Bermuda cruise ... which cruise line?

[jalapeno_pretzel]

It seems DCL isn't going to Bermuda lately. This may be the kick I need to branch out and try another cruise line. We've only cruised DCL, 3x, with one more DCL cruise booked. RCCL has a ship that makes Bermuda trips out of Baltimore, which would be fairly convenient, and I like that it's on the smaller side. Vision of the Seas. Does anyone here have experience on that ship, or another suggestion of different cruise line?

 

[auntlynne]

What do you like about cruising?

The food
Entertainment
Pools
Aesthetics
Quiet atmosphere or more party, upbeat
Budget

Do you have a preferred Disney ship?

 

[auntlynne]

I would pick one that has the most overnights in Bermuda. So you can relaxingly experience the island in a manner similar to a fly-in vacation. (We did a 3-night trip there. We covered a lot of the island’s offerings).

 

[happycamper47]

Our son and his family really enjoyed Celebrity.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

What do you like about cruising?

The food
Entertainment
Pools
Aesthetics
Quiet atmosphere or more party, upbeat
Budget

Definitely food, pools, quiet. Just relaxing in general. I do like some of the Disney trivia, but no desire for things like dancing or karaoke. We don't go to many of the shows, even on DCL. It is nice to see some live music in the lobby and bar areas sometimes.

I like that choosing a line different from DCL probably means we can get a 2nd room so we have space separate from the kids. Definitely would like to maximize time of Bermuda, since I'm not sure if the sea days on a different cruise line will feel the same.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Our son and his family really enjoyed Celebrity.

Definitely food, pools, quiet. Just relaxing in general.

Another Celebrity vote. They are constantly upvoted for their food.

 

[auntlynne]

Norwegian (NCL) is going to start cruising out of Philadelphia in 2026. The Jewel is somewhere between Magic and Dream in walking around size. I was on the same class ship in a December out of Tampa for two weeks. It suited my non-party personality well. Age-wise, between Magic and Dream.



For 2025, they are sailing from Boston. And possibly includes Bar Harbor ME.



NCL has ships leaving from NYC, too.

 

[auntlynne]

Celebrity is sailing the Silhouette from Bayonne NJ in 2025. Here are the dates.

She is the same age as the Dream and has an excellent 5 star review by the Cruise Critic Expert. (Royal’s Radiance was a 3.7). In-service 2011. Refurb 2020.

Link to Cruise Critic page:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruise/celebrity/celebrity-silhouette From there, you can read cruiser reviews.






Any price you see is per person, not per cabin.

The photos are blurry, but the website is clear.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Silhouette looks really nice! Bigger than Magic but smaller than Dream. That could work.

 

[Erica1016]

I have done the cruise to Bermuda on Vision of the Seas (October 23). I had been on one othe RCCL cruise and hadn't particuarly enjoyed it, overall, I still prefer Disney. I had the opportunity to take the trip with my Mom, so I went.

I quite enjoyed the Vision of the Seas. The crew and entertainment folks were fantasitc, friendly and fun, and we had a very relaxing time. I spent quite a bit of time in the adult area (The Solarium), which was enjoyable to me. The food was kind of "meh", in my opinion. I'm a fan of DCL food, but most of what I had didn't stand out at all. There was nothing in the main dining rooms that I wanted to have again or thought about afterwards. We did not do any of the upcharge restaurants. I did enjoy the food at the buffet (Windjammer), especially the wide variety of ethnic options. We didn't care for the shows very much, but did enjoy the trivia and other entertainment that was going on.

The ship did overnight at Bermuda, but it didn't feel like a lot of time. We got there around midday and stayed about 24 hours. We didn't do much, but that's just us.

I haven't sailed any other lines, so I really can't compare. I'm still a DCL superfan, going on our 10th cruise in December (with #11-13) booked/planned. That being said, I would repeat this trip to Bermuda for sure.

 

[Erica1016]

I forgot to add, I really enjoyed the size of the Vision of the Seas. We'd previously sailed on the Independence of the Seas. I also very much enjoyed the port in Baltimore!! It was small and very efficient.

 

[auntlynne]

I was trying to find a ship whose port might be an easy train ride from Baltimore.

But then realized you didn’t say you lived in Baltimore, just that it would be closer.

This was an itinerary for Vision OTS out of Baltimore. I just felt that was not enough time to do justice for a Bermuda cruise. I’d rather just fly in and have a shorter overall vacation.

But it is an option.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

This was an itinerary for Vision OTS out of Baltimore. I just felt that was not enough time to do justice for a Bermuda cruise. I’d rather just fly in and have a shorter overall vacation.

I'd seen that one, and that is what got me thinking about the whole thing. The idea of only 5 days on a different cruise line was appealing, to see if we would like it. But I was looking at the itinerary without the times listed, so I had assumed 2 nights spent at King's Wharf, or at least most of 2 full days! 2pm one day to 11:30am the next day is definitely not what I had expected, and definitely not enough time to be worth it for me. I'll have to focus on the 7 night options.

Yes, I'm not in Baltimore, but it's a little bit closer than PC. Really after our most recent few flights, I would consider driving to any port in the Eastern US.

 

[JM_97]

I recommend Norwegian.

 

[PAGA2003]

We just did Celebrity to Bermuda last month. We really enjoyed it and will cruise with them again. The itinerary is great with almost 3 full days in Bermuda. We found some things we preferred on Celebrity and some on Disney. I think included dining on Celebrity tended to be better but we did the anytime dining and next time we will stick to traditional late seating. Anytime was quite chaotic on several evenings.

There are more specialty dining options on Celebrity. We did two of them and found Sushi on 5 very good and Murano also very good though I would say I do prefer Remy on DCL. Service over all was good and mostly on par with DCL. A few small things with our room that by no means are deal breakers but just a bit annoying. Our steward was very friendly but I had to ask for toilet paper when ours was running low and also room service cards. Continental breakfast is free like on DCL but you have an option to have a hot breakfast as well for $10 which I thought was well worth it.

Also, you can get scooped ice cream in the buffet along with toppings. I don't like soft serve so I loved this aspect! I found the pastries at the coffe shop on Celebrity to be much better than what is offered at Cove Cafe on DCL.

They were constantly doing maintenance on the ships we noticed just like we see on Disney. Even though we were on an older ship (the Eclipse) she was in very good shape.

Lastly, we thought the shows were hit or miss. The Disney production shows are so well done and of the two we made it to one Celebrity one was fantastic and the other just ok.

 

[beckicnm]

Silhouette looks really nice! Bigger than Magic but smaller than Dream. That could work.

Silhouette is an older M class ship, but it has been completely refurbished and is really lovely. I love the M class.

 

[SnowWhite2]

I've been to Bermuda on two different cruise lines. The first time was 20 years ago on a Celebrity ship out of Philly. The ship was small and was able to go to St George and then on to Hamilton for 3 days. There is so much to do in Bermuda it was great to be there for several days. Went in June and it was great weather. There was a street party on Wednesdays on Front street in Hamilton which was great. We were able to come and go at any time of the day or night. The transportation hub was right next to the dock so it was easy to get around and go to the Naval Dockyard.

We did a B2B2B on the Dream out of NYC last year. Both cruises spent one day (9-4) in Bermuda and it was at the Naval Dockyard. It was OK as it was chilly and raining, both dockings in Oct/Nov.

Here are my tips:
Find a cruise that spends several full days in Bermuda
Find a cruise that docks in Hamilton if you can afford it. The ships have to be pretty small so boutique cruise lines (read $$$) dock there.
Make a plan on what to do before you go. Doing excursions on your own are very easy.

 

[DisneyConvert]

Love Bermuda. Been a dozen times over 50 years. So close and convenient to NY/NJ.

Wife and I did the Magic twice and then last year took NCL. It was good, but not spectacular and not Disney. Food was good.

Many comments elsewhere. We will try NCL(Haven) this Fall from New Orleans to Mexico & Central America. Many more itineraries to choose among.

Planning Virgin next Feb. Though we are Platinum, it seems it is time to move on from DCL.

 

[auntlynne]

@DisneyConvert
Just had fun reading your Signature; we were on the EBTA in 2010, also.

I would say “small world,” but it is a Disney cruise website.

 

[iloveeeyore]

Hubby and I are in our 50s and we have sailed out of Bayonne to Bermuda several times.

We did one on Celebrity and the food absolutely blew us away. It was better than our last cruise on DCL by a lot. The crowd was a bit older (kids in northeast were still in school, perhaps that was why?). We brought our 80s moms with us and average age was closer to theirs. The spa and pools were lovely. Live music everywhere catering to a...more mature demographic. There was plenty of low key stuff to do if you wanted to. Sounds like it might fit your vibe.

Done RCI many times and they're very good. The food is fine. There is more to do than on Celebrity (but Vision is older and won't offer as much) There's a younger demographic, more families. The cruises RCI offers are generally shorter, 5 days instead of 7, so you get a full day less in Bermuda. I would happily sail on RCI again

We have never tried NCL but that is an option to Bermuda.

Personally I prefer Celebrity over RCI as an overall cruise. To Bermuda, I'd pick the longer itinerary. For us that's Celebrity so it's win-win.