There were only two ports of call on this cruise; they were Hamilton, Bermuda and King's Wharf. King's Wharf was our first stop. It was a little confusing because this place is really the Royal Naval Dockyard. (or something like that) This place was beautiful. Once we got off of the ship we just explored this little town on our own. We visited the glass blowing factory, and a place where they make clay sculptures. We went to the Maritime museum. This place was packed with history, but it's a little boring for kids. At the Maritime museum you can go swimming with dolphins for $95. A little much for us, but it was really fun to watch the other people swim with dolphins. Also, there was a baby dolphin at Maritime museum. It was only three days old!
We walked into the 'Frog and Onion' pub. It was really nice in there, and there is a gift shop attached to it. The food prices at this pub were a little outrageous, so we didn't eat there. Also in King's Wharf, we visited a beach. This beach was just a 10-minute walk from the ship, and it was called the 'Swim and Snorkel' beach. I do NOT recommend that you go there. It is a total rip off. It costs $2 to get in, chairs are $5 each, and a table will cost you $10!! We didn't know all of this, so we paid the money and go in. We also paid the money for the chairs and the table. If you want to go snorkeling, the gear will cost you $17.50 an hour! (per person) Rip off! Also, there was glass ALL over the beach, which made walking across the beach a pain. (literally))
Once we got into the water, it was much colder than we were expecting it to be. So, as we were walking out further into the water, something stung me, or bit me, or something! It hurt very badly. I ran out of the water (watching for the many huge chunks of glass scattered across the beach) and I sat down in my chair. My foot was bleeding like crazy. I wiped it off and found that there were two, bite or sting marks on it. I pulled the emergency Band-Aid out of my backpack and bandaged up my foot. It swelled for the rest of the day, and I almost considered going to the ship's doctor, but the swelling went down and it was okay. My family left that beach promptly after that little incident. For the rest of the day we took the local transportation around the island. We went on a two hour bus ride, and there is only one way to describe a ride on a Bermudan bus; it was a near death experience! These people drive like lunatics. We were going like 50 or maybe even 60 mph on tiny, little, two-lane roads without shoulders. We would be going steady then the bus driver (female) would slam on the breaks to avoid wrecks. It was crazy.
Also in King's Wharf we went on a glass bottom boat tour. The boat was cram packed. We went out over some coral reefs and the captain stopped the boat. Then, everyone would cram around about 6 little glass windows that were on the boat's floor. It was very crowded, and I do not recommend this tour for people who are claustrophobic. We saw some fish, and some brain coral, and that's about it. Also, we went into some small waterways and look at some magnificent mansions on the shoreline. They were big, but beautiful. Soon enough, this excursion was over and we made our way back to the Nordic Empress.
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