the Breakaway and Quantum. The reason why tourism has such a small percentage of the GDP is because of how expensive it is to travel to Bermuda. Traveling in a cruise ship is actually very affordable when compared to the Hotels and airfare.

By the way, housing in Bermuda is insanely expensive.

Another neat fact, all the houses in Bermuda are self dependent with water. All the roofs are sprayed with a neutralizing material, and the rain water is stored into the tanks under the house. The dry months are during summer, and they have to be very careful with how much water they use. They say that 2-3 minute showers are very common, and there are a lot of other water saving techniques. If you run out of the water you can refill your tank from the city, but it costs about $130 to fill it. So they rather save their water.

Most large hotels have their own desalination systems so that they don’t have to worry about that problem.

Anyway I learned all this info in one excursion, but I though I share it now .

You could see a few people out on their balconies.

I went back to bed and slept a little more until we docked. I woke up when we were already tied up.

Up until the week before the ability of Breakaway being able to dock was in question. The problem was that Bermuda took their sweet time to start repairing and expanding the dock, and as a result it was not ready in time. Actually when we docked they tied the ship to the old damaged dock, they told NCL that as a precaution the engines were to be kept running 24/7 just in case. I am not sure which ship it was, but I believe the last year one NCL ship broke loose from the dock.

It was quite apparent that they were no where near being completed, actually I think the project is scheduled to be finished in October. In the meantime they will work on while the ships are in port. And yes, there is noise while the construction is going on, the good thing is that they stop working around 5pm.

Where is the sky, Where is the ocean? Neat huh?

Bermuda Museum.

Love this pic! Just wait for the one I took at night!

This picture is Crazy! Notice how the blue os the ocean almost blends with the sky?

Anyway, I guess we got ready and decided to hit the buffet for the first time since we boarded. Crazy right, I could not believe that I had not seen it yet. The buffet is huge, possibly the most seating that I have seen in any ship. There is one huge problem with the buffet. Instead of different islands to distribute people, they have two straight lines, one in each side. And it can get crazy crowded when getting some stuff, specially the really frequented food.

But overall it was the same food that was found in the MDR and Oshehaan’s for breakfast. There were plenty of options and everything was very good, no complains there. Also finding a table was never an issue.

The same french toast as MDR. Very tasty!

Deck 5 has really wide corridors, but they get narrow again towards the front of the ship.

Bermuda

Finally outside in Bermuda with some Amazing weather!

This store is actually reasonably priced. It is the store in the Bermuda terminal.

We decided to buy our two day transportation pass right there. There was a little line, and it was a bit disorganized. But within 15 minutes we had our 2 day passes on hand. Remember the pass is good for both buses and ferries.

Bermuda Map

Then we decided to go find the Internet place, we were dying to catch up with our E-life before getting to know Bermuda .

Here, you can see that it is not even completed yet.

Every Thursday they have a John Lennon concert, with a little Caribbean mix. We missed it . I believe he lived in Bermuda for some time.

And for those wondering here is where you buy the internet card in the Bermuda Dockyard. The cost is $15 per device for 3 days, unlimited. The signal right now is only good for the area near that gazebo. They told us they are planning to expand so it reaches the ship, but that wont happen for some time. You’re also able to find hot spots in Hamilton and St. George. The internet is fairly good in Bermuda, definitely much faster than the one in the ship. Mom was able to Facetime, but I was not, I think my phone was having issues.

I sat on the grass, and mom sat on a bench, we stayed there for some time.

These are the wifi cards in Bermuda, they are very easy to use. You just put the code in and that’s it.

So relaxing =)

There were chickens and a roster somewhere.

At some point I saw a line forming and I told my mom that I was going to get into the line hoping that it was the one for the Ferry to St. George. The funny thing is that the people in front of me were also hoping for the same thing, we really did not know if it was the one for Hamilton or the one to St. George. Eventually the line started moving and we confirmed that we were in the correct line .

Almost aboard the Bermuda Ferry.

Inside was air conditioned, very nice.

The ferry ride took about 45 minutes, when we got to St. George we still did not know what to do. There were 2 options, either Tobacco bay and the Fort which I wanted to do. Or the caves and the aquarium which my mom wanted to do. Eventually, we decided to go to the caves and the aquarium. I also think we made the correct decision, because the next day we were doing the beach thing. So it was good to alternate in between the two.

By the way if you are going to Tobacco Bay its all an up hill walk, about 20 minutes they say. Or you can take a taxi or a mini bus there for $5pp and then walk back down. It might be easier for your knees.

Well anyway on with the story,

One day Gambee, just one day. I really want one =)

To get to the bus stop you walk through some gorgeous streets!

Mom loved these trees. They were scattered throughout the island.

My favorite dogs are wiener doggies . That one was pretty fat! That is not good for them.

The path to a restaurant

The town square. The town square. The town square.
I stopped there in the visitor center and asked for directions to the bus stop. By the was it is customary to say hello to everyone, before you approach them. Bermuda residents are very polite people, we loved that about the island!