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Joy to Bermuda, which side of ship?

kayjay76

By kayjay76,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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kayjay76

kayjay76

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Hi all! I was going to ask this in the Bermuda forum but figured I'd start here as most of you know NCL ship layouts and piers so well. Considering a May cruise to Bermuda on the Joy. Never have been to Bermuda so we have no clue what the pier setup is.

My question is, for those of you who have sailed here... where and why would you choose your balcony state room to be. Port Side, starboard side? Is there a side that has better views, which way looks at the ocean, which looks at the island? Are boats parked directly next to each other like in Cozumel or are they spaced? Any info you can give would be great, ty!!

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tommccabe79

tommccabe79

Posted
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Royal Naval Dockyard (where NCL docks in Bermuda) is a pier that is parallel to the island. The dock holds two ships, I think. It's not possible to predict which side will face the island. The direction could change based on what side the crew needs to do life boat drills from that week. 

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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1 hour ago, kayjay76 said:

Hi all! I was going to ask this in the Bermuda forum but figured I'd start here as most of you know NCL ship layouts and piers so well. Considering a May cruise to Bermuda on the Joy. Never have been to Bermuda so we have no clue what the pier setup is.

My question is, for those of you who have sailed here... where and why would you choose your balcony state room to be. Port Side, starboard side? Is there a side that has better views, which way looks at the ocean, which looks at the island? Are boats parked directly next to each other like in Cozumel or are they spaced? Any info you can give would be great, ty!!

There are two berths at the Royal Naval Dockyard on the west end of Bermuda. Joy will be docked at Heritage Wharf which is the westernmost berth. One side of the ship will have views of the Dockyard and the other side will have what I will call a bay view. There is ocean and land. Ships can dock either way depending on operational needs so you can’t choose your view. 

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HelCat

HelCat

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Look on google maps (satellite view) and zoom in on Royal Navy Dockyard. You will see two cruise ships docked there. NCL uses Kings Wharf.  You basically get a view from either side. 

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psuboater

psuboater

Posted
Posted (edited)

Port side has buildings but you get the sunset!  But as others have said, you won’t know until you get there. Both sides are beautiful in Bermuda!

IMG_2312.jpeg

IMG_2738.jpeg

Edited by psuboater
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dexddd

dexddd

Posted
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Which side do you want?  It can be either.  I've tracked this for a few years, not lately, but it was 2/3-3/4 port side at dock.

 

At the end of the day, to us, not really a big deal.

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hallux

hallux

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7 hours ago, psuboater said:

Port side has buildings but you get the sunset!

For the record - you mean the side that faces the port itself will have these views.  Port side of the ship (using the nautical port/starboard) could have either that view or a view in the other direction.

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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7 hours ago, HelCat said:

Look on google maps (satellite view) and zoom in on Royal Navy Dockyard. You will see two cruise ships docked there. NCL uses Kings Wharf.  You basically get a view from either side. 

There are two distinct ship berths now. NCL uses both of the berths, the older berth is Kings Wharf and the newer berth is Heritage Wharf. Some cruise lines will call the whole port at Royal Naval Dockyard “Kings Wharf” which goes back to when there was only one docking area. Heritage Wharf was added on. Can be somewhat confusing. Joy will be docked at Heritage Wharf. The view from the side facing the Dockyard is not the same at Heritage Wharf as from Kings Wharf. 

 

 

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Laszlo

Laszlo

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Flip a coin. Been to Bermuda 4 times on cruises with NCL. Twice getting on and off was paused for 30 minutes to rotate the ship 180 degrees part way thru the 3 days there

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PartyPlannerLady

PartyPlannerLady

Posted
Posted
On 2/21/2024 at 10:13 PM, kayjay76 said:

Hi all! I was going to ask this in the Bermuda forum but figured I'd start here as most of you know NCL ship layouts and piers so well. Considering a May cruise to Bermuda on the Joy. Never have been to Bermuda so we have no clue what the pier setup is.

My question is, for those of you who have sailed here... where and why would you choose your balcony state room to be. Port Side, starboard side? Is there a side that has better views, which way looks at the ocean, which looks at the island? Are boats parked directly next to each other like in Cozumel or are they spaced? Any info you can give would be great, ty!!

 

No way to knwo which way teh shi[ wi;; docl/  All depends on factors such as weather, etc.  Pick a side and go with it.  You will have a great cruise either way!  Have fun...

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bluesea777

bluesea777

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Posted

I can see the ships docked at the Royal Naval Dockyard from our place across the Great Sound.

 

NCL usually dock their ships at Heritage Wharf. On some occasions a NCL ship would be docked at Kings Wharf.

 

And it's crapshoot as to which side the ships (not just NCL ships, but all ships) dock - port side or starboard side - it's up to the captain or weather or lifeboat maintanence.

 

Bermuda is a favourite port for the crew if their ship is docked for overnight or more.

 

2023 it was about 50:50 for the Joy and also the Pearl, the two NCL weekly callers.

 

 

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JGmf Great Review Rare

JGmf

Posted
Posted

In Bermuda, there's no way to know which side will dock island view versus water view.

 

That said, if you're picking a side for cabin selection, pick the one that best supports your wishes for views leaving and returning to NYC....b/c as we all know, NYC is the best of all ports for sail away and return home viewing.

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bjtravelnews

bjtravelnews

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As others have said there really is no way to predict which side of the ship will face land when docked.  I used to think that the ship rotated - one week port side at the dock and the next week starboard side at the dock.  Well, I was wrong.  For some reason there were two weeks in a row that the ship faced the dock in the same direction.  So that blew my theory.  I can tell you that most times we were lucky and managed to face land (7 out of 8 cruises to Bermuda).  Last year was the first time we faced the water.  And it really wasn't too bad.  It was nice to be able to see the stars at night.  One thing that I think is more important is what do you want to see when you sail out of NY?  I always book starboard balconies because that is the side that faces the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island when sailing out of the harbor.  I LOVE seeing those sights!  We get a glass of wine and sit on the balcony while we sail out of the harbor and under the bridge.

 

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Rick&Jeannie "Live from...." Rare

Rick&Jeannie

Posted
Posted
On 2/23/2024 at 12:29 PM, PartyPlannerLady said:

 

No way to knwo which way teh shi[ wi;; docl/  All depends on factors such as weather, etc.  Pick a side and go with it.  You will have a great cruise either way!  Have fun...

Having just a tad of trouble with that spell check thing, are we? 😄

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dexddd

dexddd

Posted
Posted
On 3/26/2024 at 8:05 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Having just a tad of trouble with that spell check thing, are we? 😄

In every post.  Maybe using a Blackberry?

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Cruising Lynne

Cruising Lynne

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If you are leaving from New York, starboard side is better. You will be able to see the Statue of Liberty from your balcony when you sail away from New York. 

 

In Bermuda the ships are one in front of the other, not side by side. So another ship in port does not block which ever view you end up with.

 

Check out the Port of Bermuda webcam. Getaway is there right now. So jealous!!

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Mike A

Mike A

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Attached is a link to the Port of Bermuda Webcam https://www.portbermudawebcam.com/

As you can see the Portside of the Getaway is facing the dock. As stated above the position varies by currents, tides and operational requirements. I also always want Starboard leaving NYC for the close up of Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. However, the NYC skyline on the Port side isn't shabby either🙂.

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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22 minutes ago, Mike A said:

Attached is a link to the Port of Bermuda Webcam https://www.portbermudawebcam.com/

As you can see the Portside of the Getaway is facing the dock. As stated above the position varies by currents, tides and operational requirements. I also always want Starboard leaving NYC for the close up of Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. However, the NYC skyline on the Port side isn't shabby either🙂.

I am on the top deck of ships when sailing out of New York so I can see both sides, I shift around, and also I prefer to be up there when going under the Verrazano  Bridge. 

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