A warning to anyone going to Bermuda: DO NOT USE THE MINIBUSES

Following an EXCELLENT Discover Scuba Diving lesson near David's Head (my wife is now excited to get certified!), we were placed on a Minibus to return to the Dockyards. Immediately after leaving the 9 Beaches Resort, our driver stopped to pick up two young men on the side of the road. Having been to quite a few Caribbean islands, this wasn't so surprising. When one of them fell into the back with us, slapping my wife in the head as he did so, the eight of us started to get nervous. As his slurred apology segued into an obscene rant against "Americans, Canadians, all them f*cking foreigners" we got more nervous. When he began to whisper how he was going to cut off my wife's hair and rape her upside down, we began to angrily protest to the driver. She made him sit up front next to her and continued driving, saying she knew his mother who'd be ashamed of him. He responded that he'd been to jail already. When he started telling us how his nickname was "Skins" because he skinned people alive, she finally kicked him out of the bus. We spent the next two days in Bermuda looking over our shoulders.

I spoke with several passengers who said they'd seen a pretty steep decline in Bermuda's hospitality, starting right about the time they reached 100% employment. Has this been anyone else's experience or was this probably a one-off thing?

Sorry, nomadstravel, I am wondering if this story is for real. Never heard of such an experience in Bermuda. Nor have I heard that their employment has ever been anywhere near 100% since tourism has been down in the last several years and many of their hotels and business have closed resulting in unemployment for many. If this story is true, you should have reported the minibus driver to the Shore Excursion office of the cruise line on return to the ship, or if not, you have some other agenda going on. I just find it difficult to believe, sorry.

charli,

I definitely wish this wasn't true and I did report it to the Norwegian Dawn's Shore Excursion Desk. I posted here because, so far as I could tell, there was no meaningful follow-up by NCL. My wife and I have cruised with NCL five times now and have been thrilled with the company, its ships, and its employees- until this cruise.

I'm glad to hear others' have not experienced this kind of thing in Bermuda and I am planning to go back to dive. But I will never get in a vehicle operated by West End Minibuses again.

Nomad: Well I believe you. I am sorry to hear of this but am dismayed by the non-response to your issue by NCL. Frankly that's worse. Have you tried to go up the ladder so to speak? I would do that until I got a reply even if it took a reg. letter to the top guy, CEO, chairman, or whatever.

SADLY, crime is up in Bermuda and tourists are targets when they leave their stuff on the beach with locals watching.. If this really did happen. the woman bus driver did the right thing and I'm terribly sorry. Sadly Bermuda isn't the Bermuda of 15 or 20 years ago...shops have closed on Front Sreet.. I don't keep up with the Royal Gazette lately but I know it's stil not as bad as the other islands in the Caribbean and I can't wait to go back

I'm sorry to hear Bermuda has had some problems. We cruised there In October 2000 from NYC and felt safe at all times. We took a ferry from the Dockyards to St. George's, visited Gibbs Hill Lighthouse (went there by bus) and had tea there, walked around both areas where we docked with no problems whatsoever. Times do change, unfortunately sometimes for the worse. We loved Bermuda and were impressed by the friendliness and help we got from the locals.

Thank you, nomadstravel, for not yelling at my response - I really didn't want to believe you. I hope that your experience was a one-time thing and very unusual. We will hear more if it isn't, I'm sure.