Norwegian Star New York to Bermuda September 2012 Part 2
Norwegian Star New York to Bermuda September 2012 Part 1 found here.
Interview with Captain Kenneth Harstrom found here.
Interview with Sharkbait found here.
Norwegian Star Food Photos and Menus found here.
Day 6 – Friday
I decided to get some sleep while my roomie went into Hamilton to get her passport stamped. (Bermuda visit proof!) Around 9:15 slowly but surely I was starting to wake when the phone rang. I stumbled around in the dark to get it. It was Rashida calling from guest services to let me know that I had a time slot to interview the Captain and could I be there by 10! She mentioned she was glad that I was on board and I told her that after last nights activities that was about the only place I could be! 🙂 I hung up the phone and got ready, somewhat hampered by my neck and back being sore from all of the dancing I still made it in time to be escorted to the Bridge.
In an effort to be prepared I brought both of my cameras with me only to realize that I inadvertently moved my main video camera away from Captain Kenneth instead of towards! Which left me with video from my smaller camera only which not realizing that would be all I’d have to rely on I’d moved around a bit. So I apologize for the sketchy movements, but the sound has been synced so you’ll be able to see most of and hear the entire interview.
After doing that I went to have one of my favorite snacks. Pistachio pound cake and a drink for the Java Cafe afterward it was time to head back upstairs to deck 11, but this time for the Bridge tour led by 2nd officer T. Gima. I had a chance to meet Babes Algabre who is the Deck/Engine Secretary. This time I went up to her and mentioned that we’d met a few months ago when my husband and I were there on the Star for the Bridge tour. She said she thought I’d looked familiar and we took another photo together. I’m even wearing nearly the same hair style. 🙂
With a few hours in Bermuda still left I left the ship and went to walk around dockyards. After a while I noticed a sign that said “Glass Bottom Boat Tours” I thought to myself “Why not!” and bought a tickets that was discounted from $23 to $20. I was the last to arrive for the 12:45 sailing but was able to find a comfortable spot inside on the MV Destiny.
We took a leisurely ride to the shipwrecked Vixen and surrounds. The coral below isn’t as colorful as what you’ll find in some places because Bermuda is semi-tropical and the color of coral will depend on how warm the water is consistently. It was still a nice trip and feeding the fish was enjoyable. They’re just waiting for tourist boats to show up. I’m not sure what kind they are but they look like Piranhas when they’re going after their grub. For those wondering I took Destiny Water Tours, if you take this tour don’t forget to say hi to “Cooky” as well as have a Rum Swizzle or two.
Captain “Cooky” Brown
Once the boat arrived back to port there was about another hour to go before I had to be back on the ship so I went back over to the Clock Tower Mall in the Dockyards area and went to a vendor where I’d previously bought some flip flops back in May and once again on this trip. Now normally I’m not a flip flop wearer but there were some of the most comfortable sandals I’ve ever worn. They’re the rocker type and are made in such a way that you want to wear them to do everything. I only took them off this past summer for occasions and events where I just don’t wear sandals, but I was sorely tempted. They’re only $12.50 so I figured with 3 pairs I’ll have them to wear for the next couple of years!
Walking back over to the Norwegian Star I heard a lot of music. As I entered the terminal I realized that it was coming from right outside of the ship. Once I got there I saw Sean Wurmhoeringer the Hotel Director, Shaielendra Sawant Restaurant Manager, Rashida Ramos Asst. Guest Services Manger and a host of others there, welcoming everyone back with damp cloths to wipe their face and hands with and non-alcoholic jello shots. There were even clowns and others from the circus troupe! What fun!
Later that evening we head to Sharkbait. I was going to go for the 9:30 show but decided to head to the 7:30 show instead since my ability to stay awake past 10:00pm had been shown to be sadly lacking.
Day 7 – Saturday
The last sea day on the Star. The last full day on the Star! Noooooo I don’t want to think about going home yet! After a few days it becomes home! She may not be the newest in fleet or even the prettiest but she’s a fun ship with a fantastic crew and she has a bunch of areas where you can watch the ocean go by, sit and read a book, enjoy the sunshine or hang out with other passengers and enjoy the company.
I like to go up to deck 12 and walk around her, from the quiet space in the front that nice and huge and rarely crowded, to the back sauna area and the general pool deck space where I head to the top and look out over the “sea” of people or the actual sea. There are hundreds of deck chairs about and frankly even during the times that the pool area was crowded there was one available.
By the way if you’re a vegetarian or Pescetarian and are looking for a veggie burger pool side, head to the permanent grill station in front of the waterslides. Just ask them for a veggie burger and they’ll make one for you.
So on this last day my friend and I both woke up fairly late, got a bite to eat and then we went to the juggling workshop run by the comedians Sharkbait. They’re pretty good at showing you what to do and breaking it down into smaller steps and I noticed a few people including one kid that really got the hang of it, however despite this being my second time at this workshop (even bringing my own juggling balls that I’d bought from them in May) I still succeeded only about once! Thank goodness I never ran away to join the circus…perhaps I’ll try my hand as the Silks one day though.
By previous arrangement after the workshop and their Q&A session they very nicely allowed me to do a video interview of them for my blog. I truly hope that they become very famous one day soon because not only are they funny but they’re very personable as well.
That afternoon after sitting outside on the pool deck taking in the breeze and doing a bit of people watching I skipped the offer of the chocolate covered strawberries that were being handed out by some of the crew and in a little while we decide to find a drink. There were a few tastings offered Martini, Margarita and Beer. Since Martinis aren’t something that we would regularly have, we thought it would be a great idea to go there. It was a great deal 4 Martini‘s for $15, and they were full size! The 4 types were Passionate, Melon, French Kiss & Chocolate Raspberry they were delicious and yes I drank all 4…completely! Yummy!
We met a fellow Cruise Critic member while there and had a good time talking to him as well as his “typist” 😉
For dinner we decided to head to Teppanyaki along with the Triathlete that we met at the beach and her brother that was on board for a bridge tournament. I had the tofu and while the food was good and the service great, the truth is I was too tired (and full from Martinis) to eat much! Sacre Bleu!
Day 8 – Sunday
We woke up around 7am got ready to leave the Star ( insert sad face here) I took my thank you and “Vacation Hero” cards and left them on the front desk and then heard up stairs to the Market Cafe to grab a plate of food that we took back to our room to quickly eat. The nicest thing is, if you didn’t have time to do this there were crew members walking around.
After a quick debarkation and picking up my luggage (my friend is a light packer) we were back in the Manhattan Pier 88 terminal wistfully saying goodbye to the Star and taking a little peak at the Norwegian Gem (Sinan are you in there? LOL) that was docked on the other side.
We crossed the street and I hopped in a cab back to where I’d parked my car in Queens.
This trip was fun and relaxing and truly made special by quite a few people who live and work there including Captain Kenneth Harstrom, Kyle Dodson, Sean Wurmhoeringer, Shailendra Sawant, Katya Prayakova, Rashida Ramos, Sharkbait, Gede Burwat, Babes Algabre, Rasheda and Bruno from the 2nd City cast and so many others some of whom whose names I did not get. As well as other Cruise Critic members and my roomie “D” who was the nicest, most pleasant cabin mate a girl could have.
Hubby and I are booked on the Breakaway next year which will be docked sailing to Bermuda and I know that the Norwegian Star will be moving on to other routes, but I’ll always have fond memories of sailing her to Bermuda once right before summer and once right after. Here’s to taking a cruise on her again in the future.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop me a line at travelxena@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to get back to you in a timely fashion. 🙂
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