Bermuda

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Sept 24th - Sept 28th 2011

This was my first all-inclusive trip. Usually I prefer to travel backpacker style, with few actual plans and lots of time to explore and meet new people, but I also enjoy trying new things and my mum and her Curves group were putting together a trip to Bermuda with a super good deal I couldn't resist. I haven't gone on vacation in two years so I figured I would treat myself plus I really like travelling with my mum. Because we were many, we got a good deal on renting an entire bus to get us to the docs in New Jersey. 50$ each way and when the bus pulled up at 4am Saturday morning I was stoked!!! I was just as stoked to see that it was all sleek and black with super tinted windows. It almost looked like a limo but then I saw it had badge decals all over it saying "Police Department Security". I thought that was even cooler!!! U.S. Customs did not. We were delayed over an hour and almost charged with impersonating a vehicule of the law. We had to explain that we were just renting the bus to get us from point A to B and the bus driver had to explain that the decals were for a movie the bus was recently in. Still, customs wouldn't let us through. After much time-wasting we decided to take a stand. We all grouped together and peeled off the decals one-by-one. "Now can we go Sir?" "Oh no, where's your vehicle USDOT number?" "Our what???!?!" The driver ducks under his seat and flashes this big cardboard card with a number on it and askes if that's what the officer was talking about. Indeed it was. He got a nice lecture on how it was illegal for a bus to not have a visible USDOT number on it when entering the U.S. Blah, blah, blah ... was this our drivers first time?!! So, we got some duckt tape and taped it onto the passenger side door - ghetto style. "NOW can we go Sir?" Holding our collecive breath ... "Yes" WOHOO!!! We got outta there as fast as we could before they could think of some other infraction that could hold us up.



Other than that, the 6 hour ride there was long and uneventful but we got there on time.




The cruise ship was HUGE! I've seen them before but only from afar. Up close, they're even more impressive. They're like mini cities floating on water with fitness gyms, swimming pools, basketball courts, rock climbing walls, spas, arcades, (several) bars and dance clubs, (several) dining rooms for different occasions, casinos, lounge areas, art galleries a mini mall and more. When I saw the list of activities on this ship my jaw dropped. I couldn't even do everything on that list if I had a solid week on the ship and most activities were free.




There were 4 floors of rooms for the guests and the rooms were small but cosy. The beds were more comfortable then the one I have at home and the rocking of the ship at night was soothing so I slept like a baby, and lucky for me, no seasickness!!!



Day 1. At sea was spent familiarizing ourselves with the ship. Not a half hour into leaving the doc and the party got started. It was 22 degrees and cloudy but the DJ was on deck spinning and people were drinking and dancing. I watched us leave land behind with the smell of salt in the air and thought how happy I was to be there! At dinner, the food was delicious.




Day 2. At sea breakfast was wonderful. Buffet style with so many choices!! I had scrambled eggs, super crispy bacon, potato patties and a bowl of fresh fruit. Then I signed up to a pilates class and spent the rest of the day sun tanning with mum on deck and in the pool. It was 30 degrees and sunny!!! Perfect weather!! The pool was amazing!!! There were two levels; one that was only a little past the ankle deep where you can lay down and have the warm water cover you and another level where I had to stand on my toes to keep my face out but as we moved along, we didn't feel the movement of the ship at all but we sure saw it from the waves that were created in the pool. Whoever was in it was swaying side to side, gently rocking ... really relaxing. It felt like a real vacation.



Day 3. Bermuda! Today we pull up to King's Wharf Bermuda! It's 28 degrees and super sunny!!! Mum and I are dying to go to the beach and the best beach to visit according to rumour is Horseshoe Bay. Really easy to get to although quite a walk from the bus stop, downhill. They have a car service to take you back up (anything for a buck!!!) which is quite worth the cost. The beach is beautiful, the water as clear as a swimming pool you can easily see the bottom and the fish swimming around you and the waves are amazing!! Both of us got whiped out by not paying attention ... the waves are constant and can get really big!!! The sand is the most beautiful I've seen and has a pink hue because of the crushed seashells. Speaking of seashells, we couldn't find any!!! No seaweed either, no jelly fish, no rocks in the sand. Pristine. Perfect. It was so nice in fact, that we decided to stay on the beach both days we were in Bermuda instead of spending one of them touring and shopping.




Once we soaked up enough sun for our first day, we headed back to The Royal Naval Dockyard where our ship was docked and where theres lots of shopping to be had. We perused around, went back to the ship withour goods, grabbed some dinner and went back out for some entertainment. There was a concert put on just for our ship. On the grass, in front of the stage there was also a small arts/crafts area where local artists set up and I was really impressed, especially by the jewelry they had on display but also with the watercolor art. I wish I had more money (not that they were expensive) I would have bought some but times are tight :-) The musicians were fantastic, playing some classic reggae covers like Bob Marley etc.




Day 4. Bermuda! Back to the beach! Yet another day of 28 degrees and sun!! Got a huge sunburn from the day before despite piling on the sunscreen but we weren't going to miss out on another great opportunity to float around in that perfectly turquoise water! First, I wanted to get some pictures of the neighborhood to catch the atmosphere of the town seeing as we weren't going to spend any time touring so I got my camera out while on the bus on our way to the beach and worked my way to the front of the bus where I got some great shots out the windshield! Looks like we were just walking around and not on a bus at all. One thing we observed while on the short bus ride was that there are a lot of scooters. It seems that's how many of the local kids get to and from school. Another thing we took note of was how the roof of every building was constructed. Like mini staircases made out of plaster. They're made that way to resist hurricanes, and the buildings themselves are all like stucco and colorfully painted in pastel colors. Very much like the ones I saw in St Thomas in the Caribbean but very well mantained. There was no graffiti whatsoever and no garbage littering the ground. Bermuda is a very clean place!




During dinner we had the most perfect sunset. Seriously. It couldn't have been better if we were standing on the tallest mountain. I hear that sunsets at sea ARE the best. Well I have the pictures to proove it!




Day 5. At sea. We said good bye to Bermuda and returned to sea. I'm getting use to waking up and walking down to find a tasty breakfast waiting for me. I may not remember how to make my own when this vacation ends, nor do I really want to! The same for the past 4 days (bacon, eggs and hashbrowns) but I could eat that for ever and not get tired of it in the least. Now that we were back at sea, I felt like I had to really rake in all the fun and free activities. Got up early to do some nice, relaxing yoga, played a little basketball, (such an impressive court!!!) made an appointment to have my FIRST EVER manicure/pedicure at the spa (oh what an experience!!!) and then we found a really winning spot on deck in front of the pool to watch the Sexiest Man Alive contest. It was really entertaining with the boys strutting like peacocks!!




Later in the evening the beautiful weather finally broke. Watching a strom approach from out in sea where all you can see is the ocean and the skyline and no land in site is breathtaking!! It started with just one storm off in the distance but then we saw a few surrounding us and one in particular we were heading straight into. Within minutes it was uppon us and everyone was running to get inside. The wind picked up and the rain pelted down ... actually the wind was so strong that one of the lounging chairs flung itself toward me. I saw it coming though and caught it before it could hit me. Then other chairs started to get strewn about like ragdolls as we were making our way indoors. WOW!! My mum was a little scared but I was glued to the window watching as we went through it. I'm fascinated by such things.



All week long, every night, there has been live entertainment and various dance clubs open to the wee hours and we were just too exhausted to make ourselves go to them but tonight, our last night on the ship, we were determined! After dinner we raced down to the stage for the Farewell Showtime at the Palace Theater. It was a mixture of music, dance and comedy and all very entertaining!! I kinda wish we would have made the effort earlier on in the week to attend more! Afterward, my mum retired for the night around 11pm but I headed out to the Farewell Dance Party at The Chamber Club. It started off slow but the music picked up and I found myself dancing until 2-3am!!!



This was a fantastic experience. I may even try another all inclusive cruise down the road!

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