Cruising to Bermuda - Part 2

Bermuda Again

Before the trip I’d looked at the cruise line’s shore excursions and wasn’t impressed with any of them. What I really wanted for our first trip to Bermuda was something like the Thenford Gray tour we’d taken in St Kitts in February - a tour with an excellent guide who could give us an overview of the island, lots of history and beautiful scenery, and no large groups. Then on Cruise Critic, I learned that Bermuda has “Blue Flag” taxi drivers who are certified to provide private tours. The tours cost $50 an hour for up to 4 people and you can customize them according to your time frame and interests. Perfect! After reading several glowing reviews for Quinton Bean, I contacted him by email to make the arrangements.

Quinton met us on the dock at 8:30, holding a sign with our names and wearing his signature pith helmet so we’d be able to recognize him. After we’d piled into his van, he introduced himself. He was a native Bermudian, a retired accountant with three grandchildren, and a very knowledgeable and nice man. As we drove out of the Dockyard and through Sandy’s Parish, he told us some of the history of Bermuda. Bermuda is made up of six main islands, all connected by bridges and causeways. The islands are volcanic, topped with a layer of limestone rock. When the British arrived in the early 1600s, they found no indigenous people, but they did find a lot of feral pigs! Apparently, Spanish sailors on their way elsewhere would release the pigs to swim ashore so that there would be food for anyone who came after them. That sounded like good planning.

As we drove through one pretty neighborhood, Quinton explained why all the houses in Bermuda have white, terraced roofs. Bermuda doesn’t have any lakes or rivers, so the only source of fresh water is rainfall. To catch the water, the roofs are designed with steps to slow down the rainwater and divert it to pipes, which take it to large cisterns built underneath the houses. The white wash on the roofs purifies the water. Roofs need to be repainted every 15 to 18 months because when the white wash wears off, it is less effective and then the water needs to be boiled before drinking it. I asked Quinton if Bermuda has a rainy season like they do in the Caribbean. He said that they get about 57 inches of rain annually and it is evenly spread throughout the year, although they may get slightly more in January thru March. They must have gotten plenty of rain this year because everything looked so green and lush, with flowers blooming everywhere. Quinton commented that roofing and landscaping were lucrative businesses in Bermuda.

Our first stop of the tour was at Fort Scaur for views of the Great Sound. Here Quinton pointed out many of the local trees and plants, including Match Me If You Can whose red leaves are used for medicinal purposes such as relieving fevers. It reminded me of a similar Jamaican remedy, although in Jamaica they use overproof rum. :-)  Next we stopped at Somerset Bridge, the world’s smallest drawbridge, and the Port Royal Golf Course where the Grand Slam of Golf was held from 2009 to 2014. We hadn’t requested a stop at a golf course, so we were a bit puzzled by that choice, but apparently golfing is a big deal in Bermuda. I imagine it is a source of pride that they were able to win the Grand Slam away from Hawaii. Also, the scenery was gorgeous. It would hard to pay attention to your golf game with those views!

Clocktower Mall

Fort Scaur

Somerset Bridge

We made our way east on Middle Road to South Road until we reached the hill that led to Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse. We spent about half an hour climbing the lighthouse and walking the grounds. Quinton told us that the lighthouse was built in 1846, one of only two cast iron lighthouses left in the world. There were 185 steps to the gallery, but the stairs were wide and there were several landings to stop and rest. From the top we could see rocky cliffs and peaceful coves below and even our cruise ship in the Dockyard, far, far in the distance. Hello, Grandeur!

Gibb's Hill Lighthouse

Then it was on to Bermuda’s famous pink sand beaches. The beaches in Bermuda really are pink, although it’s a subtle shade. The pink color comes from the shells of single-celled organisms called foraminifera that live in the coral reefs. When they die, their red shells get washed ashore and are mixed with the white sand. I had asked Quinton to take us to Horseshoe Bay Beach or another good beach for taking pictures. He took us to Warwick Long Bay because he said that was his favorite. I could see why. We almost had the beach to ourselves. On the west end there were beautiful limestone formations that formed a little cove. We climbed around the rocks and watched the Bermuda longtails flying around their nests. It was idyllic!

Warwick Long Bay

pink toes in the pink sand

Bermuda longtail bird

Our final stop was the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Hamilton. Mary had specifically requested this stop because she hadn’t gotten to see it on her last trip. And because we could climb the cathedral’s tower, of course. :-)  As we drove toward Hamilton, we could see the cathedral across the harbor, standing out against the other buildings. Quinton told us that buildings in Hamilton were not allowed to be any taller than the cathedral or obscure it from view. The Gothic-style cathedral was built in 1886 using Bermuda limestone blocks and stone imported from Scotland. Inside, Mary spotted some ceramic poppies, a gift from London in honor of the Bermudians who were killed in World War I. They were the same poppies we had seen being placed outside the Tower of London when we were there in 2014! How cool was that? Although there were fewer stairs to the cathedral roof than to the top of the lighthouse, they seemed harder to climb. The spiral stairway was narrow and steep, but the views of Hamilton from the roof were worth it.

Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity

poppies from London

Quinton had planned some time for us to explore Hamilton next, but by the time we made it down from the tower, the clouds had rolled in and it looked like it would rain at any moment, so we decided to head back to port. It was a good decision.  We hadn’t driven very far before the rain started. This also got us back to the Dockyard earlier, which gave us a chance to shop at Dockyard Glassworks and have drinks at the Frog and Onion Pub before final boarding time at 2 o’clock. One last rum swizzle for me!

Back on the ship, we found Mama in her cabin. Since she was still feeling questionable, she had decided to cancel her Hamilton sightseeing tour and stick around the Dockyard. She had gone shopping at the Clocktower Mall and had bought gifts and a beautiful jacket. I was sorry she hadn’t been able to see more of Bermuda, but she had enjoyed herself and that was all that mattered.

Since it was rainy, we passed the afternoon playing cards in Mama and Mary’s cabin and going to the casino. Mary and I started out horribly but then switched tables and did much better. I had one crazy hand where the dealer kept giving me eights. By the end of the hand, I had split three times, doubled twice and was completely confused. I think I ended up breaking even, but it was fun.

After dinner that night (we finally got our lobster!), we all went to the production show, Rhythm and Rhyme, described as “flash moments from popular Broadway musicals.” The choices in musicals seemed more obscure than popular to me, but the costumes and dancing were great. I especially liked the “Cell Block Tango” number from Chicago. “And then he ran into my knife.  He ran into my knife ten times!” :-)

Sea Day

Ron, Mama and I spent our last morning taking the All Access Tour, a behind-the-scenes look at areas of the ship that passengers don’t usually get to see. After breakfast, we met in the Centrum for the 9 o’clock tour. Our guide was Juan from the Shore Excursions department. We had a large group, 20 people, so Juan had his hands full keeping us all together. (Especially when two people wandered off in the middle of the tour to watch the napkin folding demonstration and someone had to go find them. I mean, really…) Once everyone had been wanded down by security, Juan led us to the bridge, where two officers who looked to be about 18 were on duty. One of the men in our group cracked “are you old enough to drive this thing??” Juan showed us the ship’s deck plans which indicated where all the water-tight and fire screen doors were located. He explained that every crew member is assigned emergency duties, which are indicated by instruction number on their badges.

view from the bridge

Next, we went to the galley, walking through the Great Gatsby Dining Room where they were setting up for the Bottomless Brunch. In the bakery, we were introduced to Sam, one of the chief bakers. Sam pointed out that the kitchen staff wore color-coded scarfs depending on their experience (new hires, assemblers, section leaders). Then he demonstrated the “R2D2” machine that was used to make the rolls. He patted out dough onto a platter like a pizza and placed it into the machine. R2D2 wiggled and jiggled and out came the dough, perfectly portioned and rolled into balls. Neat! In the pastry area, one of the pastry chefs was decorating a giant American flag cake for the Veteran’s Celebration later that day. It smelled delicious.

We trooped down to Deck 1, known as I-95, where all the supplies and provisions are loaded and stored. Standing in the middle of the deck, we could see the huge loading doors on either side of the ship. I was surprised how close together they were. I expected the ship to be a lot wider. Deck 1 was also where the crew cabins were located. Juan couldn’t show us his cabin, but he did let us peek down the narrow hallway. He said that the crew cabins were just large enough to hold a double bunk bed, a chair, a small refrigerator and a desk. He joked that he felt sorry for his tall roommate who could barely turn around in the shower. We also visited the engine control room where one of the Second Engineers told us that Grandeur had four diesel engines and could use up to two tons of fuel an hour!

Our final stop was the laundry room. Iputu, who oversaw the thirteen-member laundry crew, showed us the machine that dried and folded the linens. Two people were at the machine, feeding in piles of cloth napkins which reappeared, pressed and folded, on the other side. Unfortunately, towels still had to be folded the old-fashioned way, by hand. It was incredibly hot in the laundry and I thought it must be a difficult place to work. It made me appreciate all those clean towels even more.

Ron and I had been on similar tours on a couple of our Carnival cruises, and I enjoyed seeing how Royal Caribbean’s tour differed. Overall, I think I liked Carnival’s tour a little better. On Carnival, we met the captain, visited the main theater’s dressing room, and got a plate of chocolate covered strawberries delivered to the cabin afterwards. On the other hand, Royal Caribbean let me take my camera on their tour, which is nice for people like me who feel like they haven’t done something unless they took a picture of it. :-)  It’s always interesting to see how ships run so efficiently and self-sufficiently. They handle all the functions of a city but in a tiny space. I learn something new each time.

After lunch in the Windjammer, we went down to the cabin to pack and play some more cards. It was a sunny day and the seas were much calmer than they had been on the way to Bermuda, but the winds had picked up a lot. Mary was hoping to give the rock climbing wall another go, but it was closed due to the winds. Instead we got drinks from the pool bar and sat out on deck, soaking in the warm sunshine until it was time to get ready for dinner.

We went to the dining room at 6:30 to say goodbye and thank you to Michael and Kevin. For some reason, escargot wasn’t on the menu that night but Michael brought us each a plate anyway. By the time we finished dinner, the ship was approaching the mouth of Chesapeake Bay near Virginia Beach so we all went up to the bow. We waved to Mary’s house as we went past. :-) Dolphins escorted us up the channel and we could see the light of the New Cape Henry Lighthouse. Mama went back down to her cabin, but Mary, Ron and I stayed on deck until we crossed over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It was so funny to see the headlights of cars disappearing as they drove into the tunnel. I’ve sailed under bridges before but this was the first time I got to sail over one.

crossing over the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel Bridge

It was a great cruise. I’d been worried about having so much time at sea, but spending that time with Mama and Mary was wonderful. And despite the short time in Bermuda, I’d checked a lot off my bucket list – the ferry ride, the moon gate, the caves, the lighthouse, a pink sand beach and rum swizzles. I’m ready to go back for more!

photos by Susan Crow, Ron Crow and Mary Wagner