Is cruising to Bermuda a good place to cruise with a family?

Question

I have cruised several times, but I have never gone anywhere but the Caribbean. Is Bermuda comprible? Is it a family friendly place? This will be the first time I have ever cruised with my daughter who is 4 now. I am nervous, but excited. Any suggestions! Please help...

Answer 1

Hi. I live in Bermuda and I can tell you that it is a family friendly place and pretty safe. We have no poverty here but,things are very expensive here. The beaches are great.

The public transportation is good too. So have fun & relax.

Answer 2

Never cruised to Bermuda, but I've heard it's very expensive.  Try going to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then "Ports of Call" to find out what experienced cruisers have to say about Bermuda.

Answer 3

I have been to Bermuda twice on cruise ships. So I will tell you what I know based on my two trips there.

Bermuda has some of the best beaches anywhere; pink sand beaches that you can easily find a deserted spot on. In my two visit it seemed to me that the majority of the people visiting the island were those on the two or three cruise ships which docked there during my stay. There are a few hotels in the town of Hamilton and about a dozen other properties/beach hotels, but they are nice. There are NO slums and ghettos in Bermuda like you may see on other islands like the Caribbean. All of the houses are well maintained and painted in pastel colors. All of the public beaches are great. Be sure to go to Elbow Beach and Long Bay Beach. When you cruise there its less expensive than flying and staying in a hotel because, you stay and eat on the ship. We ate on ship and that was good because meals (and everything else) are expensive since everything has to be imported. In fact Bermuda is an expensive place for about everything.

There is not a lot to do in Bermuda other than water sports and golf. There are two main towns Hamilton, the largest (where most cruise ships dock for at least a day) and St George (also a port stop) which is like a small town and has just a few shops.

St George is like a small new England town with a small town square and a few shops. But it has bus service that will take you anywhere on the island, and since the island is pretty small (about 22 miles long) it only takes a few minutes to go other places. You can visit one of the many forts on the island like Fort St Catherine , its walking distance from St George also. If you want to the beach from St George you have several options within walking distance of St George and if you want to snorkel, the Tobacco Bay Beach near the town of St George is great, and its walking distance (about 3/4 mile from town).

The third place ships may dock while there is The Kings Dockyard.. The Dockyard is on the far end of the 22 mile long island and has a small mall with shops and a museum.   It also has a new attraction called Snorkel Park Beach.  The Crystal Cave and Fantasy Caves are worth visiting as a tour, or on your own. I also visited one of the lighthouses, for lack of anything else to do.

In the town of Hamilton we took a walking tour which took us to the Cathedral of the Most Holy, a maritime museum and a nice garden/park a few blocks from the port. There is shopping in Hamilton and restaurants, but not much else.

The best way to get around in Bermuda is to buy a transportation pass (sold in stores and the bus station) which will let you take the buses, and the ferry, all over the island. We bought our bus pass at a store in St George, near where the ship docked. There is a big bus depot just a couple blocks from where ships dock in the town of Hamilton. You can take the buses to the beach, they are not very far away and easy to get to from the bus stop. You want to go to Elbow Beach and Long Beach, both open to the public.

The thing not to miss in Bermuda is the beaches. Its not like Caribbean islands with a lot of bars and clubs, maybe a couple on main street in Hamilton and that's it.  Its a safe place to go and you don't have to worry at all about riding the buses or ferry anywhere on the island.  3 to 5 days there on a cruise ship is plenty enough time to see all that you will want to see and do.  Several cruise lines run cruises to Bermuda from east coast cities from Boston to Charleston, SC.

http://www.bermuda.com

http://www.bermudatourism.com/index.aspx