Here's a brief document to lay out our plans and ideas for the trip to Bermuda. I think it will be helpful to see what the thoughts are at least for Leslie, the kids and me. Of course there are a lot of options! But for now this is what we are thinking.
For travel to and from the ship, we are arranging for a minibus to pick us up with all of our luggage at Ridgefield and take us to the dock in New York City directly. On the way back we'll do the reverse. It costs a little bit but it means no parking, no worries, and no one has to drag their luggage across the city. Seems like a good investment to us!
We arrive in the port of King's Wharf, Bermuda on Wednesday morning by 8 a.m. King's Wharf is way out on the "western" end of the island (actually the island bends and it is really the north end, but from a practical purpose it works as the west end). From there, there are some nearby activities like shopping, but we can do those most any time during our three days there. For the other locations, we'll have to figure out some transportation, so it makes sense to look at three main areas as hubs: St George (far east end), Hamilton (center of island), and the Southampton Parish area (between the ship and Hamilton).
Conveniently we have three days, so here is what I would propose:
On Wednesday, we'll take a ferry over to the far eastern side of the island to St George. St George looks like a fun town with a little bit of everything. Some people can explore the historic parts (World Heritage Site) and shopping, while others explore Tobacco Bay Beach (best local snorkeling on the island). So this area looks like it has something for everyone. If anyone wants alternative transportation, there is a bus that runs from this end of the island back to the dock, or taxis should be available for about $50-60.
On Thursday, Abby has a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream to have a chance to swim with the dolphins. The dolphin swim is at the Maritime Museum which is very near the dock for the ship. Her appointment is at 11:30 a.m. and lasts for an hour. There is what looks like a nice museum there, plus there is an observation area where we can watch and take pictures (though you have to pay admission for the museum I think.) Andrew has had his chance before in Japan so he is going to save us the fee. After the dolphin swim, we'll plan on heading over to Hamilton, which is the capital city. There is shopping and eating there, and it is not far to the Botanical Gardens (probably a $10 cab ride). We are looking at a glass bottom boat but it depends on how the schedule works out. Then we may think about staying in town for dinner, though a shore meal of course is not included with the cruise.
On Friday, we think it would be good to go down to Southampton Parish for the day. The golfers among us (Andrew, Dale, Dave) can do the Fairmont Southampton Golf Course which is a very scenic par-3 course and should be a nice place to shoot some balls. I am checking on getting a tee time there. We can rent clubs and shoes if needed. Others (Abby for sure, probably Leslie) will visit Horseshoe Bay Beach which has a lot of all things beachy on a pink sand beach. Those who prefer coffee in a nice hotel (Harriett?) can enjoy the Fairmont hotel cafes. And there is a nice hike on the South Shore Park Trail which goes from Horseshoe Bay along the less-developed coastline to the next beach up the oceanfront, about two miles. This would probably be nice for the nature lovers (Dale after golf? Eldon and Bob?) Of course you have to return somehow on the trail. And most importantly, we MUST be back on the ship by 3 p.m. to prepare for a 5 p.m. disembarkation. The transportation for this trip would be via taxi and would probably cost $20-25 each way per taxi.
For those of you who need more excitement (you know who you are), there is a snorkeling beach near our dock which would be available at any time we are there. There is also a night snorkeling trip which we could sign up for from the cruise line.
All of the above arrangements are NOT done through the cruise line. We reviewed everything and there are some nice options available that some of you may still want to consider. For us it seems like we can pretty much manage on our own. Whatever we do, it looks like we can arrange to meet up or to synchronize our plans appropriately.
This should be a link to my regular home page but we will see.