Bermuda Cruise October 2006

Trip to Bermuda: 7-14 October 2006
 
 
October 17, 2006: 
 
Tony and I returned from a wonderful 7-night cruise to Bermuda.  I booked this cruise in June after my friend Shaun invited us to join him and his fiancée Melonee after I invited him to join us on a Mediterranean/Black sea cruise for October 2007…I’m still trying to convince them to join us. 
 
Tony and I have never been to Bermuda and thought the price of the cruise was very reasonable.  We liked the idea of cruising to Bermuda rather than a land based trip since Bermuda is a very expensive place to visit.  Hotels start around $250, which is out of our price range.  Dining is very expensive too. With the cruise, we had our room and board, tons of dining options and entertainment.
 
Planning this cruise was really easy since it was just one place (two port stops) we would be visiting.  I met fellow passengers on Cruise Critic and even organized a sail away party for our group. 
 
Friday October 6, 2006:  
 
This was the first time I packed my suitcase “last minute.”  I did have most of my things out (my home office was a mess!) but I sort of panicked since I gave myself just a couple of hours to pack.  And I over packed.  I figured since we were driving to the port, rather than flying, I could take extra clothes.  No worries about luggage or weight restrictions.  In addition to the usual items, we packed our beach mats, reef shoes and my mask & snorkel.  
 
We dropped Lucy off at my in-laws house.  She was NOT a happy dog that we left her there.  She stayed overnight and then was taken to a friend’s house to take care of her for the rest of the trip.  We left Frederick at 11 am and got to our hotel in Avenel NJ at 5pm.  We stopped along the way to get a bite to eat and fill the car with gas.  We drove via Rte 78 through Allentown PA to avoid any Friday traffic on 95 and the NJ turnpike.  It had rained in Frederick, but no rain the rest of the day.  However, there was a tropical depression near Ocean city, so lots of rain and winds on the east coast.  The hotel was located in a real crappy area.  We met up with Vicki, a fellow cruise mate, who got us a discount at the room since she works for Marriott.  She was traveling with her mother Fay and Fay’s friend Darlene.  Our room was only $35 plus taxes.  The room was nice and the bed was comfortable.  This was a Fairfield Inn and Suites, so our stay included continental breakfast.  Thanks again Vicki!
 
Before dinner, Tony and I went out to get cash from an ATM and also pick up some bottled water for our cabin.  We found a Shop-Rite store, which reminded us of Wegman’s, a wonderful grocery store.  We thought we’d stop there before heading home to pick up some meats and cheese, but later decided against it. 
 
For dinner the five of us dined at Dominic's, a very good family style Italian restaurant. We didn't know it was a BYOB, but the waitress gave us each a glass of wine from the kitchen.  I thought it tasted liked cooking wine!  She later asked us how we liked it.   I just told her, "It’s not bad."  She wasn’t too happy with that answer.  Well, I didn't want to say it was bad! The ossobucco was delicious!
 
After dinner, Vicki opened a bottle of wine and we had drinks in our room while the ladies went to bed. 
 
Vicki arranged our car service for 10:30am but it arrived at 11am.  We got $10 off the bill for their tardiness.  The driver Anthony picked us up in a Lincoln but it was not large enough for 5 people.  I had to squeeze up in front. Thank goodness the trunk was deep and all of our luggage fit.  None of us were pleased with this, but at least we were on our way to the port.
 
Saturday October 7th Bayonne NJ/Cape Liberty
 
We arrived to the port at 11:30am.  There were plenty of porters to take the luggage but man, they were rude and pushy.  I only had the large suitcase for them to take. The rest Tony and I carried directly to our room.  My wine and champagne, for our in cabin consumption, made it on board without any problems.  Based on other people’s comments, no wine was taken away from any passenger. 
 
Check in literally took 5 minutes and absolutely no waiting in line.  I had checked in via the Celebrity web site prior to leaving home. This was the fasted that I have ever checked in on a cruise.  It was a breeze. We had our photo taken and then on to the bus to take us to the ship, which was just a 2-3 minute ride.
 
We walk on board via deck 3 (deck 5 was open too but you have to climb two flights of stairs) and I was surprised to see NO champagne!  We walked up 1 flight to our deck and there standing near the elevators were two waiters with platters of champagne filled glasses. We quickly dropped off our luggage and went back for our glass of champagne.  Let the cruise begin!  Up on deck 11 we ran into some cruise critic members (Misti, John, Carol, Dolores, Ken, and Lee) while in the food line at the windsurf cafe.  We had lunch with friends Mike and Maureen. 
 
After lunch, the 4 of us checked out the dining room and found our table, #136.  It was very close to the entrance and the piano and seemed like we would be in the way of the waiters; however, we were very comfortable there.  We checked out the various areas on the ship.  The Zenith is much smaller than the Millennium and Constellation, but I felt very comfortable on board.  The Zenith has a cozier feel. 
 
At the Marina bar we met up with some of the cruise critic members for our sail away party.  We hung out for a while before having to do the muster drill, which went by quickly.  We went to the top deck to watch the scenery as we left NJ. We could see the skyline of NYC, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  We sailed under the Verrazano Bridge.  It was very cold outside with the wind and the temperature was in the low 60s.
 
My camera started to act up and didn’t work properly the rest of the trip.  It was accidentally knocked out of my hand a couple of months ago but Tony fixed it…or so we thought.  The lens wouldn’t retract completely, so I had to be very careful with the lens so that I wouldn’t get it scratched or filled with dust.  At least I could still take pictures.  I’m not sure if this is covered under the 1-year warranty.  If not, I lost a lot of mula on this purchase.
 
We went back to the room and unpacked our clothing.  I was glad that my suitcase got there early.  Our room, cabin 4102, was pretty nice but does show the age of the Zenith.  The bed looked like it sagged, but it was actually very comfortable to sleep in.  Our beds were pushed together and against one wall, so getting out of bed at night meant scooting down to the foot of the bed. Our room had upper bunks too, but they were not in the way.  We didn’t have any mini refrigerator, but I didn’t miss it on this cruise.  There was plenty of closet and drawer space.  The shower was large enough to move around.  Our cabin attendant was Santano Rosario from India. He always had a smile on his face and kept our room clean.  We never saw him he was that good!
 
At 7pm we met Mike and Maureen in the Martini bar for the martini tasting. I've done this before: $10 for six different types of martinis.  I gave Tony the regular martini.  I loved the Flirtini!
 
Dinner was at 8:30pm. Our table of 6 included Mike, Maureen, and Shaun and Melonee.  We had a nice time together.  For dinner I had their veal picatta, which was excellent.  I started with a mushroom pastry appetizer, while Tony had the shrimp cocktail.  I had the tomato bisque and Caesar salad. Tony had the prime rib. And for dessert: Crème Brule!!  Yum! 
 
I was tired so I went to bed. We didn’t go to the welcome party, but we didn’t mind. 
 
Sunday October 8th at Sea
 
Sunday was a beautiful day.  I woke up about 8am, but it was actually 7am, as we lost an hour due to the time change in Bermuda.  The seas were pretty rough, although I slept well.  Many people were sick and barf bags were placed throughout the ship, including next to the elevators.  We didn't get to the cruise critic party at 9:30am because of the time change.  Only 17 people showed up.  I was told Celebrity would give it a second try on another day since so many people missed it. There were about 71 people signed up.  It turned out they hosted it again on our second sea day, but what was the point?
 
Tony and I had a light breakfast on the aft deck 11.  I had a part of a bagel with smoked salmon and grapefruit.  The breakfast buffet was the same every day:  assorted breads, pastries, a variety of fruit, smoked salmon, cream cheese; assorted meats, cheese; scrambled eggs, bacon, corned beef hash, cereal, etc…  There was also a waffle and pancake station.  At the aft at the Windsurf café, there was an omelet station. 
 
At 11:30am Celebrity held an anniversary and honeymooners party, which we had received an invitation in our cabin.  One couple had been married for 67 years!  Anna and Hooch, another cruise critic member, were married 18 years ago on the 8th, just like Tony and me.  Champagne and cake were served…well, one small glass of champagne and a piece of cake for each couple.  We were told "the champagne will be flowing," but it wasn't.  Tony got up and got 2 more glasses from the bar.  Tony felt the whole event was cheesy.  They should have either skipped it completely or done a much better job. Once the cruise director left the spotlight, he and the rest of the crew (minus 2 bartenders) disappeared. 
 
I had a small lunch on deck at the pool area while watching the pool events.  I also like to people watch.  All the deck chairs were filled with people enjoying the sun and outdoors.  Yes, people do hog the chairs.  I felt a little queasy because of the rough ocean.  I took another seasick pill and felt fine the rest of the day.
 
While on the pool deck, there were several events:  Sherbet was served (I do like the little things that Celebrity does for its passengers), a chef did a fruit carving demonstration with watermelon; and there was contest with four guys who had to dance, sing, yell like Tarzan and serenade to a woman. It was pretty funny.
 
Every day at 5pm, the sushi bar opens up.  We enjoyed the variety they had every day!   We enjoyed this before our 8:30pm dining time. 
 
Sunday was our first formal night and our 18th wedding anniversary.  My travel agent had informed Celebrity that we would be celebrating our anniversary, so we received a cake after dinner.  However, we already ate our dessert, so we didn’t eat it. In addition, I think they use the same cake to celebrate other people’s events. 
 
Monday October 9th Hamilton
 
We arrived in Hamilton about 9am. We got up early enough to watch as we sailed into the harbor.  We saw many beautiful and expensive homes on the way in.  I saw a few that I would love to call home!  Hamilton is a lovely town with very colorful buildings. 
 
After our usual breakfast, we took the bus to Horseshoe bay with Mike, Maureen, Shaun, and Melonee. We all purchased the 3-day bus and ferry pass ($28pp) at the bus station, which was located a block up from the ship and two blocks inland.  We all loved the beach with its wonderful soft powdery sand.  The weather was perfect too.  I spent most of the time in the water playing in the waves.  I also took a few photos with my underwater camera.  Later, Mike, Tony and I walked to other parts of the beach.  There are lots of secluded spots; however, we enjoyed the far end of the beach away from the rest of the crowd.  There are changing facilities, which I used.  I took a very cold shower, as I wanted to get the salt off of me. We were surprised at how salty the water was, more so than other beaches. 
 
After our time at the beach, Mike, Maureen, Tony and I headed to the Dockyards, while Shaun and Melonee stayed at the beach.  We took the $1pp van ride to the top of the hill.  Now, it wasn’t overly steep, we just decided to ‘splurge.’
 
Once in the Dockyards, we headed to the Frog and Onion pub for some drinks and snacks.  I had their fish chowder, which was pretty tasty and one of the few reasonably priced items on the menu.  Shaun and Melonee popped in and joined us.  Sitting at the next table were Misti, John, and Carol who were enjoying their lunch.  Anthony, our waiter, kept joking with us, so when our bill came, we all gave our boarding card for payment.  He laughed!
 
Just before heading to the ferry to get back to the ship, we ordered drinks in to-go cups.  I was surprised we could do that, but we were in Bermuda!  Ferrying over to Hamilton was very nice and relaxing.  It took only 20 minutes to cross the bay.
 
After dinner we went to the Island Night at the pool deck.  It was fun to watch people dancing and having a good time.  Of course, they did the typical line dancing that should have died in 1987.  Lots of food was served but we were still full.  I suppose that’s the one negative thing about eating at the late seating.  The advantage is having more time to prepare for dinner after getting on board the ship or even going to the gym…which I never saw.  Ribs, chicken, fruits and assorted desserts were served. 
 
Tuesday October 10th Hamilton
 
While having breakfast on the pool deck, we saw a Royal Caribbean ship come in to port.  I learned that there was also a ship in St George and one at the Dockyards.  It made me realize we made a very good decision to go to Horseshoe bay when we did, as I’m sure the beach was packed on this day. 
 
We walked around Hamilton after breakfast and met up with Mike and Maureen at the ferry dock at 9:50am to catch the 10am ferry.  We ferried over to the Dockyards and toured the maritime museum ($10pp). I felt the price was great for all that we saw, including the dolphins at Dolphin Quest.  I was surprised we could see them. I thought they would be in a different area. On the grounds were sheep and goats. We wandered through the museums and grounds. 
 
Mike wanted to have drinks at the Frog and Onion, but I suggested we go to Somerset Village for drinks and lunch.  Something different to see.  The bus ride was just about 10 minutes.  Somerset Village is tiny.  We dined at outdoor terrace of the Somerset Squire Country Pub, located along the water.  Tony and I had the fish and chips, which were very good and probably the cheapest on the island ($12.50). Maureen had a Caesar salad with grilled chicken and Mike had a fish sandwich, all good.  The place had a few other customers, but overall, it was a nice quiet place to have lunch and relax.  I think Somerset Village is a place most people don’t visit based on the number of tourists I saw.  It did rain a little but we were sitting under large umbrellas.  
 
After lunch, we wanted to go to the lighthouse, but after three busses passed us packed with tourists, and also discovering the place closed at 4pm, we took the bus back to the dockyards, Maureen and I window shopped while the guys had a beer. 
 
We did see a moped accident with some locals while waiting for the bus in Somerset Village.  There were two guys on mopeds and we could tell they ended up with “Bermuda tattoos,” i.e. road rash.  They tried to pass a car that was turning but cut the driver off and they ran into the back of the car.  A woman at the bus stop told us not to think about renting mopeds.  There are just too many accidents on the island, especially with tourists who are not comfortable driving on the left side of the road.
 
After taking the ferry back, Tony and I walked around town. We even checked out one of the local grocery stores.  Some of the food products were reasonably priced.
 
Dinner was fabulous!  Appetizers included salmon mouse and duck parfait.  I think we all ordered the rack of lamb, which was just amazing.  It was cooked perfectly and size/portion was very good.  Desserts were delicious too and always a nice variety to choose from. 
 
After dinner we attended the newly and not-so newlywed game.  It was very funny!  This included a couple who was married for just a few days and one couple married for 67 years. 
 
Wednesday October 11th St. George 
 
Tony and I woke up at 8am so we could watch as we entered the “cut” into St. George.  The cut is a narrow entrance and only smaller ships like the Zenith can go through it.  As we entered the cut, the town's crier greeted the ship with a single canon shot and his welcome.   By the time we arrived at the pier, so did the town crier, where again he greeted us.  It was a beautiful clear, sunny morning.  I took lots of photos as we entered the port. St. George is just lovely with its colorful houses.  It’s smaller than Hamilton and has more charm.
 
We ran into Mike, so the three of us ate breakfast in the dining room.  Tony and Mike both had eggs Benedict while I had a Spanish omelet.  We sat with a couple from Canada.  So far everyone was enjoying the cruise.
 
We decided to go to Tobacco Bay to do some snorkeling.  We went ahead of the rest since Maureen, Shaun and Melonee hadn't had breakfast yet.  It was a nice walk from the ship through town to the bay (just over a mile).  We stopped along the way to see the Unfinished Church.  As we continued to the beach, the clouds came in.  I snorkeled for a short while. It was too cloudy to take any good photos, so I just took three.  Soon after I got out of the water it rained.  We packed up and started to walk back to the ship and it came down in buckets!  Fortunately I spotted a small shelter at a golf course, which we sat and waited out the rain.  After about 45 minutes, it turned to a light sprinkle.  We headed to town and to King's square.  There, the town's crier was in the middle of "punishing" two people.  The square has stocks, a pillory and a whipping post, and the crier was reenacting what might have happened 400 years ago.  One person was a tourist and the other an actor.   She was "charged" with being a gossip and nag.  We got to see her being dunked in the water several times.
 
We ran into the four others, who obviously didn't make it to the beach because of the rain.  We all had a drink at the bar in the town square, White Horse Tavern, and then Tony and I headed back to the ship to shower, while the rest went on a glass bottom boat ride. 
 
After our shower, we window shopped in town and again ran into the gang.  They were taking pictures of each other in the stocks, so Tony and I had our picture taken too.  We all tasted rum cake at a store and then took the bus to the Crystal/Fantasy caves.  We toured the Fantasy caves ($15pp), which was quite interesting.  For our reward of going up/down 88 steps each way, we had drinks and nachos at the Swizzle Inn. Everything tasted great.  The pitcher of Rum Swizzle was $22 and pretty strong. It started to rain again just as we finished our food.  It lasted just a few minutes. 
 
We caught the bus back to St. George and window shopped.  I wanted to buy a few water color prints, but didn’t see anything close to the ones I saw at the shop at the Fantasy caves.  I should have remembered my motto, “If you see something and like it, buy it!”  They were much nicer than the ones I saw in St. George.  At the time, I didn’t realize there were several local artists doing the same kind of art work. 
 
It rained again!  Time to get back on the ship. 
 
Back on the ship and before dinner, we had drinks in the Michael’s bar. This was a very nice bar.  Gabriel, from Romania, made my cosmopolitans.
 
Another delicious dinner.  I had the salmon, while Tony had the rack of veal.  After dinner we attended The 60’s Show.  It was pretty good.  It lasted about an hour and the singers/dancer sung various tunes from the 60s. 
 
Thursday October 12th St. George
 
This was our last day in Bermuda.  Since it was an overcast morning, Tony and I decided to skip the beach. This helped us from having to carry bags, towels, and beach mats.  We spent the morning visiting the Unfinished church, walked back to Tobacco Bay and to Fort St. Catherine.  We circled back and probably walked 2.5 miles total.  The Fortress was interesting and included replica British Crown Jewels.  
 
Back in town in King’s square, we window shopped and I finally decided to buy three small water color prints.  Tony picked up a couple of nice shirts for only $10 each.  Everything else was pretty expensive.  I looked at some jewelry but didn’t see anything that I liked.  After tasting the Rum Swizzle drink the other day, I wanted to buy some Gosling’s black rum. We headed to the liquor store where we were told we couldn’t buy any duty free liquor.  We were told we had to purchase the liquor before 10am.  We didn’t know that.  If it was in the Celebrity Today I didn’t read it.  However, we were able to buy it on board the ship at a better price than in town.
 
Celebrity hosted an Oktoberfest in the Fleet bar.  The food wasn’t that great and it wasn’t all German food!  I expected to see knockwurst and Wiener schnitzel.   The potato salad was NOT German potato salad.  Tony said the hotdogs were very good.  I should have had lunch at the buffet area.  I did win a Celebrity tote bag during the contest that was held. They were all questions about Oktoberfest.   
 
Our ship left port at 3pm, so I wanted to be on a lower deck to take pictures. We hung out on the deck with the lifeboats.  The afternoon started to clear up.  Too bad we didn’t have perfect weather, but it was still a nice visit to Bermuda. As we passed through the cut, we saw several people on the shore waving to everyone goodbye.
 
That evening was our second formal night.  Tony and I never did get to have any formal pictures taken.  We attended the Captain’s club cocktail party with Mike and Maureen, as well as Nick and Diane, who we met at the Martini tasting. Drinks were definitely flowing at this cocktail party!  This time there was a larger list of drinks to choose from, rather than the usual wine and champagne, including Mai Tai’s and Martini’s.  I ordered a Mai Tai and 15 minutes later the waiter still hadn’t returned with one.  In the meantime I ordered one from another waiter, who promptly served it to me.  About 10 minutes later, the original waiter came up to me and apologized for not bringing my drink.  He had been bumped by another person and his tray spilled all over him.  I had heard the crash and looked over.  He had left and changed his shirt.  I thought it was very nice he remembered my order and came to tell me what happened.  I told him I understood and that I was taken care of.
 
My dinner was delicious (yes, every night was delicious – Celebrity did not disappointment me one bit with their food on this cruise):  Chicken Terrine, Caesar salad, and Prime Rib!  The baked Alaska was served after all the waiters paraded through the dining room.  The midnight buffet was soon after.  I took a bunch of photos of the displays of food, which were beautifully displayed. Tony originally wanted to have some food but he was still full from dinner, so we headed to bed. 
 
Friday October 13th  Day at Sea
 
Saturday was a relaxing day.  We gained back the hour we lost the previous night, so we slept in.  It was a day of packing, reading, and just hanging out on the ship.  I sat out in the sun for an hour, and then headed in for lunch while Tony read his book in the library.  By the time I finished eating, the clouds rolls in and the temperature dropped. I walked around the ship visiting the various areas.  Back in the cabin I showered and packed my suitcase.  It was much easier and faster to pack – just dump in suitcases.
 
We had one last round of sushi and drinks (at Michaels’) before dinner: Beef tenderloin.  A few nights before we asked the assistant maitre’d if we could have escargot and Crème Brule for our last night. He did for us.  It was a great beginning and ending to our meal.  We passed our tips to the waiter (Yusuf from Turkey), assistant waiter (Carlos from Honduras, I think), and assistant maidre’d (didn’t get his name).  They all did a great job. 
 
Back in the room we finished our packing and went to bed.
 
Saturday October 14th  Home again
 
Our original time to disembark was at 10:20am; however, since we were traveling with Vicki and two older women who needed wheelchair assistance, we made plans to meet them at the Casino at 9:30am…with all the people in wheelchairs.  After breakfast in the dining room, I headed to the Fleet bar to say goodbye to Mike, Maureen, Shaun and Melonee. I also ran into a few other cruise critic friends too.  It took a while to get the wheelchair folks off the ship, but overall the debarkation went very smoothly. Celebrity should have blocked one set of elevators for just the wheeled chaired people.  By the time we got to the luggage area (we were in the lavender section) there were only about 8-10 pieces sitting, so it was very easy to spot ours.  This was a nice change after being on our Princess cruise and having to go through thousands of pieces of luggage! 
 
Again, our limo service got a car where I had to squeeze in the front.  We certainly won’t use their services again…unless it’s for 4 people or less.  Back at the Fairfield Inn, we put our luggage in our cars and headed home. It took 4 hours to get home, after stopping to pick up Lucy. She was so excited to see us and she was ready to go home. 
 
Cruise Summary:
 
This was a wonderful cruise and I loved sailing with Celebrity. Tony loved it too except for the noisy pool atmosphere with all the games and the cheesy anniversary party.  We both thought the food was exceptional, as well as the service on board.
 
The Zenith does show her age but is still in very good condition.  I did like the smaller ship feel, and especially enjoyed seeing friends again and again while on board.  That’s hard to do on a large ship. Tony also likes the smaller ships.  I hope when they retire the Zenith, they’ll replace her with a same size ship.  
 
Tony and I certainly got our exercise while on board. Every morning we would walk from deck 4 to 11 for breakfast (126 steps). We used the elevator only two times. 
 
Our next cruise will be on the Galaxy and we’ll be heading to the Mediterranean and Black sea for 14 nights (plus 3 pre-cruise nights in Rome).  I’m looking forward to sailing with Celebrity again!
 
Other Comments:
 
Luggage:
 
I found out that one woman never got her luggage!  She told me Celebrity was giving her $200 to buy clothes on board.  I recommend that anyone traveling (whether it’s a cruise or land based tour) split all clothing into two suite cases, one of which should be a carry-on.  This way, you’ll have half of your clothing.  I did this on my Baltic cruise.  I divided all casual to formal clothing between both suitcases, down to the shoes.  If I lost one bag, I would have been fine and probably would have used the laundry services on board.  Even though our room was not ready until 1pm, we were able to bring our luggage on board and place them directly in our room. 
 
Passengers: 
 
I would say the average age on board this cruise ranged from the 40’s to 60’s, along with the elderly.  There were also children, who were well behaved and seemed to have a great time too. 
 
Food and Drink:
 
I thought the food was better than on my other Celebrity cruises.  I always order the filet mignon and prime rib cooked rare and that’s how I got them.  I wonder if the food was better because the chefs and cooks dealt with 1300 passengers rather than 1900 like on the Millennium and Constellation.  I loved their cream soups but didn’t have them every night.  Everything was well presented but not too fancy.
 
The nice thing about Celebrity is that you can order other items that are not on the menu, such as steak, salmon, and chicken; shrimp cocktail and Caesar salad.  In addition, you can pre-order an item, like we did with the Crème Brule and escargot.
 
Sushi – There was a variety of sushi, including salmon (my favorite!), tuna, tilapia, eel, shrimp, as well as rolled sushi: spicy tuna and California roll.  In addition, there was a miso soup bar, where various items could be added to the soup.  I didn’t have the soup since I just wanted the sushi as an appetizer before dinner.
 
There’s also:
 
- Pizza and pasta station
- Burgers and dogs, as well as other sandwiches
- Mini-sandwiches and cookies around 4pm
- Pastries in the Cova Café
 
Drinks – we enjoyed some of the Drink of the Day specials, including the Mai Tai’s (I had to ask for a float of dark rum to make it authentic), Cosmopolitans, and Sea breezes.
 
Casino and Cigarette smoke:
 
We played the slot machines and lost our $10.  We’re not gamblers but know others did win $200-$300.  The casino is small and we didn’t like the fact it was filled with cigarette smoke.  Even walking through the Rendezvous lounge was not pleasant.  Smokers hung out on one side of the room. 
 
Money in Bermuda: 
 
We were lucky that Bermuda accepts USD.  We didn’t have to exchange any money and the value of the USD was the same as the local currency.  Master card and Visa were widely accepted. 
 
Photos:
 
We didn’t purchase any photos on board.  They were expensive.  It always amazes me that these cruise companies charge so much when I see so many thrown away.  I’m sure if they were to lower their prices, more people would purchase them.  I would. It’s all done via digital camera and the development, I’m sure, is cheap
 
Web sites used:
 
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=273381 The Cruise Critic Zenith Thread
http://bermuda-online.org/
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda/
http://www.10best.com/Bermuda/index.html
http://www.bermudatravelnet.com/
http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/ Cruise tip calculator
 
Expenses:
Cruise                          $1,746.64
Hotel                            $     40.25
Transportation             $     96.25
Food and drink            $   345.19
Sights                          $     30.00
Shopping                     $   129.25
Total:                           $2,387.58
 
Monica J. Pileggi