norwegian escape cruise to bermuda - part 1

after surviving a very, very busy spring dance recital season we decided that we earned a bit of a break.  we found a free week in our schedule during the last week in june, and after going through many different options, we made a last minute decision to book a cruise to bermuda the day after our last dance recital ended.  (when i say last minute, i mean we booked this vacation just four days before the cruise ship set sail!)  we found a great deal on a balcony cabin and took off to bermuda for some rest, relaxation, sun, and sand!

four years ago, ryan and i took a cruise to bermuda and loved it.  we went back to bermuda two years ago on another cruise with our families.  so, it was an easy decision to book this trip because we knew the itinerary so well and because we knew it would be an easy getaway with little planning needed.

we traveled to nyc and set sail aboard the norwegian escape to bermuda.  we sailed from nyc to bermuda, where we docked for three days, before sailing back to nyc.  we had a great time with amazing weather.  we've been home for a week now, and i've finally had time to sit down and sort through our many photos!  here are some photos from our time aboard the ship . . .

^we were so lucky to get a balcony on the back of the ship for this cruise.  we've had balcony cabins before, but never on the ship's aft.  it was an awesome view leaving nyc and getting to see the hudson river from that perspective.  it was also great because our balcony was bigger than the others on the sides of the ship which means we got lounge chairs in addition to our other chairs!  we used our balcony constantly!^

^the water slides on this ship were great.  we especially loved the enclosed tube slide which had lights inside of it.  there was even a clear section which went out over the edge of the ship.  that was awesome!  we rode that slide several times.^

^there was a water feature called the grotto in the back of the ship in the adult only section.  it looked like a rock structure and had water pouring out from the rocks.  it was super relaxing and refreshing!^

^i loved the ropes course located on the very top of the ship!  i got to do it twice while we were out at sea and it was an awesome feeling to climb around up there while the ship was sailing.  there are two sections called the planks which go out over the sides of the ship.  i did them both!  there was even a zip line on the ropes course.  ryan did the course once but sadly we didn't get any pictures of him because the first time he did it i went up with him, and when we went back with our camera for me to stay on the ground to snap some photos it was closed because of the wind.  i promise he did awesome though!^

^we asked one of the ship photographers to take a photo of us on our first formal night and he snapped this great picture on our camera!^

^a cool feature that this ship had was a dinner theatre called the supper club.  we've never done that on a ship before.  we did it during three of our nights on the ship.  we had different meals and different entertainment each night.  it was great!^

^we watched all of the shows at night in the main theatre.  since a few of the shows repeated, we watched them first from the audience and then went back to watch them from behind the tech boards.  it made us feel right at home!^

^we had awesome weather for all of the days we were docked in bermuda.  i love this photo of ryan on the water ferry in bermuda with our cruise ship behind him!^

^riding the water ferry gave us an awesome perspective of our ship both during the day and lit up at night.  when you get on the ship in nyc it's hard to get a true appreciation of it's size because of the buildings around it, but when you get off in bermuda and see it docked there, it's incredible!^

love, laurie