some tips and notes on Bermuda

[39august]

We were in Bermuda June 5 and 6 on Explorer. Due to the death of an important person, June 5 was declared a public holiday. Neither the Explorations desk, nor the Concierge was aware of this. Since I read this board I knew, but it didn't help us any as there were no schedules on board and I had studied the daily schedules! The ferries and buses were on holiday schedules. We bought our 2 day Transportation pass on board, $20 pp. The Concierge obtained them for us so we didn't have to contend with lines. When we arrived at dockyards,there were buses to and from Horseshoe Bay marked "Special". So, if your first interest is Horseshoe bay, you can take these as well as the #7 bus. These stared at about 9 AM. There was no ferry to St. Georges until 11 AM on the holiday schedule. So we wandered around for a while, then took the #8 bus at about 10 AM to Hamilton. Absolutley stunning views. I loved the bus ride. We saw a motor scooter accident before we even boarded the bus, and while on the bus, saw another couple pull off the road because they couldn't handle the scooter and the traffic. Of course all shops were closed in Hamiliton and St. George's that day due to holiday. I'm not a big shopper, so it didn't matter to me. We rode to the bus terminal, then walked around Hamilton for a bit. Then headed back to the dockyard by ferry. Ferry schedules are posted at the ferry docks. Bus schedules are posted at the dockyard for only the buses which go to the dockyard. So you can't coordinate with buses from other locations. If you can print out a bus schedule from seaexpress.br, I recommend it. The next morning dawned cloudy, but by 9:30 it was clearing and we had sunny to partly sunny weather from 10 AM on. Took the 9 AM "fast ferry" to St. George's. Were there in about 35 minutes. Loved looking around St. Georges. So quaint and so British. We walked toward Ft. St. Catherine. After following the signs maybe a mile, we came upon the gorgeous Tobacco Bay beach. What a jewel. The water is so clear and beautiful. The bay is mostly shallow and offers good snorkeling. We didn't snorkel..too cold. But you could see colorful fish from the beach. We never made it to the fort. We took the number 10 bus from St. George's back to Hamilton. Stopped at Shelley Bay. This is a nice long beach and appears to have a long, slow drop off. There are no tress along the beach, however. Again, the bus views were stunning. I would be happy to just ride around Bermuda on various bus routes. We ferried back to the dockyard from Hamilton again. There is a very nice art gallery at the dockyard, across from the Maritime Museum. There is also an interesting crafts market. This is NOT inside the Clock Tower which is nothing but the usual shops. The water was gorgeous walking back to the ship. Oh, and there is a "slow ferry" or "big" ferry to Hamilton right in front of where the ship is docked. For buses and other ferries such as to St. George's , you have to walk over to the ferry and bus shop which is in the direction of the Clock Tower. Hope these notes will be helpful to Bermuda cruisers.

[Charles4515]

We were in Bermuda June 5 and 6 on Explorer. Due to the death of an important person, June 5 was declared a public holiday. Neither the Explorations desk, nor the Concierge was aware of this. Since I read this board I knew, but it didn't help us any as there were no schedules on board and I had studied the daily schedules! The ferries and buses were on holiday schedules.

 

There were 2007 schedules onboard. The port shopping guy brought some up to the Concierge Lounge after I was chatting with him about what schedule the transportation system would be on June 5 because of the holiday. They also had some by the gangway exit. As you say none of the cruise staff knew about the holiday. I did my best to inform them based on what I had read in the Royal Gazette and here on Cruise Critic. It turned out they ran a Saturday schedule for the buses and a Sunday schedule for the ferries. So it was a pleasant surprise that I was able to catch a bus around 9:30 and not 10:50 as it would have been on a Sunday bus schedule, to Horseshoe Beach. Since Horseshoe Bay was my only interest in Bermuda this trip that worked out well. Many went to Hamilton with no idea the shops would be closed. However some of those who went to Hamilton said that the funeral events there were very interesting. I don't blame the cruise staff since they were sailing when the holiday was declared. You would have thought though the Royal Caribbean home office would have heard what we heard here and informed the cruise staff. Despite the unexpected holiday I thought the two days in Bermuda were great although two day are not enough. Lucky for me I will be back in Bermuda in September docking in St. George and Hamilton.....unless we have to head for Canada LOL.

[39august]

I wonder why the Explorations desk told me there were no schedules to be had? Oh well, we got around just fine.