Bermuda cruise

[delauzons]

My family has only cruised Disney. We have been on 7 cruises and cannot find a Disney cruise that works for us this summer. The RCCL out of NJ for 5 nights to Bermuda appeals to us. Is there fun family things to do on sea days? We love all eating dinner together and going to the show every night on Disney. My girls will be 21, almost 18 and 12. On Disney I am comfortable with them going off on their own to the movies, activities, mini golf, aquaduck. Is the Anthem so large I won't be able to find them? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[karmacats]

My family has only cruised Disney. We have been on 7 cruises and cannot find a Disney cruise that works for us this summer. The RCCL out of NJ for 5 nights to Bermuda appeals to us. Is there fun family things to do on sea days? We love all eating dinner together and going to the show every night on Disney. My girls will be 21, almost 18 and 12. On Disney I am comfortable with them going off on their own to the movies, activities, mini golf, aquaduck. Is the Anthem so large I won't be able to find them? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

there are tons of family and teen things to do - bumper cars, trapeze lessons, puzzle/escape room, rock climbing wall, surf simulator, skydiving simulator (i've seen kids as young as 4 and folks in their 80s do this together), cupcake decorating classes, north star viewing capsule, indoor and outdoor pools, free xbox, an arcade (i think) and 3D movies, as well as the usual stuff like trivia, bingo, etc. there are teen and pre-teen clubs, and also meetups for folks 18-21, for when the kids want to do stuff on their own (and an adults-only area called the solarium for the grown-ups).

there are shows every night, 3 main shows and then a couple of "headliners" (comedians, cover bands, etc) on a 5-night cruise, much like disney does it. whether the shows are your cup of tea may depend - they are a little more modern, for lack of a better term, than disney's shows. one is "we will rock you", which is all set to the music of Queen; the other two are "the gift" which is probably closest to the disney-style shows but a littler...weirder, and the other is "spectra's cabaret" which is held in the 270 venue and combines cirque du soleil style acrobatics with singing and dancing. DH and i really enjoyed spectra's and the gift, but could have lived without we will rock you - we both like queen, but we didn't love the story line. but, some people really like it.

as for the size of the ship, it doesn't really feel any bigger to me than dream or fantasy, and i actually think it's a lot easier to navigate. royal's ships have a promenade down the center (called an esplanade on anthem) that makes it really easy to get from front to back, and serves as the "hub" of the ship - most of the shops and little cafes are there, so there's always something going on, and it's a convenient meeting place. after 4 disney cruises i am still confounded by their layout. on royal, i usually know my way around after a day or two. we were on anthem last month and there were definitely small groups of teenagers off on their own.

i don't know if you've been to bermuda before, but it's beautiful. it will also take up 2 entire days of your trip, so you'll only have about 2.5 days on the ship - there's pretty much no way to get bored in that time.

 

[delauzons]

Thanks so much ! That was so helpful! I appreciate all the info u provided! I think we will do it!

 

[karmacats]

Thanks so much ! That was so helpful! I appreciate all the info u provided! I think we will do it!

awesome! i hope you enjoy it (i bet you will!).

one thing i forgot to mention is if you like disney's rotational dining, you will want to sign up for "dynamic dining classic", which is pretty much the same thing - you rotate between 4 main dining rooms, keeping your tablemates and server.

otherwise you will have "dynamic dining choice", which is like norwegian's freestyle - you make reservations for a different restaurant and time each night (which you can do from home or onboard, though i'd recommend from home beforehand), or you can just go to the restaurant (but expect a line if no reservations). classic dining is usually at 6 and 8:30, so if you do choice and can reserve dinners around those times, you should be all set for getting to shows, also. it's also pretty easy to switch dinner reservations onboard if you do choice. i'd also highly recommend reserving the shows at the times you want beforehand, also, especially spectra's cabaret. you can always switch once onboard, but it's easier to have them.

 

[Laz]

My wife and I are thinking about a cruise to Bermuda, but my wife is fearful of rough seas on the Atlantic and getting sea sick. We would love to hear thoughts or comments, esp. as it relates to the larger ships like the Anthem.

 

[LemonNeko]

I've been looking at Bermuda but I usually travel during hurricane season and if the ship can't sail for Bermuda it usually goes to Halifax

 

[ldo]

I know this is a cruise BB, but I would also suggest flying to Bermuda. From NY, it's a 1.5 hr flight for around $400PP. There are many reasonably priced places to stay, esp. if you don't stay at a big hotel. 5 days would give you a lot of time to explore Bermuda, and would probably be the same or less than a summer Bermuda cruise, esp. if you are taking a family.

 

[delauzons]

We have a 17 year old daughter who is very fearful of flying. That is one of the reasons we are interested in this cruise. We could drive to New Jersey. Thanks though. I heard Bermuda is beautiful!

 

[Pigletpal40]

We did the NJ to Bermuda in April two years ago on Explorer of the Seas. Our whole family, wife and boys 13 and 8 at the time had a great time.
We hit gales going down and coming back, 20 foot seas. The boat rocked quite a bit, but with Dramamine everyone was fine. Tons to do both on the boat and in Bermuda. Horseshoe beach is one of the nicest beaches you'll ever see. The caverns and Swizzle Inn are must do's. St. Georges is a
beautiful little town. Everyone has to experience the "Pink Busses" at least once. The water taxi service is also quite good. Plenty of shopping and
things to do right at Kings wharf.