Bermuda Cruise 2025 - Embarkation Day / Leaving New York (04/27/25)

 

The day got off to an inauspicious start.  We woke up early, got showered and dressed, and took an overpriced Uber to the pier.  (I shouldn't put it that way - we needed to get there on the day of the Brooklyn Half-Marathon, and the price is what the market would bear.)  We weren't surprised about the traffic jam leaving the terminal area.  But we were surprised to quickly make it from the Atlantic avenue exit on the BQE to the Brooklyn Cruise terminal.  

Arriving at the cruise terminal before noon can be a problem when a cruise is fully booked.  But with the ship having propulsion problems, people were arriving early, so that they would make it onto the ship before its planned early departure.  As for us, we were out of our Uber and through the terminal, finally reaching our cabin in less than 20 minutes.  This is a record for us boarding this MSC ship.

Once onboard, we tried to go to the one sit-down restaurant that was open for lunch - and were told that they were full, not accepting new diners.  (Why didn't they keep this restaurant open longer, or open up one of the other dining rooms?  They should know the general expectations of their cruisers by now.  But I digress.)  So, we ended up going to the buffet, where I ended up staining my shirt with pizza drippings and having an unsatisfying lunch.

After a rest, we went to dinner at the same place where we tried to have lunch - and met a nice couple from New Jersey.  We (mostly me) chatted with the couple, and I think they were entertained by the chat.  Hopefully, we'll see them tomorrow.  

Once dinner was over, we retreated to our room, and had a nice conversation with our room steward.  After the next cruise, he will be going home to the Philippines to surprise his wife and 2 children for his wife's birthday.  We chatted about things involving cruising, as well as some of the places we'd like to go.  As much as we could have talked longer, RQS reminded us that he had 3 other cabins to service, and that we needed some rest.

All in all, this was a good day.

 

I am finally cruising again! (a short post)

 

By the time you read this, RQS and I will have returned from our most recent Bermuda cruise on the MSC Meraviglia.  We have been haunted by a curse on most of our Bermuda cruises so far.  On our first cruise, someone fell into RQS's leg, and she was crippled for several weeks.  Our next cruise had its scheduled Bermuda port time shortened by 2 days, leaving us with a single port day on a 7-day cruise. Finally, on our 3rd cruise, we had 3 port days in Bermuda - and in all of them we had good weather.  This time, the ship has propulsion issues which is forcing us to arrive earlier at the pier - who knows whether our time in Bermuda will be shortened or not.  I don't.

This time, I am much more ambivalent about cruising than usual, given political events in this country.  Hopefully, nothing unexpected will happen.  But if it does, I will report it here if possible.  I figure that this trip will be a form of current litmus trip on how Customs and Border control will treat an American who despises the snowflake.  I expect things may get worse over time, as we move towards being an autocracy. As long as I am able to transit out of and in to this country without hassle, I will remain here.  But if things change, I will use my Letter of Transit to leave for Lisbon as soon as practical and make a new life somewhere else if needed.

But back to Bermuda....

Even when the weather is bad there, I always felt good about being in Bermuda.  The place is clean and safe, and well worth visiting at least once.  Given that I will have no video access to left or right leaning American video media, I will be able to disconnect for a while. This will be a blessing for me.  I'll be sure to relax, and I'll be sure to unwind.

I wonder what it will be like when we take our New England / Canada cruise? 

 

 

 

PS: I will post daily entries from our 6-day cruise when I get back home.