We were on the 6/27 Crown to Bermuda. We absolutely LOVED IT! Yes, there were things we would change, and things we raised our eyebrows at .. but overall we had a great time on the ship and in beautiful Bermuda.
As a bit of background: I am a consummate NYer, with grace, style and high standards, my husband is an international transplant with old-school service ideals, our 9 year old is well mannered (at times) and familiar with "kids clubs" at other resorts.
Embarkation went very smoothly, we boarded around 12:30 without hassle. Our room (9063) was ample for my husband and I and our young daughter. The mini-suite has a small seating area that was roomy enough for a roll-away bed and a table and chair.
We loved the size of the ship. It was easy to navigate with everything well signed. She was very well maintained and constantly tended to. Even though she’s an older ship the crew did wonders to honor her age with elegance.
I have to comment on the crew. They were the hardest working group of people we have met in a long time. They had an incredible work ethic. We watched them scurry about in all of the dining rooms, ever helpful. They never walked around empty-handed, always carrying something to or from the kitchens. When they did stand still long enough to have a quick chat, the ship-wide camaraderie was evident. The entire staff was remarkably helpful and patient in dealing with all the different conflicts that a ship load of personalities offer. Our interactions with them certainly made the cruise a very comfortable and friendly place to call home for the week.
We acknowledged the turf wars that were inevitable poolside. The area around the pool offered a lot of room for people to spread out. As the pool is small, any spot on the aft deck was very close to the action. People will always hog the deck chairs, the ship, or cruise line notwithstanding.
We found each of the restaurants to have a great variety of very good quality food. The Yacht Club (buffet) was ideal for quick meals and we enjoyed the casual atmosphere. Seven Seas is the main restaurant and surprisingly good. Again, our experience with the staff helped to enhance the experience. We dine out a great deal and found this restaurant to be quite acceptable. The food was creative and tasty, with lots of choices. We also tried The Pasta Café and Le Bistro. The Pasta Café was equivalent to a mid-market Little Italy restaurant. It was good, not great. Le Bistro was a nice change from the main restaurant, in that it was more intimate and romantic. The menu was definitely intended to set it apart from the other restaurants. We had a wonderful time.
I had a massage at the Mandara Spa. It was good, not great. The masseuse did the usual sales pitch of the oils and lotions, and wisely dropped it when I didn’t show interest. My best advice is to wait for shore-day specials or the returning sea days. They are practically throwing deals at you then.
Our daughter LOVED the Kid’s Crew. She will be 10 in a month, but we resisted the temptation to bump her up to the next age bracket. She had a lot of fun with the carefully planned activities and especially chose a few on her own. Recognizing fellow “Crew-zers†on the ship usually prompted giggles
The onboard shows were not Broadway standard, but certainly entertaining. An act called Shark Bait was delightful. The two young men conducting the show were enthusiastic and unabashedly corny. They maintained the high energy whenever we ran in to them in the restaurants. We noticed that they were on the Kids Crew schedule, and responsible for bundles of socks that were trying to be juggled all over the ship.
Bermuda was fantastic.
We participated in only one NCL excursion. We took the Candlelight Walking Tour from St. George. It was conducted by a local historian/personality/aspiring thespian. He also happens to be St. George’s Mayor. It was very informative and his enthusiasm and obvious love for the town made it worthwhile. While docked at St. George we bought 3 day bus passes and meandered towards Hamilton to visit the Crystal Caves and one of the glass blowing businesses. The caves were beautiful, but not really worth the money ($12) or the hype. I found the glass blowing demonstration by Gayle Weyland a lot of fun. It was hot and rustic, but informative and worth the $3. The other glass blowing company on the island is a bigger installation that was started by Gayle’s sister. Gayle’s maintains that she trained her sister in the trade, who then took the skill to the Dockyards and is unfortunately putting her out of business. Ah, family politics.
St. George hosts a small street fair on Tuesdays when the Cruise Ships are in. We shared the pier with the NCL Majesty. The street fair was, by NY standards, charming and intimate. More like a block party than a tourist attraction for shiploads of captive customers.
Hamilton is the shopping haven. The ships dock across from Front Street, making it impossible to avoid the strip of stores and restaurants. Everything is within walking distance, and dangerously too easy for you to drop heavy bags off on the ship. The Hamilton Street fair was loud and crowded. It was larger than the St. George fair, but along the same theme. For an organized weekly event, we found it lacking.
We took busses to the beaches. NCL lets you sign out big beach towels, fantastic idea! The first beach was Shelly Bay, on the north shore. It was quiet, and not pink-sanded, but absolutely glorious. The water was crystal clear and very warm. There was no surf or pounding waves, and the water made us strangely buoyant. We also went to Horseshoe Bay. I had intended to go to a smaller beach, such as Jobson Cove, but a bus let us off right at Horseshoe. Slightly disheartened, we walked down the hill towards the sprawling beach. Much to our delight, we found a small cove, right next to the main area. Afterwards we found out that it’s named Chaplin Bay. It was isolated, without rough waves or riptides. We spent hours there, on the pink sand, in the turquoise water, and in the shade of the tall rocks. Simply glorious.
Thursday put us in the Dockyard. I’m not sure why. It has the potential of being a nice port, but at the moment, most of the shops there are the same ones we saw in Hamilton. The Maritime Museum and Dolphin Quest are there too. In my opinion, that’s not enough to make it a worthwhile port. It seemed to me that most people took busses back to the beaches or Hamilton. We went on Hartley’s Undersea Walk. Greg Hartley is quite a character, with a passion for the local reefs and fish. His operation is very efficient, replete with his harried sales pitch for underwater Polaroids. While we thoroughly enjoyed the experience, some people have commented that the Peppercorn Dive gives you more freedom.
The Crown kept us occupied on the 1 ½ sea days home. The staff easily recognized us and made us feel welcome and pampered. Our Steward, Jerry, “captured†some towel animals, much to our daughter’s delight.
The buffet dinners showed slight signs of “leftover syndrome†but they were creative and tasty. The other restaurants were still serving unique meals with charm and great care.
We would definitely sail on The Crown to Bermuda again.
