Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda - First Truly Solo Vacation - NYC - Bermuda - DC - October 13

I set an alarm to be up in time to watch our sail into Bermuda around 7:00 a.m. We came in from the direction of St. George’s and so that was the first views of the Island I got and then we made our way across the island to the Royal Naval Dockyard where we would dock at Heritage Wharf. The ship swung around in time for me to see a glimpse of a beautiful sunrise and then a tugboat named Powerful showed up right outside my balcony where it positioned itself at the ready to assist should the ship need any help as we made our way into the dock. I later learned that there is a pretty significant coral barrier reef around the island which helps protect the island from large waves being so far out in the Atlantic but also makes the navigable waters quite shallow in a lot of places.

St. George's

It took us a bit to dock and then get clearance so it wasn’t until about 9:00 a.m. that passengers were cleared to go to shore. So I enjoyed a nice breakfast in the Haven Restaurant and then decided on this day I would just stick to exploring the port area which included some shopping, the harbor, and the National Museum of Bermuda (known by the locals as the Bermuda Maritime Museum which is what it was called for many years). As I disembarked, the Celebrity Eclipse was in the process of docking so I took time to watch it pull in and the rope handlers tie her down.

Roosters wandered the area

Some examples of the micro-electric cars you can rent to tour the island.

At the Clocktower Shopping Mall, I found a couple souvenirs - a tank top and a spoon rest.

The Museum is located in Keep Fort, Bermuda’s largest fort. As a natural stopping point between Great Britain and Canada this fort was used in a number of wars. I will admit that my main motivation for paying the entrance fee to this museum was that I anticipated it would have amazing views of the ships which it definitely did but it was also really interesting to explore the fort, Commissioner’s House, and other buildings.

Sheep Gate - Although I never did find any sheep

Commissioner's House

A view of Snorkel Park, a small beach/park with an admission fee.

Quite the mural! "Bermuda's Story in Art" by Graham Foster

I spot a ship!

Dolphin Quest

After exploring the Museum, I was getting hungry so made my way back towards the ship for lunch but took some time to stop and admire the ship both from the dock and then admire the port area from deck 8 before ascending to my cabin.

National Museum of Bermuda

And then on my way up to cabin, I discovered this medication vending machine which I had never seen before on a cruise ship. It’s actually not a bad idea although as expected prices aren’t cheap. 

At lunch, I had an amazing view of the fort and museum I had just wandered and enjoyed a bit more of my bottle of Chardonnay that I had ordered the day before. I took the last bit up to my cabin to finish that afternoon. The day’s treats arrived mid-afternoon. They looked the same as the first day before they knew about my dairy allergy so I wasn’t confident I could eat them so just sampled the egg one. It’s possible, they had been made special for me but I just didn’t know.

As I was enjoying time on my balcony, the Celebrity Eclipse sailed away giving me some amazing views of that ship.  I thought back to my previous time on that ship.  It was the one that took us from Honolulu to Vancouver last year and we had sailed previously on her with my husband’s parents about 8 years ago to the Caribbean.  

I went to dinner a bit earlier than normal this night because of a late excursion I had later. I almost skipped dessert since I was very full but decided to wait for it and was very glad I did because it was my favorite, a creme brûlée made with rice milk. It was so good! I got to enjoy sunset just as I was finishing and then went out on deck to get a glimpse of the last colors.

Tonight’s excursion was a Bermuda Triangle Evening Cruise with a meeting time of 8:50 p.m. on the pier. We started the excursion on the top level of a glass bottom boat with the theme song from Gilligan’s Island and then some commentary by our captain. We were taken out to one corner of the triangle of the Bermuda Triangle (which roughly extends from Bermuda to Puerto Rico to Florida) where we descended to the lower level with the glass bottom to see some coral, fish, and the shipwreck of the HMS Vixen. The bow of the ship still sticks out of the water. On the way back, they served us a Rum Swizzle. It really was a fun excursion and now I can say I survived the Bermuda Triangle.

Bow of sunken HMS Vixen

I was able to snap a photo of the boat in daylight the next morning.

By that time it was very late for me. I stopped on deck 7 where I didn’t realize there was some outdoor deck past the life boats. And then made my way up to my cabin to retire for the night.