King's Wharf Bermuda

Time to turn the pages on your 2012 Extraordinary Vacations calendar...

This month we feature King's Wharf, Bermuda.  Sail from New York or Boston to this lovely island, whose pink-sand beaches are unlike any others in the Caribbean.  Norwegian Cruise Line offers several cruises to Bermuda.   We loved Bermuda, especially the friendly people.  We invite you to read more about Bermuda and consider that destination for your next Caribbean adventure.

Your NCL cruise will dock at King's Wharf, where you can explore beaches, golf courses, restaurants, shops and historic monuments at your leisure.  Or try out one of the many water sports offered in and around this gorgeous harbor.

After your day of exploring the island, return to your ship for a massage, dinner, relaxing by the pool, or enjoy the evening's entertainment.  Whether you want to dance the night away or simply relax, there's something for you to do either onboard or back onshore.   Your ship is your floating hotel for the week.

Swim With the Fishes

Our favorite excursion was Hartley's Helmet Dive.  The Hartley family invites you to join them on their famous "Undersea Walk".   Here you will don a helmet and and walk among the fishes as they swim up to greet you.   In fact, they might even do some tricks for you.

Read more about this underwater adventure in our blog post: 

NCL Dawn Bermuda - Hartley's Helmet Dive

There's lots of adventure that is reachable from your ship's berth in King's Wharf.  We sailed on Norwegian Dawn when we last visited Bermuda.   Here are some articles detailing our visit.

• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Glass Bottom Boat
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Aquarium

  

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• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Crystal & Fantasy Caves
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Nightlife
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Shopping
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Fort Hamilton
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Underwater Exploration Institute
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Night Snorkeling
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Maritime Museum
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Hartley's Helmet Dive

Dining and Entertainment on your NCL Ship

• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Freestyle Dining
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Evening Activities
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Sea Days
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - El Dorado Spa
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Disembarkation
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Garden Cafe & Other Dining
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Le Bistro French Restaurant
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Impressions Italian Restaurant
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Cagney's Steakhouse

• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Sail Away from NY
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Welcome Aboard
• NCL Dawn Bermuda - Pre-Cruise New York

Fun With Fishes in Bermuda

 

  HARTLEY'S UNDERSEA WALK BERMUDA

Yes folks, that's me in the picture above, displaying the latest fashion in underwater attire, along with one of my new friends, who  has come to visit.   What's that you ask, "Why am I smiling?" 

Those that know me are probably  amazed to see me in this picture at all. You see, I am a non-swimmer and have been afraid of water most of my life.

When we planned our activities for a recent cruise to Bermuda, I found out about Hartley's Helmet Diving and decided to learn more about it.    I first saw the shore excursion listed on the cruise line's website, and then did a search to take a look at Greg Hartley's page.

DO YOU LIKE SNORKELING

 As I mentioned, I'm not a swimmer, but in recent years have gone snorkeling.  We got our own snorkeling gear which included a mask, goggles, mini-fins, and a life-vest for me.  When I'm wearing the life-vest, I feel secure and  can even enter the water from a boat and snorkel.   Before getting our own equipment, the most I would do is walk into shallow water for a quick dip and then go back on the beach.

IF YOU LIKE SNORKELING YOU'LL LOVE
HARTLEY'S UNDERSEA WALK

Reading more about the Hartley's Helmet Diving experience, I decided to suggest the excursion to the rest of my family.  They are all swimmers and thought it was a good idea, so we booked it directly with the Hartleys.

Greg Hartley, one of his children, and another crew member got us loaded onto their boat and we headed to the dive spot.  After some paperwork and safety instructions, we were divided into small groups to await our turn.

Inspired by Jacques Cousteau?

The helmet pictured here looks like something inspired from Jacques Cousteau's equipment locker.  In some respects, Greg Hartely is very much like him, since he too is an undersea explorer, a photographer, an inventor of diving devices, and a writer.   This helmet is your life-line to the surface.   Notice the reflection of the rope in the helmet glass.

Not Just a Fun Walk With the Fishes

Now for the details of the dive ... A few divers at a time donned the helmets, and walked down the boat's ladder, one step at a time, until reaching the sea floor, 10 feet below the surface.   A rope marked the undersea path.  Air hoses connected the divers to the boat's air supply system.

Once the group had settled in on the sea floor, Greg got his underwater camera gear and took photos of those that purchased the photo package.   Before leaving the boat, each of those people had their own CD with stock photos,  individual, and group shots.

This was actually our second experience helmet diving.  Our other experience was in Tahiti.   Greg's undersea walk incorporates an educational element, making it more than just having fun with the fishes.   There is room for fun too as you can see.  Greg has trained these fish and they even did tricks for us.

Greg pointed out various fish and vegetation using a dive stick, which can be seen in the second photo above.   We took our own photos using disposable underwater cameras.   You could also use an underwater digital camera as long as it was good to a depth of at least 10 feet.    Our equipment was no where near the level of sophistication of Greg's, so purchased his photo package to preserve our memories.  We recommend you capture your sea exploration via his camera also.  Watch this video to learn more.




YouTube - Hartley's Helmet Diving, Bermuda review from LookBermuda.TV



For the legal minded, this by no means is an official endorsement of Hartley's Helmet Diving, nor are we being compensated by any means.   We simply had a very enjoyable time, and wanted to share our experience with you, so that you too can include this excursion in your cruise vacation if you so desire.

On our dive, there were people of all ages from young children to an elderly gentleman.  Some of the children were frightened, and Greg was great with them.   He got their siblings to assist in encouraging them to at least give it a try.  When they decided they had enough, he respected that.

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Bermuda is a wonderful cruise destination.   It is very easy to explore on your own using the public transportation, such as the ferry service and buses.  The locals recently have had an uprising about tourists overtaking the bus system, so you'll want to monitor that situation closely.

Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Our next port of call was Bora Bora in French Polynesia. This island in the middle of a beautiful lagoon is known as "the Pearl of Polynesia". I'm sure you'll agree this was one of the highlights of the cruise.

Before clicking on the picture to the left (to get an enlarged image) close your eyes and try to picture the beautiful waters and majestic mountains that took our breath away as the Tahitian Princess sailed into Bora Bora mid-day.

The waters were every shade of blue and green imaginable including emerald, turquoise, powder blue, dark blue, and sky blue. The green vegetation, thatched huts, and billowy white clouds completed the canvas that was unfolding before our eyes as the ship arrived at our destination.

After the ship dropped anchor, we took a tender ashore. We decided to just walk around the village for awhile. Our little walk took us past an old church, quiet streets, and a few local shops. We purchased a few items from the local market and returned to the ship to get ready for our evening excursion - a champagne sail. which started at 4:30 and ended at 7:30 PM.

There were two catamarans that took our group on the sunset sail. The weather was beautiful. The crystal blue sky was decorated with the same billowing clouds that had been in the sky all day long. We knew we were in for a treat when the sun would begin to set. Timing the shot perfectly, the second catamaran was backlit by the setting sun, casting it's shadow onto the water between the two sail boats. We were able to get many more photos before the sun completely set and it was time to return to our ship. The catamaran served as our private tender boat that night, depositing us back where we had begun this fantastic evening.

Our first day in Bora Bora was almost over, but we were not done exploring Bora Bora. In the morning, we continued with two shore excursions . From 8:30 am to 10:30 am, we donned yellow helmets for the Bora Bora Aqua Safari. We then took the Tupuna Mountain Safari And Island Tour from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. We have enjoyed 4WD excursions on other cruises, so that's why we decided to book this tour.

One of our favorite things to do on a cruise is explore under the water. When reviewing the various shore excursions for this cruise, we decided to get a little more adventurous than we had in the past. The Aqua Safari sounded amazing and it truly exceeded our expectations. I should tell you that this was my idea and I'm not a good swimmer. My husband thought I'd lost my marbles when I suggested it, but he went along with the idea and he is extremely glad he did.

We sailed from our ship to a diving platform where we were greeted by the rest of our excursion crew. After a brief safety instruction, we donned yellow helmets that were hooked up to an air supply. The helmets weighed about 75 pounds, but you would not know it because in the salt water, it didn't feel heavy at all. You can keep your glasses on (which was great for both of us). We walked down the ladder and were immersed in 10 feet of water surrounded by schools of tropical fish that came to greet us.

Armed with our individual supply of bread, we were able to keep the fish coming right up to us as we walked along the bottom of the lagoon. Don't worry, we were not alone down there. An experienced scuba diver was keeping a watchful eye on us the whole time. The only time my husband was scared was when they had to switch air tanks. For a brief moment, he didn't hear the comforting sound of air rushing into his helmet, but all was well.

This was the most amazing experience we've had in the more than 20 years of cruising. We both highly recommend this tour - especially in the crystal clear waters of Bora Bora.

Our day in Bora Bora concluded with a 4WD safari which took us to the top of Tupuna Mountain where we got a view of the entire lagoon, our ship, and were able to see the sights of the WWII guns of Bora Bora. We ended our tour at Bloody Mary's which is probably the most famous tourist spot on the island.

Photo Albums:

Arriving in Bora Bora, Bora Bora (Shopping) , Bora Bora - Sunset Sail, Bora Bora - Aqua Safari

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Bora Bora with me. Make sure you visit our photo albums for more pictures. Words just don't do justice to this "Pearl of Polynesia". Next time we visit our last port of call, Moorea, before returning to our disembarkation port of Papette.

10 Day Polynesia / Cook Islands Cruise on Tahitian Princess

Click on image to the left for more blog posts about our Tahiti adventure

For more images, see our Shutterfly Photo Page.

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