Bermuda has been on my radar ever since the Zika outbreak eliminated Caribbean destinations for a quick beach holiday. The fact that it's all of 2:15 away from NYC is in and of itself a major motivating factor, since I generally can't travel for more than 4-5 days at most with little to no flexibility regarding timing. I was actually contemplating SoCal or North Florida as well, but just when I was about to book, a Jetblue Flash Sale to Bermuda came up for my very specific dates and times and so, the decision was sealed. Thanks to the Jetblue promotion back in August, coupled with their kind thanks and subsequent double points promotion, coupled with the 6x points on Jetblue purchases on their World Elite Mastercard which awards back 10% of points redeemed and also awards free luggage, it was truly a no brainer!
So, let's start at the very beginning - a very good place to start...
Total RT pp
4,600 jetblue points plus 100.36 tax + fees.
Flights
We had an 8am flight from JFK. Uneventful hired ride to the airport, awful security lines, surprisingly no need to remove laptop or liquids from carry on and at the gate we are. With Jetblue in Terminal 5 with no Priority Pass lounges there, i checked out the T5 Rooftop which is directly across Gate 28. Nice little area to sit for some fresh air preflight. There are some tables, little grass hill and soft flooring for kids (didn't bring any), and a small enclosed Wooftop for pets (didn't bring any). Not a great place to watch takeoff or landing.
IMG_4738 by
luvto travel, on Flickr
IMG_4737 by
luvto travel, on Flickr
Upon boarding the standard Jetblue A320, I was pleased to find that selecting the aisle and window seat did in fact award me an empty middle seat. Free drinks, free movies (bring your own earbuds or spring $5 for a pair [50% off inflight purchases with Elite Mastercard]) and some Terra chips later, announcements were made for landing preparations. For those that have landed on islands before, this needs no explanation, but just WOW! The water, the islands, the rock formations, i have no words (and neither do i have pics of the landing since for some inexplicable reason my camera's battery decided to expire at this point.)
There is one airport in Bermuda, BDA - L F Wade International. We arrived to a remote stand to balmy 76 degree weather and after a short walk to a small, brightly colored building, found ourselves on a somewhat long customs line. There are several different lines, for residents, visitors and business visitors. Customs and Declaration forms were distributed on the airplane. I had arranged with my host to send someone for me at the airport, and therefore didn't have the address of the accommodations. I just filled in guest house when asked for my address where I'll be staying. After finally getting to the front and presenting our passports and forms, we were slightly afraid?miffed?annoyed? when asked to go to the Head Immigration Officer. Turns out that writing "guest house" is completely unacceptable.
As I had yet to activate the phone, I tried logging in to my emails to get the address of my host, but as this is Bermuda, there is no wifi in the airport, only if you sit on a specific chair in a specific position, possibly at a specific angle, since i could not get a working signal. When I shared my predicament with an officer, and told her I had someone outside who could provide her with the address, she was kind enough to step outside to acquire the address from the cabby holding my name card. From there we made our way to the baggage claim which was entirely empty save for our two suitcases, and on to the empty no declarations lane, and in Bermuda we are! We found the cabby immediately, since this is after all Bermuda and after a quick ten minute ride we found ourselves in paradise. Words cannot suffice. I'll let the pictures try to do it justice.
IMG_4780 by
luvto travel, on Flickr
IMG_4743 by
luvto travel, on Flickr
IMG_4742 by
luvto travel, on Flickr
