Bermuda Cruises

Bermuda is a lovely place to traveel on a cruise. Just be aware of certain things that apply only in Bermuda. Cruise ships arrive in and depart from Bermuda on a seasonal, not year-round, basis. Bermuda is not the Caribbean but 1200 miles north of it, so has a cooler climate in the winter months than the Caribbean. The Bermuda Government wants passengers to go by cruise ship one way and by air the other way. But it seems most passengers prefer a cruise both ways. Presently, there is a cap of no more than 1,500 passengers per cruise ship allowed into Bermuda, with a total of no more than 221,000 annually (compared to 200,000 earlier). The Bermuda Alliance for Tourism, 50% controlled by Government and 50% by private industry, has determined that the maximum comfortable carrying load of all visitors to Bermuda (total by sea and air) should be no more than 600,000 annually, given its small size of only 21 square miles in total  land area. 

Owners of shops (stores) love cruise ships for the money and business cruise ship visitors bring, especially as the number of air visitors is much lower than decades ago. Cruise ships compete with the local hotels, guest houses and cottage colonies, plus have marginal local taxes and much lower labor costs than all local categories of guest properties. Cruise visitors are welcome, but contribute less to the economy than air visitors, often crowd the streets and place huge strains of capacity of local buses and taxis.

Cruise ships sailing from US ports to Bermuda are required by US laws have between 15 and 25 cabins and staterooms for the registered disabled/physically handicapped, more roomy than for the non-disabled. But be aware of the fact that some cruise lines and their travel agents don't play fair to the officially registered disabled. Because they don't check to see that people really are disabled - wheelchair confined, blind, deaf or ambulatory with a stick - and are registered as such with their state or provincial government agencies, they allow persons who are not disabled to occupy staterooms intended solely for the disabled and their caregivers or careers. Disabled persons, if denied a cabin specifically for the disabled, under American or British or European laws (the latter two for ships leaving from the UK or Europe) have specific legal remedies if such cabins are instead given by cruise ship operators to persons not officially registered as disabled and don't have appropriate ID documentation to prove it.

For Bermuda's only complete A-Z of facilities and services for the disabled, see the extensive notes in the Bermuda Physically Handicapped Association web file, written by a local disabled journalist. Its physical address is Base Gate, 1 South Side, St. David's Island, DD 03. Telephone Willard Fox at (441) 293 5035.

Bermuda costs to cruise passengers

 How this compares to the Caribbean:

• Bahamas.....................$15.00

• Puerto Rico................. $10.50

• St. Maartin....................$5.00

• US Virgin Islands...........$7.50

• Mexico........................ $3.00

Bermuda's biggest attraction to cruise ships and their passengers is that all its three ports are within easy walking distance for shopping; nowhere locally is more than one hour away; and public buses are some of the most frequent in the world. But, unlike most of the less-costly competing ports shown above, it has no tax-free port facilities.

Bermuda Ports

There are three in our island-group of 21 square miles in total area.

• The City of Hamilton, in Pembroke Parish, is central (15 miles from the Town of St. George) and has 2 cruise ship berths, the # 1 Passenger Terminal; and # 5 & 6 Passenger Terminal. Both are central to and, for the able-bodied, within easy walking distance of the city downtown. It has frequent by-day buses and a periodic ferry service going east to the Town of St. George (about 1 hour). Going west to the Royal Naval Dockyard (about 1 hour) is a very frequent by-day bus service and and a periodic ferry service.

• The Town of St. George is in the East End, or most eastern part of Bermuda (15 miles from the City of Hamilton). It has berths at Penno's Wharf and Ordnance Island. It has frequent buses and less frequent ferries going to and from Hamilton. There is also periodic daily ferry all the way west to the Royal Naval Dockyard. 

• The Royal Naval Dockyard in Sandys Parish has an extra-long berth in the west end of Bermuda at King's Wharf with frequent buses and ferries going east. 

• If a ship is too big for a berth, she will be at anchor, usually in the area of Hamilton Harbour quite near the City of Hamilton.

• Most of the cruise lines with contracts with Bermuda use somewhat older ships presently small enough to berth, but they do not have new or replacement ships of  similar smaller length. Ships presently coming in to berth are the oldest and smallest of the 7-day cruise ships. The average length pf a ship in the Princess  Cruises fleet is 856 feet and those of Royal Caribbean International are 905 feet. Ports must be improved if Bermuda is to remain a world-class cruise destination.  

• Some cruise ships will stop at two ports. Those bound first for St. George's enter via the narrow Town Cut. Others going first to the City of Hamilton or Royal Naval Dockyard cruise from near Fort St. Catherine (in picture) along Bermuda's North Shore.  

• The concept of visiting not one but two Bermuda ports first started in 1977 with the Cunard Princess cruise ship.

Contract cruise ships

Once, cruises included transportation, lodging, food - virtually everything expect long-distance telephone service. "All-inclusive" pricing banners were commonplace. Now,  Caribbean and Bermuda "extras" can easily cost $1,200 more than the cost of tickets. Extras such as per person, not per cabin rates; all beverages, whether water or wines or beers or cocktails or liqueurs, plus a 15% gratuity each time you order;  exclusive onboard specialty restaurants, with a 15% or minimum of $90 per person gratuity; spas; bingo; use of gyms and fitness centers; photographs taken by cruise staff; casino; art auctions; golf lessons; tuxedo rentals; flower delivery; shore excursions.

Access channels, berths and ports in Bermuda

The latter has been the entrance to Hamilton Harbor since it was blasted in 1896. The North Channel created during World War II for the Royal Navy, is rarely used now. North Rock Channel lies around isolated North Rock 10 miles northwest of St. Catherine's Point. Castle Roads, leading to Castle Harbor from the south, was an anchorage for the Royal Navy until the Dockyard was built. Timlin's Narrows, between Hinson's and Marshall's Islands, was the entrance to Hamilton Harbor before Two Rock Passage. Hogfish Cut, through the western barrier reefs at the southern end, is close to  Southampton Parish. Chub Cut breaks through western barrier reefs west north west of Elys Harbor, 6 miles from Wreck Hill on land.

Royal Navy ships took this route in July 1814. This was just before British troops launched from Bermuda their famous Attack on Washington DC overland from Upper Marlboro in Maryland (during which they sacked and then burnt the White House) in revenge for the torching and sacking by Americans of York (now Toronto).

All visitors should have health and travel insurance

Always prudently take out travel insurance, spare money and have adequate hospital and medical health insurance to cope with possible unexpected problems in a foreign country, such as Bermuda. In emergencies, contact the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital - note its rate of charges for visitors - in Paget Parish. If you are hospitalized in Bermuda, you or your insurance, if valid in Bermuda, will always be responsible. Unlike Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, Bermuda has no National Health Service and no free clinics or free medical or surgical or prescription for visitors. Bermuda now no longer gives free hospital and surgical benefits to visitors from USA who claim they have no health insurance.  Sorry, but if you ignore warnings not to hire a scooter or moped unless you are thoroughly used to driving them on the left hand side of the road and don't have healthcare/major medical insurance, you won't get much sympathy, your consulate will be told and you will have to pay. The Overseas Family Help Committee of the Hospital Auxiliary organization in Bermuda, chaired by John Gilbert, is at telephone (441) 236-2488.The Committee has only two rooms available to house your family at the Nurses Residence of the hospital, from US$ 35 per person per day per room. Affordable local accommodation in Bermuda for spouses or friends or families who come to visit you in hospital, is difficult or impossible to find, especially in the cruise ship or tourist high season from April to November.

Arriving passengers

Do not try to enter Bermuda if you do not have acceptable or adequate current documentation or if you are on an FBI or Interpol stop list. All arriving passengers must tell Immigration if they are visitors or salespeople or corporate representatives or residents or Bermudians and produce passports and Bermuda Government approved Work Permits for all who are not Bermudian and not strictly on vacation. Do not attempt to try to use your visit to see any client or conduct any business in Bermuda, or import any product without having the required Work Permit if you are not Bermudian, not even if you have entered Bermuda many times earlier. 

Allowed in Bermuda Customs inspection

Visitors may bring in, duty free for personal use only while they are here, their clothes and articles like cameras, golf bags, 50 cigars or 200 cigarettes or 0.454 kilos (1 pound weight) tobacco; 1 liter of liquor or wine and a $30 gift allowance. Returning residents are allowed an allowance of US$ 100 (until 1989 it was US$400 a person, reduced in 1990/91 to US$250 a person and subsequently reduced yet again to the present US$100 per person) before they pay duty on items they bring but visitors are not entitled to such an allowance. Items brought in by visitors and residents that are not within their duty free category incur a stand import duty rate of 22.25% of purchase cost. Produce receipts from a retail store satisfactory to the Customs Department of actual purchase price of the items or be prepared for the Customs Department to assess items for your payment of duty at much higher Bermuda prices. This is applied vigorously. To avoid being arrested and having goods confiscated, do not try to import goods into Bermuda without paying the duty.

Most Consumer and electronic goods can be imported if determined to be free of narcotics, but be prepared to pay a heavy import duty on them if they exceed your per-trip duty-free allowance of $100 per person if you are a Bermudian or approved resident. If with nothing illegal and with no items to declare, you may be waved through.

If you are bringing any foodstuffs with you, be sure to check yourself with Bermuda Customs to know what is legal and dutiable. Only Bermuda Customs can be the definitive source of information. Write in advance to Bermuda Customs at Hamilton Hall, 40 Front Street, Hamilton HM 11, P. O. Box HM 2084, Hamilton HM HX, Bermuda.

Owners of arriving animals, plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables must have proper documentation approved earlier by the Bermuda Government's Department of the Environment. Only prepared fresh, frozen or cooked fish or shellfish can be brought in providing the packaging is free of algae or seaweed. 

Illegal imports

Cruise ship passengers are strongly recommended to read, learn, inwardly digest and pay strict heed to the webfile above. It applies to those who arrive by air or cruise ship or yacht. The full list of  the hundreds of banned narcotics are in the Bermuda Government's Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 and Misuse of Drugs (Controlled Drugs) Order 2001 enacted on August 1, 2001. It is not an excuse if you fail to make yourself familiar with the contents of the full list. Penalties are very severe for those who ignore this warning. Locals, tourists and visitors are not given any breaks. It is wrong and misleading for cruise ship passengers caught with drugs and fined very heavily to claim they are not given any warning. The claims they invariably offer that they do not have the money to pay the fines are routinely ignored. They are remanded in custody or are put on bail with their transportation tickets impounded until they do. Also, there are many other repercussions.

Beaches and shore excursions

The Bermuda Government policy is that cruise lines must use local agents for cruise-ship organized shore excursions and activities. 

This is not a policy imposed by most other cruise destinations. Also, cruise lines are banned from lending their passengers equipment - such as snorkels - that can be hired in Bermuda. This too is not a policy of other cruise destinations. But don't be deterred, there are so many options. Instead of taking a local agent organized, cruise-ship type tour, arrange your own.

One is Go fishing, on a licensed commercial fishing boat operating a whole day or half-day service. Some fishing boats, by prior arrangement with you and your cruise line, will meet you where your cruise ship docks.

The adventurous cruise ship visitor who seeks other diversions will find a nice variety of places to go, alone or with a spouse or friend or group, as mentioned below. 

If beaches are your idea of heaven, or combining them with sightseeing, this travel author has some suggestions, followed faithfully by visiting friends and relatives. They include taking a picnic lunch, drinks, camera, swimsuit and towels - whether by land or sea. And if by sea, renting a boat - a Boston whaler or personal watercraft- for a day or half day. 

By land from the Town of St. George. For those whose cruise ship docks here. By bus or minibus or taxi or moped/scooter. Ferries don't go to any of the places in this paragraph. See Getting Around for Visitors. Arrange with the cruise ship to supply you with a packed lunch and towels. Wear your swimsuit under your clothes. Bring a camera and sun tan lotion. Go by mini-bus - as buses don't go this far. Instead of going to public Tobacco Bay - it is lovely indeed but there is a sewage pipeline only 1,000 yards away emptying out into the sea from shore - you might prefer a beach such as public and also lovely - but private - Achilles Bay half a mile away or public Fort St. Catherine Beach nearby. This author's personal preference is for John Smith's Bay in Smith's Parish which is a 25-30 minute bus ride on the # 1 route from the Town of St. George (do not take the # 3 or 10/11), with a bus stop near the beach. Ask the bus driver to stop at John Smith's Beach.

By sea from the Town of St. George. For those whose cruise ship docks here. 

• Ferries don't go to Paget Island. Residents can do the following, hopefully visitors can too, but always check in advance from where you rent a Boston whaler or a local member of the Personal Watercraft Association of Bermuda. If so, be sure to ask for a map and directions. Then go, keeping to the 5 knot limit in the harbor until you get to the Paget Island beach. Take photographs with no problem but be sure not to litter the beach in any way. Find a little-known-to-tourists island beach, such as those on Paget Island, 10 minutes away by water from the Old Town. It is owned by the Bermuda Government but is accessible by water (only) up to the high tide mark. (Only when you trespass beyond the high water mark will you see the sign telling you not to access without permission). The author recommends it as a lovely romantic getaway, but pick a day when the water is calm. 

• Ferries don't go Castle Harbour. Residents can do the following, hopefully visitors can too, but always check in advance from where you rent a Boston whaler or a local member of the Personal Watercraft Association of Bermuda. If so, be sure to ask for a map and directions. Then go, keeping to the 5 knot limit in the harbor. Go west from the Town of St. George's via Ferry Reach and under Swing Bridge and then east again under Longbird Bridge into Castle Harbour, for sightseeing or beaching. For best results, go when the tide is low. In Castle Harbour, stop first on the sea side of the small beach exposed at low tide at Cable End, then moor off Castle Island. 

By land from the City of Hamilton. For those whose cruise ship docks here. By bus or taxi or moped/scooter. Ferries don't go to any of the places in this paragraph. John Smith's Bay in Smith's Parish is a lovely public beach about 30 minutes by the # 1 bus every half hour during the day. Other public beaches are ( the public section of) Elbow Beach in Paget Parish, on the # 7 bus route; Warwick Long Bay (another personal favorite) in Warwick Parish, on the # 7 bus route; Horseshoe Bay in Southampton Parish, on the # 7 bus route; Church Bay, also in Southampton Parish, also # 7 bus route.

By sea from the City of Hamilton. 

• Going by ferry to Dockyard and/or Town of St. George is a gorgeous way - and the least expensive of all trips by boat - to see the western and eastern parishes.

• Rent a Boston whaler or ask the local member of the Personal Watercraft Association of Bermuda to help you, with a map and directions. Go west to Paradise Lake - not served by ferry - passing a number of islands.

By land from Dockyard. In Sandys Parish. A really nice beach - the best in this Parish - is Somerset Long Bay in Sandys Parish, but it is a fair walk from where the nearest public bus stop at Mangrove Bay.

By sea from Dockyard. In Sandys Parish. For those whose cruise ship docks here. 

• Ferries stop at several of the Parish's areas. Well worth seeing. Also, going by ferry to City of Hamilton and/or Town of St. George is a gorgeous way - and the least expensive of all trips by boat - to see the western and eastern parishes.

• Ferries don't stop at Ely's Harbour. Rent a Boston whaler or ask the local member of the Personal Watercraft Association of Bermuda to help you, with a map and directions. Then go, keeping to the 5 knot limit in the harbour. Take a day or half day exploration of Ely's Harbour and then a relaxing swim after the harbour to the small beaches of the (presently closed) Daniel's Head Village hotel. To stay legal, go on any beach up to but not beyond the high water mark.  Go at high tide to give you the best chance of evading reefs and shoals.

Bermuda shopping

All Bermudians  would love to see Bermuda become duty-free, with bargains galore for tourists. But it is not yet possible. Before the last General Election in November 1998, the present Government promised duty-free shopping in Bermuda. But it has not happened. Retailers have long been requesting Government to make shopping in Bermuda more competitive with duty-free or nearly duty-free ports in the Caribbean and Mexico. There are more than 375 retail shops in Bermuda, employing 4,800 people in total - about 13 persons per outlet on average. Retailers believe if Bermuda is made duty-free for visitors, as most Caribbean resort islands are, it will help significantly to restore Bermuda as the prime shopping destination it was once.

But some nice products from Bermuda and around the world can certainly be obtained locally. Cruise visitors will be pleased to know that prices in the City of Hamilton, Town of St. George and Dockyard are the same for outlets with branches in all three local ports.

Duty Free Liquor

No off-the-shelf duty-free liquor such as in the Caribbean.  For liquor consumed in Bermuda, prices are appreciably more than most Caribbean ports. A single liter of Gosling's Black Seal Rum or the cheapest Scotch bought in Bermuda at regular retail prices is at least US$23. But duty-free, for consumption beyond Bermuda, is available in a carton of bottles of the liquor of your choice, for delivery to your cruise ship.  Be aware that they may be confiscated by your cruise ship for the duration of the voyage and returned to you at the end of the voyage.  This is standard procedure among cruise ship companies. Letting passengers drink their own duty-free liquor on board is like letting passengers drink off-license purchases in a pub or bar. Some cruise ships - like those on Regal Cruises - have a duty-free shop.

Entertainment on board

The Bermuda Government policy is to require the shutting down of on-board entertainment for cruise passengers unless the entertainment is provided on board by Bermudians. This is not a policy imposed by other cruise destinations.

Getting around

This website deals in detail with all the forms of public transport available to visitors and what they can and cannot carry. If your cruise line advises you not to use a moped or scooter, heed the advice. It is to help protect passengers from problems.

Golf Courses

For those who will enjoy the game while in Bermuda. Note how each course is shown with nearest Bermuda port for cruise ship passengers, how best to get there, how close public transportation will go of you do not have your own clubs; and whether public or private. Always check yourself with the course what the rates are as they can vary significantly by time of day and time of year.

International telephone rates