Oct/Nov 2016 - NY departure (possible new ship?)

[MrMike45]

My wife and I have pretty much done 2 cruises a year from NY. One in April/May, one in October, the last few years

 

Oct/Nov the Gem seems to be going into drydock. The cruises all leave from NY but disembark in Puerto Rico. No full circuit loops like norm where the end point is NY.

 

The Breakaway is running 7 days to Bermuda nonstop from April-Oct 2016.

 

Is there any chance NCL brings another ship to NY for the months the Gem is out of service? Or during those times, will the only full loops be the Breakaway?

Edited August 27, 2015 by MrMike45

[tomk3212]

I would certainly think so! We used to live in NJ and one BIG reason we started cruising regularly with NCL was because they were the first cruise line to sail year round out of NYC. They started with the Dawn and then the Dawn and Spirit. When the Gem was built in '07 they moved her there after her trip from Europe where she was built and she's been cruising out of NYC ever since.

 

The NY/NJ/CT market is HUGE and it seems a lot of folks cruise out of NYC. The fact that they made NYC the home port for their brand-new ship the Breakaway instead of Miami is a testament to how big and important this market is to NCL. Carnival now sails year round out of NYC, I believe, and RCCL does the same out of Bayonne, NJ.

 

Tom

[Jane Don]

During that time, the Gem departs from San Juan for alternating itineraries. Returns from SJ to NY on Dec 19.

 

The itins. from SJ are really great.

[MrMike45]

During that time, the Gem departs from San Juan for alternating itineraries. Returns from SJ to NY on Dec 19.

 

The itins. from SJ are really great.

 

My wife was on a flight from JFK to Boston on 9/10/01, day before Sept 11th nd one of the same routes. She hasn't and probably won't ever be on a plane again. So flying home from San Juan is just not doable

[rvsullivan]

I'm not sure where they could borrow a ship from? Gem is doing a couple of Northern cruises in early October, but that's it until December. Getaway is the only choice.

[cliffd64]

To answer your question, the ship will be repositioned to San Juan during that time. It will return in December. There will be no replacement ship. Perhaps you should try the Breakaway.

[Turtles06]

 

Oct/Nov the Gem seems to be going into drydock. The cruises all leave from NY but disembark in Puerto Rico. No full circuit loops like norm where the end point is NY.

 

 

Why not try out the Anthem of the Seas from Cape Liberty, NJ?

[MrMike45]

To answer your question, the ship will be repositioned to San Juan during that time. It will return in December. There will be no replacement ship. Perhaps you should try the Breakaway.

 

We were going to do the Breakaway to Bermuda in May, but might wind up changing that to Oct and do the Gem earlier in the year

[MrMike45]

Why not try out the Anthem of the Seas from Cape Liberty, NJ?

 

We've only cruised with NCL to this point, but have wanted to check out either Carnival or RCCL just to see the differences. So that's another idea

[MrMike45]

Thanks all for the responses. Didn't really think it would happen but who knows. As you can see from my signature, since 2013, it's been the Gem and Bway only for us as those 2 were the only ships in NY. Our first few cruises, the Star and the Jewel were in NY, so didn't know if that could be a possibility

[cliffd64]

Thanks all for the responses. Didn't really think it would happen but who knows. As you can see from my signature, since 2013, it's been the Gem and Bway only for us as those 2 were the only ships in NY. Our first few cruises, the Star and the Jewel were in NY, so didn't know if that could be a possibility

 

I keep hoping as new ships arrive, one of the older ones can make a permanent home in San Juan during the Fall/Winter months before heading to Alaska in the summer. Those San Juan itineraries are great especially when done as a back-to-back. San Juan has the advantage of being in the Caribbean already, so ships can travel to more exotic locations without the huge fuel expense. Places like Grenada, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, and Dominica tend to get overlooked these days. It's good to see NCL going back to those places :)

[mking8288]

Looking ahead, don't think - IMO - there will be any bargain cruise fares for booking out of the NY/NJ market. Has anyone checked out closely what's available out of Baltimore port - it's well within easy driving distance, for us.

 

Meanwhile, our TA's got some great deals this Fall/early next year - we are flying next weekend, going abroad for 2 weeks - new cities & new itineraries, on the super jumbo doule-decker Airbus 380's a/k/a the whale.