Bermuda cruisers

[bbn1122]

Anyone on this weeks Inaugural cruise have time to share their experience so far.

Thanks.

 

[fredandkell]

Can’t wait to hear it!

 

[hcox31]

there was a video on another site/groups of one of their nights with some pretty rough seas. It was a video of the pool sloshing around pretty good.

 

[bbn1122]

there was a video on another site/groups of one of their nights with some pretty rough seas. It was a video of the pool sloshing around pretty good.

Yes, I saw that. I have a couple of weeks, hoping for calmer seas.

 

[lorimay]

there was a video on another site/groups of one of their nights with some pretty rough seas. It was a video of the pool sloshing around pretty good.

 

[bbn1122]

Ok, I think the first cruise is back.

Anyone have the time to share a little. Thanks.

All future Bermuda Cruisers are anxious for some experiences and advise.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

I think they just got back in this morning. The Magic is in port on the NY port webcam.

 

[bbn1122]

We are back!!!!!!!!! We had an awesome time and the weather was perfect for our sea days and Bermuda days.

Horseshoe Bay we booked through Disney but could have easily gone there on our own via taxi or mini bus (not public transportation). We were the only ship in port so beach not too crowded. I would recommend moving away from the facilities/less congested. We rented two lounge chairs and umbrella for $45. You can rent just lounge chair, tent, etc. I should have taken a picture of the prices.

We had a great driver for our 5 hour Bermuda Island Drive the next day. Our driver was funny, nice and of course knowledgeable. The only negative (maybe for some) was that the Island drive was on Sunday and all the shops were closed. There was an ice cream place, food market, coffee shop and two restaurants that were open that day.

For us, there was no "dress up"/semi-formal even though I was told there would be. My friend (cruising together) was told the same thing. We could have left our garment bag (with sports jacket, dress shirts, two dresses) at home.

I have never needed/taken Bonine or Dramamine but had to take it on the second day/sea day.......not too bad though.

We live here so we know how beautiful the NYC skyline and the Verazano Bridge is but to see it at night from the ship was absolutely breathtaking.

We have learned to have breakfast in the morning at Cabanas and not at our designated restaurant (same restaurant that dinner was served night before). More relaxing and not feel rushed to eat and get off. We were some of the first few people off the ship. Our luggage was right there and we were at customs and out the "door" in less than 10 minutes.

Catching up at home with everything

do NYC cruises always leave late or it can just vary based on cruise

This was posted on my other thread on who is going to Bermuda. I wasn’t sure how to link the thread. So, here is a little info. Thanks AnnaS

 

[RweTHEREyet]

This was posted on my other thread on who is going to Bermuda. I wasn’t sure how to link the thread. So, here is a little info. Thanks AnnaS

Thanks for sharing. Glad you had a good cruise and enjoyed Bermuda again.

 

[AnnaS]

We definitely left late. Not sure why. Everything was half hour later too (events). The Magic was getting fuel late too (not sure if this was a reason).

I do have the navigators. I took a picture of each one on my IPhone so I could post them here. It tells me - error, too large . Don't know how .

You are welcome

 

[megh315]

Found the navigators on the DCL blog last night. I shared them in the other Bermuda cruise thread but I'm posting them here as well. I'm on the 10/29 cruise and I'm SO EXCITED!!!

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...-bermuda-cruise-from-new-york-october-4-2018/

 

[DL1957]

Following doing this cruise next year!

 

[bbn1122]

Anyone else who just cruised, we all would welcome your advise and experiences.

Thanks!

 

[ironz]

We're just back from the inaugural NYC to Bermuda cruise! (I suppose I should write a trip report once I upload photos.)

Let's see-- we (DH and I) flew into and out of EWR instead of the NY airports. Taxi into Manhattan was a little crazy with traffic, going back to EWR not as bad. With tip and tolls, we paid $90 each way.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Manhattan Central Park North, and I thought that was a great location. We walked over to Times Square, went to the Disney Store there, visited Top of the Rock. Were going to go to a show, but I'm so glad I didn't buy tickets in advance, we had a long day and opted to rest.
Walked to Central Park the next day to go for a run-- loved it.
Walked from the hotel (after cleaning up) to the port-- about 1/2 mile. We didn't have tons of luggage, so that was ok.
Arrived at port by 11:30-- they called Family of the Day maybe at noon? sorry-- I'm checking my phone messages and I think they are an hour off.
We were on the ship by 12:30?

Pumpkin tree was in full bloom (I was thinking they added on to the pumpkins each day, but it didn't appear so). Cute Halloween decals on the portholes.
As stated on the other thread, we were delayed leaving port because of fueling. Closer to 6 pm. We had late dining, so just hung out to see the Statue of Liberty from deck 4 (starboard side).

Day at sea was bumpy, but we don't typically have problems with that. We had brunch at Palo, which was lovely. This was also the Halloween celebration day, and it was fun to see so many people in costume.

Bermuda was neat-- we booked this trip relatively late, and were sort of on the "wing it" plan, so maybe didn't take full advantage of the sights. But we did take the minibus to Horseshoe Bay (as mentioned $7 per person each way) and enjoyed the beach there. We walked a ways north of the main beach to a couple of less crowded spots.
Walked around the Dockyard area. Good beer and burgers at the brewery.

Other day at sea was mostly relaxing. Movies, bingo, etc. Seas not nearly as bumpy as the other sea day.

Note: food service was sub-par, for our 4th DCL cruise. This might have been in part due to the fact that we ended up with a table of 14 (8 of us were on the same Alaska cruise last year, then add in some friends of friends). However, it was routinely bad. Water and tea not refilled promptly, some food cool upon arrival to the table. And apparently a big issue with the lobster bisque (not just our table! others on our FB group had issues). DH and I hadn't ordered it, but pretty much everyone has said it wasn't right. I don't know if they've changed chefs, or changed head of food services, or if our servers were off their game (our main server busted his butt trying to compensate). It just wasn't DCL's A game.
The new Rapunzel restaurant is cute, but very loud (louder than Tiana's, which I really liked last year).

We didn't go to the production shows, but the ventriloquist on board was funny, as was the comedian/juggler.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Dug720]

We're just back from the inaugural NYC to Bermuda cruise! (I suppose I should write a trip report once I upload photos.)

Let's see-- we (DH and I) flew into and out of EWR instead of the NY airports. Taxi into Manhattan was a little crazy with traffic, going back to EWR not as bad. With tip and tolls, we paid $90 each way.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Manhattan Central Park North, and I thought that was a great location. We walked over to Times Square, went to the Disney Store there, visited Top of the Rock. Were going to go to a show, but I'm so glad I didn't buy tickets in advance, we had a long day and opted to rest.
Walked to Central Park the next day to go for a run-- loved it.
Walked from the hotel (after cleaning up) to the port-- about 1/2 mile. We didn't have tons of luggage, so that was ok.
Arrived at port by 11:30-- they called Family of the Day maybe at noon? sorry-- I'm checking my phone messages and I think they are an hour off.
We were on the ship by 12:30?

Pumpkin tree was in full bloom (I was thinking they added on to the pumpkins each day, but it didn't appear so). Cute Halloween decals on the portholes.
As stated on the other thread, we were delayed leaving port because of fueling. Closer to 6 pm. We had late dining, so just hung out to see the Statue of Liberty from deck 4 (starboard side).

Day at sea was bumpy, but we don't typically have problems with that. We had brunch at Palo, which was lovely. This was also the Halloween celebration day, and it was fun to see so many people in costume.

Bermuda was neat-- we booked this trip relatively late, and were sort of on the "wing it" plan, so maybe didn't take full advantage of the sights. But we did take the minibus to Horseshoe Bay (as mentioned $7 per person each way) and enjoyed the beach there. We walked a ways north of the main beach to a couple of less crowded spots.
Walked around the Dockyard area. Good beer and burgers at the brewery.

Other day at sea was mostly relaxing. Movies, bingo, etc. Seas not nearly as bumpy as the other sea day.

Note: food service was sub-par, for our 4th DCL cruise. This might have been in part due to the fact that we ended up with a table of 14 (8 of us were on the same Alaska cruise last year, then add in some friends of friends). However, it was routinely bad. Water and tea not refilled promptly, some food cool upon arrival to the table. And apparently a big issue with the lobster bisque (not just our table! others on our FB group had issues). DH and I hadn't ordered it, but pretty much everyone has said it wasn't right. I don't know if they've changed chefs, or changed head of food services, or if our servers were off their game (our main server busted his butt trying to compensate). It just wasn't DCL's A game.
The new Rapunzel restaurant is cute, but very loud (louder than Tiana's, which I really liked last year).

We didn't go to the production shows, but the ventriloquist on board was funny, as was the comedian/juggler.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

I'm shocked they had a table that large that was not a family unit or group of that many together. I wonder if they were short a service team and had to split a section between a couple of teams. (I'm 100% believing you. Just saying I'm very surprised since I've only ever seen a cohesive group at a table that large. Not a large group and then a smaller group or groups added on.)

 

[ironz]

I'm shocked they had a table that large that was not a family unit or group of that many together. I wonder if they were short a service team and had to split a section between a couple of teams. (I'm 100% believing you. Just saying I'm very surprised since I've only ever seen a cohesive group at a table that large. Not a large group and then a smaller group or groups added on.)

Oh, we were all linked-- 4 couples that had cruised together last year, 2 of the other pairs were friends with one of the 4 couples, and then 2 people who joined us via our FB group. (though, I'm sort of surprised that they didn't split us 8 and 6)
Our main server busted his rear trying to get everything done. The asst server seemed to disappear or just take more time than normal to get drinks and stuff ordered and served-- we were not that far away from another table they were serving and the server wasn't at their table, either. He was just gone.
When the head server is pouring water because you can't find the assistant, there's an issue.
And the food was not quite as good as previous cruises. When your tablemates start asking each other if their appetizer was meant to be served cold (and it wasn't), that's not great. I know it's harder with a large table, but people had to remind the servers what they ordered, some didn't get some of the things they wanted (in the case of some who wanted to try 2 appetizers).
Personally, my DH and I didn't have as many food issues as some people (naturally, we didn't all order the same meals), but just the overall flow was off.

 

[Dug720]

Oh, we were all linked-- 4 couples that had cruised together last year, 2 of the other pairs were friends with one of the 4 couples, and then 2 people who joined us via our FB group. (though, I'm sort of surprised that they didn't split us 8 and 6)
Our main server busted his rear trying to get everything done. The asst server seemed to disappear or just take more time than normal to get drinks and stuff ordered and served-- we were not that far away from another table they were serving and the server wasn't at their table, either. He was just gone.
When the head server is pouring water because you can't find the assistant, there's an issue.
And the food was not quite as good as previous cruises. When your tablemates start asking each other if their appetizer was meant to be served cold (and it wasn't), that's not great. I know it's harder with a large table, but people had to remind the servers what they ordered, some didn't get some of the things they wanted (in the case of some who wanted to try 2 appetizers).
Personally, my DH and I didn't have as many food issues as some people (naturally, we didn't all order the same meals), but just the overall flow was off.

Ah, gotcha. I mis-read and thought that 8 of you knew each other and the other 6 were strangers.

 

[hogie1]

Oh, we were all linked-- 4 couples that had cruised together last year, 2 of the other pairs were friends with one of the 4 couples, and then 2 people who joined us via our FB group. (though, I'm sort of surprised that they didn't split us 8 and 6)
Our main server busted his rear trying to get everything done. The asst server seemed to disappear or just take more time than normal to get drinks and stuff ordered and served-- we were not that far away from another table they were serving and the server wasn't at their table, either. He was just gone.
When the head server is pouring water because you can't find the assistant, there's an issue.
And the food was not quite as good as previous cruises. When your tablemates start asking each other if their appetizer was meant to be served cold (and it wasn't), that's not great. I know it's harder with a large table, but people had to remind the servers what they ordered, some didn't get some of the things they wanted (in the case of some who wanted to try 2 appetizers).
Personally, my DH and I didn't have as many food issues as some people (naturally, we didn't all order the same meals), but just the overall flow was off.

Are you going to communicate that to DCL? Is it worth going to Cabanas for dinner instead?

 

[ironz]

Are you going to communicate that to DCL? Is it worth going to Cabanas for dinner instead?

We communicated that at the end of the cruise. Sadly, others in our group have sent a follow up email and not gotten a good response from DCL.
Others have reported that they didn't have as bad an experience, though everyone has said not to order the lobster bisque. I really think our table was just too many people for more efficient service.
We didn't eat at Cabanas any of the nights (we did once on the Wonder last year)... we did eat dinner on the island in Bermuda: good burgers at the brewpub near the dock.

 

[bbn1122]

We're just back from the inaugural NYC to Bermuda cruise! (I suppose I should write a trip report once I upload photos.)

Let's see-- we (DH and I) flew into and out of EWR instead of the NY airports. Taxi into Manhattan was a little crazy with traffic, going back to EWR not as bad. With tip and tolls, we paid $90 each way.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Manhattan Central Park North, and I thought that was a great location. We walked over to Times Square, went to the Disney Store there, visited Top of the Rock. Were going to go to a show, but I'm so glad I didn't buy tickets in advance, we had a long day and opted to rest.
Walked to Central Park the next day to go for a run-- loved it.
Walked from the hotel (after cleaning up) to the port-- about 1/2 mile. We didn't have tons of luggage, so that was ok.
Arrived at port by 11:30-- they called Family of the Day maybe at noon? sorry-- I'm checking my phone messages and I think they are an hour off.
We were on the ship by 12:30?

Pumpkin tree was in full bloom (I was thinking they added on to the pumpkins each day, but it didn't appear so). Cute Halloween decals on the portholes.
As stated on the other thread, we were delayed leaving port because of fueling. Closer to 6 pm. We had late dining, so just hung out to see the Statue of Liberty from deck 4 (starboard side).

Day at sea was bumpy, but we don't typically have problems with that. We had brunch at Palo, which was lovely. This was also the Halloween celebration day, and it was fun to see so many people in costume.

Bermuda was neat-- we booked this trip relatively late, and were sort of on the "wing it" plan, so maybe didn't take full advantage of the sights. But we did take the minibus to Horseshoe Bay (as mentioned $7 per person each way) and enjoyed the beach there. We walked a ways north of the main beach to a couple of less crowded spots.
Walked around the Dockyard area. Good beer and burgers at the brewery.

Other day at sea was mostly relaxing. Movies, bingo, etc. Seas not nearly as bumpy as the other sea day.

Note: food service was sub-par, for our 4th DCL cruise. This might have been in part due to the fact that we ended up with a table of 14 (8 of us were on the same Alaska cruise last year, then add in some friends of friends). However, it was routinely bad. Water and tea not refilled promptly, some food cool upon arrival to the table. And apparently a big issue with the lobster bisque (not just our table! others on our FB group had issues). DH and I hadn't ordered it, but pretty much everyone has said it wasn't right. I don't know if they've changed chefs, or changed head of food services, or if our servers were off their game (our main server busted his butt trying to compensate). It just wasn't DCL's A game.
The new Rapunzel restaurant is cute, but very loud (louder than Tiana's, which I really liked last year).

We didn't go to the production shows, but the ventriloquist on board was funny, as was the comedian/juggler.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks for posting. So, sorry to hear about the food and service.

How was the water temperature?

Did you get to Hamilton? Take ferry or any tours?

Did you stay off ship late on first night?

DH and I will be cruising on the 24th, hoping the forecast gets better. Looks like your had great weather. The temp is supposed to be 50 degrees when we set sail from NYC.

We live in New Jersey and have cruised out of NYC before. This is also our 2nd time to Bermuda but it’s been 16 years. We are hoping for some sunny skies and the opportunity to get our toes into the pink sand and made a quick dip in that turquoise water. We have booked the 5 hour tour on our 2nd day.

I would love to see your photos and thanks again for taking the time to share.