Pirate's SPLENDID Cruise to Bermuda Review

[NoName]

I am really enjoying your review...thanks for taking the time to write it. I have never enjoyed a Bermuda Cruise, but I am now thinking that it might be fun.

 

Thanks again. Kim

[pirate4me2]

Oh, I am so going to those caves next year. DH loves that stuff.

 

Your sunrise pictures are beautiful!

 

Thank you! Enjoy your trip, Bermuda is gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

HI all!

 

pirate ~ welcome back! Loving your review & photos.:D Sounds like you had a great time. Isn't Bermuda beautiful?

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Thanks! Bermuda is soooo pretty! The water was so blue and clear when we swam in it. The locals were so friendly and helpful...I loved it! It was so different from the Caribbean islands we have been to.

[pirate4me2]

I am really enjoying your review...thanks for taking the time to write it. I have never enjoyed a Bermuda Cruise, but I am now thinking that it might be fun.

 

Thanks again. Kim

 

I had never considered one before, but DH thought Bermuda sounded cool and I figured it was different for us so why not? I wasn't sure in the months leading up to it if I would like being in port for 3 days, and I was not too excited about it, but after experiencing it I want to go back to Bermuda again.

[quickrate]

Thank you for this awesome review, will be in Bermuda on the Vista next Oct.

Pat

[smarks]

Thank you for such a great review and your pictures are awesome. My DH and I will be going in May but we will only be in port 1 1/2 days. Maybe towards the end of your review, you can fill me in on some of the must see things since I will only be there for 1 1/2 days. Thanks again for taking the time to post.

[jimbri]

Thank you for your review. I did not know about the Cathedral cave! Wow-it looks wonderful. I will have to try it when I hopefully go to Bermuda again.

[jbhcw]

Your pictures are great! Thanks so much for posting...love that you were able to swim in the cave:):):)

[pirate4me2]

Thank you for such a great review and your pictures are awesome. My DH and I will be going in May but we will only be in port 1 1/2 days. Maybe towards the end of your review, you can fill me in on some of the must see things since I will only be there for 1 1/2 days. Thanks again for taking the time to post.

 

I will do that! I now know why everyone said 3 days wasnt even enough time. There is a lot to do and see!

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your review. I did not know about the Cathedral cave! Wow-it looks wonderful. I will have to try it when I hopefully go to Bermuda again.

 

 

 

 

We did not know about it either, and we all agree it was the highlight of the trip. Swimming in a cave isn't something you can do just anywhere!

 

 

Your pictures are great! Thanks so much for posting...love that you were able to swim in the cave:):):)

 

Thanks. It was awesome!

[TLC535]

Welcome back ! enjoying the review & looking forward to more ;):)

[pirate4me2]

Welcome back ! enjoying the review & looking forward to more ;):)

 

Thank you!

[pirate4me2]

Ok everyone, I am working on the last part of Bermuda Day 1 and will post that in a little while. Then I am going to work on getting day 2 pics uploaded. My internet is still acting up, so I am having to upload them one at a time. Ugh. Must call AT&T tomorrow!

[pirate4me2]

Tonight's dinner service was slow, for some reason Elpidio and his team seemed to be having and off day. The food, however, was really good tonight! I was a piggy and had 2 starters, the spring rolls and the spinach, bacon, walnut and blue cheese salad. The spring rolls were perfect: hot, crispy, and just really, really yummy!

The salad, which I failed to get a picture of (sorry) was Ok, but not as good as my Caesar salad that I love so much. DH got that tonight and as usual, it was good. He also got some kind of shrimp appetizer, I forget what it was called. His cousin got the fruit cocktail starter, and he complained that there was too much honeydew in it.

DH's shrimp

For my main course I got the vegetarian enchiladas, and my friend Kristyn got those as well. We both LOVED them. Like...we loved them so much we both devoured them before I got a pic of them. Sorry guys. They were that good. DH got the turkey pasta entrée, I forget the name of it, and he said it was really good. His picky cousin got the grilled chicken from the everyday menu and hardly touched it. I am not sure if it was the chicken or him that was to blame for his lack of appetite. It looked good, with a side of mashed potatoes.

While we waited for dessert, I took some pics of the décor in the Black Pearl MDR.

I had my usual WCMC for dessert (you didn't really want another pic of that, did you? Good, I didn't take one!) and DH got his orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream, as well as another dessert...I think it was Bitter 'N Blanc? I am sure someone on here can correct me if I am wrong.

[pirate4me2]

After dinner DH's cousin and my friend wandered off to do their own thing. They said they were not interested in the shows, they didn't like the Piano Bar, and there was no comedy shows that night, so who knows what they got into. Kristyn and I decided to go see the production show with the Latin dancing. I forget what it was called...Latin Beat maybe? It was interesting, although we both thought a little strange. But hey, we enjoyed ourselves. We then went and grabbed my hubby from the cabin, where he was watching one of the movies that plays all day. Who goes on a cruise to watch a movie you can rent at home? Sheesh! OK, I admit, I am guilty of doing that too sometimes. :o We grabbed him to go see what Quest was all about. All I can say is....we laughed. Really, really laughed. I wish my friend and DH's cousin hadn't been such buzzkills and ditched us, because I can guarantee you we would have been a team (I think you had to have at least 4 people to have a team) and we would have participated.

Quest ended about midnight, and since we still had a lot left to conquer in Bermuda (lighthouse! Horseshoe Beach! Seaglass beach! Shopping!) we decided to call it a day. This was waiting for me on my bed at the end of the day.

[pirate4me2]

Bermuda Day 2

 

Alright, I finally got my day 2 pics uploaded, no thanks to darn AT&T and our cruddy internet connection. :mad: Who's ready for sea glass, pink sand, a ship debarking, and clocktowers?? :cool:

The plan for today was to see some beaches. After waking everyone up and grabbing breakfast on Lido again, our crew set out to catch a bus to Sea Glass beach. I wanted to get a few pieces of sea glass to put in my wine bottle I fill with sand from everywhere we go. After catching a bus that would take us to Sea Glass beach, I realized I had no idea where we needed to get off. :eek: All my directions said was to get off at the Royal Naval Cemetary. Umm....where is that?? By the time we asked the bus driver they said we had gone too far, so they let us off at the next stop. We then waited for a bus going back the right way, and this time we told the driver where we were headed and they said they would let us know when to get off. Lesson learned: if you don't know where you are trying to go, ask. The locals in Bermuda are super friendly and will help you out.

We got off the bus at the correct stop (thank you nice driver!) and made the short trek to Sea Glass beach. Now, this isn't a beach for swimming, and it wasn't really a pretty beach, but it was cool to see all the glass.

The artwork done by locals

Sea glass on the beach

I collected a few pieces for my bottle (yes, I know, someone will say you are not suppose to take it, but I only took a few pieces) and then we headed on our way for our next stop...

[pirate4me2]

Horseshoe Bay Beach

 

We hopped on a bus to take us to our swimming destination, Horseshoe Bay Beach. I had been dreaming about pink, soft sand for a while now! As we rode along we made note of the stop we would need to get off at to see the lighthouse, and we made it to our final destination after about 35 minutes on the bus. We were let off at a stop and we walked down a steep road to the beach area. Upon arrival, I was a little disappointed in the color of the sand, but stunned by how gorgeous the beach and the water looked.

This beach was beautiful. I couldn't wait to get in the water. Before I did, I took a quick pic of my feet on the pink sand.

It doesn't look too pink, but there are hints of it!

Do you see how clear and beautiful blue the water is?? I'm not just trying to show off my legs.

[pirate4me2]

We stayed and swam at the beach for about 3 hours. The water was the perfect temperature, the waves were fun, and it was just like Heaven on Earth. I could have stayed all day, but Kristyn isn't a big beach person, and Chris was getting hungry for lunch. By this time it was about 3, so the three of us decided to head back to the ship. DH's cousin and my friend decided to stay behind for more beach time. The 3 of us hiked up the hill to the bus stop and waited for a bus, and it wasn't too long before one came along.

Once we were back to Splendor, I decided to take a shower. Happy surprise: the shower was fixed! Yay!! DH did the same, and then we just sat in the room until 5, when the NCL Dawn was scheduled to head on her way back to Boston.

She's on her way!

This is a shot of the trolley that runs around the dockyard. I believe it is free to use.

[pirate4me2]

After Dawn left, our other 2 friends met up with us and we all decided to go walk around the Dockyard some before dinner. We planned to do our shopping tomorrow, on our last day in Bermuda, so that we wouldn't have to go too far from the ship. Everything was closed for the evening, but we got an idea of where we wanted to stop the next day.

Clocktower on the mall

Giant plant that I really liked. Can I plant one in my front yard? What is it anyway?

Fountain outside the Clocktower Mall

Clocktower again...sorry, I liked to take pics of them!

I really like this shot...it isn't great, but I like the clouds and sun behind it.

[pirate4me2]

Last shot of the Clocktower Mall, I promise!

Walkway leading to...

The Frog & Onion Pub. We would be eating lunch there tomorrow.

Can I shoot one? Pretty please???

After walking around the dockyard, we decided to catch the ferry to Hamilton to see what was going on over there.

A shot of Splendor with her lights on.

[pirate4me2]

Turns out, everything in Bermuda pretty much closes at 5. When we got to Hamilton, nothing was open except restaurants. We walked and window shopped before heading back to the ship.

Next time I am in Bermuda, I want to eat here.

I thought this was cool.

I really wanted a nighttime shot of Splendor. This is the best I got.

When we got off the ferry back in the Dockyard, DH's cousin and my friend decided to go off on their own for dinner. DH's cousin really wasn't enjoying the food on the ship. I will say, the food wasn't as good as some of our other cruises, but we never went hungry. However, with him being such a picky eater I think he was struggling.

Chris, Kristyn and I headed to the Black Pearl upon getting back onboard. We were in Elpidio's section again tonight (yay!) and we all got Caesar salads for our starter. They were all good, and I also decided to try the marinated chicken tenders. They were REALLY good. I decided to be a piggy and ordered the Cinnamon Pumpkin, Squash and Yam casserole that I have wondered about for the past few cruises as well as the fried shrimp and fries for dinner. As Elpidio said, you need to have a plan B! The vegetarian casserole was pretty good, but I do not think I would order it again. The fried shrimp and fries were just OK.

After dinner we didn't do much. The three of us went to the Love & Marriage show, and Chris and I nearly ended up onstage as the newlyweds! :eek: We were married in November 2011, and for some reason the newest married couples that were willing to stand up were all at 4 years of marriage. I always give Chris a hard time about not wanting to participate in the games and whatnot, and this time he looked at me and asked "Want to stand up?" I figured sure, with us being married 4 years no way will we stand a chance of getting picked! Well...as Kevin was calling out time married, I started to get scared. When he got to 4 years and it was just us and a few other couples, I got REALLY scared. As he began calling out months married and people were sitting down and we were still standing, I began to sweat. We were in the section on deck 4, and when it was us and 2 other couples standing up I looked at Chris with fear in my eyes, and he whispered "Do you want to sit down?" I collapsed in my seat, and the couple that remained was married October 2011. We really were the newest married couple in the room, but no way did I want to be on stage! I thought I did, but when the chance came, I bailed! It was fun to watch the show, and I am glad that the October 2011 couple was up there, they were funny.

We called it a day after the show and went to sleep. We had a lot to do in Bermuda on our last day there!

[hockeyluver]

Enjoying your review , thank you .

 

3 months and 2 days until we head to Florida .... 3 months and 3 monts 4 days until its our turn on the Splendor :p :p

[pirate4me2]

Enjoying your review , thank you .

 

3 months and 2 days until we head to Florida .... 3 months and 3 monts 4 days until its our turn on the Splendor :p :p

 

She's a pretty good ship, enjoy your cruise! I liked her Lido pool area with the dome for when we had not so good weather, and her aft pool area was nice. Kevin was pretty funny, and the crew were all super friendly.

[pirate4me2]

Bermuda Day 3

 

Our last day in Bermuda, we had not-so-great weather. I woke up, opened up the balcony door, and saw this:

It was drizzly, with a lot of wind. Chris and I went to Lido to grab a quick breakfast and then decided to walk around the dockyard and do our shopping despite the weather. When we stepped off the ship and onto the pier, we saw the waves next to Calico Jack's floating bar and knew we were in for some fun walking around.

The wind was crazy, and walking against it was hard! We went to the Bermuda Rum Cake Factory store and got samples of different rum cakes, which are delicious. I bought 2 coconut and 1 Rum Swizzle ones to bring home. We also wandered through the glassblowing store, which is connected to the rum cakes, and they have some gorgeous items. We then wandered through the Clocktower Mall, where we got a Christmas ornament.

After we went back to the ship and dropped off our purchases, we met up with Kristyn and my other friend for lunch. We had (Ok, fine, I had decided) to eat lunch at the Frog and Onion Pub. I'd heard great reviews of it, and it didn't disappoint! Chris was brave and ordered the Brisket in a Yorkie, which he ate almost every bite of.

Kristyn and I both ordered the pork tacos, which were really good. It was kinda weird with the pork being sweet, but I still ate every bite!

After lunch we walked around a little more. I went to the Craft Market and got some pink sand foot scrubs and other gifts for family. We headed back onboard around 2:30, and an old friend had arrived in port.

Pride was our very first cruise back in 2012, and she got this whole cruise addiction bug started! I was excited to see her in port as we are booked on her 14 day Journeys cruise next March. I can't wait!

[pirate4me2]

Ok everyone, I will try and post about leaving Bermuda and our last sea day tomorrow and Friday. I have to upload the pics, and AT&T is trying to work on our internet.

[pirate4me2]

Our group was all back on board by the 3:30 deadline, and at 4 we all met on the balcony to watch us sail away from beautiful Bermuda. Due to the high winds, we were getting help from tugboats. Here is the one who was at our aft.

I was hoping that we would blow our horn when we were sailing away, but no luck. I love hearing ships' horns.

Bye Pride! See you in a few months!

Tonight was our second elegant night, so after we sailed off everyone went to get ready for dinner. Tonight, I got the baked eggplant for a starter, and it was excellent!

For my main, I couldn't decide between the grilled shrimps or the stuffed pepper and spanakopita, so I got both.

I failed to get a pic of the pepper and spanakopita, sorry. The grilled shrimp were OK, but nothing special. The pepper and spanakopita were good, but the spanakopita was tough. I picked at both entrees, but I had a feeling I would be ordering room service later.

[pirate4me2]

I am sure by now that you all can figure out what I ordered for dessert. ;) DH is so much braver than me, and on our last cruise he discovered a dessert that he loves. Anyone know what this is?

If you said baked Alaska, you are right. DH loves it. He was so happy to see it on tonight's menu.

By the time we finished dinner, we all ran to our rooms to change so that e could go relax on Lido and watch Furious 7 on the Dive in Movies. I know, I know, who cares about movies while on a cruise ship? It was awesome though, I love sitting in a lounger and watching the big screen movies...if they are ones I enjoy. And I did enjoy this one.

When Furious 7 ended, I was ready to go back to the room. I don't know what the rest of the crew did. Wait, yes I do. Chris went to the Piano Bar to give Christine another chance, and he said she was OK. Kristyn went with him, and I think she said she made Christine sing the Barbie song. That would have been funny to see. I think the other two members of the crew probably went to the comedy shows.

When I got to the room, this was waiting for me.

I did order room service tonight, and since they did away with my southwest chicken wrap, I decided to branch out and try something new. I ordered a BLT, and OMG...it was SO GOOD. I think I am addicted now! I meant to take a pic, but I ate the whole thing before the camera turned on. Sorry!