known for their infamous Bermuda Triangle that I can confidently say most of us thought would be a much bigger problem in our lives than it is. I had never been to this island and frankly, didn't even realize how close it was to the continental United States. Lucky for me cruises to Bermuda leave out of NYC. 

I booked this trip through Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) two months before it set sail. Living in NYC I'm very fortunate that we have our own cruise port and Bermuda cruises often leave from here so I didn't have to book any plane tickets!

This voyage was on the Norwegian Getaway! The check-in process was very streamlined and since my stateroom had a balcony I was able to bypass a lot of the long lines for the inner stateroom reservations. This wasn't my first cruise, I've also been on a Southern Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean (RC). Something I really enjoyed with NCL is that I was able to take my suitcase to my room myself as well as with me when we departed. I'm not sure if RC also allows that but I much preferred this to having my bag delivered.

On this booking I was able to get the Free at Sea package which came with an unlimited adult drink package, which I still had to pay the tips on, as well as a complimentary specialty dining meal, 75 minutes of wifi (which I didn't use), $50 excursion credit & $50 on-board credit. Let me tell you that my most utilized part of this was that drink package! However, I just don't think they ever really put enough alcohol in those things to get you tipsy unless you're ordering something in a bottle or a can. Regardless, I can't imagine a cruise now without that package.

The food on this ship was spectacular, even at the complimentary restaurants. My

first meal was at O'Shehan's Irish Pub with their fish & chips and I was pleasantly surprised how good it was. The batter was perfectly crisp and fish flaky. This was a sit down option where I also learned when you're in a US port, even if you have the unlimited drink package, you have to pay the tax on your drinks. America?? What the heck is up with that?? Once we set sail though, I was in the clear.

My first full day on this trip was at sea as it takes about a day and half to get to Bermuda from NYC. This day was filled with food and drinks and just lots of over indulgence. We used our specialty dining credit at Teppanyaki, the Japanese hibachi restaurant, which is more or less dinner and a show. Those cooks work so hard to entertain you while they cook your food in front of you and in my honest opinion they probably aren't paid enough for it.

Day two is where the fun and adventures truly begin! Around 9am we docked at the Royal Naval Dockyard on the beautiful island of Bermuda! However.......it was raining! Honestly, after three years of not going on a tropical vacation this was a let down, but I wasn't going to let this "rain on my parade". Haha? Yes? No? Thank you, I'll be here all day.  

 

Getting off the ship was an easy process of just tapping our room cards and then the cruise staff handed out plastic ponchos which were super helpful! Around the port we got lured into booking a jet ski tour later in the afternoon for when the rain was to stop. As we had no true solid plans on this day it seemed like a great way to wing things. We were in port overnight so not having that time restriction to be back gave us a lot of leeway. Oh and fun fact the rain stopped about 45 minutes after we got there.

The first real stop of our day of random adventures was the Gib's Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in the Western hemisphere. We bought day passes for the public transit and took the bus. The local drivers are great about telling people when to get off for certain attractions if you ask them. It cost $2.50 to walk up the 185 steps and let me tell you it's worth the burn in your legs. When I reached the top the view was phenomenal. 360 degrees of blue clear water, local buildings, and pure paradise. The images sung to me and their pitch was perfect.

Back on the bus to Horseshoe Bay Beach! The pink sand beach, which if I'm to be honest I didn't think the sand was really all that pink. This is a very touristy spot, but I do think is worth going even just to say you've been. When you walk onto the beach you can walk to the right where there's a small space sectioned off by these gorgeous rock formations and to the left is long main beach. We started off by the rocks and wow. The water is so much warmer than I thought it would be. We jumped off the rocks into the ocean, tried not to stub our toes on the rocks protruding on the floor and just enjoyed the sunshine. Over on the main beach we enjoyed crashing into the waves and just flowing with the water. This was a surreal experience, but I made one major mistake. After the rain, I forgot to apply sunscreen. I burned.......badly.

Back to the Dockyard we grabbed lunch at Bone Fish

Bar & Grill where I had the Bermuda Fish Cake sandwich and my first experience on someone complaining that I was vlogging and that they didn't want to be in the background of my video. Soooooooo that was fun! The sandwich was great though! I also got a 10% off coupon from the shuttle we took back to the dockyard.

 

At about 4:45pm we went on our jet ski tour and god damn! It had been a long time since I'd been on one and it was so freeing, like you're flying on the water only you're going 30-50 mph across the ocean's surface. Some of the waters were rough but you have to power through it, even if you think you should slow down, don't. Our guide also showed us a sunken ship popping out the water and we got the feed some bread to fish. You would have thought those fish hadn't eaten in days based on how they scurried to grab every morsel.

As the color of Larry of the lobster, we went back to the ship to shower the ocean off before heading out to the Bermuda Harbor Night in Hamilton! We were pretty lucky our overnight was on a Wednesday as that's the only day of the week in the summer this street fair happens. We grabbed the ferry from the Dockyard to Hamilton where there was music, street vendors, and just tons of people. I wanted to get some street food for dinner, but the only savory option I found was pizza and let's be frank......coming from NYC. I'm not getting pizza. Instead I went to Pickled Onion & Brew where I got Bowtie Chicken Pasta which according to the menu is "Bermuda's Most Popular Dish!". Was it good? Yes. Worth $27? Probably not, all though it was a huge portion. Also, make sure to pay attention to your receipts because I noticed the gratuity was already included.

We ferried back to the dockyard, back onto the ship, and into bed we went.

Covered in burns, I regretted my decision to accidentally forgo sunscreen and the morning would tell me just how badly the consequences would be.

Day three, yes. I royally F'ed up. Ouch. Do. Not. I repeat. DO NOT FORGET YOUR SUNSCREEN. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

This was the last day on the island and we had to be back on the ship by 1pm in order to leave by 3pm to head back to NYC. Our plan on this day was to rent scooters and drive around the island. Unfortunately, this plan was crushed by even more rain. This was great for Bermuda, but sad for our vacation. Instead, we hit up the Bermuda Craft Market and browsed the different vendors to pick up some souvenirs. I've tried to be a lot more thoughtful when it comes to bringing things back from vacations. So I got myself a colorful stone magnet to add to my collection on my fridge and an adorable pink sand filled necklace.

As the rain carried on, shoes soaked, we decided to re-board the ship and spend the rest of our time on board before we departed. As Murphy's Law likes to screw everyone over, the rain stopped about 15 minutes after we got to our room. Lovely how that worked out.

I waved Bermuda and her blue, warm waters goodbye as we embarked on our day and a half journey back to the Big Apple. This island was beautiful, the locals were so welcoming and helpful and I just did not get enough time here. My plan is to return next year as the weather begins to warm back up and fly instead so I can get a better grasp on the island as whole. She just has so much more to offer.

The final day at sea was both relaxing and sad as I knew my trip was coming to an

end. That final night we went to Wasabi, the specialty sushi restaurant, and I was unfortunately rather let down by the quality and taste for its value. I paid about $80 for an appetizer and four sushi rolls and it just wasn't worth it. We probably should have gone to the Brazilian steak house instead. Hey. You live and you learn.

In the end, would I sail with Norwegian again? Absolutely! The customer service was out of this world, the complimentary restaurants were fabulous, and the Free at Sea is a great deal no other cruise line offers. 

I think I've made myself pretty clear, but just to reiterate, I LOVED Bermuda! It's a small, crescent shaped island, off the coast of the United States that is booming with life. The warm waters and friendly locals are incredibly inviting while the island itself does not feel overly touristy like many of the Caribbean destinations do. I hope to return to experience more of what she has to offer but until then, Thank you Bermuda for sharing with me your culture, your food, and for an amazing time!

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