2006 Bermuda

Bermuda, The "Triangle" and More by Henry Ford

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To celebrate our twenty years of marriage (August, 2005), Dianne and I planned a five-day cruise to the island of Bermuda.  Twenty years is a long time to put up with me, so I tried to make it another vacation of a lifetime.  Based on previous cruise experiences we chose Royal Caribbean as our cruise line, and selected their Voyager of the Seas October 2nd sailing.  The Voyager of the Seas was everything described in Royal Caribbean’s advertisement, and more.  Longer than three football fields, the ship took us effortlessly through the unpredictable waters of the Atlantic toward Bermuda and its infamous triangle.  The truth of the matter is we were blessed with no hurricanes or tropical storms, but in fact better weather than had been predicted.  Just one week prior to sailing, the weather forecast for our trip to, through and from Bermuda was rain, rain, rain, and rain, interrupted only by one day of “Partly Cloudy.”

When the sailing date was upon us, the actual cruise became mostly sunny, comfortably warm, and just what the doctor ordered.

I wondered how I could keep up with Dianne’s attempt to see every onboard show and visit every corner of the ship.  My concerns were addressed when we dropped enough hints that Dianne’s cousin Betty Suber joined us for the cruise.  Betty also loves the shows, and with her along, I actually had the opportunity to RELAX.  See, I remember how to spell it!

Realizing that we couldn’t take advantage of everything, our first decision was to skip the Rock Climbing Wall, except to take photos of others trying their luck.  Neither of us are “Beach people” but if we had been, we could have literally found a home along the miles of beaches, that in some cases, do have the much talked about pink sand.

Our tours included a nighttime trip along Bermuda’s coast to the edge of the infamous Bermuda Triangle.  Our glass bottomed boat was maneuvered into an area teeming with coral, a large variety of fish, jelly fish, and other assorted sea creatures.  Our crew reminded us that we had actually chosen to pay money to take a trip AT NIGHT to the SHIPWRECK CAPITAL OF THE WORLD (the waters off Bermuda) at the edge of the BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  If that wasn’t enough to make us question our sanity, they informed us that the crew we had entrusted our lives to boasted an average age of 22 YEARS!  The crew informed us that if anyone had second thoughts about their decision, they could be given a life jacket, climb overboard, and wait to be picked up IF the boat returned from the Triangle.  Obviously we all remained “confident” in the crew.

The visit to the edge of the Bermuda Triangle was spectacular.  The lights from the glass bottomed boat provided the stimulus for a lot of activity and a feeding frenzy.  And the best news is that we all returned to the ship safely that night.

In addition to our brief encounter “living on the edge” we also took a narrated tram tour along the Bermuda countryside, learning a little about the history and people of Bermuda.  Another highlight of our cruise was taking the local bus into Hamilton, which was almost an hour ride around the other side of the island from where we were docked.  The Voyager of the Seas is too large to dock in Hamilton.  We spent a few hours in Hamilton shopping (mostly window shopping).  It was enjoyable to spend a few hours looking enough like the residents that other tourists would ask us directions.  They had no clue that we had no clue.

We decided to return to the ship by Ferry.  The residents of Bermuda proved to be friendly, even the slightly intoxicated gentlemen we met while waiting for the Ferry.  While standing on the dock waiting for the Ferry, our new-found friend managed to get the attention of everyone nearby.  Then he announced that “I hate all you tourists because every time I try to get on a bus, it’s full of tourists, and every time I try to get on a ferry it’s full of tourists.”  Because he was slightly smiling, and barely standing, the “tourists” laughed it off and he quickly ran out of steam.  Hopefully in his more sober moments, he understands that if the bus and the ferry were not “full of tourists” they probably would be out of business.

During our time in Bermuda and likewise on board ship there were no boring moments.  There is truly something for everyone all the time.  There is not enough space or time to share all that we did and experienced.  We would suggest you consider a cruise for your next vacation, whether it’s for a special occasion, or just because!

All good things must come to an end, so eventually we had to return to the port in New Jersey, and our home in Twinsburg, and prepare for the following week and the wedding of my sister Jean to Emmanuel Lawrence.

The Transition . . .
Vacation to Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

Oct. 7 (late in the evening)  - Oct. 14
Unpack, upload Bermuda vacation photos, wash clothes, put away, catch up on mail and e-mail, return phone calls, pay bills, fix up, clean up, prepare for out of town guests, go to the airport multiple times, shop, cut-up, dice, slice, cook, prepare for Wedding Rehearsal Dinner, go to the Wedding Rehearsal, etc., etc.  WOW, we need another vacation!

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