My Father and Step Mother always take my brothers and me on annual vacations. In 2009, they took us on our first cruise to the Bahamas. In 2010 they took us on a cruise to Canada. I speak for all of us when I say: to date our most memorable vacation was June 19, 2011 (Father's Day).
We took a cruise to Bermuda on the Norwegian Gem. We have only cruised Carnival and Norwegian and so far Norwegian is by far our favorite. You can visit their website at www.ncl.com to see their beautiful ships and exquisite destinations.
To make this trip exceptionally special, my Father and Grandparents upgraded our balcony rooms to two court yard villas. This was not only a surprise for my brothers and me, but also a surprise for our Step Mother who just celebrated her 30th birthday.
The Court Yard Villa's were amazing. We had a private court yard which consisted of a pool, hot tub, exercise equipment, steam room, sun deck, multiple varieties of cushioned loungers, snack bar, etc... We also were able to eat breakfast and lunch in the Steakhouse every day. We had a butler and concierge at our service. This extraordinary service definitely made the sea days more enjoyable.
While in Bermuda, we docked at the Royal Naval Dockyard. On the first day, we went to Horseshoe Bay Beach, which is Bermuda’s most famous beach. They have all the amenities you need. We enjoyed relaxing on the beach while tanning. We even explored some of the hidden coves by swimming around the huge rock formations, where I managed to slice my leg and foot open on hidden rocks; I should have watched my step. Later that night we took a Bermuda Triangle Evening Cruise. They took us into the Bermuda Triangle, past a ship wreck and told us many informative and quite interesting facts about the triangle and Bermuda itself. We were in a glass bottom boat; although the views were not very clear, the narration however was superb.
On day two, we hiked to the top of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, the highest point in Bermuda. We could even see our cruise ship from the top of the lighthouse. We then went to another beach called Warwick Long Bay. This beach was very similar to Horseshoe Bay with the exception of the crowds. The sand was a more prominent pink than the other beaches. The water was rough that day but if you follow a trail to the right when entering the beach, you pass multiple coves and small beach areas where the water is calm and enjoyable. That evening we walked around the dockyard where they were having a festival. We did some shopping in the craft market as well as a local souvenir shop. We even stopped in the glass blowing factory and were able to watch glassblowers make multiple items.
Our final day was spent exploring and sightseeing the historic town of St. George. King’s Square even had a ducking stool (the ancient form of water boarding), stocks, a pillory and a whipping post. Many of the streets are narrow alley ways. We also visited and toured the Lili Bermuda perfumery http://www.bermuda-perfumery.com/ , where at least four of us purchased gifts. After lunch we walked across the dockyard and spent our last few hours at Snorkel Park http://www.snorkelparkbeach.com/ . This was a small beach that had a bar and restaurant, played music and offered water sport rentals.
Bermuda is an amazing island that I highly recommend everyone to visit at least once. Just traveling down the road in the bus taking the sights in was quite an experience. It is truly picturesque and my favorite vacation of all time.
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