Where to go for 3-4 nights in January/February?

[starfish54]

We are planning to take a short trip down to Caribbean or just somewhere warm in Jan/Feb.

We cruised with NCL twice before and were mostly happy both times. I was actually planning of going to Cayo Levantado directly by ourselves but reading horror stories of transfers from Puerto Plata, and knowing how comfortable it was to just take a shore excursion directly from ship, I don't want to go through an airport that's 100 miles away + boat ride for just 3-4 nights.

 

We want to be away, but not too far from home.. West coast is going to be costly and time consuming, so we prefer to sail from east coast to a warm climate.

 

Suggestions are welcome. :)

[LHT28]

A cruise to Bahamas

A cruise to Cozumel

 

land trip to Florida

[Colorado Kat]

For 3-4 nights, I would try Western Caribbean, Cozumel, Cayman, Roatan type places.

 

It will probably be warm, but that can be hit or miss. Last year on that itinerary, in Jan, we had a storm come in, and Cozumel was chilly (no water activities). My daughter needed jeans, and a sweat shirt for Cozumel. Truthfully, it was only cold one day, and the other days were swim suit weather.

[starfish54]

Thanks, which cruise line is going to Cozumel with 3-4 night itinerary? I couldn't find one.

I really was hoping to go to DR, but there is nothing for that destination with a short trip either.

 

The best one seem to be NCL (just a habit) Norwegian Sky with 3 or 4 nights to Bahamas only. I know Bahamas can be a bit cooler than other destinations, knowing that the climate is very similar to FL, in fact little more windy. But I cannot find anything else that goes further down south. Any ideas?

[okgirl]

Carnival has several cruises.

 

4 day from Miami on the Imagination to Key West and Coz for $179

4 day from NOLA on the Elation to Coz for $219

4 day from Miami on the Destiny to Key West and Coz for $249

4 day from Tampa on the Paradise to Coz for $250

[Scubadoobie2]

Check, especially, Liberty of the Seas. Of course, read these Boards to see if the ship and the cruiseline are right for you.

[paul929207]

Carnival, NCL, RCCL and Celebrity offer 3 & 4 day cruises. Check them out to see whidch itinerary is of interest to you.

[jdvmd]

Celebrity is offering some four- and five-night trips.

[cruiseapril]

Carnival has some short cruises from Charleston, Jacksonville, and Port Canaveral- to the Bahamas.

[cb at sea]

Not sure I'd want to pay airfare for just 3-4 nights! But, anything below Florida should be nice and warm!!!

[kruzerci]

Check out Liberty of the Seas, she is just about the newest and best ship you can find for anything under 7 nights.

 

Celebrity is also doing some 4 nights this winter.

[starfish54]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

I checked out Liberty of the Seas, it looks very nice, but comes with a price and only one stop. (Cozumel) Also whenever it is added, the trip automatically becomes 4 nights.

 

I noticed that Expedia really revamped their cruise search options, I am hitting that right now looking at 3-5 days and then drill down. Once I have few left, I will come back for suggestions based on line, since I never cruised with anything other than NCL.

 

About the duration, we are planning to leave our 16 month old son with the relatives and grandma, so we want to make it as short as possible, but not too short. And anywhere with a flight distance is not going to be warm enough, and with the cruise we can at least relax on the boat even if the weather is not good. Flying directly to Caribbean would be a pain as it is, forget about the local travel, etc.. Unless we land right next to the beach with hotel at the airport. :)

[starfish54]

For NCL, I assume GSC is still tender, and Nassau is probably direct call?

 

Norwegian Sky, 1/13-1/16 | 1/20-1/23 | $149/$169 - $339/$319 | Miami, Florida - Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - Miami, Florida

Majesty of the Seas, 1/13-1/16 | 1/20-1/23 | $179/$229 | Miami, Florida - Coco Cay, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - Miami, Florida

Carnival Imagination, 1/12-1/15 | 1/19-1/22 | $189-$359 | Miami, Florida - Nassau, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - At Sea - Miami, Florida

Monarch of the Seas, 1/13-1/16 | 1/20-1/23 | $219 - $189/$214 | Port Canaveral, Florida - Nassau, Bahamas - Coco Cay, Bahamas - Port Canaveral, Florida

 

Then rest are 4 nights.

I think I am down to above four. Any quick pointers about any one of the above? Preference one over another?

[Friend100]

Check out Liberty of the Seas, she is just about the newest and best ship you can find for anything under 7 nights.

 

 

Newest ship doing 3-4 nights is the Disney Dream. I think she is the best too but I do like Liberty of the Seas.

[John Bull]

Not sure I'd want to pay airfare for just 3-4 nights! But, anything below Florida should be nice and warm!!!

 

Was thinking the same thing myself.

And any sailing out of NYC would take longer, including some pretty cold days.

 

I think I'd budget to include a bribe to grandma ;)

 

JB :)

[kruzerci]

Newest ship doing 3-4 nights is the Disney Dream. I think she is the best too but I do like Liberty of the Seas.

 

True. I never thing about Disney but I should have realized a lot of people do.

 

I was considering the mainstream lines CCL, RCI, NCL, and Princess, I should have clarified that.

[jdvmd]

For NCL, I assume GSC is still tender, and Nassau is probably direct call?

 

Norwegian Sky, 1/13-1/16 | 1/20-1/23 | $149/$169 - $339/$319 | Miami, Florida - Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - Miami, Florida

Majesty of the Seas, 1/13-1/16 | 1/20-1/23 | $179/$229 | Miami, Florida - Coco Cay, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - Miami, Florida

Carnival Imagination, 1/12-1/15 | 1/19-1/22 | $189-$359 | Miami, Florida - Nassau, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - At Sea - Miami, Florida

Monarch of the Seas, 1/13-1/16 | 1/20-1/23 | $219 - $189/$214 | Port Canaveral, Florida - Nassau, Bahamas - Coco Cay, Bahamas - Port Canaveral, Florida

 

Then rest are 4 nights.

I think I am down to above four. Any quick pointers about any one of the above? Preference one over another?

 

Majesty and Monarch are much older ships. Also, getting to Port Canaveral will require you to fly into Orlando and then make the 60-mile trip to the Port. I would get rid of that one.

 

Great Stirrup Cay is still a tender port and in Nassau you are docked.

 

Disney does allow you to bring wine as well as other alcohol and beer.

NCL allows you to bring wine onboard for a $15 per 750ml bottle corkage fee.

RCCL allows nothing to be brought onboard.

 

Did you look at the Celebrity sailings?

[starfish54]

Thanks for the suggestions, they are really valuable.

And thanks for reminding me about the liqueur policies. Although we don't plan on drinking, and since we rarely check our luggage (with 3 night cruise, we most likely won't anyway) carrying bottle will be a problem unless we can pick up something nice at the airport. And if we just drink a night out of three, on-board should be OK.

 

I totally forgot about Celebrity, but sad thing is they don't have anything for 3 nights, other than their inaugural sailing which is pretty pricy.

 

Similar to Monarch, Disney also sails out of Port Canaveral, and for some reason it is also very pricy.

 

We found out that we will have some visitors on the 18th, so we will have to take the cruises that sail by 12 or 13th.

 

It sounds like you guys really like Liberty of the Seas. I was thinking about Cozumel should be warmer than Nassau, but the weather reports show similar, if not cooler temps at Cozumel compared to Nassau for the next 10-15 days in the area. Again, as much as I like Ft. Lauderdale option, it will be too long out in the sea.

 

[b]Norwegian Sky,[/b] 		1/13-1/16 | $149 - $319 | 	Miami, Florida - Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - Miami, Florida
[b]Majesty of the Seas,[/b] 	1/13-1/16 | $149 - $169 | 	Miami, Florida - Coco Cay, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - Miami, Florida 
[b]Carnival Imagination,[/b] 	1/12-1/15 | $189-  $359 | 	Miami, Florida - Nassau, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - At Sea - Miami, Florida 

 

Is Majesty of the Seas really that old? They have a deal for NY Residents and it goes to Coco Cay which is somewhere we haven't been to before. Unless the ship is too old and Coco cay is nothing special, I can skip that, and we would be going on Norwegian Sky, then. Freestyle was pretty cool last time.

 

I think we covered all possible options, including two that did not initially show up with Expedia.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for the suggestions, they are really valuable.

And thanks for reminding me about the liqueur policies. Although we don't plan on drinking, and since we rarely check our luggage (with 3 night cruise, we most likely won't anyway) carrying bottle will be a problem unless we can pick up something nice at the airport. And if we just drink a night out of three, on-board should be OK.

 

I totally forgot about Celebrity, but sad thing is they don't have anything for 3 nights, other than their inaugural sailing which is pretty pricy.

 

Similar to Monarch, Disney also sails out of Port Canaveral, and for some reason it is also very pricy.

 

We found out that we will have some visitors on the 18th, so we will have to take the cruises that sail by 12 or 13th.

 

It sounds like you guys really like Liberty of the Seas. I was thinking about Cozumel should be warmer than Nassau, but the weather reports show similar, if not cooler temps at Cozumel compared to Nassau for the next 10-15 days in the area. Again, as much as I like Ft. Lauderdale option, it will be too long out in the sea.

 

[b]Norwegian Sky,[/b]         1/13-1/16 | $149 - $319 |     Miami, Florida - Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - Miami, Florida
[b]Majesty of the Seas,[/b]     1/13-1/16 | $149 - $169 |     Miami, Florida - Coco Cay, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - Miami, Florida 
[b]Carnival Imagination,[/b]     1/12-1/15 | $189-  $359 |     Miami, Florida - Nassau, Bahamas - Nassau, Bahamas - At Sea - Miami, Florida 

 

Is Majesty of the Seas really that old? They have a deal for NY Residents and it goes to Coco Cay which is somewhere we haven't been to before. Unless the ship is too old and Coco cay is nothing special, I can skip that, and we would be going on Norwegian Sky, then. Freestyle was pretty cool last time.

 

I think we covered all possible options, including two that did not initially show up with Expedia.

 

Coco Cay is the island that is right next to Great Stirrup Cay. At this time of year, a lot of ships miss going because they cannot operate the tenders due to rough sea conditions. We were on the Soveriegn of the Seas a few years ago in February and we couldn't make it to Coco Cay.

You should think about putting all of these cruises out on the website that allows travel agencies to "compete" for your "cruise" business. I cannot name it but if you put a www. in front of the second word in quotes followed by the first word in quotes and add the word "com," you will get it. Free service.

[starfish54]

Booked on Norwegian Sky. Thanks for all the suggestions and comments. Let's hope the weather plays nice so we can tender to Great Stirrup.

[jdvmd]

Congratulations! We are doing the same trip in February! Have a great time!

[navybankerteacher]

Booked on Norwegian Sky. Thanks for all the suggestions and comments. Let's hope the weather plays nice so we can tender to Great Stirrup.

 

You made a good choice - Miami is fairly easy/cheap to get to from New York. Of course, the water temps in the Bahamas may be a bit cool -- but the weather is sure to be a lot better than New York's.

[starfish54]

jdvmd, have fun! I thought Sky would be much smaller compared to other ships, but it doesn't look like it..

 

navybankerteacher, As long as it is sunny and comfortable, we will be happy. Today we had 15F around noon in NYC. You must have felt the frost up in CT as well. :)

 

As for getting to Miami, we couldn't find anything decent to Miami that goes well with boarding/ disembarking schedule, the prices were very high to Miami otherwise, so we are going to FLL instead. It still was not cheap!