Blow me to Bermuda - A 6 night Dream from NYC to Bermuda Oct 21-27 2023 (Updated 12/09)

[greensombrero]

October 23rd - Bermuda, Saint George & Hamilton

I woke up to the sight of land from our verandah which surprised me a bit since our all aboard time wasn't until 10:15.



Then I remembered hearing that when you sail to Bermuda you approach the island from the far side and then sail around to the port. It must be something about how the sea lanes/approaches are set up. It means we saw land for quite a while before making port. The later all aboard meant we had some time to get going but we wanted to make sure we got off right away because we had a big day planned. This would be my first time doing some serious exploration of a port on our own. We've done a couple ports on our own in the past but the fact we were overnighting meant we didn't have to worry about making the ship and we planned to take advantage of that to really see the island today.

I believe this was the morning in Cabanas when I discovered a new favorite, banana bread french toast. It was really good, almost as good as a Mickey churro waffle. Unfortunately I didn't see it right away and only got one piece and then never saw it again. After Cabanas we got our backpacks ready for the day and prepared to get off. Disembarkation from the ship was pretty easy.

Our first plan for the morning was to take a ferry to Saint George. It wouldn't leave until 11:45 so we had some time to explore the port. We went over to the visitor's center first to buy a 3 day transit pass. This would give us unlimited bus and ferry rides for our planned 3 days in Bermuda. I debated ahead of time a bit if doing an unlimited pass would really work out as the best value given our plans. However the convenience of paying once just won out in my mind. Busses require exact change and having a pass just eliminates thinking about it. I had heard from an online friend that they only took cash for the passes last time they were in Bermuda but we were able to use a credit card no problem.

That didn't take too long and I asked how early we had to show up for the ferry and was told 15-20 minutes. So we had some time to explore the port area. King's Wharf in Bermuda is a pretty cool port area. It used to be an old navy dockyard and has some fun old buildings and photo ops.







There are some signs to explain what the different areas were used for historically which I really appreciated.



There were also some fun examples of the British heritage of the island.



There are a number of gift shops around and in general I found them more interesting than many you find in touristy areas. At this point we thought we'd have 3 days and were just looking figuring we could buy later. This would come back to bite us a little when plans changed but more on that ahead.

I didn't take a picture but there was a cool little popsicle stand that sold homemade popsicles in a myriad of different flavors many with herbal supplements included. We all got a popsicle, I think mine was a pineapple ginger variety and it was really good. An unexpected gem that is a bit further from the ship is the dockyard pharmacy. Lots of souvenirs, a little food/coffee bar, plus the sort of stuff you'd expect at a Walgreens or the like.

We had no trouble passing the time until we lined up for our ferry. In all my research Saint George looked like a really cool place to visit. Checking out the ferry and bus schedules ahead of our trip I decided we could start there because it is on the far side of the island and then gradually work our way back seeing sights along the way. The ferry itself was comfortable with both indoor and outdoor seating. We elected to be up on top to enjoy the ocean air and views. The weather was great, I think mid 70s with humidity, it felt warm but not hot.



I thought it was cool to see all these little sailboats though I wondered how they faired with the larger ships coming and going from the harbor.





I always loving getting a photo of the ship. Disney ships are always very striking when you look at them from afar.



The ferry ride was quite enjoyable. I'm at my photo limit so I will tackle Saint George in our next post.

 

[greensombrero]

Saint George Bermuda

We passed plenty of interesting sights as we approached Saint George. The ferry ride in and of itself is fun way to see the island. Lots of old forts to see.



I loved how the approach to the harbor took us through what I'd describe as a little channel. I haven't sailed into anyplace quite like this before.





Like many sea side towns there were some bright colorful houses.



I think the big appeal to Saint George for me is that it is just so different from anything back home. It's the oldest settlement in Bermuda dated back to the 1600s and has these fun little streets.



It is about a 45 minute ride from the Dockyard so it was about 12:30 when we arrived and I knew the kids would want some lunch. In all my research about Bermuda one thing stuck out on the food front. The classic Bermudian fish sandwich is made on raisin bread. This totally fascinated me because I love all things raisins: cookies, bread, cinnamon rolls with raisins etc. It has been a source of much debate in my family because my kids think I'm crazy and raisins don't belong in much of anything. My one requirement for lunch though was someplace with a fish sandwich to prove them wrong.

We quickly found ourselves passing Wahoos which was on my list of lunch spot options. It had good reviews online and a good looking menu. It is a sit down place and I knew there was another spot on my list that might be more casual and quicker further down the way. However everyone was happy to just stop at the first place we saw. Looking back I have mixed feelings about this decision.

We were a party of 10 with my sister and her family accompanying us on our adventure this day. However they were able to get us a table put together pretty quickly. The speed stopped there though. It took a long time to take our order. To the point that we were about ready to leave. The waitress finally appeared and my sister asked if we were trying to catch a bus soon (which we were) if the food would come quickly or not. This was her way of figuring out if we should just move on. The waitress assured us it wouldn't take long so we got our order in.

The food did come quick and across the board everyone loved the food. It was really good. As for my fish sandwich, I remembered to take a picture after I only ate half.



Without a doubt the best fish sandwich I've ever had period! Also in the running for one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. There may be better ones elsewhere in Bermuda, I don't know but I really enjoyed it raisins and all. We had a number of people try their chicken sandwich, most of our group aren't big seafood fans. Everyone universally enjoyed their food. I think my brother in law got another fish dish as well.

So this is where our decision to eat at Wahoos is one I'm torn about. Such good food, great water views, but it just took a long time. The food did come quick once ordered but then the check took forever. I sent everyone out to explore while I waited. My first thought was just things were moving at island speed. However observing other parties and tables I think our server was just really slow with everything. To be fair by this point we were used to the incredible service we were getting each night from Dana and Wayan. I'm not sure what all may have been going on but maybe we just lucked out with slow service for an otherwise wonderful meal. At one point another server came by to see why I was still there and I told her still waiting for the check.

Fortunately though we were all well fed, enjoyed the food and still had a bit of time before we needed to catch a bus to our next destination. Everyone explored the shops a bit. I went to ensure I knew where the bus stop was.

I got a couple fun photos. I saw they have a pilot boat here.



The town hall looks very colonial.



I had hoped we'd have time to maybe go check out the unfinished church but I realized it was a bit more of a walk than we could make. We decided we'd just catch the next bus to our next stop the Crystal Caves.

Just to conclude here I highly recommend a visit to Saint George if you have some time in Bermuda. The ferry ride was fun, Saint George is fun to walk and look around. I think there is a lot more history we didn't see plus at one point in my planning I hoped we'd make it over to Tobacco Bay to check out that beach. We easily could have spent the whole afternoon exploring the town. As is often the case when you visit somewhere on a cruise we elected though to just get a taste of multiple things versus really explore any one place extensively.

Catching the bus was quite simple. There was a little visitors center with a super helpful staff member who made sure I knew where it would pass. This was the start of getting used to cars and buses driving on the wrong side of the road. I think Bermuda is the first place I've visited that drives the British way, which makes sense given their heritage but would confuse me more than once.

The bus ride was quite scenic with lots of water views. You actually pass over a bridge and causeway on your way as Saint George is technically on another island. The bus route takes you to Saint David's Island where the airport is before you cross over to the main island right before arriving at the caves.





The roads in Bermuda are all quite narrow and windy which makes you feel like the relatively small bus is going quite fast at times. It is a bit of a wild ride. Nothing quite compared to some of my bus rides in South America but if you were someone who gets car sick you'd want to be prepared. For me it is all part of giving my family an international experience. The bus drivers were helpful and friendly and so seemed to be the locals. I found taking busses in Bermuda a great way to get around. It took about 20 minutes for us to get to our stop and the driver was happy to make sure we knew when we arrived.

Up next Crystal Caves and then Hamilton.

 

[greensombrero]

Crystal Caves

I mentioned earlier we originally had planned to do one DCL excursion on our cruise. It included a stop at some caves which interested everyone. We later realized those caves were not "the caves" most people talk about in Bermuda which are the Crystal Caves. We've not visited many caves and especially after seeing some pictures this was something that really interested us to see. So when we decided we'd do all the touring on our own we added it to the agenda.

Two weeks before we'd arrive I called and got a reservation for 3:20 PM to visit both the Crystal and Fantasy caves. While not strictly necessary their website does recommend reservations as all visits are guided and they only allow so many per group. I figured it would having to plan around a specific time to avoid waiting.

We ended up on an earlier bus than I thought we would from Saint George and were dropped at off about 2:30. As it turned out this was a good thing as we had a bit of a walk from our bus stop and some things to see along the way. There are 4 bus lines I believe that stop by the cave. So it is easily accessible by bus. The one we took left us right by the Swizzle Inn and Baily's Ice Cream Parlor. Both of them I had read about in advance and I thought getting some ice cream would be fun. Unfortunately the ice cream parlor was closed for some reason.

There was a very clearly marked foot path to take us to the caves though a nice what I would call a green space. You can kind of see the sign in this picture I took of the fun palm trees.



I don't know why it surprised me but I hadn't really thought of Bermuda as a tropical island. Maybe because it wasn't as hot and humid when we visited as some of the islands we've been to in the Caribbean. I don't know but I enjoyed looking at the plants and foliage along the path.



I thought these were interesting looking berries.



There was a giant banyan tree that looked like a perfect spot to get a photo with all the kids. Of course they were all a bit tired and decided a poised photo wasn't what they wanted. This is an early one I grabbed before we started attempting to do photos and I think it worked better. My oldest is usually good for a happy photo.



The photo experience reminded me of the challenges with doing a long day with a bunch of kids especially of varying ages including teenagers. Everyone was pretty good but we had a few moments before the day was through. I ended up glad we didn't try and cut arriving at the caves any closer to our time. It was nice to have a chance to take our time down the path.

When we arrived at the actual ticket office they informed us that due to higher than normal tides they had to close the Fantasy cave for the afternoon. So we'd just be seeing one of the caves. I was slightly disappointed but nothing to do about it. We had a few minutes before our time and looked around the gift shop a bit. The grounds, gift shop and other facilities there are nice, they definitely have done a good job I thought of making it a nice place to visit.

Once they called our tour we met our guide and were taken into the caves. The group was probably 20ish people.



It starts with a bit of a climb down a number of steps. I didn't find it difficult and they had railings etc but you definitely want good shoes and it could be a challenge for those with mobility concerns.

As you get down there you find lots of formations all around you.



The guide did a good job of explaining a bit about the cave including warning you not to touch anything as you could really stop the growth of the formations by doing so.



I loved the water down in the cave and its colors. Apparently it is a mix of both fresh water from the water table along with some salt water that enters from an adjacent cave that has a sea inlet.





They tell you the story of the how the cave was found which is pretty fascinating. A couple of boys playing cricket stubbled across it in 1907. I'll save the rest of the details but it is a fun story. They do turn off the lights at one point and let you see what it is like in pure darkness. I didn't really pay attention as I found the whole thing pretty interesting but I think it probably lasted 30 minutes or so before they had us start heading out.



I've never been in a cave like it before and thought it was a really cool experience. I don't know that it has much repeatability but it was really cool to see. If you have time in Bermuda I definitely recommend checking out Crystal Caves. It isn't at the top of my list if I had limited time but I'm glad we saw it.

One of the cons to the bus system in Bermuda is they don't run on detailed time tables like back home. Google Maps can't tell you when the next bus will be there and when you'll arrive somewhere. Instead they list the times the bus leaves it first stop and they have some rough travel times on the schedule but we really didn't know when the next bus would come exactly. Nothing to do but walk to the bus stop and wait. I tried to estimate based on when they were leaving Saint George per the schedule and how long I thought it would take but we had a bit of a wait. Fortunately there were places to sit and eventually we were on our way to our final stop of the day, Hamilton.

 

[greensombrero]

Hamilton

The bus ride from the caves to Hamilton is about twice as long as from Saint George. It is always interesting to look out the window and see a place you've never been. I wouldn't call the route necessarily scenic but plenty of interesting things to see. As we pulled into Hamilton I realized there was some construction going on around the bus terminal and it was a bit chaotic.

This was where my planning kind of ended. I knew we'd explore Hamilton a bit and then take the ferry back to the ship but I didn't really know what we'd do. The kids were getting tired and I briefly wondered out loud to my wife if we could make the next ferry that was leaving in a few minutes. That was a mistake because my older two wanted to go back to the ship and heard, but making that ferry was totally not realistic plus we wanted to explore Hamilton.

My sister and her family split off at this point and I think they made the better decisions. They went and explored the city park they saw and found a really cool "dessert trailer", kind of a like a food truck but in an old Airstream trailer and got some really good ice cream treats.

I figured we'd head down to front street along the waterfront and explore. I had read there was shopping and I thought maybe some ice cream or other interesting things down there. Fortunately I had enabled the travel pass from Verizon on our phones so we could keep our Duolingo streaks. I realized I hadn't really paid attention to the route between the bus terminal and the waterfront in my planning. So I needed to rely on Google maps. It isn't that far but it isn't close either. Google Maps says it is about half a km from the bus terminal to the ferry terminal but you do have to navigate through a couple city blocks so you can't see it.

I thought City Hall looked pretty cool. Definitely some fun architecture in Bermuda



I also loved the crosswalk signals with the outline of the person.



We saw an indoor mall that was occupying the block we needed to cut through so I figured let's try walking through the mall. The mall was a bit of a bust, nothing too interesting. I did see a little super market/convenience store on the bottom floor we went to explore. I always like exploring grocery stores in other countries to see what we can find. Lots of what looked like British brands. We got some candy and cookie things to try. I also got a British Dr Pepper to try.



Same flavor but a different can which was cool. I'm a Dr Pepper fan so it was a fun find.

As we neared Front Street we found a few shops to explore. We also discovered they all closed pretty early. By this time it was just after 5pm and many places closed at 5:30 PM. We found a store with some reasonably priced t shirt designs we liked along with some other souvenirs and did a bit of shopping before they closed.

With things closing we elected to just sit down on the waterfront and take in the views.



If we had been there earlier I think it would have been fun to explore more of Front street.



As it was though it had been a long but good day so just relaxing for a minute was okay. We only had like an hour until the ferry left. My sister and her family came and rejoined us and told us of their adventures and ice cream discovery. I was kind of surprised there wasn't an ice cream shop somewhere along the waterfront but nothing I saw close by. I had planned to find some sort of an ice cream stop in Bermuda but no luck.

The ferry at sunset was fun.





The ferry back from Hamilton is quite quick, less than 30 minutes later we were on the pier looking at the Dream with her lights on. That isn't a sight you see too often from the shore, it seems most port stops end before dark.



We had a bit of time before dinner to clean up and then it was off to our first night in Enchanted Garden. Disney was smart and didn't have any major entertainment that evening in the main theater. I'm sure they figured many would be off the ship enjoying the overnight in Bermuda.

Enchanted Garden has not been my favorite restaurant in the past. However it has grown on me. I'm not a huge fan of the menu but the food has consistently been better than I expected. I'm not a big sea bass fan but DCL does it right and we enjoyed the dinner. We also discovered that the orange almond cake is really really good. I think my brother in law ordered it and it looks like a giant orange twinkie with raspberry sauce. He and my sister raved about it so I tried a bite and then ordered one for me and one to go. My family was tired and left dinner a bit early. I brought it back for them to try. It is now one of my favorite DCL desserts, highly recommend!

I took an evening stroll around the ship and saw a piece of art I really liked.



Walking the ship to look at art is a fun activity. There is so much cool art on the ship. It was also fun to walk the deck at night while in port and see the city lights in the distance.



I was tired though and quickly called it a day. I had big plans early in the morning to enjoy the Bermuda Railway Trail.

 

[greensombrero]

October 24th - Bermuda Railway Trail Run

I love to run and one of the things that really excited me about an overnight port stop in Bermuda was the possibility of a morning run. As much as I love running on Deck 4 the idea of running on the island really appealed to me. In my early research about Bermuda I ran across the Bermuda Railway Trail. It's an old narrow gauge railway that went through the island. Now it is a trail system for running, walking and biking. Disney even has a port adventure that involves biking on a section of it.

The nearest section to the port is just behind the police station in Somerset Village. Originally I thought I might run from the port to the trail and then on the trail. It is only a couple miles away but the roads are narrow and I realized I might be better off taking the bus especially since we bought bus passes anyways. I wanted to get up early before the family would miss me. Sunrise wouldn't be until about 7:30 so I planned to catch a 7:30 or 7:45 bus.

I ended up waking earlier than I needed to but got to grab a banana from Cabanas, hydrate and then catch some unique photos of the ship while dark. I actually enjoyed wandering around the port in the peace of the early morning. It isn't something you normally get to do.



I loved the Disney Dream sign all light up.

The bus stop is a bit off a walk from the port, perfect for a little warm up run. However I would quickly learn about how buses run in Bermuda and be cooled down again. The first bus that came informed us she wouldn't take any passengers and was going off duty. Then the next bus came and same thing happened. No idea what happened to the buses that were supposed to come at those times. Eventually there was a whole group of us waiting. The others were from the RCCL ship in port and a couple of guys were also heading to the trail. I was starting to debate if I could really keep waiting when a bus finally came that let us on. The driver was super friendly and happy to let us know where to get off.

As it turned out the bus actually pulls into a little parking lot where the bus stop is and right across is the entrance to the trail, super easy to find. I was expecting more of a dirt/gravel trail but it ended up being paved at least on this section. This section of the trail started out like a trail but then went through a neighborhood along some roads. It was clearly marked though where you needed to go and then it transitioned back to a trail.

I had worried a bit how isolated the trail would be but I discovered it was almost like an access road in many places. Peoples homes and driveways were accessed right off the trail. While it isn't a road per say it is wide enough for cars to go down. It also had a lot more greenery on each side. I was expecting more ocean views and saw a lot more jungle but definitely found places to look out over the water and see the sun.


I also saw quite a few people on the trail, some looked like locals enjoying their morning exercise, everyone was friendly and said hello.

One of the points of interest along this stretch of the trail is Fort Scaur, an old fort on top a hill just off the trail. The turn off to the fort was clearly marked and let me have a more traditional trail run in the dirt through the jungle.



It was a bit of a climb but I'm used to training on the hills so I found it a fun change from the main trail which was relatively flat.



Fort Scaur was a pretty cool place to walk around. They did have restrooms as well which was nice by this point in the morning.







You can just make out the dream in the distance. I got a real kick out of the Bermuda Weather Stone they had on display.



The sign says "This stone is the perfect weather indication
A dry stone means it is not raining
A wet stone means it is raining
A shadow under the stone means the sun is shining
If the stone is swinging it means there is a strong wind blowing
If the stone jumps up and down it means there is an earthquake
If ever it is white on top, believe it or not, it is snowing

I didn't spend too long at the fort because I had other places to see. I headed right down the same path I came up and rejoined the main trail. A bit further down is the world's smallest draw bridge which I just had to see. As I approached the bridge the trail joined the road for a short stretch. That part was a bit nerve wracking as there is no real shoulder on the road. So I just timed it when I could make it with no cars coming by. On the way back a car did pass and they moved over while I hugged the side of the road so there was no real issue but it was a bit tight. I was glad I didn't try and run on the road from the port to the trail itself. The trail was very runner/walker friendly but the roads in Bermuda are not.

Here is the draw bridge as you approach it.



Here is what it actually looks like on the bridge itself:



The center section can lift up so a sailboat with a tall mast can sail under the bridge. Unique and worth stopping to see. There was a bit of a marina on one side where it looked like some sailboats were moored. I'm guessing they do make use of the drawbridge on occasion.

I actually called my run far enough at that point and turned back. My run ended up being just over 4 miles round trip. Not particularly far for me but far enough to feel like I ran and it was a super fun course. The trail did go farther but I knew I had to get back to the family. As I made it back to where the bus left me I saw a cab and debated seeing if they would just take me back to the port. However I had my bus pass and hoped maybe one would come along quickly. For the return you have to walk across the street from the police station where there is a clearly marked bus stop for buses going the other way. I only had to wait a couple minutes before one came by and took me back to the port.

Of all the things we did in Bermuda my time on the Railway Trail was definitely a highlight and I'm so glad I got up early and did it. If you aren't a runner it would have been a very nice walk or hike. If you have the time I highly recommend catching the bus to the trailhead and taking the trail to the fort. There were a number of signs and more to see up there. They also had some informative signs on the trail itself giving its history and pointing out sights. If you like to get outdoors and experience something different it is a great option and zero cost aside from the bus fare. If we return to Bermuda I will definitely do it again and maybe see if I could visit another portion of it.

Up next beach time!