Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Leaving Bermuda we were really in for some rocking and rolling, the joys of the Atlantic in spring.  However, we arrived on time into port.

Port Everglades is a seaport in Broward County, FL and one of South Florida's leading economic powerhouses.  Currently it is the third busiest cruise port worldwide.  Port Everglades is also the busiest container port in Florida and 10th busiest in the United States.

This concludes the fifth segment of the World Cruise with 18 more days to end in Los Angeles.  An interesting statistic, on board we had 378 passengers booked on the World Cruise;  112 from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale and 266 Los Angeles round trip.  The remainder of the ship was made up of passengers that embarked/disembarked during various segments.

Fort Lauderdale offers numerous options and points of interest to fill your time.  Beaching, the Everglades, Shopping, South Beach and Miami, more shopping, etc.  For us, today was a "housekeeping" day as we have spent many wonderful weeks in this area and look forward to our return trips.

4PM began our departure from Port Everglades through the Florida Straight and out into the Caribbean Sea, following the Northern coastline of Cuba and then heading south to our next port, Willemstad, Curacao.

Hamilton, Bermuda

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Beginning our six day trek across the North Atlantic Ocean we headed towards the Island of Bermuda to our next port of call , Hamilton.  The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's oceans with the Pacific Ocean being the largest.  The Atlantic is 41,100,000 square miles and has an average depth of 12,800 ft but nearly 27,500ft at its deepest point (in the Puerto Rico trench).

We encountered some rocky seas approaching the Island of Bermuda.  Also very high winds.  Unfortunately the high winds (40 MPH) created an environment that made it too dangerous for the Captain to dock at Hamilton.  The Captain was able to secure docking space at King's Wharf, Royal Naval Dockyard, West End.  Most excursions were delayed with just a couple cancelled.

Bermuda is known for its beautiful sunshine, subtropical climate and pink sand beaches.  It is fun to take easy transportation around the island by either local bus, ferry or scooter.  The highlights to see include Hamilton, St. George, Maritime Museum, Crystal Caves, Gibb's Hill Lighthouse, Aquarium and Zoo, Royal Naval Dockyard and of course, gorgeous Horseshoe Bay Beach. 

After a chilly, very blustery day and a delayed departure due to the slightly delayed arrival, we dropped the lines and set course for our next port - the good old USA, Port Everglades or Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.