Southern Allure to Bermuda on the Oceania Regatta
4/19/14 to 5/1/14
Due to the length of the review, it is in three parts to help with the download time. The links to the other pages are at the top and bottom of the page.
Page 1 - Embarkation; Ship; Cabin; Dining; Entertainment; Activities
Page 2 - Ports of Call: Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas; Hamiliton, Bermuda; St. George, Bermuda
Page 3 - Ports of Call: Norfolk, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; Port Canaveral, Florida; Miami, Florida
Norfolk, Virginia
We saw the first lighthouse as we entered the Chesapeake Bay. Since it was 1:30 PM, I assumed that we would arrive earlier than the expected 3:00 PM docking time. I had no idea how far it was to Norfolk. I was enjoying seeing land after our previous day’s adventures on the high seas. As we moved toward Norfolk, we passed by another lighthouse and Fort Wool at the entrance to Hampton Roads.
It was a most interesting trip, since we were passing by so many of the large aircraft carriers and other ships that were docked at the Norfolk Navy Yard.
As we got to the city, I was getting more impressed with the Norfolk area. It was a very modern and attractive city.
As we approached the dock, I was surprised to see that the terminal was right next to the battleship Wisconsin. Now that was an impressive site.
Between the terminal and the Wisconsin was a building with the name Nauticus on in. We would find out that it was a maritime themed science center and museum. Since I had originally planned to rent a car and drive to Williamsburg for the day, I hadn’t researched Norfolk at all, so I didn’t know what to expect. This was looking to be a much better port than I had thought it would be.
As we pulled up to the modern cruise terminal at 3:00 PM (yes it did take us an hour and a half to get there), we got our first view of a mermaid on the welcome sign. Mermaids were established as the emblem for Norfolk in 1999 to represent the revitalization of the city. From what we could see from the ship, they had done quite a job over the last 15 years.
We were looking forward to seeing the area around the ship, especially since Dottie had told us that there was a NATO Festival through 5:00 PM that day. We still had two hours, so we weren't worried that we would miss it. Dottie also told us that everyone would have to clear immigration when we arrived, even if they weren’t getting off the ship. Clearance would be done in the terminal. She did say that they had 18 immigration agents, so it should not take too long. Boy was she wrong about that.
We got into the line at 3:30 PM, as soon as we were told that the agents were ready to check everyone in. With the line advancing very slowly as it moved through the casino and out onto the promenade deck, Dottie announced that only two of the computers were working, so we just needed to be patient. It took us an hour to get through immigration. We found out later that it took another hour before the line was finished. Totally unacceptable, especially for older people and handicapped passengers that just couldn’t stand for that long.
With us getting off the ship at 4:30 PM, we immediately walked over to the festival grounds to see what the NATO festival was about. Most booths were already shut down or were shutting down. Each booth had tourist information for the different countries they represented along with other activities. It is a shame that we missed most of it. At least we were feeling better about being able to spend the next day in Norfolk due to the modified schedule. It would have been rather foolish to just go through immigration and head back out to Charleston. Norfolk looked like a nice place to explore. Plus the next day was going to be a beautiful sunny day in the upper 60’s. Perfect for walking.
Getting off the ship the next morning was easy, since the adjustable ramp provides for a mild decline from the ship to the terminal. We had to pass through the massive 23,000 sq. ft. exhibit hall before exiting the terminal.
Upon exiting we saw a mermaid fountain named Karen. It was honoring a woman named Karen who devoted a lot of time to developing the city.
I was going to walk the Cannonball Trail by myself in the morning before coming back and doing some touring with Carol. I had picked up several brochures when we arrived the previous day, to see what looked interesting. The Cannonball Trail looked like it would cover all the places I wanted to visit and would give me a good sampling of the town. The trail was marked periodically with plaques mounted into the sidewalks.
There was another mermaid next to the Nauticus. A very pretty one named Princess Azalea.
I had to walk past the Wisconsin to get to the start of the trail. When I got in front of it I was shocked at how thin the bow of the ship was. It really looked strange.
In the background there was a Blue Angel F-18 Hornet on the outside of the Nauticus building.
As I walked further, I looked back and admired the massive battleship and its huge guns mounted on the front. Quite a site! We decided not to tour the USS Wisconsin since it was very similar to the USS Alabama that we had previously toured when we lived in Mobile, Alabama, where she is docked.
My first stop listed in the Cannonball Trail pamphlet was the Taiwan Friendship Pavilion. The Pagoda was a gift from Taiwan Province in 1989 due to a sister state relationship established in 1981 with the State of Virginia. It is a beautiful structure.
The grounds are so lovely and of course there was another mermaid there.
They had some unusual trees; and the azaleas were in full bloom and just gorgeous.
The main section of the Trail is along Freemason Street. It is a street with large 19th Century homes. The first home I came to was the Dr. William B. Selden House. The house served as the headquarters for the Union occupation troops. Additionally, a reception was held there for Robert E. Lee in 1870. This is the only home that I will provide a name and history for, since it was so special.
But the other homes and buildings are quite lovely and have lots of history associated with them also.
The brick street made the walk seem like walking back in time. It was a most pleasant and enjoyable walk.
As I walked past each of the homes listed in Cannonball Trail pamphlet, I read the descriptions and history of each. Of course one of the homes also had a mermaid in the front yard.
The Freemason Street Baptist Church is one of the most ornamental buildings in Norfolk. It was designed by the same person who designed part of the US Capitol including the dome.
Along the walk I could see part of the large modern MacArthur Center shopping mall.
I was most interested to see St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, which was built in 1739; since it was the only building to survive the British bombing in 1776.
I was so focused on seeing the church that I forgot all about seeing the British cannonball that is still stuck in the wall. It is where the Cannonball Trail gets its name. Later when I got back to the ship, Carol asked me if I saw the cannonball. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t, so I planned on going back after lunch; which is when I got these photos of it.
The next stop was at the MacArthur Memorial. There are several buildings in the complex and of course a mermaid.
The domed building itself is very pretty with a large statue of Douglas MacArthur in front of it.
Since the building wasn’t open when I was there in the morning, I came back later to get these photos of the General’s and his wife’s tombs inside the building.
Not far away was the Confederate Monument, dedicated in 1907 to Confederate soldiers killed in the Civil War. The water pool in front of the monument makes for a peaceful setting.
I was impressed with the Colonial style train stations.
On the way back to the ship, I passed by more lovely azaleas and of course mermaids.
Like in many older cities in the country, the U.S. Customs House in Norfolk is a great photo opportunity.
But Norfolk isn’t only about old buildings. Their World Trade Center, which is right across from the cruise terminal, is very modern.
Not far away is the Waterside Marketplace. It is another large shopping Mall right next to the ferry terminal and marina. At the marina was another mermaid.
One place I really wanted to visit was the Armed Forces Memorial. It was very close to the cruise terminal and I could see it looking down from the terminal; but hadn’t found a way to get in to see it.
We found out later that it was closed since a cruise ship was in port. Apparently they view the cruise passengers as a security risk. Kind of disappointing. I was however, able to climb up on a wall and get some closer photos of the 20 metal letters that are scattered on the ground of the memorial. They are letters from soldiers who lost their lives in battle. They are very touching. I was able to find photos of each letter on a Facebook page at LINK.
After lunch, I wanted to show Carol some of the sights I had seen. Of course she saw another mermaid close to the battleship before we headed to the Pagoda.
We both love red maples and azaleas, so I had to take a photo of Carol with them. I also got some other shots of the grounds.
We also saw the “Lone Sailor” statue; which is an exact replica of the one from the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, DC.
After looking around a bit more, I headed back to get photos of the cannonball and MacArthur tombs. I was glad I did, since I had missed seeing the large brass coins embedded in the curb all around the memorial.
Since we weren’t leaving port until 7:00 PM, I had plenty of time to go to Nauticus. When I had asked one of the attendants the previous day about it, he told me that some of the floors were free. I was glad to hear that since I didn’t want to go on the ship, and that was a major part of the admission price. While walking around the first floor I heard sounds coming from an escalator going up to a higher floor. I got on it to see what I assumed was the free area. All the way up the escalator there were video screens with narration about the Navy. When I got to the top of the elevator I was on the third floor. There were all types of nice displays. The first one was of the bridge of a destroyer.
The next room was all sorts of displays that kids could interact with. This was a really nice free museum.
In other rooms there were historical artifacts and underwater exploration gear. Very impressive too.
There was a mini-pond displays with live baby sharks swimming around. There were also several very nice aquariums embedded into the walls, one had Lion Fish.
After walking around that floor, I found stairs down to the second floor. The signs said that it was the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. It looked really nice with lots of memorabilia. They even had a Spanish torpedo from 1898.
The models of the Civil War ships the Monitor and the Merrimac reminded me that the famous battle between these two vessels happened there in Hampton Roads.
Another room had a recreation of “Life at Sea”. Another display had silverware from the a different area of ship. This was a very nice museum and well worth visiting.
After taking in other rooms and displays, it was time to get back to the ship. I was really surprised that so much of the museum was open to the public for free. I guessed that the only charge was for the actual Wisconsin tour. When I got down to the main floor to leave I passed by the escalator I had taken up to the third floor. Now there was someone checking for tickets before people could go to the third floor. I guess the third floor displays were what the tickets included. I had gotten a freebie, since the attendant wasn’t on duty when I passed through. If I had brought kids with us, it would have been worth paying to visit the third floor; but unless you wanted to visit the Wisconsin, the third floor alone wouldn’t justify the admission price to me.
After returning to the ship, I was quite glad that Oceania had changed the schedule so that we could enjoy the port of Norfolk. It was a great city with lots to see and do. We really enjoyed the mermaid city. We decided we would have to come back another time to visit Williamsburg. Which would make a lot of sense, since it takes more than one day to adequately explore Williamsburg.
Charleston, South Carolina
Part of our problem with changing the schedule for Charleston was that we had already pre-paid for two private Charleston excursions. We had booked a small van city tour and a boat trip out to see Fort Sumter for our first day in Charleston, since it would be a longer day. Both tours stated that the tickets could not be exchanged or refunded.
Our Concierge hero, Leandro, was able to call from the ship on the sea day between Bermuda and Norfolk to get our van tour moved to the day we would be in port. Because we would not be in Charleston long enough, he couldn’t reschedule the Fort Sumter tour; but he was able to get us a refund. It said a lot for Oceania’s customer service to help passengers with private tours. We were most impressed and grateful.
Our original schedule had us leaving Charleston at 3:00 PM. The revised schedule had us leaving at 4:00 PM; which did not allow us enough time to take the Fort Sumter tour which returned at 4:45 PM. But it did allow us to relax a bit more and enjoy the time we did have in Charleston.
As we approached Charleston we passed by the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. It had lots of jets on it.
When we docked we could see several warehouses near the terminal. One had a very bad roof. I was surprised that the building codes would allow it to remain in that state of disrepair.
From the ship we could also see another U.S. Customs house. It looked very much like the one we had seen in Norfolk.
There were also many church spires all over the city. We would find out during our tour that there are many religious buildings in Charleston, since it was a place of religious freedom in Colonial times.
Since we had been to Charleston before, we just wanted to take a short van tour. I found one through Charleston’s Finest Historic Tours (http://historictoursofcharleston.com/ ). The two hour tour only cost $23 per person compared to the Oceania’s $145 per person two hour tour. Oceania is known for their high excursion prices; but I was shocked they would charge that much for a two hour tour. We did have to take a cab from the dock down to the Charleston Visitor Center; but that only cost $8.00; and we could have taken the free Charleston shuttle to the Visitor Center if we had wanted to.
We arrived early at the Visitor Center, since we wanted to look around to see what was there. It was a nice place with lots of brochures, maps and a help desk. We enjoyed seeing a display of the handmade sweetgrass baskets. They are unique to the area and can be quite expensive. But they are gorgeous.
We found our tour guide for the day, Will. We chatted with him for a bit and could tell that this was going to be a most enjoyable tour. He was a charming, humorous and a knowledgeable fellow. He was just a pleasure to listen to. He would keep us totally entertained for the full two hours.
The van carried 24 people and was quite roomy and comfortable. I was glad I was able to get my ticket moved, since there was only one empty seat on the van. Surprisingly, we were the only passengers from the Regatta on the tour.
We saw a replica of the first submarine to sink an enemy ship back in 1864. The torpedo was attached to the end of a wooden pole.
Will then pointed out the Embassy Suite Hotel, which was the original building that housed the Citadel Military College. The city of Charleston requires that historical structures not be materially changed. It was a strange way to maintain a historical building. They could change the inside, but not the outside.
The main tourist attractions in Charleston are the beautiful and uniquely constructed homes. Many of the homes are built with the narrow side to the street with large balconies that are called piazzas facing the side yard or garden. Below are photos taken through the van windows, of several of the homes we passed by.
We saw the narrowest home in Charleston; as well as the home owned by the founder of the Piggly Wiggly food chain. Will pointed out the pig statues on either side of the stairs. I couldn’t get a great photo of the pigs; but I wanted to at least show what they looked like. Will said that every holiday, the pigs are dressed up. For Halloween they wear witches’ hats and Santa attire on Christmas.
Near one of the houses was a vendor who had some lovely sweetgrass baskets for sale. They are made from a local marsh grass, and are woven into intricate patterns. They come in all shapes and sizes, and they last 25 to 30 years.
Some of the grandest homes in the city are located in an area known as the Battery. They are really something and right on the water.
At one end of the Battery was a cannon and statue of a general from the Revolutionary War who later became a Governor of South Carolina, William Moultrie.
After the tour, we ate lunch at a local restaurant to try some Charleston style southern cooking. It was OK; but not worth recommending. We went there because it was close to the visitor center. We decided to take the free shuttle back to the cruise terminal. The busses are supposed to come by every fifteen minutes; but it took longer for us. The seats are not very wide and there isn’t much leg room on the bus, so they aren’t real comfortable. But, you can’t beat the price. Because the busses are free and so popular, they get pretty crowded.
It is a great service provided by the City of Charleston to get around town. I had originally thought that we would use the shuttle for sightseeing on our second day in town when we didn’t have any tours planned. I thought we could use it like a hop-on-hop-off bus; but it would not have been good for sightseeing. The windows were small and the view was distorted by the coating on them. The busses are just good for getting from one place to the other. You need a tour like we took to see and learn about the various houses.
The bus dropped us off by the U.S. Customs House; which was right in front of the ship, so I was able to get a photo of the building from ground level.
Everyone was ready for sail away at 4:00 PM; but nothing happened. I was concerned about leaving, since the modified schedule had us arriving in Port Canaveral an hour later at 10:00 AM. This did not leave us as much time to tour the Kennedy Space Center as we had hoped for; but it would be adequate since we would be leaving at 6:00 PM.
Time kept passing and the gangway had not been pulled into the ship. Around 5:00 PM, the Captain announced that we were having paperwork issues and he didn’t know when we would be able to leave. Good grief, this was all we needed. At 6:00 PM, the Captain announced that we were having customs clearance problems, and it could take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours to clear up. This was not looking good. Finally at 6:30 PM, we were able to leave. We found out later that the delay was something related to Oceania having to pay some fees. The Captain announced that he would try to get us to Port Canaveral between 11:00 AM and noon. That didn’t give us much time at the space center; but since we had already bought tickets online, we wanted to go. Unfortunately, the wind was picking up and the weather was deteriorating.
As we left Charleston, we passed by Castle Pinckney; which was a little used fort constructed in 1810. It isn’t even open for visitation.
We then passed by Fort Sumter. It is historically significant as the place where the first shots that started the Civil War were fired. After seeing it, I wasn’t too disappointed that we didn’t get to visit there, especially since the winds were pretty strong and the last thing we needed was a rough ride in a small boat.
Port Canaveral, Florida
The Captain had hoped that he could make up some time from the long delay leaving Charleston and get us to Port Canaveral by 11:00 AM; but strong headwinds slowed us down. The Pilot Boat joined us around 11:30 AM. I always like to watch the Pilots jump on or off the ship. Fortunately, it was an easy transfer for the Pilot that morning. I imagine it had been more challenging in Bermuda and Norfolk.
We could see the gantries at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as we came in. I was excited about finally getting to go there. We had lived in Florida for fifteen years and had never visited KSC. After a delay in getting clearance to leave the ship, we got off at 12:45 PM. That left us about four hours for our transfers and visit. Not very much time. Fortunately Ken and Joan from our Cruise Critic Roll Call group had set up a transfer with a very good service to take us to and from KSC. Bernie and Terrie, also from our roll call joined us.
Our driver and owner of the company was Jerry from www.SpacePortTransport.com. Ken had been communicating with him about the scheduling troubles we had been having. Jerry was so great with letting us modify the schedule. He would know when the ship came in; and told Ken to call him when we were about to get off the ship. He was waiting for us off the dock and took us to his van. He was a very pleasant fellow and most helpful with tips on what we should do first. This worked out very well since we didn’t have much time and his tips allowed us to see all the best sights.
On the way to KSC we passed by a strange looking building, the Port Canaveral Exploration Tower. It is a new tourist destination with observation decks and other activities.
After about twenty minutes of driving we came to the KSC sign. We were getting close. We were passing by all sorts of rockets that we would soon be standing next to. When we go to the parking lot Jerry dropped us off close to the entrance and we were on our way.
In the entrance area are a large NASA globe and a tribute to President John F. Kennedy, who the center is named for because of his efforts getting a man on the moon.
We had purchased our tickets online prior to the cruise from AAA. They had a nice discount on the ticket. The KSC walk-up rate was $57.95, internet rate was $52.95 and the AAA rate was $44.99. The other two couples we came on the van with hadn’t purchased their tickets ahead of time, so they had to go to the ticket booths and use some discount coupons they had. We just scanned the tickets we had printed at home at the turnstiles and went right in. Very convenient.
The first display we came to was the Rocket Farm with seven different types of rockets used by NASA. They were large enough where we got a glimpse of them on the van from the highway coming in. They were most impressive looking up at them. The largest one was laying on its side.
Sometimes I do some pretty stupid things. A display of the Mercury capsule that Alan Shepard used for America’s first manned space flight had steps up to it so people could see how small it was. For some reason, I thought it would be fun to get inside like the kids do. Well, I’m no kid and much larger than any of the original astronauts. I did manage to get in, but I couldn’t wait to get out of it.
Jerry had told us to take the bus tour first, since our time was limited and then spend time at the main complex when we got back. This made a lot of sense since we didn’t want to worry about missing a bus to get back to our return meeting place on time. It was also a good suggestion, since we wanted to be able to see the outside part of the tour before the rain started; and with the clouds that were coming in we didn’t know how much time we had. It was easy to find the tour bus loading area, since it was right next to the space shuttle solid rocket boosters and massive orange fuel tank. Also, the signage is excellent.
With the busses leaving regularly, we didn’t have long before the tour began. The bus driver did a great job of telling us about KSC and what we would see and do while on the tour. The busses were very comfortable with a great sound system and most importantly, very good air conditioning. It was a warm and humid day.
As soon as the tour started out, we could see the huge Vehicle Assembly Building. It is the third largest building by volume in North America and sixth in the world. To show how large it is, the driver told us that the American flag on the side of the building covered a full acre. We found it interesting that the largest building was the Boeing Factory in Everett, Washington; which we would be visiting the following month before our upcoming Alaska cruise. It is hard to imagine that the Boeing building is 3.6 times larger.
Our next photo opp was at a launch platform. After seeing this particular platform so many times on TV in the past, it was quite thrilling to see it person.
We saw some other launch platforms; but they weren’t as impressive as the first, since they didn’t have the large gantry on them. During the drive our guide kept talking about the large Crawlers that brought the rockets out to the platforms. He discussed that they were so heavy, 6,000,000 pounds, they had to water down the stones on the Crawler roads so that they wouldn’t overheat and pulverize from the weight. The water also prevented any sparks. When we saw the Crawler roads we could understand that the Crawlers must be rather large. Notice how small the truck is on the left side of the photo. The Crawler takes up the whole road with large tracks riding on the stone roads.
That part of the tour ended at the Apollo/Saturn 5 Center. This is the building that focuses on the Apollo moon missions. We had to wait about 15 minutes before we could enter the first phase of the building tour, the Firing Room Theater. It was a large room where they showed a video describing the history of the time, the Apollo missions and recreates the Apollo launch. It was most impressive.
When it was completed, the next room was set up with the original equipment used in the launch center for the Apollo missions. They showed another video about the missions.
When that video was completed, we entered the main exhibit hall. Wow! The first view is of the massive Saturn 5 rocket. Quite a site! It is 363 feet long and stretches out in the building beside other displays. The emblems for each mission were displayed along the length of the rocket.
It was fascinating to see each stage of the rocket, ending with the small capsule the astronauts were in.
The Lunar Excursion Module was displayed next to the last rocket stage. Walking around this building was like being in a candy store for techies. Each display was so interesting and I wanted to look at everything; but just didn’t have the time.
We had already spent almost two hours on the first part of the tour and only had about an hour until we had to meet Jerry to go back to the ship. As a result, we didn’t get to the Lunar Theater to see the recreation of the moon landing.
We got back on a bus to return to the Visitor Complex. On the way the driver pointed out an American Bald Eagle nest along the road. The eagles weren’t there yet, but he said that the same pair of eagles return every year.
One of the highlights of a visit to KSC is the space shuttle Atlantis display. The solid rocket boosters and fuel tank looked even larger looking up at them. I bet it was even more impressive with the space shuttle attached to the side of the rockets.
After climbing up a long circular ramp to get to the entrance of the main display area, we had to wait a bit before we could enter. Once again we entered into a large room for a video. When the video ends, it shows a large picture of the space shuttle Atlantis. When the screen lifts up you realize it was the actual Atlantis we were looking at through the screen. A very cool way to show it. You then walk into the hall where the Atlantis shuttle is suspended on its side where you can see inside the open cargo bay doors.
Unfortunately, we only had 20 minutes before we had to meet our ride back to the ship; which meant we only had 15 minutes to see the whole display. Just not enough time. We would definitely return in the future to spend a full day at the KSC to see all of the displays we couldn’t get to.
On our way out of the Atlantis building we saw a model of the Atlantis mounted on the rockets. One of the engineers had commented at the time that, "It was like strapping a butterfly onto a bullet". That must have been something to see in person when it was launched. Perhaps we will get up to Port Canaveral on another rocket launch someday, since it is only a three hour drive from our home.
When we got to the parking lot, Jerry was parked and waiting outside his van for us. He got us back to the ship on time for our last night on board. Shortly after we got back on the Regatta, the rain started. Perfect timing! Ken had found a dependable and reasonably priced transfer service for our visit. After tip, it only cost us $25 per person for the transfer both ways. Quite a deal.
One of the things that impressed Carol about the Kennedy Space Center was that it is not just for geeks. KSC is set up to appeal to everyone, especially young people. Everyone should visit and take the children. We grew up during the space race and remember how proud we were when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. Over time that pride sort of mellows out and we forget how good it felt. I challenge any American to go to this exhibit and not feel the pride and exhilaration over what these brave people accomplished.
Disembarkation
Since we didn’t have a plane to catch and we were in no rush, we had requested a 9:00 AM disembarkation. We had to be out of our cabin by 8:00 AM, so we went up to the Library to wait for our number to be called. Since most people were waiting on deck 5, the Library was a perfect place to wait. There was only one other couple sitting there with us.
The Miami skyline in the morning light was just gorgeous.
Disembarking was very quick and easy, other than having to wait in a line for an elevator once inside the terminal to get to the first floor baggage area. We have never been in a terminal that didn't have an escalator. That is probably another good reason that the larger ships don't use Terminal J. Since we had already gone through immigration in Norfolk, we just had to hand the agent our customs form. With the parking lot right outside the terminal, it was hassle free.
Recap
We really enjoyed our first Oceania cruise. We will forever be comparing the wonderful service on Oceania with other lines on future cruises. Fortunately we do have another Oceania cruise already booked for next year.
We also loved the beautiful island of Bermuda. We now understand why it is such a popular destination. Unfortunately, we will now also be comparing Bermuda to the Caribbean islands we visit and wish they could be more like Bermuda. All in all, even with the rough seas and modified schedules, we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed each port.
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