Tell Me Why You Love Bermuda.....

[donnatello]

Renting an apartment and doing my own cooking is not a vacation (to me). A nice hotel with all the amenities in Bermuda is pricey! I'd also rather take a cruise, be waiting on hand and foot and spend 3 days there for the same price as "keeping house" somewhere's else for a week. But....if that works for you...enjoy!

[blue_water]

Renting an apartment and doing my own cooking is not a vacation (to me). A nice hotel with all the amenities in Bermuda is pricey! I'd also rather take a cruise, be waiting on hand and foot and spend 3 days there for the same price as "keeping house" somewhere's else for a week. But....if that works for you...enjoy!

 

Resort living is the only way to go for many. We enjoy nicer resorts and hotels when we travel to more cosmopolitan areas, but on Bermuda and other islands we like living small and enjoying the place rather than being waited on by staff and enjoying the resort.

 

When we don't stay at a resort, such as on Bermuda, we rent a condo and eat breakfast in for convenience and healthier eating. We like eating breakfast in at high-end resorts as well - just more relaxing to us with the view and quiet and no crowds. We pack a nice lunch and drinks for WLB where we can enjoy a quieter beach without the resort crowd, and we enjoy nice restaurants in the evening, a few more than we would if we were paying $500/night for just a hotel.

 

So the experience we look for depends on the destination, and BDA is much different than the Riviera Maya or Jamaica, for example. And once we spent a week on BDA, cruising there just wasn't an option anymore...:)

Edited June 4, 2015 by blue_water

[CTCruiser72]

Resort living is the only way to go for many. We enjoy nicer resorts and hotels when we travel to more cosmopolitan areas, but on Bermuda and other islands we like living small and enjoying the place rather than being waited on by staff and enjoying the resort.

 

When we don't stay at a resort, such as on Bermuda, we rent a condo and eat breakfast in for convenience and healthier eating. We like eating breakfast in at high-end resorts as well - just more relaxing to us with the view and quiet and no crowds. We pack a nice lunch and drinks for WLB where we can enjoy a quieter beach without the resort crowd, and we enjoy nice restaurants in the evening, a few more than we would if we were paying $500/night for just a hotel.

 

So the experience we look for depends on the destination, and BDA is much different than the Riviera Maya or Jamaica, for example. And once we spent a week on BDA, cruising there just wasn't an option anymore...:)

 

BINGO - nothing says just because you have a stove or grill at said condo/apartment you have to cook three squares. And 99.9% of the rentals have no maid service so OMG you need to sweep a floor 1-2x if there is too much sand. Last year the wife and I would have fruit or a muffin and coffee/tea overlooking Bailey's Bay then head out for our day. We'd either eat a larger lunch and a small dinner, or visa versa. We thought about steaks on the grill, but after pricing the charcoal & steaks we decided to go out...not that prices were too outrageous, it was too close for the effort.

 

We found nothing better than our own section of south shore beach with a Rubles gas station tuna sandwich on toasted raisin bread with lettuce and tomato!!

 

I'll take 10-12 days of "roughin it" in BDA for the price of a cruise that's there for what 32hrs? But I do enjoy a cruise every now and again.

[blue_water]

BINGO - nothing says just because you have a stove or grill at said condo/apartment you have to cook three squares. And 99.9% of the rentals have no maid service so OMG you need to sweep a floor 1-2x if there is too much sand. Last year the wife and I would have fruit or a muffin and coffee/tea overlooking Bailey's Bay then head out for our day. We'd either eat a larger lunch and a small dinner, or visa versa. We thought about steaks on the grill, but after pricing the charcoal & steaks we decided to go out...not that prices were too outrageous, it was too close for the effort.

 

We found nothing better than our own section of south shore beach with a Rubles gas station tuna sandwich on toasted raisin bread with lettuce and tomato!!

 

I'll take 10-12 days of "roughin it" in BDA for the price of a cruise that's there for what 32hrs? But I do enjoy a cruise every now and again.

 

Yes we too still enjoy cruising now ana again, even though we've been to all of the Carib islands we do like to return to a few for a visit. And some destinations are just too difficult or expensive to fly into from our little airport. And cruising introduced us to these beautiful destinations so I'm not putting down cruising, we just can return for longer stays now and we're very fortunate in that regard. :)

[Shih-tzu]

I agree with everything above - I have been there twice - once by air/hotel and just recently by cruise ship.

 

No hassles, no constant selling, felt very safe. The transportation system is great and beaches are wonderful.

 

I chose the HAL cruise from Boston that docked right in downtown Hamilton and was only a block or two from the bus stop/ferries, etc. and more centralized. It was wonderful and we were there from noon on Monday to noon on Thursday.... lots of time to go to beach, tour, shop, etc.

[DeltaOne]

Last year the wife and I would have fruit or a muffin and coffee/tea overlooking Bailey's Bay then head out for our day. We'd either eat a larger lunch and a small dinner, or visa versa.

 

We did the same thing. After three cruises to Bermuda we wanted more. Via the web we rented a "condo" from a Bermuda home owner. The "condo" was attached to their house and had a combo day room with bed, full kitchen and bathroom. We had space to park our rented scooter and full use of their in-ground swimming pool. Cost was $120 per night -- total -- no extra fees or taxes.

 

A grocery store was a short walk from the condo. We'd have coffee and a sweet bun for breakfast, then head out for our day. Sometimes we ate lunch out, other times we had dinner out. For the lunches or dinner at the condo we'd make something simple, easy to cook and easy to clean up.

 

The total cost for this was about 15 to 20% more than a cruise. But the kicker was that we had seven full days in Bermuda, compared to the 2 or 3 you get on a cruise.

 

The condo was in the Warwick parish. We were about five minutes from Horseshoe Bay Beach. Over the course of the seven days we explored the island from St. George to the Dockyard and back again.

 

I'll never forget the great scenery when driving along the south shore road. One day we drove along the south shore road and stopped at just about every beach. Some beaches we'd take a few pictures and move on, some beaches we'd stay and swim a bit. This day ended up at the Swizzle Inn for a nice meal and a few adult beverages!

[Cruise a holic]

... BECAUSE I DIDN'T!!:rolleyes:

 

We docked at King's Wharf on Explorer OTS in May 2013. Day and a half in port. Part of our not having a good time was definitely the weather (not Bermuda's fault!). It rained off and on, temps in the 50's & 60's.

 

The good: we did a long tour of Bermuda which included dinner at the oldest continuing operating restaurant (even though it had closed once for several yrs) in Bermuda. The tour was informative and enjoyable (the tour leader was great). That was nice, but only works for people who are there for more than a few hours.

 

The bad: We felt the shops were way overpriced (Yes, its a tourist place, but still seemed excessive). We also took the ferry, went to the one main jewelry store where the sales clerks basically ignored us (unlike most Caribbean ports where they cater to you). Restaurants were overpriced compared to most ports. Our dinner was included in the excursion fare; met a couple who had a burger, fries, one beer each at a famous local pub and said they paid $80.

 

We'll be docking at King's Wharf in June, only there for half a day. Our plan right now is to probably hit Horseshoe Beach, but I'm open to suggestions:

 

So tell me why I should love Bermuda, and what I should do on my half day there....

 

My first response, is I love the cruise ship! We either take our car or a car service from our home to the cruise terminal and the vacation immediately . The beach in Bermuda is beautiful. We also enjoy walking around the towns- have seen the touristy sights so we do not do that. Many people enjoy water activities. We sometimes spend the day at a hotel like Coco Reef. King's wharf has a few very interesting shops-you can watch glass blowing for free, and make a purchase which can range from inexpensive to expensive. Kings Wharf also has a beach available for a fee- good for those who aren't interested in going to another beach. They also have a really nice pottery shop- age variable prices.

 

Bermuda offers has many water tour options which are interesting.

[CTCruiser72]

Kings Wharf also has a beach available for a fee- good for those who aren't interested in going to another beach. They also have a really nice pottery shop- age variable prices.

 

Bermuda offers has many water tour options which are interesting.

 

is that a typo or do they really charge a fee for the beach?

[Charles4515]

is that a typo or do they really charge a fee for the beach?

 

Yes. That would be the Snorkel Park. It is a man made private beach. Not one of the beautiful natural Bermuda beaches. I guess they figure they have a captive audience from ship passengers who don't want to bother with transportation to a nice Bermuda beach.

 

A fee would not bother me if it was a better beach. I don't think it would be worth going to if it were a free beach.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Charles4515

[Shih-tzu]

There is a beach there for a fee - I think it's called the Snorkle Park (?) but from what I understood from other passengers there's more than just beach - i.e. water sports.

[Charles4515]

is that a typo or do they really charge a fee for the beach?

 

Some cruise ship passengers are willing to pay $69 for a day pass to a resort which is on beach they can use for free without paying a fee. So being able to obtain small fee for a mediocre beach from cruise ship passengers is not surprising.

[Charles4515]

There is a beach there for a fee - I think it's called the Snorkle Park (?) but from what I understood from other passengers there's more than just beach - i.e. water sports.

 

I believe they charge extra for water sports.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Charles4515

[Cruise a holic]

There is a beach there for a fee - I think it's called the Snorkle Park (?) but from what I understood from other passengers there's more than just beach - i.e. water sports.

 

Everything is a la carte- they charge an admission fee just to use the beach and it's facilities- chair, umbrella, water sports extra.

[CTCruiser72]

Some cruise ship passengers are willing to pay $69 for a day pass to a resort which is on beach they can use for free without paying a fee. So being able to obtain small fee for a mediocre beach from cruise ship passengers is not surprising.

 

 

$69 usually includes a lunch, a drink, and changing facilities though.

 

I understand the use of water sports "stuff" requires a fee, but to plunk down on a blanket in the sand...that's absurd.

 

Just another reason for my dislike of Dockyard.

Edited June 5, 2015 by CTCruiser72