Getting There

By Plane

From North America's East Coast, you can be in Bermuda in approximately 2 hours. From London, England, the trip takes about 7 hours.

American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) flies nonstop, twice a day, from New York's JFK Airport and once daily from Miami. Departures coincide with dozens of connecting flights from elsewhere in North America.

Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) offers daily nonstop service from Boston and New York and two flights daily from Atlanta.

Continental Airlines (tel. 800/231-0856; www.continental.com) offers nonstop service from New Jersey's Newark Airport. Departures are twice daily. The low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways (tel. 800/JET-BLUE; www.jetblue.com) now offers two daily nonstop flights between New York and Bermuda. The 2-hour flights originate at Kennedy International Airport.

US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com) offers daily nonstop flights from Washington, D.C.

USA3000 Airlines, a low-fare, full-service airline, is now the newest air route to Bermuda, flying three times weekly from the Baltimore/Washington International Airport and twice weekly from Newark. For more information, check www.USA3000.com.

United Airlines (tel. 800/538-2929; www.united.com) offers daily service from Chicago.

Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.ca) offers daily nonstop flights from Toronto, with frequent connections into Toronto from virtually every other city in Canada. The flight departs around 9am, permitting convenient connections from Montreal and Quebec City. The airline also offers a nonstop flight from Halifax on Saturday at noon.

The airline of choice from the United Kingdom is British Airways (tel. 0870/850-9850; www.britishairways.co.uk). It flies from London's Gatwick Airport from 5 to 7 times a week, year-round. No other airline flies nonstop between Britain and Bermuda.

Most airlines offer the best deals on tickets booked at least 14 days in advance, with a stopover in Bermuda of at least 3 days. You might need to stay over on a Saturday night to keep fares down. Airfares fluctuate according to the season, but tend to remain competitive among the companies vying for a piece of the lucrative Bermuda run.

Peak season (summer) is the most expensive time to go; low season (usually from mid-Sept to mid-Mar) sees less expensive fares. The airlines that fly to Bermuda seldom observe a shoulder (intermediate) season. Because most aircraft flying from North America to Bermuda are medium-size, there's space for only two classes of service: first class and economy.

Packing Tip -- Bermuda is more formal than most resort destinations, so men planning to dine at upscale restaurants should be sure to pack a jacket and tie.

By Cruise Ship

Cruise ships tie up at three harbors in Bermuda: St. George in the East End, the Royal Naval Dockyard in the West End, and Hamilton Harbour at the City of Hamilton. However, ships coming into the harbor at Hamilton may be on the wane.

While the cruise experience isn't for everyone, it's very appealing to some people, and is certainly a carefree, all-inclusive vacation. Ships from the East Coast of the United States reach Bermuda in a little over a day. You'll spend a few full days (usually 3) moored at the island, exploring during the day and returning to the ship at night. It's convenient and comfortable -- like having a luxury hotel and restaurant that travels with you.

Of course, that's also its major disadvantage. Most cruisers don't get to know the real Bermuda as well as those who stay in hotels ashore. For instance, cruise-ship passengers generally eat all their meals aboard the ship -- mainly because they've already paid for the meals as part of their cruise price -- and so they miss out on sampling Bermuda's cuisine. They also rarely get to meet and interact with Bermudians the way land-based visitors do.

Seven-day cruises out of New York usually include 4 days at sea, with 3 days in port.

Which Cruise Line Is for You? -- If you decide that a Bermuda cruise is right for you, you'll need to choose your cruise line. Some lines want their passengers to have a totally action-filled vacation -- with activities from sunup to sundown. Others see time at sea as a period of tranquillity and relaxation, with less emphasis on organized activities. The cruise lines listed here offer regularly scheduled Bermuda sailings.

• Celebrity Cruises (tel. 800/647-2251; www.celebrity.com). Noted for modern, state-of-the-art, large-but-not-mammoth cruise ships, and for exceptional cuisine and service, Celebrity is unpretentious but classy. It's several notches above mass market but still competitively priced. Cabins are roomy and well equipped, and, in general, the decor is elegantly modern, eschewing the glitz of some competitors. Celebrity attracts a broad range of passengers, including families drawn by the line's children's programs. The line's Constellation offers 11-night cruises in October to Bermuda, leaving Bayonne, NJ and ending up in Fort Lauderdale.
• Norwegian Cruise Line (tel. 866/234-0292; www.ncl.com). NCL offers affordable (sometimes downright cheap) down-to-earth cruises. Norwegian Dawn sails to Bermuda from the port of New York for 7-night jaunts April to October, and Norwegian Dream offers similar 7-night cruises from Boston May to October. NCL's ships offer a great roster of activities and sports, of both the active and the spectator variety. The ship even has sports bars with links to ESPN, so you won't miss the big game. NCL's innovation is what they call "Freestyle Cruising." As part of this concept, passengers are no longer assigned a dining time; instead they can eat at any time, in whichever dining room they choose, with whomever they choose, every night. Dinner dress code is "resort casual," with occasional dress-up nights that are completely optional. Not surprisingly, NCL tends to attract a somewhat younger, laid-back crowd. Most passengers are couples age 25 to 60, with a fair number of honeymooners. Families with kids tend to show up during holidays.
• Princess Cruises (tel. 800/PRINCESS; www.princess.com) achieved fame when its flagship became the venue for The Love Boat TV series. It's been going strong ever since, and started including Bermuda in its 2008 cruises. In October it sails from New York to San Juan via Bermuda. A special feature of this vessel is that 80% of its outside staterooms have private balconies. Expect lots of company, as the vessel carries 3,100 passengers.
• Royal Caribbean International (tel. 866/562-7625; www.royalcaribbean.com). The atmosphere onboard these vessels is a little more high-energy than that of Celebrity's ships, and roughly comparable to that of NCL's. Stopovers include 2 days in St. George and 2 1/2 days in Hamilton Harbour. Grandeur of the Seas includes Bermuda in its 5-day itineraries from Baltimore April to June and September and October. The Explorer also sails to Bermuda on 9-night cruises from Bayonne, NJ, April and June to August, as well as October. You can find all walks of life on a Royal Caribbean cruise. The common denominator: passengers looking for fun and action in an attractive setting. Most passengers are couples, but there also tend to be plenty of families and singles onboard as well. Overall, passengers are active, social, and looking for a good time, no matter what their age.

How to Get the Best Deal on Your Cruise -- Cruise lines operate like airlines, setting rates for their cruises and then selling them in a rapid-fire series of discounts, offering almost whatever it takes to fill their ships. Because of this, great deals come and go in the blink of an eye, and most are available only through travel agents.

If you have a travel agent you trust, leave the details to him or her. If not, try contacting a travel agent who specializes in booking cruises. Some of the most likely contenders include the following: Cruises, Inc., 1415 NW 62 St., Suite 205, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33009 (tel. 888/218-4228; www.cruiseinc.com); Cruises Only, 100 Sylvan Rd., Suite 600, Woburn, MA 01801 (tel. 800/278-4737; www.cruisesonly.com); The Cruise Company, 10760 Q St., Omaha, NE 68127 (tel. 800/289-5505; www.thecruisecompany.com); Kelly Cruises, 1315 W. 22nd St., Suite 105, Oak Brook, IL 60523 (tel. 800/837-7447; www.kellycruises.com); Hartford Holidays Travel, 129 Hillside Ave., Williston Park, NY 11596 (tel. 800/828-4813; www.hartfordholidays.com); and Mann Travel & Cruises, 4400 Park Rd., Charlotte, NC 28209 (tel. 866/591-8129 or 704/556-8311; www.manntravelandcruises.com).

A Few Money-Saving Tips

• Book early: You can often receive considerable savings on a 7-day cruise by booking early. Ask a travel agent or call the cruise line directly.
• Book an inside cabin: If you're trying to keep costs down, ask for an inside cabin (one without a window). They're often the same size and offer the same amenities as the more expensive outside cabins. If you're planning on using the space only to sleep, who needs a window?
• Take advantage of senior discounts: The cruise industry offers some discounts to seniors (usually defined as anyone 55 or older), so don't keep your age a secret. Membership in AARP, for example, can net you substantial discounts; always ask your travel agent about these types of discounts when you're booking.
• Don't sail alone: Cruise lines base their rates on double occupancy, so solo passengers usually pay between 150% and 200% of the per-person rate. If you're traveling alone, most lines have a program that allows two solo passengers to share a cabin.