We recently cruised on the Pearl to Bermuda and stayed in The Haven. We were excited about our first vacation since before the pandemic. We applied 30 days before the trip for our Bermuda Travel Authorization and took the proctored Covid tests. You have to take a test 2 days before embarkation, which is fine. I didn't get my authorization until 8:00pm the night before so if you get it later, don't worry (they are very busy especially with last minute applicants).

Our room was nice, we had a stateroom with two balconies (work hard, play hard). Upon arrival, our concierge handed us off to a new employee who took us to check in to our stateroom. The gentleman had trouble scanning my wife's card. He didn't scan it properly and we waited in a hallway while another employee fixed it. We were led to Moderna for lunch while we waited for our room. The waiter at Moderna reluctantly took our order and never returned but he waited on a man two at the next table. That was our first hint that this cruise was not going to be the same as our wonderful Norwegian Alaska cruise. We then dined at Cagney's one night and the waitress sat us by the kitchen where employees were coming in and out by our table. She then asked how we knew each other and if we were sisters (we look nothing alike). I replied that we were married. While we appreciated the comeback, it was awkward. The last experience we had, which influenced our decision to no longer book a Norwegian cruise, happened at Le Bistro the second time we dined there. My wife ordered a dish that she couldn't finish and wanted to take it back to our room. The waiter told her that he could not let the food leave the restaurant do to health reasons, we asked his manager as this seemed odd since we saw several people returning to their rooms with leftover dinners. He was wrong and it was taken to our room. The food just wasn't as good as our other cruise.

A lot of people were intoxicated the entire time, they really push the open bar deal. Whatever works, it was a fun atmosphere. Same folks you would probably see at a Patriot game. We went to Horseshoe Bay twice (wear sunscreen!). Once by excursion and once we took a shuttle for $7 each way. You can shop the Dockyard in a half day so if you like the beach, I recommend going twice and getting the most out of the trip, you can shop and eat at the Dockyard after a nice day at the beach. Read more