NewYears cruise out of New York?

[LizG12]

I'm thinking of doing a cruise late December out of NY - either Royal Caribbean or Norwegian.

 

Besides the possibility of a snowstorm, and that it's chilly (cold) for the first / last days ... is cruising out of NY a bad idea at that time of year? (The benefit to NY is no flights are involved)

 

Royal or Norwegian? I've done both, and I've got pros/cons for both. The Norwegian is the Daybreak (I think?) and has the solo rooms available, but the reviews for the ship is so-so. The solo cabin means it's less $$ than Royal, but a standard cabin on NCL vs RCCL is about the same.

 

Thanks

[Scrapnana]

For me, the idea of no flights would outweigh the chance of bad weather.

 

Does one ship have an itinerary that you prefer?

[cruiserking]

Holiday cruises out of New York City are great fun and always very festive. If you live in the tri-state area it's a huge bonus to not have to fly anywhere.

 

The NCL Breakaway looks like a nice ship but, for what you pay for a standard balcony you can practically get a suite on RCCL's Explorer of the Seas.

 

I love sailing out of the cold New York weather and feeling the gradual weather change to balmy tropical breezes by the end of the first sea day, it's cruise ship magic.

 

Jonathan

[LizG12]

Scrapnana - They've got the basically the same itinerary - one leaves from NY, the other from NJ, but close enough to not be a deal-breaker.

 

Jonathan - I usually go for the inside cabins, and there's not as much price difference there. NCL has the solo-studio (or whatever they call it) that's a few hundred less than the regular cabins, I'm not in the tri-state, but it's less than a 5hr drive (traffic permitting...) which is manageable. Probably drive up the day before though.

 

Maybe I'll flip a coin and decide that way :D

[SnowDiamonds]

Holiday cruises out of New York City are great fun and always very festive. If you live in the tri-state area it's a huge bonus to not have to fly anywhere.

 

The NCL Breakaway looks like a nice ship but, for what you pay for a standard balcony you can practically get a suite on RCCL's Explorer of the Seas.

 

I love sailing out of the cold New York weather and feeling the gradual weather change to balmy tropical breezes by the end of the first sea day, it's cruise ship magic.

 

Jonathan

 

must strongly agree with that! cruise ship magic indeed.

[Keith1010]

Cruising over the holidays is great and if it was me I would do it.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

If you can save money by booking the solo cabin on Norwegian -- do it.

In the winter - - sailing out of NY or NJ -- the weather will not be great -- so I wouldn't even consider a balcony.

Let us know what you decide.

You are wise to drive up a day early in case of bad weather.

[cruiserking]

Scrapnana - They've got the basically the same itinerary - one leaves from NY, the other from NJ, but close enough to not be a deal-breaker.

 

Jonathan - I usually go for the inside cabins, and there's not as much price difference there. NCL has the solo-studio (or whatever they call it) that's a few hundred less than the regular cabins, I'm not in the tri-state, but it's less than a 5hr drive (traffic permitting...) which is manageable. Probably drive up the day before though.

 

Maybe I'll flip a coin and decide that way :D

 

Then perhaps you will sail the NCL Breakaway. You'll save money, sail from Manhattan - one of the great sailaway thrills of all-time - and cruise on a brand new ship.

 

As decisions go this is a fun one to wrestle with. :p

 

 

 

must strongly agree with that! cruise ship magic indeed.

Today 03:51 AM

 

;)

[marco]

If you are going solo, I'd do a single room on NCL (for the better price). ALso, depending where you are coming from and what your mode of transport is, we find the Manhattan terminal MUCH more user friendly and convenient than Pt Liberty, and if you're going by bus or train, the Manhattan terminal is easier and less expensive to get to.

[Mom2B&Z]

We sailed out of NYC for New Years Eve 2012. Sail away is cool, we had our mittens, hats and fleece coats on, but we were quickly into shorts by the end of the first sea day. Weather in Fl and Bahamas was 27C (80F) which is beautiful for us! Coming back my boys and DH were in the pool and hot tub on the last sea day, but they were the only ones. Conversely, I was in my mittens, hat and warm coat watching them lol! It was a great trip and we are repeating it in March, 2014. As for the balcony, we used ours every night except the first and last. This time we have an aft penthouse suite with a balcony that I imagine we may live on lol! If you can find a balcony sheltered from the wind it will have more usable days than those that are not sheltered. It also depends on your cold tolerance, we were downhill skiing in -20C (-4F) weather before leaving on this trip, so 4C (39F) for sail away felt balmy ;)

[Keith1010]

I would not flip the coin.

 

Read the member reviews section to get a feel for what others say.

 

Keith

[LizG12]

Keith, I was looking at the ship descriptions on RCCL and NCL and I realized I sailed on the same RCCL ship last year. The NCL breakaway has mixed reviews, although most of the complaints were re slow/bad services in the dining rooms. I did see one (I don't think it was on this site though) that said the ship already looked 'worn out' even though it was brand new, but no details about what that meant. I don't usually mind slow dining room service since if I'm planning to go to a night show, I eat at the buffet, but bad (aka rude) service is something else.

 

Marco - right now, I'm thinking of driving, but depending on parking costs, I may change my mind and take the train in (weather depending though)

[marco]

OP: Unless they go up AGAIN, parking at the pier is $35 a day. There are some places fairly close by that are a little cheaper. I think parking is less expensive at Pt Liberty. We have been on RCI a few times out of NJ and last year we did NCL out of NYC. We won't sail on NCL again! We're not big fans of the "Freestyle" experience.

[EGG]

Holiday cruises are magical. We've done them on Explorer, HAL to Hawaii and Cunard to Hawaii. You have not said where you live but a train to Port Liberty is not a viable option. However there is a park and ride hotel frequently mentioned on the east coast port of call board that is very reasonable.

 

As others have said, on Explorer you can probably sit outside with a fleece the first afternoon at sea in the partially covered solarium. You do not need a balcony for this cruise. Get the least expensive cabin and enjoy.

[Essiesmom]

If you sail RCCL, you can drive up the day before and stay ON in a hotel that has free parking and free shuttle to the port (and back). think Hilton Garden Inn /Hampton Inn on Staten Island. The cost of the hotel would be less than the cost of parking at the port in NYC. EM