Thread: HAL's Veendam Misses Bermuda Due to Weather

Windy weather conditions scuppered any chance of the Veendam anchoring off St. George’s this week.

The cruise ship has not had much luck this year — it has been forced to sail straight into Hamilton on five of its seven journeys from New York.

The run of bad fortune has left many shop owners in the town frustrated despite the fact the ship’s 1,300 passengers are all given ferry and bus tickets to get around the island.

The Veendam docked in Hamilton yesterday morning and leaves at 2pm on Friday on her way home to the Big Apple.
Passengers

Another two cruises are due to arrive in Dockyard today — both regular visitors to these shores.

The Norwegian Dawn and her 2,300 passengers are expected in the west end aptly at dawn and she is here until Friday when she heads back to New York.

The Celebrity Summit is due to arrive just a few minutes later from Cape Liberty.

The ship — which makes 17 trips to Bermuda this year — also heads back to the States on Friday afternoon. This weekend Dockyard will again welcome an influx of more than 8,000 tourists.

The Caribbean Princess and Explorer of the Seas are due to call into the west end on Saturday, while Sunday sees the arrival of the Norwegian Spirit from Boston.

Meanwhile, the research vessel Pelagia is expected to arrive back at Penno’s Wharf, St. George’s, tomorrow.

The ship’s latest expedition saw her travel to Cape Lookout off North Carolina to study cold water coral communities on the sea floor.

I have yet to see Bermuda....because of high winds!
That port was canceled a couple of times when it was scheduled on transatlantic cruises.

We have done a couple of cruises to Bermuda out of New York -- one on NCL and one on Princess many years ago. The ships were smaller and not heavy thus we were able to dock at St Georges.

With this new situation -- and using the BIG ferry most of the time, the time for ferrying can be quite long at times. So if I were doing this Vendam cruise I would much rather dock in Hamilton and use the free shuttle to go over to St Georges.