Ausflug 35

Back to the Beaches of Bermuda

June-July 08

Epilog: Going Home

Arriving back in Baltimore the last morning, we all had one final breakfast in the Seven Seas dining room while the Majesty slowly edged its way alongside the dock. Curiously enough on this trip we all enjoyed the "Freestyle Cruising" arrangement and ended up having meals in the dining rooms as often as possible, whereas in Wanderung 17 on the Pride of Aloha with exactly the same arrangement, Monika and I had ended up avoiding the formal dining rooms. Why the difference? As best as I can tell, we thought that the offerings in the formal dining rooms on the Majesty were more varied and universally well prepared, and the quality of the service was consistently excellent whereas it had been quite hit-or-miss on the Pride of Aloha.

In addition, on the Majesty the dining rooms offered "cooking light" options for appetizers, entrees, and desserts that allowed me, at least, to follow a relatively low-fat diet while on board (apparently successfully as I was exactly the same weight after the cruise as before it). I also enjoyed the chilled fruit soups that were always offered on the dining room menu but were not available in the buffet/cafeteria areas on deck 10. Finally, since we were with Lois we had a group of 3 and we were always and immediately seated at a table for 4 and never had to wait or force a conversation with strangers during the meal, which made it easier on introverts like us. And it is probably true that we all enjoyed having the service and being fussed over a bit by the wait staff. It didn't hurt in that regard that the wait staff seemed to be over-represented with slim, charming, and very pretty young women from the Philippines, each of whom had a distinctive hair band to hold their raven black tresses in a bun at the back of their necks. The waitresses also seemed to like us and even asked Lois if she and I were related.

But all good things must end, and after our breakfast we cleared our stateroom, gave Jeneth and Rolando their extra tips in cash, and repaired to a lounge area to wait for our turn at disembarkation. We were finally cleared about 9:15 a.m. and after picking up our luggage and processing back through Immigration and Customs, we drove home, arriving about 10:45 or so. Our Topsy-Turvey (upside-down) tomato plants were quite healthy and the box-garden that we had worried about was flourishing so well that the plants were literally fighting each other for growing space! One squash plant, in particular, was trying to shade out a watermelon on one side and a cantaloupe on the other, both of whom were in turn trying to escape by crawling out on the driveway to either side. (We ultimately had to give the squash plant a "time out" by replanting it in the backyard.) The cucumbers were climbing up their poles and trellises, and the tomato plants in the middle of the box were just growing straight up to try to avoid all the competition at the lower levels. Who knew there could be so much drama and slow motion conflict in a single box garden?

So what did we learn on our trip to Bermuda? Well, for one thing the island looks much better in the summer sun than on a dark, dreary, cold, and rainy spring day such as on our previous visit. Second, St. George is a charming old historic town that makes for an interesting port, in contrast to the quite limited offerings and rather sterile environment of the Royal Dockyard cruise ship terminal on the western end of Bermuda. Third, the bus and ferry system in Bermuda is top-notch and a relatively inexpensive way to get around the island. But that is only, of course, "relatively" cheap as we also found out that Bermuda is the home of the $15 hamburger, so having as many meals as possible back on the ship was, economically at least, the best way to go. Finally, if you really want to see Bermuda via cruise ship, you need to do it sooner rather than later. NCL has already sold the Majesty and its last cruises to Bermuda will be in the 2009 season. Since larger cruise ships can't get into St. George's harbor, there may well be no cruise ships going to St. George after 2009. We liked our cruise so much that we definitely plan to return this year or next, and I hope you will also be lucky enough to take a cruise ship to St. George and see Bermuda before that possibility ends.


 

Copyright 2008 by Robert W. Holt and Elsbeth Monika Holt
Prolog
Day1

Leaving Baltimore

Day2

Sailing to Bermuda

Day3

Docking and Swimming

Day4

Snorkeling

Day5

Helmet Diving & Crystal Cave

Day6

St. George and Leaving Port

Day7

Sailing Home

Epilog

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