Docking in Bermuda

Cruise ships dock at three piers in Bermuda: downtown in the City of Hamilton; in the historic town of St. George's, and at the Royal Naval dockyard. It depends very much on the cruise line and the size of the ship you are sailing on--where you will be berthing.

CITY OF HAMILTON - The central City of Hamilton has two cruise ship berths where you can walk off the ship and wander downtown on foot. These can take ships up to 750 feet in length - relatively small ships. Two Rock Passage has been the entrance to Hamilton Harbor since 1896. Neither the mouth of Hamilton Harbour nor the dock facilities in town can accommodate those larger vessels.

Bermuda is scheduled to have over 150 cruise ships visits this season. You can view the official 2010 Bermuda Cruise ship schedule from Marine and Port Services HERE

Azamara cruise ship moored right up against Front Street. Photo on right was taken from cruise ship deck, looking down on downtown Hamilton. Notice all the scooters!

ST. GEORGE'S - Fifteen miles away at the eastern end is St. George's. The ships dock at Penno's Wharf and Ordnance Pier directly in front of the Main Square in St. George’s Harbor. The entire town of St. George’s is within walking distance of the pier. The ships going here must enter through a very narrow (220-ft) channel called Town Cut--and only when wind conditions permit. Even though it had been widened and deepened many times, the captain may elect to avoid the hazard to the ship and go to Dockyard instead, as has happened on several of my cruises--even with the smaller ships. Only the Holland American's Veendam, will make 24 trips docking at both Hamilton and St. George's in 2010. In 2010, up to 700 visitors at a time will be ferried into St. George's from the cruise ship anchored off of the old town this summer. This and other moves to rejuvenate the former capital were discussed at a packed town hall meeting of St. George's business owners in January 2010 (See article below). The tender Bermudian, a large ferry capable of carrying up to 700 passengers, will service the Veendam, a 1,400 passenger ship which will make 24 weekly calls to St. George's this summer. Due to the ship's size it is unable to dock in the town. Instead the Holland America cruise ship will anchor in Murray's Anchorage, located near the oil docks in Ferry Reach, St. George’s, an area off of Fort St. Catherine -- weather permitting. The trip should take approximately 30 minutes to ferry the passengers to Penno's Wharf.

Two views from land of the narrow Town Cut channel our ship navigated to get into St. Georges.

The photo above looking down into the channel which we are navigating through, isn't visible because we are right up against the embankment. Photo on right: docked right in town with The Majesty of the Seas.

DOCKYARD - Located at Bermuda's west end in Sandy's Parish, was once Britain’s largest naval base outside of the United Kingdom. The former Royal Naval Dockyard now has two extra-long berths.
The newly constructed cruise ship terminal, Heritage Wharf, was officially opened May 27, 2009 joining King's Wharf. This increases the capacity of the Royal Naval Dockyard to host 2 mega cruise ships in port, making it a major port of entry into the island. This is the only port of the three that is equipped to handle the largest mega ships.

The Dockyard has now become a tourist resort in that it is a 75-acre entertainment and dining facility within walking distance from the dock. The area now includes a snorkel park, shopping mall, craft market and maritime museum. There is also ferry and bus service to Hamilton, Somerset and St. George's.

Cruising to Bermuda is becoming a rare treat since a lot of mass-market cruise line ships can’t go there with their newer mega-ships. Not only do they have trouble getting in and out of the small ports, but Bermuda has various rules and regulations which are not usually a policy of other cruise destinations. For instance, in order to limit the amount of cruise ship traffic, Bermuda has a "cabin tax." The tax is payable by the owner, operator or agent of a passenger ship and is calculated by the number of passenger cabins on a ship and the number of nights during which the ship is docked or anchored in Bermuda.

Royal Naval Dockyard is now a cruise ship terminal, a ferry terminal and a destination tourist attraction encompassing the historic dockyard buildings, the 19th century fort, handicrafts outlets, food and beverage, retail and entertainment outlets. It's a 15-minute walk from the ship to the ferry service (shown above).

Since a land vacation to Bermuda is very expensive, many choose a cruise as a less expensive alternative using the ship as if it were their “hotel.” However, Bermuda has curtailed many of the activities on board ships while docked. During days/nights entertainment on board is at a minimum. Cruise ships are strictly regulated as to music on deck, casino operation and presentation of shows. In addition, Bermuda's Government policy is that cruise lines must use local agents for cruise-ship organized shore excursions and activities. And cruise lines are banned from lending their passengers equipment - such as snorkels - that can be rented in Bermuda. Also, rental cars are not available.

NOTES from January 2010 town Hall Business meeting culminating in recent changes: Recently after a Bermuda Government review of cruise industry trends, world economy, and dwindling local merchant sales, it concluded that Bermuda was losing its competitive edge in bringing cruise ships to the Island, particularly the smaller, premium ships which can dock in City of Hamilton and Town of St. George. Most of these ships have been retired or sold to developing markets in Asia and South America. If the second cruise pier and terminal building is unable to open for the 2009 season lost revenue is estimated at $16 million to the local economy.

The Ministry of Tourism and Transport announced it would be surveying private sector stakeholders on a policy proposal to make the Island more attractive to all potential cruise ship partners. Government said it would introduce legislation in the upcoming term that will waive cabin taxes for three years, for the St. George's and City of Hamilton ports to attract the shrinking availability of smaller cruise ships; and would explore additional concessions to assess the merits of allowing cruise ships staying one or more nights to provide full entertainment aboard ship, open bars and signature shops while in port, and open their casinos after 10 p.m.

In 2010, there will be more big changes. St. George’s will only see one contract ship per week (Holland America's Veendam) and Hamilton will again have only occasional callers (no major cruise ship lines). The second pier at the Dockyard, (The Heritage), now allows 2 large ships in port at a time. This means, approximately 5000 passengers in Dockyard 5 days a week. The Ministry of Tourism and Transportation is also looking at an alternate pier development at Murray’s anchorage. This area is located near the oil docks in Ferry Reach, St. George’s. This would allow bigger ships to enter the waters near St. George’s and dock close enough to the old town without significant damage to the environment.

The destination is the reason I take a Bermuda cruise, and although I love docking at St. George's and Hamilton -- I have no problem with Kings Wharf--where the ferries and bus transportation are close by. In my opinion, by enlarging the Town Cut at St. George's or even expanding Hamilton by removing any coral reef that surrounds it to allow the larger ships in, would destroy the charm and ambiance of Bermuda

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