Was free NCL ferry damaged in July?

[K2play]

Hi everyone, I read on a review that the free NCL ferry to St. George's had a wreck on the rocks in July.  Does anyone know anything about it?  We were planning to use it on our cruise.  Now I don't see it at the dock in front of the customs house next to the ship on the Bermuda Port Cam.  Does anyone know what NCL is doing in the mean time to get to St. George's?  Thanks!

Kara 🙂

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, K2play said:

Hi everyone, I read on a review that the free NCL ferry to St. George's had a wreck on the rocks in July.  Does anyone know anything about it?  We were planning to use it on our cruise.  Now I don't see it at the dock in front of the customs house next to the ship on the Bermuda Port Cam.  Does anyone know what NCL is doing in the mean time to get to St. George's?  Thanks!

Kara 🙂

I haven't seen anything like that reported here or on the main NCL board. Can you provide a link to where you read it?

[Arzeena]

1 hour ago, K2play said:

Hi everyone, I read on a review that the free NCL ferry to St. George's had a wreck on the rocks in July.  Does anyone know anything about it?  We were planning to use it on our cruise.  Now I don't see it at the dock in front of the customs house next to the ship on the Bermuda Port Cam.  Does anyone know what NCL is doing in the mean time to get to St. George's?  Thanks!

Kara 🙂

Kara,

I just returned from Bermuda. I do not know of any ferry damage. But NCL's ferry was not docked and I did not see it in use. So I asked. NCL was ferrying their passengers on the public ferries some of which seemed to have been kind of "dedicated" for NCL (separate lines to wait on etc) but were also taking Summit passengers.  NCL reps were there to guide from the ship to the ferry and on what line you get into etc. So you should be fine. Enjoy your cruise!

[Alatraveler1]

I read the same review and that's all there is to go off of as to news of an incident.  But if the NCL boat is out of order it means reduced capacity and perhaps different scheduling.  This is something NCL should be reporting to booked passengers that might be affected since they know about it.  We were planning on using it soon and if it's unavailable I and am sure other passengers would appreciate a heads up before stepping off the NCL ship and it just not being there.

[njhorseman]

Looking at marinetraffic.com right now there appears to be two public ferries doing the run between Dockyard and St. George. The second public ferry must be replacing the NCL ferry because normally only one public ferry runs that route.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, Alatraveler1 said:

I read the same review and that's all there is to go off of as to news of an incident.  But if the NCL boat is out of order it means reduced capacity and perhaps different scheduling.  This is something NCL should be reporting to booked passengers that might be affected since they know about it.  We were planning on using it soon and if it's unavailable I and am sure other passengers would appreciate a heads up before stepping off the NCL ship and it just not being there.

 

In the past when the NCL ferry was out of service they were loaned a public ferry. It did make the trip longer as the ferry they borrowed was not as fast. Certainly NCL would inform you before stepping off the ship if there were no NCL ferry available. They also give out the schedule when you are onboard. Whatever schedule you have seen online posted by passengers is never guaranteed. The only schedule that ever means anything is the schedule handed out on the ship. 

[df5250]

One of the gentlemen who is on our cruise leaving Sunday is also on now. He shared the daily's and the free ferry service was still listed on today's daily.  On the Port web cam, I saw some construction equipment on the pier adjacent to where the NCL Ferry was leaving from last year. I wonder if they've just moved where it leaves from this year.  Charlie is going to confirm back to us tomorrow.

[Charles4515]

32 minutes ago, df5250 said:

One of the gentlemen who is on our cruise leaving Sunday is also on now. He shared the daily's and the free ferry service was still listed on today's daily.  On the Port web cam, I saw some construction equipment on the pier adjacent to where the NCL Ferry was leaving from last year. I wonder if they've just moved where it leaves from this year.  Charlie is going to confirm back to us tomorrow.

 

I don't see any construction equipment where the NL ferry has been leaving from. The NCL ferry has been leaving from the other side of the Heritage Wharf dock opposite  to where Escape is docked now. I will try to remember to check the webcam tomorrow morning. 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Charles4515

[df5250]

59 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I don't see any construction equipment where the NL ferry has been leaving from. The NCL ferry has been leaving from the other side of the Heritage Wharf dock opposite  to where Escape is docked now. I will try to remember to check the webcam tomorrow morning. 

I agree. I checked the webcam right after I posted and the crane and other stuff was gone.  It was there earlier in the day, so most likely doesn't have anything to do with our missing ferry! 

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by df5250

[df5250]

Hi. Charlie replied to our roll call tonight.  The Ferry is still running but from a new location.  I am attaching the map he shared with us in the Norwegian Escape Roll Call - August 11, 2019.

NCLFerry 2019.pdf

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, df5250 said:

Hi. Charlie replied to our roll call tonight.  The Ferry is still running but from a new location.  I am attaching the map he shared with us in the Norwegian Escape Roll Call - August 11, 2019.

NCLFerry 2019.pdf 631.99 kB · 3 downloads

 

That location is where the public ferry leaves from. It does not answer the question of what boat is being used although that probably means they are not using the NCL owned ferry boat. They might be using a borrowed boat or they might be putting the NCL passengers on the regular public Orange line boat with a separate line for NCL passengers who don’t pay. That would fit in with what Arzeena saw of NCL passengers being led to the public ferry location. I am somewhat surprised that we did not see an incident with the NCL boat reported in the Bermuda press. 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

Escape and Summit are docked at the Dockyard. Insignia is docked at St. George’s. Got to watch Insignia going thru the cut early this morning. 

 

The ferry Bermudian has just docked at the Ferry Terminal at the Dockyard. Also now entering is the ferry Cecil Smith. The Bermudian is a very large ferry.  I don’t think anyone has to worry about capacity. 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Charles4515

[njhorseman]

6 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

That location is where the public ferry leaves from. It does not answer the question of what boat is being used although that probably means they are not using the NCL owned ferry boat. They might be using a borrowed boat or they might be putting the NCL passengers on the regular public Orange line boat with a separate line for NCL passengers who don’t pay. That would fit in with what Arzeena saw of NCL passengers being led to the public ferry location. I am somewhat surprised that we did not see an incident with the NCL boat reported in the Bermuda press. 

As I posted yesterday there are two public ferries being used to and from  St. George. Clearly one is replacing the NCL ferry.

 

The extra ferry can't be boarded from the same location that the NCL ferry normally uses at Heritage Wharf because the NCL ferry loads from the side while the public ferries load from the front. 

[njhorseman]

8 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

The ferry Bermudian has just docked at the Ferry Terminal at the Dockyard. Also now entering is the ferry Cecil Smith. The Bermudian is a huge ferry.  

They've been using the Bermudian for many of the runs between Dockyard and Hamilton all year. That's why some of the runs Dockyard and Hamilton no longer allow motorcycles .

 

The second ferry currently being used to replace the NCL ferry to St. George is one of the catamarans. The J.L. Cecil Smith was one of the two being used on the runs to St. George yesterday. 

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by njhorseman

[Charles4515]

22 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

They've been using the Bermudian for many of the runs between Dockyard and Hamilton all year. That's why some of the runs Dockyard and Hamilton no longer allow motorcycles .

 

The second ferry currently being used to replace the NCL ferry to St. George is one of the catamarans. The J.L. Cecil Smith was one of the two being used on the runs to St. George yesterday. 

 

 

Another ferry is headed to the Dockyard. Serenity.  Cecil Smith left at 9:00 so Smith must be taking NCL passengers to St. George’s. 

 

Added. Yep Cecil Smith going to St. George’s. Left at 9:00 which is the NCL ferry’s scheduled time. 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

So to recap. The NCL owned ferry apparently is out of service but a Bermudian owned ferry the Cecil Smith left at the NCL ferry’s scheduled time from the public ferry dock and arrived in St. George’s at 9:45. At 9:30 the ferry Bermudian left for Hamilton  and the Serenity left for St. George’s. Both the Orange and Blue route ferries were scheduled to leave at that 9:30 time. Ergo I conclude a Bermuda ferry has been borrowed for use as the NCL free ferry, the public ferries ran as scheduled, so there was  no reduction in capacity for NCL or Summit passengers this morning. NCL passengers will board their free ferry at the public ferry dock until the NCL owned boat returns. What exactly happened to that boat and when it returns remains a mystery. 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Charles4515

[K2play]

48 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

Another ferry is headed to the Dockyard. Serenity.  Cecil Smith left at 9:00 so Smith must be taking NCL passengers to St. George’s. 

 

Added. Yep Cecil Smith going to St. George’s. Left at 9:00 which is the NCL ferry’s scheduled time. 

 

Thank you all!  That's a relief that they have continued service to St. George's.  We want to get there by 10:00 am to catch the public tour and Dunking of Wench.  I saw the construction too.  And thanks so much for the map.  I'll let our CC group know we can count on the NCL ferry service. 🤗

 

Enjoy you all's vacations!!  I'll be wishing I was there LOL!

[Charles4515]

For anyone who is interested in how to see ship locations and movements I used an app on my iPhone and iPad called MarineTraffic. It is the same info in an app that is on the marinetraffic.com website that njhorseman posted about using yesterday. I have been using the app the last few years on my cruises when I have internet onboard to see my ships location and to identify ships seen in the distance. You can download it from your mobile devices App Store. 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Charles4515

[Arzeena]

9 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

That location is where the public ferry leaves from. It does not answer the question of what boat is being used although that probably means they are not using the NCL owned ferry boat. They might be using a borrowed boat or they might be putting the NCL passengers on the regular public Orange line boat with a separate line for NCL passengers who don’t pay. That would fit in with what Arzeena saw of NCL passengers being led to the public ferry location. I am somewhat surprised that we did not see an incident with the NCL boat reported in the Bermuda press. 

Yes, it was a "borrowed boat" much smaller than the NCL "pink" ferry. In fact there were two boats and separate lines.

The times I ferried to Hamilton: the regular "faster" one and Bermudian were used. The Bermudian takes forever to load. Once they had a problem (on harbor nights) and it was delayed. So took a mini van shared ride for $10 pp to Hamilton. There were a couple of shared ride mini vans waiting by the ferry dock.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Arzeena

[nhquilter1]

On 8/8/2019 at 7:43 AM, Charles4515 said:

Escape and Summit are docked at the Dockyard. Insignia is docked at St. George’s. Got to watch Insignia going thru the cut early this morning. 

 

The ferry Bermudian has just docked at the Ferry Terminal at the Dockyard. Also now entering is the ferry Cecil Smith. The Bermudian is a very large ferry.  I don’t think anyone has to worry about capacity. 

 

I got to travel through the cut on the NCL Majesty back in 2007. Does the ferry go through the cut as well??

[Charles4515]

18 minutes ago, nhquilter1 said:

 

I got to travel through the cut on the NCL Majesty back in 2007. Does the ferry go through the cut as well??

 

Yes the ferry does go though the cut. Definitely not as exciting as when a cruise ship navigates the narrow passage. I hope the Town Crier is at the cut next week to welcome Insignia as they did cruise ships going through the cut in  past times. 

Edited August 12, 2019 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

Thru the cut today on a cruise ship. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

Docked at the old ferry dock in town in St. George’s. 

[Charles4515]

The NCL owned ferry boat has returned to service. An article in the Royal Gazette this morning  explains why it was out of service. It was damaged after hitting a reef. 

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20190826/ncl-ferry-returns-after-hitting-reef

Edited August 26, 2019 by Charles4515

[njhorseman]

5 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

The NCL owned ferry boat has returned to service. An article in the Royal Gazette this morning  explains why it was out of service. It was damaged after hitting a reef. 

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20190826/ncl-ferry-returns-after-hitting-reef

I find it interesting that the accident resulted in injuries to passengers but not a word about it, or even the fact that the NCL ferry was out of service, was ever reported in the Bermuda press until today.

 

I also find it somewhat odd that the Royal Gazette chose to publish a picture of the Norwegian Dream, an old ship that hasn't even been in the NCL fleet for years, to accompany the article. How about a picture of the ferry itself, or a picture of one of the current NCL ships that call on Bermuda? I guess the Dream was passing through the Town Cut in that picture so that's why it was chosen.

Edited August 26, 2019 by njhorseman