First time sailor(Civilian) :P

[cruizhalifax]

Good day everyone and nice to meet you all!

I put "Civilian" in the title as I use to be in the Navy. heh

 

We're two Canadians driving down to New York from Halifax to cruise down to the Bahamas :)

We're taking the NCL on Dec 14th leaving out of New York

 

I have some questions for you guys as it will be our first cruise.

 

1) Can we bring our own liquor? If so how much?

 

2) How crazy are buffet lines and what is the best time to go?

 

3) We haven't picked our room yet,

We won't be staying in the room too long during the days,

So should we either get the Balcony or Mini-suite?

Also is deck 8 fine?

 

4) Where could I expect to leave my car for a week while gone?

(We're trying to save money).

 

Thanks for everything and I'll be doing my booking Thursday once I get some answers. (Is cruise.com the cheapest?)

Edited October 28, 2014 by cruizhalifax

[Sauer-kraut]

Good day everyone and nice to meet you all!

 

We're two Canadians driving down to New York from Halifax to cruise down to the Bahamas :)

We're taking the NCL on Dec 14th leaving out of New York

 

I have some questions for you guys as it will be our first cruise.

 

1) Can we bring our own liquor? If so how much? You may bring on 750 ml bottles of wine, each is charged a $15 corkage fee. There is no limit, and the ship will store your wine for you and bring it out to any venue you choose to drink it (dining room or bar)

 

2) How crazy are buffet lines and what is the best time to go?Not right at opening or main dining time, and not when its getting ready to close. Just go a little off peak.

 

3) We haven't picked our room yet,

We won't be staying in the room too long during the days,

So should we either get the Balcony or Mini-suite? If not planning on staying in the room, why not book an inside? Lots of storage place and it will be cheaper. No need for a mini suite unless you want to splurge.

Also is deck 8 fine?

 

4) Where could I expect to leave my car for a week while gone?

(We're trying to save money).There is parking at the port, for other suggestions you should visit the North American Home Ports board for New York and ask about parking ideas over there. Some hotels offer a sail & park package.

 

Thanks for everything and I'll be doing my booking Thursday once I get some answers. (Is cruise.com the cheapest?)It all depends, you can't mention specific travel agents here on Cruise Critic, just keep googling cheap cruise fares and see what you come up with.

 

Hope you have a great time!

[tarps14]

Just to clarify a little more. You may bring wine onboard, however, you may not bring spirits (the hard stuff :D). Well, that is unless you're very creative at disguising it (but that's a whole other subject). The buffets, as Sauer-kraut (love that, btw! *the name, not necessarily the stuff), do get quite crowded around the usual meal times. Breakfast 8-9:30-ish, lunch 12-1:30 and then dinner about 6-8:30. However, NCL does their buffet set-ups a little different than most. They are more "stations", as opposed to one long never-ending line. Really helps to make things a bit more maneuverable. Seating can be a challenge during the busy times. My DH and I usually scout out a table first and then one of us goes and gets their food while the other holds the table.

 

I would still recommend a cabin with a balcony, especially out of NY. So many sights to see leaving port and the railings on the outer decks tend to get very crowded during this time. You will get many different opinions regarding this issue so that's kind of a self-serve thing. What ever serves you guys and your interests should be your deciding factor. The DH and I always like having our own private viewing space (although it does limit your view to only one side of the ship).

 

As for the fare question, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. Most online sites are going to be the same as the NCL site on the fares and taxes as NCL doesn't allow undercutting. However, online travel sites can offer some killer onboard credit amts or maybe pre-paid gratuities or some other amenity so make sure to do the math and see what will come out to your advantage.

Edited October 28, 2014 by tarps14

[Adele1]

You have received some good tips above. Personally, if money is concerned I would go with an inside room but that is your decision.

 

You also might want to go to Roll Calls on this site & sign up if a Meet & Greet

has been arranged by another cruiser. It is a good way to meet the officers and your fellow pax who might have tips re the ports since many have been to these ports before.

[HokiePoq]

Are you spending the night the night before? We found staying across the river from the cruise port in NJ much less expensive than staying in NYC. Our hotel was near the ferry and we walked from the hotel to the ferry and then the two blocks to the cruise port from the ferry on the NY side.

If anyone has a cheap idea about parking, I'd like to learn it myself.

On our last trip out of NYC, we rented a car both ways to avoid a parking issue for a longer trip. There were four of us and the car rental cost was much less than flights.

Previous advice is good. I would add that I've found no dinner waits on NCL if you go on the early side soon after the dining rooms open. No wait until they fill up.

The only time we've had a minisuite is after a price reduction made it the same as we paid for a balcony. Whether the cost of a balcony versus lower category is worth it depends on how much time you'd spend on the balcony and the time of year. One can get a view at sailaways up top when paying for an inside. If sitting on the balcony is important, it would be worth it if the itinerary has sea days so there would be daylight hours to enjoy it.

We use different online sites to get perks. Check those that advertise on Cruise Critic. We've booked with three different ones with no problems.

[cruizhalifax]

Thank you for the advice everyone!

 

To answer one of your questions, we won't be staying in New York the night before.

 

One last question for you all,

Is it better to book now or in December?

[ClarkBHM]

One last question for you all,

Is it better to book now or in December?

 

There's an extended discussion on another post about how pricing works and when it makes sense to "buy now" versus "buy later." I highly recommend checking out http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2115592

[garycarla]

Some very good advice already given.

 

Let me add some more:

 

Scroll down through postings from the past few weeks. You will find answers to questions you never knew you had. It will really help.

 

Read some reviews of your ship and similar cruise.

 

Join your Roll Call.