Bermuda Cruise 2024 #2 - Port Day # 1 (10/29/24)

 

The day started out with having breakfast in the buffet with our new friend.  RQS mentioned that she is a relative newbie to cruising and travel, by the way she approaches things.  But I'll get into that later.

There was a part of me that was afraid to go onshore as Marian today.  Even though I asked the right questions of the right people, I am always concerned when I visit a new place as Marian.  So, when the ship pulled into port around 1:30 pm, I knew that I was going to confront my fear head on.  

While eating lunch, the ship made port and it took a while for Bermuda customs to give the ship clearance to discharge passengers.  Around 3:00 pm, we were off the ship and on our way to the Clocktower Mall to do some shopping.  And that's where I dropped $50 on a necklace and a bracelet that I could wear later on. However, the stores closed relatively early (in relation to the ship's arrival), and we ended up walking back to the ship around 5:30 pm.  

It was very windy, and my hair was all mussed up.  But I continued my walk to the pier knowing that I'd have to pull my passport out and possibly risk a confrontation.  Thankfully, my worries were all in vain.  Bermuda is now a port I can safely visit as Marian without worry.

 

Shortly after we got back on the ship, we decided to have dinner in one of the main dining rooms.  But first, we changed one of our French Restaurant reservations to the Italian restaurant onboard the ship.  Although it is one of the line's specialty restaurants, we are not impressed by Italian eateries, as they are a dime a dozen in the NYC area. 

I decided to have the Onion soup and the NY Strip steak.  Sadly, I was not impressed by the soup, as there wasn't enough cheese on top to balance out the flavor of the onions. However, the steak was as good as I remembered - not good enough for a place like Gallagher's in NYC, but good enough to enjoy on a cruise ship.  As we were about to finish our meal, we saw our friend again, and decided to meet up with her after she finished her dinner.

When we finally caught up with each other, we got a drink from the bar (a big mistake) and went to the buffet area where we could talk without shouting over the din of others yammering away.  Around 10 pm, we parted and agreed to meet tomorrow for another breakfast.

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/19/24 (Hellesylt & Geiranger, Norway)

 

We awoke early to see Geiranger Fjord before a short port at Hellesylt to drop off cruisers who had ship arranged shore excursions.  While stopped at port, we went to the main dining room for breakfast to start our day with a good meal.  And then the ship headed for Geiranger.

Shortly after breakfast, the ship started heading for Geiranger.  Unfortunately, we were told that the winds were too strong for the "sea walk" (read: a gangway to the pier).  Instead, this became a tender port, something both of us dislike due to the time it takes to get on and off the tender boat.  You can imagine how RQS felt when she heard that we would need to use a tender boat to reach dry land.  (Three guesses, the first two don't count.)

We got our tender coupons and found that there would be a 1 hour wait to get off the ship.  So we headed to the pizzeria to kill some time and have a light lunch.  By the time we were finished, I had some GI Tract issues which forced us to go back to our cabin for a while.  When I was done, they no longer were using tender tickets to manage capacity on the boats taking us to shore.  So, it was on to the tenders, and then on to shore.

After walking around a bit, we went back to the ship.  Geiranger may be a beautiful place to live, but it must also be a little bit boring after the tourist season ends.  One thing I noticed about reboarding procedures is that no one is asking for personal id.  I think the reason they tell us to carry a government issued ID is that people might have to be flown to the next port to meet the ship if they miss reboarding the ship in port.  

Once we rested, we made it down to the sushi bar.  This was a disappointment for us, as they were slow in bussing the tables, greeting us as we arrived, and delivering all of what we ordered.  At least, the food was good.  Both of us will be writing Princess after the cruise to comment on our experience at this restaurant.

 

 

 

PS: We later saw videos of excursions from this port which made me wish we had taken the coach tour to the top of the mountains surrounding Geiranger.  After seeing the view from the top of the mountain, snow on both sides of the road, and the fjord 3000 feet below, I wish we had taken the bus excursion at this port.