Keeping up with the Manssons: Bermuda Via NYC

Disney Ship behind us.

One of the places that I have always wanted to visit is Bermuda. You can say that it is a 'Bucket List' item. Of course it started when I was a child learning about the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, but as I got older the thought of a pink beach was also unique and a must do. So I was excited when Andrew gave the go-ahead to cruise to Bermuda! We did another Norwegian Cruise line. Those of you who have know me pre-child, I said that I would never do a NCL again after our horrific experience with NCL-American on our Hawaiian Cruise. But, here we are. They had the best itinerary and the best price. Well, this is truly a 'you get what you pay for' cruise line. Honestly, after this cruise...I am not sure we will ever cruise NCL again. Never say never, because I already did that, but we had a good time...it was just a lot of little things that made Disney Cruises SO much better. For example, their awesome slide and climbers were only open a few house every day we were at sea. I mean come on...we are on a boat in the middle of the ocean and you can't keep the entertainment open all day? I think the slide were open from 10-5. Obviously, the people making the schedules don't have kids because even mine (who were 3 hours behind) were up and ready to go before then. And there are a lot of daylight hours after 5 PM. Also, their kids club was not that great. It closes for 2 hours for lunch and dinner, which is fine, but if you were not going to eat at those time...it make is really inconvenient. Plus, they were very scheduled and if your child didn't want to do the activity, then they were not welcome in the kids club. Really?!? If my kid wants to hang out and play video games all day, it is their vacation too. They should not be forced to do play-doh or coloring or whatever activity they have planned. Henry didn't want to spend any time at all in the kids area because all he wanted to do was play video games. This is because during school he is not allowed very much screen time and because he is a little socially awkward and he doesn't like to have to 'work' to be typical in a group of kids. So, he was with us most of the time. Jillian, of course, loved it. Because she loves being around people and doing silly games and crafts. The restaurants were pretty good, as far as food on ships go. We ate at the Teppanaiki place, did the Cirque de Soleil show, Italian and Brazilian Steakhouse. The Teppan was delicious and the show was pretty standard. The kids really enjoyed the Cirque show. It was pretty good considering they had a very limited space and the ship was moving. Once we arrived in Bermuda out time was Jam Packed with fun activities. The Brazilian steakhouse was like any other Brazilian steakhouse. Andrew and I are not huge fans. The Italian place was good as well. We had to pay for each of these restaurants, which I really hate. If you are on a cruise ship, all the meals should be included. We went to the complimentary restaurant a couple times and it boggled my mind that the 'good stuff' was a la carte and you had to pay for it! If it is a complementary restaurant, everything on the menu should be included not one or two choices and the rest is for a price. But you know, like I said you get what you pay for. We also got a new room steward...like brand new...she had never worked before. So we had issues the entire week. And I know, I am a little bit of a cruise snob and I seem to complain about all my room stewards, but she had no idea what she was doing. For example, we ran out of toilet paper. Seriously...it was bad. Once we got to Bermuda, we had a jam packed 72 hours since we were only going to be there for a short time.

Waterslide Fun!

First we went to the beach in Port. It was nice to just get off the ship for a while. Then we went on a Glass Bottom Boat/Snorkle. It was okay. The water in Bermuda has one of the highest salinity in all the world. So you were very buoyant, but the salt stung if it got in your eyes. Plus there was a current the day we went out so it was tricky with the kids. Bermuda's waters are also a little colder than most tropical places (since it is so far north) that the coral is not very colorful. The best thing about this excursion was the slide on the front of the boat. It was FUN! The second day, we went kayaking. This was probably one of the best excursions we have ever been on. The weather was hot, but we got to go into a alcove that was too shallow for boats with motors and kayak with TONS of sea turtles. What an experience. Then in the afternoon we went to the Crystal Caverns and to the Pink Beach at Horseshoe bay. The caverns were smaller than we thought they would be (just a couple of large rooms), but overall it was a beautiful cave. The beach was beautiful. It was pink, but not as pink as I was hoping. Still, Horseshoe bay was an absolutely beautiful place to spend our evening. We were able to go over to the sheltered side the locals called the 'kiddy pool'. Which was necessary because Hurricane Nicole was blowing in. The kids enjoyed the rough surf and we loved we didn't have to worry too much about the kids getting swept out to sea. Unfortunately, we had to leave port 2 hours early (due to Hurricane Nicole. Which meant our last day excursion was cancelled. It was actually a helmet dive, and I was really looking forward to it. But, I guess it gives us a reason to go back. We ended up spending the morning at the port beach again, which is all the kids really wanted to do anyway. So everyone was happy. The ride back to NY was rough. Not a bad as it could have been, but very rocky. Overall, it was not a bad vacation. It just stinks when there are a bunch of little things that make it not nearly as enjoyable as it could be.