5 or 7 night cruise to Bermuda?

[clp0930]

I currently have my eye on 2 cruises. One is the Liberty of the Seas 5-night Bermuda, with 2 full sea days and 2 days in Bermuda. I like this option because we would get back on a Thursday and could spend a couple of days in NYC before flying home.

 

The other option is a 7-night cruise on the Norwegian Joy. We could fly in on Saturday, and see a couple of things in NYC before boarding our ship. That would give us 3 days in Bermuda.

 

I have a 7-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl. Initially, I was going to book a Carnival cruise but I've always really wanted to go to Bermuda, and I feel like Carnival has a more hyped-up vibe whereas we're more quiet and chill ( the ships look cool, it just didn't seem like a fit for our travel style). 

[Charles4515]

58 minutes ago, clp0930 said:

I currently have my eye on 2 cruises. One is the Liberty of the Seas 5-night Bermuda, with 2 full sea days and 2 days in Bermuda. I like this option because we would get back on a Thursday and could spend a couple of days in NYC before flying home.

 

The other option is a 7-night cruise on the Norwegian Joy. We could fly in on Saturday, and see a couple of things in NYC before boarding our ship. That would give us 3 days in Bermuda.

 

I have a 7-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl. Initially, I was going to book a Carnival cruise but I've always really wanted to go to Bermuda, and I feel like Carnival has a more hyped-up vibe whereas we're more quiet and chill ( the ships look cool, it just didn't seem like a fit for our travel style). 

For either cruise you need to fly in a day early. So you would have a day in the New York area. I think sailing out of Manhatten on NCL is preferable. I have been on Liberty of the Seas and on NCL Breakaway which is a sister ship to NCL Joy. NCL Joy is a newer ship than LOS. Liberty of the Seas would be very good with kids, a lot of activities but from what I observed think NCL Joy would be awesome for kids. You say you have always wanted to go to Bermuda so the extra time on Joy is going to be great and NCL runs a free ferry to St. George. The extra day might be the difference of going to St. George or not. I think Joy is the better choice.

Edited June 14, 2023 by Charles4515

[princeton123211]

51 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I think Joy is the better choice.

I agree with Charles here-- NCL itinerary is superior for the full extra day, departing NYC (vs New Jersey), as well as the benefits such as the free ferry to St George.

 

3 days in Bermuda with NCL is going to translate to 2 full days and one partial day. 2 days in Bermuda on LOS is really 1 full day and 1 day you have to be back on the ship by 4pm. The entire attraction for me cruising to Bermuda vs flying there is the long port stops combined with the sea days on either side. 

 

I only really start to really relax on vacation on day 4 or so-- that's where the 5 day itinerary falls short. 

[arpie05]

The Joy is a beautiful ship. Book a Mid ship cabin because they only have 2 sets of elevators vs 3+ atrium elevator on most carnival ships.  

[bkrickles1]

3 hours ago, clp0930 said:

I currently have my eye on 2 cruises. One is the Liberty of the Seas 5-night Bermuda, with 2 full sea days and 2 days in Bermuda. I like this option because we would get back on a Thursday and could spend a couple of days in NYC before flying home.

 

The other option is a 7-night cruise on the Norwegian Joy. We could fly in on Saturday, and see a couple of things in NYC before boarding our ship. That would give us 3 days in Bermuda.

 

I have a 7-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl. Initially, I was going to book a Carnival cruise but I've always really wanted to go to Bermuda, and I feel like Carnival has a more hyped-up vibe whereas we're more quiet and chill ( the ships look cool, it just didn't seem like a fit for our travel style). 

I have sailed both ships and I've done 5 and 7 day Bermuda itineraries.

LOS is much older (I'm sure they've done a renovation at some point). I sailed LOS when it was brand new in 2007, I believe, and it's a real nice ship. It's so nice that we sailed again on Liberty some years later. But that means it's around 16 years old and probably in need of some updating.

We sailed Joy last summer for a 7 day Bermuda itinerary and it was great fun for adults and kids. We had my nieces with us, who were 8 & 9, and they had so much fun. The kids clubs were not in full swing but they are now and, form what I've read, they are terrific. There's water slides, go carts and other fun stuff too on Joy. And there's much more variety of eateries.

We enjoyed Joy so much that we're sailing on her again in July.

I'd choose the 7 day. It takes a couple of days to get your bearings and the almost 3 days in Bermuda can be filled up with activities really easy. It's a way more relaxing trip with the extra 2 days.

Also, Joy is way newer. It was built in 2017 for the Asia market and then after a year they retooled it for North America. You figure in the pandemic and it's really only been sailing for about 4 years.

Either choice will be good, but I recommend the Joy and the 7day itinerary.

[Charles4515]

8 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

There's water slides, go carts and other fun stuff too on Joy.

Do they have the ropes on Joy? . On Breakaway all the children onboard seems to be having a great time with those.

[bkrickles1]

Just now, Charles4515 said:

Do they have the ropes on Joy? . On Breakaway all the children onboard seems to be having a great time with those.

Unfortunately, no. 

I've sailed on ncl escape and encore too. Only the Escape had the ropes course and that might have been my favorite of the ncl ships but the Joy is fabulous in it's own way. 

In fact, Joy is definitely better for adult entertainment. 2 big theater shows, 2 comedians and live music at 5 different venues every single night. 

[mskaufman]

We were on the 5 night from Baltimore last year.  It was really one and 2 half days in Bermuda. It was really only on the middle day that we had a full day.

[clp0930]

On 6/14/2023 at 3:00 PM, bkrickles1 said:

Unfortunately, no. 

I've sailed on ncl escape and encore too. Only the Escape had the ropes course and that might have been my favorite of the ncl ships but the Joy is fabulous in it's own way. 

In fact, Joy is definitely better for adult entertainment. 2 big theater shows, 2 comedians and live music at 5 different venues every single night. 

 

My daughter hates heights so she'll be fine sans ropes and climbing wall lol