Bermuda Cruise Vacation

We enjoyed our NCL Getaway cruise vacation so much last year, that I immediately booked another vacation on her sister ship, the Breakaway for the next summer.  We would have more than twelve months to wait!  The cruise was booked for Aug 28th, our last week of summer, and this would be our first time to cruise in late August/early September, which is prime hurricane season.  After much consideration, I felt it was safest to book another cruise to Bermuda, since it rarely sees hurricane activity.  It's just a tiny speck of an island all alone in the middle of the North Atlantic.  And of course, with only five days before sail away, Hurricane Gaston began slowly making it's way to Bermuda!  We closely followed its track, knowing there was a possibility that our cruise could be delayed or rerouted.  Lucky for us, with two days to spare, Gatson took a sharp turn east and carried away from the island.  We thought we'd averted the crisis and were off to enjoy a hurricane free vacation.  The only other potential for hurricane activity was just an invest east of the Caribbean that had the potential of getting into the Gulf of Mexico and strengthening.  We knew it may cause some adjustments to the Caribbean itineraries but it would have no impact on our trip......or so we thought!  More on that later.

We kicked off our vacation with a Mom and Me Day!  Brenna and I usually have our annual Mom and Me Day just before her birthday.  This year, because of travel and summer camps, we had to postpone and decided to save it for a trip to the nail salon just before our vacation.  The day before we left for vacation we both got manicures and pedicures followed by a pancake breakfast at McDonald's.  Then it was back home to pack-up for an early morning departure.

Enjoying our ride through the Light Tunnel at Detroit Airport, flying over the shoreline of Lake Erie on our way to NY, first sight of NYC skyline just before landing.

This would be our third time sailing from New York and this time I wanted to make it a point to spend some time in New York City.  Since we would only be staying one night, we decided to make the most out of it and booked a suite at The Plaza Hotel.  The hotel was amazing and truly lived up to it's reputation of glitz and glam.  While we didn't have any celebrity sightings, the hotel itself was a sight to see.  At check-in Brenna was gifted with a welcoming card from Eloise herself for warm milk and cookies to be delivered at bedtime.  When Brenna was first learning to read, her favorite books were the Eloise leveled readers where she followed along with Eloise's many adventures at The Plaza.   We also discovered that we had been upgraded!  I made a mental note to write a praise letter to my travel agent when we returned and then our bellman escorted us to our suite.  We were on the 15th floor with a beautiful view of Central Park and 5th Avenue and the Pulitzer Fountain below us.  The room was very high-tech with an iPad that controlled the lights, temperature, TV, and sound.  The tile mosaic covering the floor and walls of the bathroom was beautiful and the 24k gold plated fixtures were over-the-top!  After settling in, we decided to explore The Plaza's concourse level located below ground underneath the hotel.  Brenna was excited to visit the Eloise Store and Jacob and I wanted to check-out some of the food vendors.  We enjoyed a fantastic pizza from Pizza Rollio, where the pizza is so thin, they cut it into narrow strips instead of wedges and you roll it up like a pizza cigar.  We also had the best shrimp, crab, and lobster rolls from Luke's Lobster.  Next, we stopped off to browse through the Eloise Store before we headed out into New York City.

24 karat gold plated bathroom fixtures!

The view from our room.

Browsing in the Eloise Store.

While I had hoped to make it over to Times Square, we were worn out from the travel day and decided to stay close and visit Central Park instead.  It's south entrance was just steps away from our hotel, so we took the afternoon to stroll around and enjoy the views.  We made our way around the Central Park Pond and then climbed to the "Top of the Rock".  On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off to play in the waters of Pulitzer Fountains and admire some of the architecture of the 5th Ave. buildings.  When we got back to the room, we celebrated the 1st day of vacation by ordering "The Kevin Sundae" from room service, in the likeness of Kevin McCalister's (yes, it's spelled different from us) indulgence in Home Alone 2.  It was three scoops of ice cream topped with whipped cream, cherries, M&Ms, peanuts, brownie bites, and chocolate sauce.

Central Park South

Central Park Pond (that's the actual name, not very creative)

Top of the Rock!

5th Ave at Grand Army Plaza

Pulitzer Fountain

The next morning we had breakfast in the famous Palm Court.  Our massive round table was made of mirror and reflected the iconic stained glass ceiling.  Here's a photo of the reflection in the table.  Next we packed up and had the bellman hail a taxi so we could make our way to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

Once we arrived at the terminal, everything fell into place as we've come to expect it from Norwegian.  A staff member was waiting at the entrance.  We notified her that we were staying in the Haven and she directed us through the mass of people to a small lounge located at the back of the terminal.  There we found refreshments and drinks and we were checked in quickly.  We grabbed a snack and chatted with some of our fellow cruisers for a short while before we were directed to board.  We were the first ones on the ship and escorted directly to the Haven where more food and drinks awaited us.  The concierge spoke to us about what to expect for the week.  Since this was now our 3rd cruise to enjoy the Haven, I knew the process and had a list of restaurant, entertainment, and shore excursion reservation that I had him take care of for me.  Next we headed to our room to drop off our carry-on bags, where we met our Butler Gian.  He talked with us for a while about our preferences and I had a few requests for him, like keeping a pitcher of ice water in the fridge and a replenished bowl of fruit, M&Ms, and chocolate chip cookies.  We like to snack in the room!

As we usually do, we enjoyed sail away from our own balcony.  We've cruised from seven different departure ports and Manhattan is hands down the most enjoyable sail away of them all.  We had a beautiful sunny day and the New York City sky line from the Hudson is beautiful.  You pass the Empire State Building, the Memorial Tower (One World Tower, as it's being called now that tower two is under construction), and the Statue of Liberty before sailing under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge as you make your way out to the Atlantic.

New York City skyline

One World Tower

Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty

Passing under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

This year we booked a two-bedroom Haven suite so that Brenna could have her own space.  She had her own bedroom and bathroom with a shower, but she was especially excited about having her own TV.  No negotiating TV channels with the rest of us.  During her downtime in the room, she spent her time watching the many on-demand movies that were offered in the room.  Another perk of the Haven is free access to on-demand movies, so Jacob and I were able to catch a few movies we hadn't seen yet too!  Our master bedroom was comfortable with a king sized bed and TV.  The master bath was spacious with double sinks, soaking tub, and water closet, but the highlight was the shower with a view!

Living Room

Shower with a view!


Master Bedroom


Brenna's bedroom and bathroom

Despite the hurricane activity that was occurring both north and south of our location, we had glassy smooth waters on our slow 3-day trip to Bermuda.  This made for some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

Brenna always likes to start off a cruise vacation at the pool, so the next morning we headed to the Haven where she hooked up with some other kids and enjoyed playing with dive rings.  The Haven offers a quiet and peaceful escape from the crowds and noise of the pool deck.  There's always open lounge chairs both inside the glass enclosed Haven area and out on the Haven sun deck.  The attendants always come around for food and drinks orders and to provide cool cloths.  I went up to the top deck for some sun and to read my book.  After a couple of hours me and Jacob traded off, and Brenna and I moved on to the pool deck so she could enjoy the splash pads and kids pool.

Haven indoor sun deck

Haven outdoor sun deck at the front of the ship

After several hours at the pool, we came back to the room for a break and to get ready for our dinner show that night.  It was formal night so we did dress up for dinner.  Our dinner show was Cirque Jungle Fantasy.  Again, since we were Haven guest, the concierge escorted into the dinning theater early for front row seats.  We've never been to a Cirque show before and I didn't know what to expect.  It was truly amazing.  By far the best show we've ever seen on a cruise ship in all my 14 cruises.  One of our fellow passengers said that the show was much better in such a small venue like on a cruise ship because you're so much closed to the action versus the experience on a large stage setting.  Brenna wouldn't even eat her dinner because she wouldn't take her eyes away from the stage.  There were contortionists, high flying acrobats,  magicians, 8-foot hula hoops, unbelievable juggling, and ridiculous roller skating tricks.  It was amazing what some of these people could do, and without safety nets or tie offs.  It was honestly scary in some moments.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures or video since it's restricted during the show.  At the end of the show, as each of the performers were parading through, one of the contortionists stepped out of line and came over to our table to say hello to Brenna and give her a double high five.  Brenna was so excited.  This show was definitely one of the highlights of our cruise.

Formal night family photos.

After the show, Brenna was off to the kids club for their welcome aboard party.  That first night she made friends with a little girl named Dakota from New York who was cruising with her father.  The two of them were inseparable for the remainder of the cruise.  We celebrated Dakota's birthday in her cabin with decorations and cake and ice cream.  We met them through-out the week for trips to the arcade, lunches, game shows, and late night snacks at the buffet.  Her father was also very interesting.  He is a staff photographer for the New York Museum of Nature History and was kind enough to entertain all my questions about the fascinating things he must come into contact with every day. 

Our next sea day we spent time enjoying the activities around the ship.  We took part in a Family Button Making course, where Brenna made special buttons for all three of us.  We went bowling, played a round of mini-golf, and played in the arcade.  We also participated in Deal or No Deal, which is one of Brenna's favorite game shows.  We played several times throughout the week, but were never lucky enough to be chosen to play onstage and never won anything from the audience participation cards.  It was fun trying though!  Later that night we visited our favorite ship restaurant, Teppanyaki.  Brenna always enjoys the show and our chief made a special "Back to School Bunny" for her out of our fried rice.

The next morning I woke up in time to watch as we made our way around the western tip of Bermuda and docked at the Royal Naval Dockyard.  It was a picture perfect day and we had an early start for our first tour.  Gian brought us breakfast in our suite and then we headed downstairs to disembark for our kayaking tour.  Ever since our late night kayaking trip in Puerto Rico, Brenna has asked if we could do it again.  So, I booked a tour with Fantasea Tours for a kayak trip.  We boarded a pontoon boat that took us from the Dockyard to Ely's Harbor.  Along the way we passed through the Bermuda Triangle where we stopped off at Daniel's Head to view the famous ship wrecked Vixen.  Our tour guides gave us the very colorful and unlucky history of the ship and then we had the opportunity to feed the fish.   We continued on to Ely's Harbor where we boarded kayaks and paddled along the shorelines of Somerset Village.  The area was beautiful and the water was crystal clear.  We kayaked into a shallow mangrove where we were able to see at least a dozen sea turtles and a puffer fish.  Our tour guide even jumped from his kayak and dived down about 10 feet to get a sea cucumber for Brenna to hold.  After about an hour and a half of kayaking, we headed back to Ely's Harbor for a quick swim before heading back to the ship.

Royal Naval Dockyard

Headed out for our kayaking adventure

The shipwrecked Vixen

Feeding the fish at the shipwreck site

Daniel's Head Bermuda

First views of Ely's Harbor

Our kayaking convoy.

On the lookout for sea turtles in the mangrove.

These guys were swimming under our kayak.  They're young at only about 15 years old.

Our tour guide telling Brenna about the sea cucumber he dived down to get for her.

Enjoying a swim in Ely's Harbor

Headed back to the pontoon boat for our ride back to the Dockyard.

As we pulled into the Dockyard, we got a seaside view of the NCL Breakaway and Celebrity Summit docked together

After a late lunch back onboard, Brenna and I decided to hit the water slides!  We had a great time on the racing slides and definitely burned off some calories with the long trip to the top over and over again. It only took an hour before we were completely worn out.

The next morning we woke up to rain showers that passed by quickly and left us with a beautiful rainbow over the Bermuda Maritime Museum.  I took this shot from our balcony.

After the skies cleared we packed up our beach bag and walked over to Snorkel Park Beach for a day of snorkeling and paddle boarding.  Brenna has been snorkeling before, but this was the first time she actually stuck with the snorkel.  She finally got the hang of breathing through the snorkel and was able to see more while she was out there.  Snorkel Park isn't the best beach in Bermuda for snorkeling (despite the name) but its a great place for beginners because it's so shallow and cove helps to break the waves, so its easier to manage.  There were lots of fish, brain coral, and antler coral to see.

After some time snorkeling, feeding the fish, and building sand castles, we rented paddle boards.  This was our first attempt at paddle boarding, and it started off kind of shaky, but we eventually got the hang of it.

It had been another long active day in the sun.  There was still some shopping that we wanted to do, but decided to head back to the ship and save it for the next day, which would be our final day in Bermuda.  We walked back to ship and made sure to pass through the Bermuda Moon Gate for good luck.

The NCL Breakaway, the largest cruise ship we've sailed thus far.

Our old friend the Celebrity Summit, which delivered us to Bermuda on our first trip 3 years ago.

All of our afternoons and nights followed the same routine.  Rest up from the days activities, have dinner, and then Brenna would head off to kids club while Jacob and I caught an evening show.  For the second cruise in a row, we never had a chance to make it to any of the three main dinning rooms.  Each night we ate in one of the speciality restaurants or the Haven restaurant.  The food was always good.  Jacob and I were also able to see the Second City improv comedy show and the Rock of Ages broadway musical.  We really enjoyed them both.  We still didn't get a chance to see Howl at the Moon, which is dueling pianos, so I guess we'll just have to plan another cruise until we make our way through everything!

That night we found out that the invest we were watching earlier in the week did strength to a Hurricane and had crossed the tip of Florida.  The captain made the announcement that Hurricane Hermine was making his way up the east coast.  Due to the storm's trajectory, it was necessary for us to leave Bermuda a day early so that we would not intersect paths on our way back to New York.  So much for that shopping trip tomorrow.  Some people were very upset to have our time in Bermuda cut short.  We weren't as bothered by it.  It was our second time there and we had already done the shore excursions that we had planned.  The change in itinerary gave us some extra time onboard to enjoy the activities we hadn't gotten to yet.  Brenna and I raced up the rock wall.  Of course, Brenna beat me.  It didn't help that I fell off the wall twice.  But, the crew member who served as my anchor did try to make me feel better by saying I made a good recovery.  We also did the rope course and this year both Brenna and I walked "The Plank" which is about 6 inches wide and extends 8 feet over the side of the ship.  I was proud of her for being so brave!

The last afternoon was the kids club circus show.  Brenna and Dakota somehow managed to always wedge themselves front and center on stage!  Brenna always enjoys the kids club.  It's the thing she likes the most about cruising.

Since we had an early departure from Bermuda, we had a night-time arrival in New York.  We all stayed up late to see the ship pass back under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at night and see the Statue of Liberty all lit up.  We docked at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal sometime after midnight and spent the night dock-side in New York City.

A party boat passing by the Statue of Liberty just before midnight

The next morning we decided to head out early.  The concierge escorted us off the ship and we quickly passed through customs.  Living in a border town, I don't even give customs a second thought anymore.  I had arranged for a car service to pick us up that morning for the drive back to the airport.  Our driver was there within 5 minutes of exiting the terminal and we were on way back to the airport.  We were expecting a long wait at our gate, but lucky for us we were there in time to make the earlier flight and there were still seats available.  The lady at the Delta counter took care of all the changes and within 30 minutes of arriving at the airport, we were boarding our plane for the flight back home three hours ahead of schedule!

It was another great cruise vacation and I love Bermuda.  I think it may be my favorite port of all the places that we've visited on our many cruises.  Unfortunately, just a few weeks after our vacation, Bermuda would take a direct hit from Hurricane Nicole as a category 3 hurricane.  Luckily, for the most part Bermuda fared very well with minimal damage.  Taking all this into account, we have decided that we won't be cruising during prime Hurricane season anymore.  Brenna is already asking when the next cruise is!  She's trying to talk Jacob into promising that we cruise every year.  I don't think she'll have to push too hard!