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Repositioning cruise--NY to San Juan, or Southern Caribbean Cruise?


barbaraanne

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Does anyone have any experience they'd like to share about doing a repositioning cruise from NY to San Juan (with stops at Antigua, St. Kitts and St. Thomas)? We're leaving Oct. 26 2008 on Caribbean Princess--will it be very cold the first two days out of NY? Are the staff coming on or off the ship in San Juan--in other words, is service as good as usual? Is it a pain to travel back to JFK from San Juan Airport?

 

I am thinking of changing the booking to the following week, which is a regular southern Caribbean sailing from San Juan (Barbados, St. Thomas, Antigua, St. Lucia, Tortola) on the same ship.

 

Anyone have any opinion or recommendation about whether to pick the repositioning cruise out of NY or the Southern Caribbean Cruise out of San Juan on the same ship? The repositioning cruise is cheaper by about $700.

 

thanks!!!

 

barb

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Which do you prefer, sea days or port days? A repositioning from NYC to San Juan has two and a half sea days. In October I would not worry about the temps, the weather will be balmy when you wake up the first morning. By afternoon you may be able to take rays. Antigua is a cool stop.

Your alternative is a more port intensive itinerary. We love Barbados (but many other people don't) but Tortola is a smelly armpit unless you take a tour.

Up to you. Either way will be fun. If you are from New York area, I would take the repositioning because flying is such a hassle. Never flown from San Juan though.

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there seem to be regular flights going from San Juan to NYC - check out Jetblue. We are considering doing a southern caribbean cruise for our next group cruise next year, and have found that flights are readily available.

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Thanks for your input. We decided to go ahead with the repositioning cruise and used the extra money for a night in San Juan at a 4 star hotel. Also, got tickets from San Juan home to JFK for $141 each from Delta. Jet Blue it great too, but you can't book tickets out that far, and I want to be sure to have the flight I want (non-stop, mid-day).

 

Thanks for the tip about Antigua--looking forward to it.

 

We'll be driving about 4 hours to the pier in NY from Utica that morning out. Wondering if we should park there or at JFK so our car is there when we get back. Any idea how much taxis are from JFK to pier???

 

Thanks!

 

Barb

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barbaranne -- I think you made an excellent choice. Old San Juan is a great place to stroll around. With a day in San Juan you might want to rent a car and see what else is there.

In Antigua we walked around in town, which had a really old weather-beaten cathedral, with an ancient graveyard. We then hired a cab who took us to Nelson's dockyard. Lots of history.

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I would call Avistar, and see if they offer any kind of shuttle service into Manhattan. Or... check out some of the park/sleep/fly type of places -- you might find one that'll shuttle you into manhattan, and hold your car for the entire time for the same amount that it would cost you to park your car near the airport. I would say that you are best off parking near the airport and getting transportation back into Manhattan.

 

ANOTHER option, is the Air Train - that'll take you into Jamaica, and you can grab the long island rail road into manhattan, and then a taxi from penn station to the pier. However... while that might be the least expensive option, it's also the biggest pain in the You Know What -- I can't imagine schlepping luggage for a cruise onto 2 trains and then a taxi.

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I know nothing about this but have read about this on CC. Anyway, very important.

Previous posters have alleged that pier parking is operated according to sailing schedules. In other words, if you don't conform with those schedules -- and a repositioning would not because it is not returning -- you may not be able get your car out from you parking pier. The suggestion is that since there may not be daily sailings, there might be no one there f the private parking contractor. What a hassle.

I think long-term parking near an airport is the best bet.

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I did the same repo this past October and it was terrific! We actually had balmy weather sailing out of NYC on Oct. 20... tho' weather that time of year can EASILY go either way (i.e., cold and blustery, even rain and snow... or mild... or inbetween).

 

Crown is a great ship, we had a wonderful time on the repo cruise. We planned a 2-nite post-cruise stay in San Juan (got the Intercontinental on Priceline for a great rate) and even though it POURED both days we were there, I liked it so much I can't wait to visit Puerto Rico again.

 

One-way air back to NYC is cheap and easy; we went with JetBlue, too. Can't advise re: where to leave car; we live in the city and had a friend drop us off at the pier and pick us up at the airport. If you don't have someone to do you a similar favor, you're probably better off leaving your car at the airport (or a nearby airport pre-cruise airport hotel)... tho' I don't know taxi rates from airport to cruiseport. (Try some of the local limo/taxi companies, all-sixes or all-sevens are their phone numbers.)

 

Have a GREAT time on the Crown!! I was just re-reading my travel journal from our trip; it's such a wonderful itinerary.

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Thanks to all of you who have helped us figure out how to best complete our repositioning cruise. If anyone else has ideas for how best to park for the week, plus one day in San Juan, please, speak up!

 

To recap, we are driving to NY and flying back to JFK. We have to park either at the cruise terminal or JFK and get transportation to/from.

 

Where best to park, and/or ride, for those not familiar with New York City?

 

Thanks!!!!!!!!

 

Bar

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