Bermuda Escape - Viking Orion - September 17 - 24, 2021

Yes, it is safe to travel. AND, on a cruise ship!

We were very honoured and thrilled to be invited by Viking Cruises to take part in this week long custom itinerary. We had never traveled to Bermuda previously, so there was a lot of excitement, not just to be traveling again, but on an amazing cruise line with this great itinerary.

First things first. The protocols to follow, in order to be able to travel:

1) Proof of double vaccination

2) Negative PCR test 72 hours to departure (it cost us $225/pp from Shopper's Drug Mart)

3) Online travel authorization to enter Bermuda (it cost us $75/pp)

4) Current passport

It may seem like a lot of extra work and preparation, but in the end it was definitely worth it.

Safety protocols aboard the ship, Viking Orion:

1) Hand washing stations at entrance to restaurants

2) Automatic built in hand sanitizers, everywhere

3) Facial recognition scanners to check your temperature daily, also at entrance to restaurants

4) Daily saliva testing (which was PCR appropriate, and was used for our journey back to Canada as well).

5) Masks were worn as you moved about the ship. Once seated in restaurant, bar, lounge or theater, you could remove (same for pool and surrounding areas)

6) A contact tracing device on a lanyard was given to have with you at all times

We started that morning with a fantastic breakfast on our stateroom balcony (which we decided we would do every day it was such a great experience). Then it rained, alot. Our excursion *Famous Homes and Hideaways* was postponed due to the rain but we finally walked to the boat. We got soaked, but had an amazing time nonetheless. In the afternoon we took a cab to Admiralty House Park and had great time snorkeling and enjoying a fairly secluded beautiful beach.

In the morning, we had Viking training, where we learned more about all the different itineraries and destinations. After that, we spent time at both the Infiniti and Main pool. It was a gorgeous sunny Sunday to just chill and relax. We also played Name That Tune and then later Trivia. Our team won both games ! We had an amazing sunset dinner, followed by a performance of Abba songs by the awesome entertainment team/band and ended off with a star gazing lecture in the Planetarium by the resident Astronomer, Lou.

To start this magnificent day, we enjoyed the included snorkeling and swimming aboard the Good Vibrations catamaran. Afterwards, we were supposed to go to the nearby Snorkel Park, but it was closed for a private event, so we ventured off to go snorkeling at Church Bay Park. It was a little choppy for me, but the others all snorkelled and said it was absolutely amazing. Our driver forgot to pick us up at the arranged time, so we used our resources (Tammy's thumb) and got a ride back to the ship where we had a circuit spa appointment in the amazing onboard Nordic spa. After dinner, we went up back up to the Planetarium to watch 3D movie on Astronomy and Arctic Life. Later we also had the opportunity to see Saturn through a very large telescope.

We set off to Horseshoe Bay, but upon arrival realized that unfortunately it was again too wavy for snorkeling, so we just enjoyed the beach. Such a beautiful 'pink' sand beach. We were quite shocked to see how empty it really was. On our ride back to the ship, our amazing driver took a few detours and gave us a lot of information about the island! We stopped at the Port Royal Golf Club for a drive through, and then had a brief overview of the smallest drawbridge in the world (only 22' wide).

Our first stop was yet another deserted beach! Elbow Beach was a wee bit choppy, so no snorkeling again. Just relaxing. I really noticed the colour of the sand at this particular beach, I tried to capture that in pictures below. Upon our return, we ventured out to the streets of Hamilton for some retail therapy. Once back on the ship, we attended a presentation on the Bermuda Triangle. We had our final dinner at the Italian restaurant and then we stayed up far too late listening to the onboard performer Michael and the entertainment band in the Torshavn lounge. A great end to a phenomenal week !

(below is best if you go Full Screen to see him perform)

It was quite fitting to see a rainbow just off our balcony in the morning as we prepared to disembark. It looked like it was going full circle under the ship. We had one to welcome us to Bermuda when we arrived, and this one to wish us bon voyage home.

In closing, were thoroughly impressed with Viking Cruises. Although the ship was only at about 45% capacity at that time, the staff and crew were above and beyond service oriented. We did enjoy the fact that it was Adults Only, also that Beer and Wine were included for lunch and dinner (there is a drink package available for purchase but we didn't see the need). Also, you can bring alcohol onboard, and even drink that alcohol throughout the ship

Travel back to Canada was easy enough. Our saliva test from the Wednesday was used for the PCR tested need for arrival back in Canada (we received a letter with our negative results to bring home with us). We also utilized theArriveCan app into which we had our double vaccination receipts and received a bar code for customs. The line ups in Toronto were a bit overwhelming because a few large flights had come in the same time as ours, but all in all it was about an hour and half to get through and get our luggage, and head home.