My husband and I went to Bermuda in 2007. We definitely couldn't afford the hefty price tag of the hotels. We booked an apartment through a rental site that was recommended on TripAdvisor. The downside is that the primo properties are booked months in advance. We lucked up and got a place (that's no longer rented!), right along South Street (or was it South Shore Road?). Site is bermudarentals.com..check out TripAdvisor for feedback on the company.

I dream of going back to Bermuda, but have so many other places on my bucket list, that I'm not sure when I'll get back. It was such a perfect trip; the beaches aren't to be missed. I saw the cruise ships docked...it doesn't compare with hopping on your moped whenever you wish and just plopping down for the day at Horseshoe Bay.

We did a carnival cruise to Bahamas from Baltimore a few years ago. Carnival was awful. The armpit of cruise companies, if u ask me. Stay away from them. Loved ROyal Caribbean previously. Leaving out of Baltimore was a cinch though and worth not flying somewhere else to board.

Costa Rica for four days? Did you go to the coast?

Tulum, Mexico. About 2hrs drive south of Cancun, so easy and cheap to fly in. A variety of lodging options from full service all inclusive resorts to tiny resorts with beach-front cabanas.

Anonymous wrote:I did the Bermuda cruise from Baltimore on NCL and had a great time. Very cheap - basically we used the ship as our hotel and spent the entire day on the island.

Thanks. I do love the idea, but we only have 3-5 days. So, I am now looking at plans b and c.

I did the Bermuda cruise from Baltimore on NCL and had a great time. Very cheap - basically we used the ship as our hotel and spent the entire day on the island.

Anonymous wrote:OP: 2 words:
Costa Rica

We did a 4 day trip over Columbus Day weekend (Oct) as our first foreign trip together and loved it. Cheap and good.

Op here. I like cheap. I will look into this. Thank you. I have pretty much given up on the Bermuda idea, b/c of 1) not cheap and 2) lack of 3-5 day cruises there.

I am also looking into Bahamas now. Thanks for the C . Rica suggestion!

OP: 2 words:
Costa Rica

We did a 4 day trip over Columbus Day weekend (Oct) as our first foreign trip together and loved it. Cheap and good.

Search this forum for "Bermuda cruise." There have been previous threads.

My personal opinion is that as appealing as the idea is, the ships that sail from Baltimore are lower quality and hence not worth it.

There are no 3 day cruises from the East coast to Bermuda.

OP here. Thank you all so much. Ok, so it definitely sounds like a 3-5 day cruise to Bermuda does not exist, and any cruise to Bermuda would be taking place in the Fall, not the spring. Hmmm. Ok, I think we may have to go back to the planning board and try to figure out a new place to do a 3-5 vacation over Mem. Day Weekend 2013. Hmm, if anyone has any suggestions, I am totally open. Maybe I should start looking into like the USVI or Puerto Rico, or somewhere else warm on the Eastern Seaboard between here and FL. . . . . .

I just posted that cruises out of Baltimore are ending this fall. I just checked Royal Caribbean and they have some back on their schedule for next spring! They are 7 nights long.

Bermuda is very expensive - a decent hotel room is $550+/night, and dining is very high end and expensive, like dinner for 2 = $100+. Plus, I believe the cruise goes where you would want to be anyway if you had a hotel room in Bermuda instead - Horseshoe Beach (beautiful!!!), and downtown Hamilton.

I LOVED Bermuda, and would love to go back this summer (but had DD 7 months ago).

I am about to do it this fall and know a lot about it. My parents have already done it and really liked it. They had already been to Bermuda numerous times and other cruises out of Florida and Europe. They liked the ease of driving up to the port with no flying, etc. They were on Royal Caribbean and that is what we will be on this Fall. I think they also liked that the ship stays in Bermuda for consecutive days so there is less chaos getting on and off and you can spend more time on the island.

I have heard from many that the cruise option is less expensive than flying and staying in a hotel but I think that depends on the type of cabin you get on the ship versus whether you can get a cheap flight/hotel/resort combo. If you do a cheaper room, it will be cheaper to cruise.

As for the length, the Baltimore cruises are usually more than 5 days. You will sail out in the late afternoon and spend the next day or two at sea. You will arrive in Bermuda early or midday the next day, stay two nights and then spend another entire day at sea before arriving back in Baltimore early the next day. I do not think a 3 night to Bermuda exists.

One thing you should know. I think that Baltimore cruises to Bermuda end this Fall. I have no idea why. Royal Caribbean will be moving its Bermuda Cruises to NJ and Norwegian will have its out of NYC and Boston (NCL doesn't go out of Baltimore now). Carnival had some cruises out of Baltimore to Bermuda but I think they are stopping those too. I think you could still drive to NYC or NJ fairly easily but it won't be as easy as Baltimore. Hope that helps.

Who has done this and what can you tell me about it?

We are interested in going on a 3-5 day cruise over Memorial Day Weekend 2013 for our 10-year anniversary.

What cruise lines do this route? I've never booked a cruise before so do I just book directly through them? Or should I contact a travel agent?

We are thinking it would be less $$ to do it the cruise way rather than flying there and then spending $$ to stay in a hotel because we have heard Bermuda is so expensive. Is this true? Would anyone disagree with this and advise us, rather, to do the flight/hotel thing? If so, any suggestions for which airlines fly there and/or hotels? Again, would we be better off going through a travel agent or is this the type of trip we can plan ourselves? This is what we typically do but we are kind of graduating from the "penny-pinching, back-pack all around Europe and crash in hostels and cheap hotels" type of trip and for this, our sort of first real "adult" trip, are wondering how the heck you go about planning this type of trip.

Thanks for any input or suggestions!!!