Some of you may remember that Frank & I took a cruise to Bermuda last summer. Due to the inopportune appearance of Rocky, the bastard kidney stone, we had to fly home from Bermuda as soon as we arrived after 2 and a half days of hell on the Celebrity Summit. Well, we are going to try again, but this time we will be departing from Boston on the little old Holland America Veendam. She is a very small ship by today's standards, carrying around 1300 passengers. One big advantage to her is that she is small enough to dock right downtown in Hamilton, as opposed to out at the Royal Naval Dockyard, so the location is much more central. We sailed her before, and let's just say that she is a very sedate old girl, and we should be the youngsters onboard HHH

Here is the itinerary:

June 9, Saturday Depart Boston at 4:00PM
June 10, Sunday At Sea
June 11, Monday Arrive Bermuda 1PM
June 12, Tuesday Bermuda
June 13, Wednesday Bermuda
June 14, Thursday Depart Bermuda 1PM
June 15, Saturday At Sea
June 16, Saturday Arrive Boston at 8AM


The bags are packed and in the car. We will be leaving the house about 9:30 to drop off the pups. They will be staying in the Presidential Suite, lucky shits! We hope to arrive at the ship by 11:30 to get settled in and enjoy the Mariner's Luncheon.

We booked an Ocean View Stateroom on the Promenade Deck, right on the Aft. Slumming this time, but we booked last minute and got a great bargain.

Sunday we will attend the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet and just relax onboard. This is a Gala Night, which has replaced the old Formal Night, so we willl dress up a bit for dinner.

Monday when we arrive in Bermuda, we plan to go straight to the Hog Penny Pub and then visit the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. Then we have a Sunset Champagne Catamaran ride booked in the evening.

Tuesday we plan to go to St George and take a walk around the historic town, and then head to Clearwater Beach & Cooper Island Nature Preserve for a day of sunshine and snorkeling. We will have lunch (probably a Bermuda fish sandwich on raisin bread - NOT KETO) at Gombey's Beach Bar.

Wednesday is completely up in the air, with options being a boat rental, or another beach day. I'd like to walk up to Robin Hood Pub for some libations in the late afternoon but we'll see. We played darts and got very drunk there on our honeymoon. It was a very fun place back in the day! This is the night they do the Harbor Night Festival which is a neat little street fair.

Thursday we are booked to take the ship's transfers to Horseshoe Beach in the morning for a last bit of swimming and snorkeling. We'll be back on the ship for lunch and relaxation around noon. We have booked the Pinnacle Grill for a special dinner that night.

Friday will be a lazy day at sea. Most likely that will be the Mariner's Brunch day, but not sure. I hope to stay away from the casino as I have the Cherokee M&G coming right up!

Saturday we hope to be off the ship by 9. If things go smoothly, we will pick up the pups and be sitting in our recliners by 11 with a load of laundry in

I'll try to update, although I am not planning to get internet on the ship so I will be radio silent from Saturday evening until Monday noon, and again from Thursday noon until we dock. I will have phone and internet on Bermuda and will post from there.

Okay, so those are the plans. Let's what the reality is!