Bermuda Ports For Cruise Ships

Bermuda ports where cruise ships dock

There are three Bermuda ports for the cruise ships calling Bermuda.

Royal Naval Dockyard

Located at the western end of Bermuda in Sandy's Parish, Royal Naval Dockyard has two berths or piers - Kings Wharf and the newly built Heritage Wharf. The berths are lined up one after the other as you can see in the picture. This is where most of the cruise ships dock these days. The piers can accommodate large passenger ships.

The older berth at the Kings Wharf was inaugurated in 1990 by late Princess Margaret. However in early 2000 it was realized that a second berth was necessary for future of Bermuda's tourism.

So the Heritage Wharf was built in 2009 as planned although it overshot the construction budget by 70%. Protection of the pregnant dolphins at the nearby Dolphin Center was supposed to be one of the main contributors to such cost overrun. The new dock at the Heritage Wharf was built originally for Voyager Class of ships and not the latest Genesis Class. So it had to be redesigned several times, which too heavily added to the extra cost. However the largest and the latest cruise ships can now dock here.

About 300,000 visitors come to Bermuda every year by cruise, and most of the ships dock here at the dockyard. So it's a busy port. During the high season (April to October) you will see large cruise ships docking here almost everyday.

This huge dockyard complex where the cruise berths are located was once a base of Royal Navy and built by the British in early 19th century. It has come a long way since. It is now one of the top sightseeing and tourist attractions in Bermuda. Check out Royal Naval Dockyard to know about the complex and all that it offers.

St. George's Town Bermuda

St. George is located at the eastern end of the Bermuda. And the port here is located in St. George's Harbor between the Gates Fort and Higgs island. The cruise channel called Town Cut which is used by the ships to enter the port is quite narrow. Although it has been widened in the past, only small to medium size ships can pass through the channel and dock at St. George these days.

At times even heavy winds cause difficulty for the captains to navigate the ship through this channel. There had been instances earlier where ships had been diverted to the port of Hamilton city in such cases, which is about 15 miles from St George and is centrally located. As the water is becoming shallow at the St. George Port due to continuous deposits, there has also been cases when cruise ships had to anchor a little further away in a nearby water area called the Murrays Anchorage. And the passengers had to be ferried between the ship and the shore.

The cruise berths at St. George's are located at Penno's Wharf and Ordnance Island. Both can take ships of up to 750-foot length. Once you get off at the ports, you can easily walk into the town in minutes.

St. George is well connected to Hamilton City by both Bus and Ferry services. There is also a ferry service between St. George and the Royal Naval dockyard between April to November. Find out all about St George Bermuda.

Update October 2011: A study by the Ministry of Transport showed that cruise ships that are longer than 680-foot and wider than 94-foot can no longer safely navigate through the Town Cut channel and dock at the St. George's Port. So out of the total of 165 cruise ships that operate to Bermuda from US and Europe, only 26 can enter through this channel.

Hamilton City, Bermuda

The City of Hamilton is centrally located in Pembroke Parish and is the port capital of Bermuda. The cruise berths are located on Hamilton Harbor and along the Front Street.

Due to overcrowding of the city when passenger ships dock here, the number of cruise ships calling Hamilton port has been reduced in recent times.

These days only one or two cruise lines are allowed to dock here. The narrow channel through which the cruise ships enter the Hamilton Harbor is known as the Two Rock Passage. This channel is located off the north shore of Bermuda and in between two large rocks, and hence the name.

Hamilton City has 2 cruise berths. Both can take ships of up to 750-foot. So only small to medium size ships can dock here. A big advantage of the Hamilton Port location is that you can walk right across to Front Street as you come out of the ship. Front Street is the main bustling place of Hamilton with all the glittering shops, best of restaurants and activities.

There is a public ferry terminal at the western end of Front Street. A direct ferry to the dockyard takes about 25 minutes. St. George is also connected by ferry via the dockyard. The city has the main terminals for Bermuda buses. So you can easily reach out to any place within the island from here. Check out Bermuda Transportation for all the transport options in Bermuda.

Update October 2011: A study by the Ministry of Transport has revealed that cruise ships that are longer than 720-foot are unable to safely navigate through the Two Rock Passage and dock at the Hamilton port. This leaves only 30 small ships out of the total of 165 that currently operate from Europe and US to enter the Hamilton port. This includes the Veendam and its three sister ships.

Bermuda Marinas

There are marinas in many places in Bermuda providing mooring and other services for boats and yachts. Here is all about marinas in Bermuda: Bermuda Marinas

Check out Bermuda Cruises to know all about cruises calling ports in Bermuda.

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