Bermuda Adventure 2024 - Day 1

Here we are on our ship the Norwegian Joy. Before I reveal the details of our travels here are a few fun facts about Bermuda. Bermuda was named after Spanish explorer Juan de Bermudez who discovered the islands in 1505. He was likely disappointed the archipelago was uninhabited so there were no indigenous people to attack and enslave. The first permanent settlement on Bermuda was established by the English in 1612.

Bermuda consists of 181 islands and has a total land area of 21 square miles (54 square kilometers ). The six main islands are connected by bridges. The population of Bermuda is 63,532. Our ship will be docked in the Royal Navy Dockyard on the tip of the northwest end ( left side ).

The travel gods smiled on us. All nine of us arrived with our luggage on time. Priscilla and I had a travel miracle. Our plane arrived at Kennedy Airport on time and when we went to baggage claim the Norwegian Cruise Line staff were waiting nearby. She said we were in luck because the first cruise ship bus was just pulling up. Other NCL passengers had been waiting over five hours. Imagine their distress of taking a red eye flight to try to get on the ship early. Our luggage quickly arrived on the carousel and we were escorted a short distance to the waiting bus.

We had a fifty minute drive from Kennedy Airport to the cruise ship dock. The bus driver took the Long Island Expressway to the midtown tunnel and crossed Manhattan on 57th Street. Along the way we passed Carnegie Hall and the Empire State Building. The bus unloaded us at the cruise dock and the driver asked for tips. This is one of the many differences between our other cruise line Tauck and NCL. With Tauck all transfers and tips are included.

This is Parker’s first look at our cruise ship the Norwegian Joy.

The onboarding was efficient. Priscilla had requested wheelchair service in case of long lines. The cheerful attendant pushed her up the long boarding ramp and took us to our Muster Station for our mandatory check in. Since our stateroom was not ready he suggested we go to lunch at the Garden Cafe with the other 4,000 passengers that were waiting for their rooms. The Garden Cafe was packed to the gills but we found our family sitting near each other and joined them for lunch. There are a dozen food stations with different cuisine from Indian and salad bar to hamburger and pizza.

We had about a two hour wait to get into our state room. The elevator lobbies were a mob scene. There were lines to get an elevator going our direction, and when the elevator did eventually arrive they were already full. The staircases became our friend.

Next to our ship was a museum that displayed various aircraft including the Concorde. There was also an aircraft carrier and a submarine.

Rachel had packed the kids’ bathing suits in her carry-on bag. Parker and Eleanor were the first ones in the pool. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. Luggage arrived in the cabins a few hours later. The pool will never be that empty again. Some of the other attractions for children are a waterpark with slides, giant death defying waterslides, go kart track, and a video arcade.

Oscar and Jack were among the first passengers to ride on the go carts. The go carts are on deck 18.

Our ship departed at 4 PM. We backed out onto the Hudson River and turned south. The last time I was on the Hudson River was on our Great Loop trip in June 2016. As always, the highlights of the Hudson River are passing the Statue of Liberty and cruising under the Verrazano Bridge.

The bridge was named after Giovanni da Verrazzano, who, in 1524, was the first European explorer to sail into New York Harbor. Interestingly Verrazano grew up in the same land locked town in Italy as Christopher Columbus. My daughter Alison and I visited that town during a high school band field trip in 1997.

At sea, the wind and the waves picked up a bit. It was downright snotty out there with winds gusting to 40 mph full gale and waves at 16 feet. It is good to be on a 1094’ ship with stabilizers. With the ship's speed of 20 mph, wind on the top decks was 60 mph. No evening activities on the pool deck. 

There are many amazing architectural pieces throughout the ship. This is a two story chandelier hanging from deck 8.

Despite maddening crowds at every turn, we are having fun. JP found a sanctuary in the bow of the ship on deck 15 called the Observation Lounge. It has floor to ceiling windows that face forward and it comes complete with its own Starbucks, full bar, and buffet.

We had our first dinner together as a family at Manhattan’s. This is one of 20 restaurants on board. We had reservations for 5:30 PM. When we arrived, there was a long line of people hoping to get a table. We were seated immediately and had a wonderful meal and the signature drink, a Manhattan. Note, even though we have the free drink package, there is a 9% sales tax on all drinks when tied to the dock. The mayor of NYC figured out how to get his slice from cruise ship passengers. Now we are finally free at sea, at least with the drink package. The ship still has more than 100 ways to pick our pocket with Wi-Fi fees, room service fees, and arcade packages to mention a few.

When I look at the ocean waves, they do not look so high, but I’m on deck 14 so it is a very long way to the water. I can feel the ship shimmy a bit, but not too bad. There are vomit bags available throughout the decks of the ship, but no one seems affected at this time. Our cabin is in the center of the ship so we have less motion than cabins in the bow or stern. The captain made an announcement that conditions will improve throughout the day. We will be coming out of the highwinds as we approach Bermuda.