Bermuda Adventure 2024 — Captain Father John

The entire family ( all nine of us ) are headed to the island of Bermuda. We will cruise out of the port of New York aboard the Norweigian Joy. We will depart on April 14 and return on April 21.

The Norwegian Joy is 1,094 feet long and holds 3,776 passengers and 1,821 crew. We are traveling slightly off season so our ship should not be full. According to Norweigian Cruise Line ( NCL ) this ship was completely refurbished this year.

Priscilla and I will fly to New York from West Palm Beach. JP, Rachel, Eleanor and Parker will fly from Chicago and Alison, Oscar and Jackson will drive to New York from Framingham. Lots of moving pieces. We have arranged our transfer from the airports to the ship through NCL so that should go smoothly.

Where is Bermuda and how far away is it. Bermuda is about 863 miles ( 1,389 km ) SE of New York. Bermuda is 650 miles 1,050 km ) east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Miami, Florida is 1,100 miles ( 1,770 km ) southwest. We will depart New York on Sunday night and arrive in Bermuda on Tuesday morning.

Here is our itinerary for the cruise. We will have three full days in Bermuda. We will use the ship as our hotel and go ashore each day for our excursions. We have already scheduled a snorkeling trip on a catamaran, cave exploration and swimming with the dolphins. Lots of fun times ahead.

We have reserved four cabins. They are all on deck 14. That will make it easy for the grandkids to visit each other without having to use the stairs or an elevator. We have two balcony suites that hold up to three guests each. JP and Rachel have two adjoining balcony cabins. They have flexibility on where the children will sleep and they have two bathrooms for four people. The accommodations should work out just fine. I am looking forward to sitting on my balcony and playing sea shanties on my ukulele.

You might ask the question why is Bermuda warmer than other areas nearer to the United States? Bermuda enjoys a temperate, sub-tropical climate thanks to the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream pushes warm tropical water from the Gulf of Mexico to the west and north of the island. Temperatures in winter are in the 60°f range and in the 80°f in the summer.

Here is the daily forecast for the time we will be in Bermuda. The temperatures are not tropical but they are pleasant. 70°f and sunny with light winds will make for a nice week. Bermuda is in hurricane alley. Hurricane season starts on June 1, so I do not mind getting in and out of Bermuda prior to hurricane season.

Stay tuned to find out how our best laid plans come together and we meet for the first time onboard the Norwegian Joy. As the Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote in “To a Mouse” - The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. ( Gang aft agley ).