Shore excursions

[sbelt98]

My husband and I are traveling on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas August 21^st through August 29^th. We will be stopping in Bermuda from August 23^rd through August 25^th. We originally wanted to do the Bermuda Hidden Gems Excursion, but it is sold out through Royal Caribbean and all the other tour options we have looked at. Does anyone have any recommendations for tours that are similar or other things that we should do? My husband and I went snorkeling while we were in Hawaii and loved it, so any recommendations for snorkeling tours would be great too. This is our first time in Bermuda, so we want to know what we should see, as we want to make the most of our time there.

 

Thank you!

[princeton123211]

6 hours ago, sbelt98 said:

This is our first time in Bermuda, so we want to know what we should see, as we want to make the most of our time there.

For a first timer I would take a Blue Flag taxi tour. They will be available as you disembark the ship at Royal Naval Dockyard or you can scour the boards here for the names of specific drivers. Much like a London taxi driver they undergo special certification to make sure they have a strong knowledge of the island. I believe it's a 3 hour minimum but most tours take about 4 hours and you get a great overview of the island. 

[Charles4515]

12 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

For a first timer I would take a Blue Flag taxi tour. They will be available as you disembark the ship at Royal Naval Dockyard or you can scour the boards here for the names of specific drivers. Much like a London taxi driver they undergo special certification to make sure they have a strong knowledge of the island. I believe it's a 3 hour minimum but most tours take about 4 hours and you get a great overview of the island. 

I agree about the taxi tour. They are $50 an hour for (1-4). Byways Tours is a good tour operator that gets great reviews. Not as activity oriented as Hidden Gems. http://www.bermudabyways.com/tours/

[nzdisneymom]

We are sailing about two weeks after you, and it will be our first time in Bermuda as well.  We are planning to do the Mini-bus tour through RCCL on the full day, and then we have scheduled with Heidi at Bermuda Byways for a shortened version of her usual tour on the 2nd day.  While we will cover a lot of the same ground, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to re-visit some of the places we see the first day.  This is assuming weather cooperates and we get the full time in port!

 

I would recommend that you continue to check the availability of the Hidden Gems excursion in case people's plans change and you can snag the spots you need.  And if you don't have something else already booked, be sure to check with Shore Excursions once on board in case something becomes available.  You never know if they have saved some spaces back.

[princeton123211]

2 hours ago, nzdisneymom said:

it will be our first time in Bermuda as well.  We are planning to do the Mini-bus tour through RCCL on the full day, and then we have scheduled with Heidi at Bermuda Byways for a shortened version of her usual tour on the 2nd day.  While we will cover a lot of the same ground, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to re-visit some of the places we see the first day.

If I could give you any piece of advice it will be that you'll regret doubling down on two tours like this-- what I would recommend is pulling your private tour forward to day one and then picking a nice beach or place you enjoyed for day two. It's not a large island and doubling down on tours will be tedious and you'll most likely wish you were enjoying a place you found on the tour day 1 on the second day. 

[Charles4515]

12 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

If I could give you any piece of advice it will be that you'll regret doubling down on two tours like this-- what I would recommend is pulling your private tour forward to day one and then picking a nice beach or place you enjoyed for day two. It's not a large island and doubling down on tours will be tedious and you'll most likely wish you were enjoying a place you found on the tour day 1 on the second day. 

 

I agree with your advice that they should cancel their Royal Caribbean mini bus tour. If Heidi is not available the first day there are plenty of other things they could do the first day. A beach or go over to St.George and or Hamilton and walk around. There will be a lot of duplication and you can't really customize an Royal mini bus tour. Heidi's tour will be a lot better and two tours will be tedious. I can't think of a good reason OP would be planning the two tours  unless Heidi is not available the first day. Doing her tour the second day will be fine if she is not available the first day. 

Edited July 16, 2022 by Charles4515

[moposh]

Anyone done the glass bottomed boat tours?  I have booked two because why not?  They may give a little different info.  We'll go to beach on our own one day and do snorkeling the last day before the ship leaves.

 

I also hope to go into St. George or Hamilton, maybe on day we arrive depending on time or after lunch on beach day.

Edited July 25, 2022 by moposh