My friend and I are thinking of the May 25th cruise to Bermuda which docks at King's Wharf for three days. Does it pay to cruise to one port and still have the expense to reach other areas? How have others who have done this cruise found this, convenient or extremely inconvient?
Also, you will be away from the ship for some of the meals which means you will be needing to spend additional money for food. Is this expensive?
Thanks for any info you can give me--the pros and cons.
Bermuda is relatively small. Transportation is cheap because there's a very good public bus system and ferry system in Bermuda. Food is expensive in Bermuda. To help with that NCL has the Dine Ashore program.
In Bermuda you should be able to purchase a 3 day ferry pass for about $28 per person which will take care of a lot of your transport needs from King's Wharf. Food off ship will be high-Try the NCL Dine Around Program.
Hi, EVERYONE my husband and I are sailing on 5/25/08 to KINGS WHARF on NCL'S Dawn hope to meet some of you there we just booked some shore excursions,Billy hi I know I've spoken with you before what is the NCL Dine Around Program first time I'm hearing about this? We are really starting to get in the cruise mod now!!! This will be our second cruise first was on the Crown Priness in 06 we had a great time I'm hoping that this cruise will be as great but I know it is what you make of it. Hope to hear from all soon Vita
Hi Vita, My girlfried and I will be on the same cruise. This is the first cruise for both of us and we are really looking forward to it. We are both in our 50's and hope to meet people of all ages to socialize with and just have a great time.
I would also be interested in learning about the dine around program. I have spoken to several people (not on cruise chat) and everyone seems to have conflicting opinions regarding the dining. Do you know if most of the restaurants are incuded in the price or does the original price only include buffets. It would be great hearing from you. Thanks. Linda
Hi Linda,So nice to meet you I am also in my 50's we are celebrating our 25 wedding anniversary on this cruise so I'm really excited about it we come from PA will be taking a bus from here and back home.As far as your question don't quote me but I would say there should be a maine dining room besides the buffet and restaurants. The restaurants I believe are extra and I think you need to make reservations.I think its great you are going with a lady friend GOOD FOR THE BOTH OF YOU!!!! Hope you both have a great time and I hope to speak with you very soon Vita
Beachlover1-The Dawn's dining venues are for the most part totally free-the exceptions are: 1)Le Bistro @ $15/pp 2)Cagney's Steak House @ $20/pp NOTE:Both Le Bistro and Cagny's run 2 for 1 specials! 3)Asian Restaurant (Chinese/Sushi/Teppanyake)pprice varies from $12.50 to $20 depending on style chosen.
The Dining around plan is for restaurants on the islands of Bermuda.
We are sailing the Dawn in Oct. to Bermuda-our 2nd Dawn cruise!
Unfortunately, NCL's Dine Ashore program is no long available. Apparently the restaurants wanted a price increase, NCL didn't, so the restaurants decided not to participate.
Instead, NCL will provide passengers with brochures listing restaurants ashore.
DaveJohn-I was very sorry to see your post regarding the DineAshore program for Bermuda-another great concept goes by the boards, still there are plenty of great dining places ashore and the Dawn dining venues are great-soo-I guess we will be spending more time at those great NCL restaurants aboard the Dawn!
Hi Davejohn, Thanks for the update. Please let me know how you liked the cruise when you return and any little details you think may be important. Bon Voyage! Linda
Will do. On our cruise the Dawn docks at Kings Wharf the first day, then moves to Hamilton for the next 2 days. Unfortunately, we have to tender in Hamilton. We plan to be off the ship before it leaves (9:00am) and then get back on in Hamilton that evening.
The good news is that Freestyle 2.0 will be in effect!
Hi Linda. Click here for NCL's description of what is included in their new Freestyle 2.0 program. As far as your original question (which I apologize for not responding to previously), Bermuda is small and very easy to get around on your own. Billy offers great advice about getting the 3-day bus/ferry pass. That was the best $ we spent in Bermuda.
davejohn, I hadn't realized that the April 27 cruise tenders into Hamilton. I guess with so many ships now unable to make it into St. George Harbor, this was to be inevitable. Sounds like pax have a very pretty ride into town, though.
We're back from Bermuda on the Dawn and we had a great time. The weather cruising to and from Bermuda was cloudy and a bit rough (7-12' waves) but the 3 days in Bermuda were nice, partly cloudy and highs in the low 70's, perfect for sightseeing although a bit chilly for swimming.
No more Dine Ashore program, just a brochure listing various restaurants. We stopped for lunch in Hamilton, but had dinners on the ship.
Wednesday we docked at Kings Wharf and just walked off the ship. We walked around the area, checking out the shops, glassblowing demonstrations, and the Clock Tower Mall. Back to the ship for lunch and in the afternoon we took a bike tour along the railway bed. Lots of fun and great scenery.
Thursday the ship left Kings Wharf for Grassy Bay where it anchored. The Celebrity Century replaced us at the pier. We got off the ship at 8:30 before it left and visited the Maritime Museum, then jumped on a ferry to Hamilton. We stopped for lunch in Hamilton, shopped for a while, then walked to the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. Lots of interesting information on ship wrecks, diving, undersea life, and a big shell collection. By then we were pooped, so we jumped on a bus back to the pier and tendered back to the ship. Thursday we took NCL's Best of Bermuda tour, a bus ride covering Hamilton and St. Georges area, with stops at the Zoo & Aquarium, a stop in St. Georges and the Botanical Gardens. A very nice overall tour if you've never been there. Afterwards we walked around Hamilton some more, then caught the tender back to the ship. The ship left Bermuda around 5:00pm.
It's about a 30-40 minute tender ride. They used the ship's lifeboats as well as some of the island's ferries. The ferries hold a lot more passengers, and it's a much smoother ride.
Freestyle 2.0 was partially in place during our cruise. At embarkation they handed us a glass of champaign and told us our cabin wasn't ready yet. As usual they told us to go to the buffet and have some lunch. However we opted for the Venetian Restaurant and had a nice sit-down lunch. The buffet was crowded, there was plenty of room in the Venetian.
Since we had a category AF cabin we could make dinner reservations 48 hours in advance (balcony and above). Outside and inside passengers can make then 24 hours in advance. They said the food had been upgraded, although I didn't really see a big difference from our Gem cruise in October. They did offer lobster at least twice in the Venetian and Aqua restaurants though....that's new. The food in the Venetian and Aqua was ok, nothing spectacular. We also dined at Cagneys, Le Bistro, Impressions and Salsa and all were excellent.
One thing I did notice, they are starting to charge extra for small things that were free in the past. The sail-away BBQ by the pool was $8.95 pp and a White Ice party one night in Dazzles was also extra (we didn't go).
Overall, the ship was very nice, we had a great time in Bermuda, and this cruise is one of the few I would do again. We've done Eastern, Western and Southern Caribbean cruises and most ports are worth visiting once. Bermuda is definitely worth more than one trip.
davejohn-Thank You for the fine quick review ofthe Bermuda Cruise. We will be going out on the Dawn in October, I was sorry to learn about the end of the Dine Around program but such is life. We are going out in an oceanview cabin this trip and we do have some concerns about the new reservations policies for the specialty restaurants. Fortunately, if we don't care for them we are booked in a balcony on the Gem in Feb. 09. Welcome Home! Hope you booked another and purchased a cruise rewards certificate for a future cruise!
One thing I did notice, they are starting to charge extra for small things that were free in the past. The sail-away BBQ by the pool was $8.95 pp and a White Ice party one night in Dazzles was also extra (we didn't go).
Well that's definitely a first - charging for food on deck. I'm wondering if it's a sign of things to come or was this something special? Wasn't diner being served in the dr shortly thereafter?
Vita
I'm wondering if it's a sign of things to come or was this something special? Wasn't diner being served in the dr shortly thereafter?
