Bermuda Cruise

New York City

First day of the Bermuda cruise.

Up at 0600. On the road to the airport before 0700.

Easy check in and an easy flight to New York City.

Used SuperShuttle to get from the airport to the cruise ship terminal – well worth the $15 per person price.

Met up with the sister and brother-in-law and their friends (Dave and Jane) for dinner.

The ship was late leaving NY. 2000 instead of the schedule 1600. Which was fine with me since it gave us a sunset view of Manhattan as we sailed out of NYC.

Unfortunately, I’m having a serious sinus / allergy attack. Dave gave me some Tylenol-Sinus which he had – and it’s helping.

Still – am getting ready to go to bed – and it’s before 2200. I hope this darn stopped up head clears up. It farking hurts.

At Sea

Nice quiet calm water. Chilly weather though – you need a sweater when out on deck.

Nuke got in late last night and, being a bit tipsy (what else is new?), wanted to talk and talk about the people he had met and a couple of ladies he danced with and so on. I fell asleep listening to him talk on and on.

Morning coffee delivered to the room around 0700. Sitting on the balcony drinking my morning coffee – I saw – A Whale!

I saw a fluke / fin break the water not more than 50 – 60 feet right in front of my balcony. Then again. I said out loud “ WT? – Is that a whale?” – Nuke gets up – and just as he gets to the balcony – she surfaces again and breaths. Yep – that’s a whale – NOT a porpoise. We watched as she kept on going past the ship – surfacing and blowing.

How cool.

Then, just a little while later, there was a pod of dolphins – again – not but about 50 or so feet off the balcony.

Nice little show to wake up to. How cool is that?

At Sea Day 2

Did nothing.

Well, outside of dinning. And attending the ship’s shows. And reading a couple of books from the ship’s library.

Good dinner conversation.

Bermuda Day 1

What a pretty island. Very upscale and proper.

Nuke and I bought the bus / ferry transportation pass. Rode the bus from the Ship to Hamilton where we changed busses and went from Hamilton to St. George.

St. George, I think, is the oldest settlement on the island. Had lunch there. My GOD the prices are high in Bermuda. Not just at fancy places – but everywhere. I’m talking New York City prices – like $10 hamburgers at local burger joints. We had a simple lunch – Nuke had a burger, I had a slice of quiche – water – and 1 beer for Nuke. Total was about $35. Yikes!

Rode the ferry back from St. George to the ship.

Dinner and then some reading for me. Nuke, of course, closes down the bars at night on board the ship. LOL

Bermuda Day 2

Rode the ferry from the ship into Hamilton. Walked around and looked at the sights. Really nice little town. Bought some Cuban cigars for Chip. Spent some time sitting in the main park in Hamilton and just people watched. Took the direct ferry back to the ship.

Back at the ship, I walked around the Royal Naval Dockyard. The buildings have been restored and converted to shops and restaurants. Bought a print at the Bermuda Arts Center (very good local artists btw).

Back on board – dinner – good conversation as usual, and some more reading.

Nuke continues to help the ship’s economic stimulus by frequenting the various bars on board.

Bermuda Day 3

I took the bus to the beaches just to have a look. Yep – the sand has a very light pink tint to it. Then I walked a couple of hours along the center of the island on the hiking trail which is the old railroad bed.

Caught another bus into Hamilton and looked around a little more. Ferry back to the ship about a couple hours before we were to leave.

Day at Sea

Saw another pod of dolphins.

Finished the second book.

Took in a couple shows and listened to some of the musicians on board. Went to the crew’s talent show - which are always kind of cute.

Last dinner on board and more good conversation.

New York – Raleigh

Got up early to watch us sail into New York. Very overcast and some rain – not quite as impressive as when we sailed out. But still – pretty awesome.

The shuttle driver called us on the cell phone to let us know he was at the pier. That’s pretty nice having the van waiting for you – instead of the other way around.

BTW – I recommend SuperShuttle. It worked great for us on this trip.

The flight was smooth and a little ahead of schedule back to Raleigh.

When I got home – waiting for me on the back deck – this pot of flowers had opened up during the week.

All in all – a nice vacation.

And BTW - my sinus are still acting up. The pressure change on the flight back did a number on them - and my ears. Which are totally stopped up.

Oh well - life isn't perfect. But it can get pretty close sometimes.