If you’re dreaming of turquoise waters, pink beaches, pastel-colored towns, and a breezy escape from the everyday grind, a spring cruise from New York to Bermuda aboard the NCL Prima might be your perfect ticket. This next-generation cruise ship blends luxury, entertainment, and ease of travel into a vacation you won’t soon forget — and spring is the ideal time to experience it.
Why Choose a Bermuda Cruise in Spring?
The Spring Shoulder Season (April-May) is Bermuda’s sweet spot. With temperatures hovering in the 70s°F, fewer crowds compared to peak summer months, and vibrant spring festivals in full swing, it’s the perfect season to explore the island’s beauty. Add to that the indulgence of sailing from New York City on the gleaming Norwegian Prima, and you’ve got a getaway that practically plans itself.
The NCL Prima is not your average cruise ship. It’s much more like a floating boutique resort with just the right dose of energy. Carnival and Royal Caribbean also offer Bermuda routes. The Prima’s blend of modern luxury and entertainment offers:
- Infinity pools and an Ocean Boulevard on Deck 8 that wraps around the ship with it’s beautiful views.
- High-end dining, including a traditional steakhouse experience in Cagney’s, Italian at La Cucina, French as Le Bistro, and gourmet street food at Food Republic
- Entertainment galore with Live music, variety and comedy shows; the Prima Speedway 3-story go-kart track; auto-scoring mini-golf and darts; a galaxy pavilion VR experience; and so much more.
- The awesome Mandara Spa’s thermal suite with it’s assortment of sauna’s, ice room, jetted pools and heated loungers that give you a front-row seat to the ships bow as you relax in bliss.
- There’s also the luxurious Haven (ship-within-a-ship) concept of exclusive amenities for those with (let’s say) more discriminating taste (and a much higher travel budget) providing passengers with a private sundeck, two hot tubs, a elegant infinity pool positioned at the very rear of the ship overlooking the wake from the 14th deck.
Visiting Bermuda in spring means:
- Avoiding the cruise rush of summer (June, July & August).
- Warm, pleasant days…perfect for beach lounging or town strolling.
- Colorful flora and springtime events to explore.
The downside, however, could be:
- Unpredictable Spring Weather: Pack layers and check forecasts. The ocean can get rough in places. Showers pass quickly, but luckily there are plenty of indoor activities onboard. You leave the coolness of New York and end up in the tropical climes of Bermuda within a day and a half, so be prepared!
- Crowd Levels and Pricing: Spring is still a shoulder season, but deals go fast. Booking early helps snag better rates and cabin choices. We were able to upgrade to the Haven 1 bedroom owners suite on this cruise for about 1/3 the usual cost and deals are often available for all room types. Look for promotions from NCL or work with a cruise travel agent for perks like onboard credit.
Smooth Sailing from NYC
Because our embarkation was late in the afternoon, we took the train up from DC on the morning of departure, had a nice lunch in Chelsea and hit a few of the city’s sites like the Empire State building and Macy’s before heading over to pier 88. Sailing out from New York in the evening sunset is beautiful. The incredible skyline of Manhattan is laid out in all of its glory. The iconic Statue of Liberty is bathed in an aura of sunlight. The Verrazzano-Narrows bridge even looks incredible as we squeak just under it’s road deck on our way out of Hudson bay.
Heading ashore in Bermuda
We arrived at the Royal Dockyards early on our third day, ready to hit the shore running. We took the ferry into the UNESCO world heritage site of St. George’s. Conveniently, we only had to walk about 50 feet from the gangway across the dock to the waiting ferry (free of charge). It took about 45 minutes to cruise up the coast. Once we arrived, we took a leisurely stroll down Water St. to the Wahoo’s Bistro and had an amazing lunch on the waterfront. From there, we walked over and toured the old gravestones of St. Peter’s Church and then picked up a taxi out to Fort St. Catherine. The fascinating tour of the old fort taught us much about the military history of the island. Ultimately we made it to the top of and captured some incredible photos of the surrounding beaches and grottoes.
Adventure into the Bermuda Triangle
That evening, we ventured out on a glass-bottom boat tour to the ruins of a sunken naval ship. We were cruising to the edge of the Bermuda Triangle, in the hopes of enjoying the underwater scenery (and a little flirt with disaster, 🙂). The sun was setting as we left the dock, making it easy to capture beautiful pictures. About an hour later, we approached the sunken boat as dusk approached. Switching off all of the deck lights, we huddled around the glass bottom and were fixated on the abundant sea life shining in the underwater flood lights and thriving on the ship wreck settled in the sand below us. It was pretty interesting to hear the story of the ship and how it came to rest there.
Our second day on Bermuda was a road trip.
We hired a driver to take us out to the capital city of Hamilton for some site-seeing and shopping. Honestly, looking at the island on google maps the place looks deceivingly small. On the ground, it’s a large, diverse island. The drive over from the Royal Naval Dockyard to Hamilton took about 90 minutes, with, of course, several well-timed stops for pictures and to give the driver time to tell his stories of the island. We went through commercial areas, somewhat suburban areas and a few areas where crops grew. At one point, we came across a Saturday morning kids sporting event, not unlike what you’d see in the U.S., but instead of baseball, or soccer, the kids were playing cricket!
Having grown up on the island, and now at 80+ years old, our driver (Millard Lightbourne) is an elder statesmen among the locals. Everywhere we went, there was a friendly wave, someone he knew saying “hi.” The other tour guides we came across always deferred to him and actually let their tours sit in as he shared his stories! I won’t bore you with the details, but, it was quite fascinating to hear how the island has grown and evolved over the decades since it was first accidentally discovered by English settlers. He even shared his favorite AirBnB’s as we rode past them on our drive. (I took furious mental notes and was favoriting all of them on the web in the event we came back). We made it to town, had time for a quick bite, some souvenir shopping and back into the van we went for our trip back. Among the highlights, were a stop off at the Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse, Fort Hamilton, and the Bermuda National Gallery. By far the coolest stop was our walk along Horseshoe Bay, with it’s soft cerulean waves and pink sand. It was gorgeous in person (but hard to show in pics). Sadly, we eventually made it back to the boat and our tour ended, but, not without many great memories made.
Trip back to NYC
The trip back to New York was uneventful. We spent the sea day enjoying the incredible amenities of the Prima. Racing around the go-cart track and playing a dart game that scored for you was pretty fun, but, my favorite thing to do was the thermal spa. The saunas and heated loungers made all my aches disappear and I felt 100 times better. The food and alcohol certainly added to the positive vibes, but, there was so many activities that I couldn’t find time to do all that I wanted. It was a sad moment when we arrived back at pier 88 with the dread of real life rushing back to us. On queue, the rain started as we rolled our bags off the ship. It was at that moment when we turned to each other and started debating where to go on our next exploration.
