When to cruise.

[cdn_tbird]

My wife & I decided to celebrate our 15th anniversary with a cruise next Nov and have narrowed it down to two possible 9 day cruises (almost identical ports of call).

 

The Celebrity cruise sails out of Miami on Nov. 16, and the Norwegian cruise sails out of New Orleans on Nov. 26th. We were hoping to avoid throngs of travelers, however with US Thanksgiving falling on the 23rd I don't think that's going to happen.

 

If we do the Norwegian Cruise, I was hoping to fly down a couple of days early and revisit some of our favourite music venues before the cruise. The Celebrity cruise simply means that we'd be flying home on the 25th.

 

Hoping that some of the members here that are very familiar with travelling through the US over the Thanksgiving holiday can offer some advise. How would flying into New Orleans on the Fri. be compared to flying out of Miami on the Sat.? Since this is supposed to be a romantic getaway for us (we're ditching the kids with grandma), would we run into more families cruising the week before or the week after Thanksgiving? Or should we be looking at different times?

 

Thanks.

[rose6]

The American Thanksgiving period is one of the most travelled, and as a result airports will be extremely crowded. If you have flexibility in your schedule I would suggest booking a cruise in early December when you will have fewer children on board and less crowded airport conditions. Also prices may be lower in the weeks prior to Christmas.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Agree with the above poster.

Also NCL will attract more children than Celebrity which is more formal.

[cdn_tbird]

Thank you Rose 6 & Krazy Kruizers. After discussing it a little more with DW, we're leaning more towards the Celebrity Equinox cruise. Hopefully with us flying back to Canada on the Saturday instead of Sunday will help avoid most of the US Thanksgiving travel chaos.

[Buck Turgidson]

We liked cruising out of New Orleans, we arrived a couple of day's early to enjoy the French Quarter and other sights. There was a local Jazz festival in Jackson Square we really liked and a nice trolley ride through the Garden district. Also Jambalaya.:)

[SPacificbound]

My choice would be Celebrity. :)

[donaldsc]

Thank you Rose 6 & Krazy Kruizers. After discussing it a little more with DW, we're leaning more towards the Celebrity Equinox cruise. Hopefully with us flying back to Canada on the Saturday instead of Sunday will help avoid most of the US Thanksgiving travel chaos.

 

We have booked a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale that ends the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We usually fly home from Florida to Las Vegas on Southwest. When we checked on flights a few days ago, there were absolutely no seats available at a price that we were willing to pay.

 

I realize that incisive you are flying to Canada and a doubt that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving. However, you may find that the holiday chaos will be as bad on Saturday as on Sunday.

 

DON

[cdn_tbird]

We have booked a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale that ends the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We usually fly home from Florida to Las Vegas on Southwest. When we checked on flights a few days ago, there were absolutely no seats available at a price that we were willing to pay.

 

I realize that incisive you are flying to Canada and a doubt that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving. However, you may find that the holiday chaos will be as bad on Saturday as on Sunday.

 

DON

We celebrate Thanksgiving too. We just do it in Oct. Gives us more time to digest before the Christmas feasting season begin. [emoji2]

 

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[cdn_tbird]

We liked cruising out of New Orleans, we arrived a couple of day's early to enjoy the French Quarter and other sights. There was a local Jazz festival in Jackson Square we really liked and a nice trolley ride through the Garden district. Also Jambalaya.:)

DW and I love New Orleans and it is definitely one place we plan to visit every few years. Truth be told, it was the only reason we considered the Norwegian cruise in the first place. Being there for just a couple of days would have been a tease for us, and would have wanted to do at least 5 to 7 days there which would have been too long a trip.

 

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[navybankerteacher]

We frequently visit distant family for Thanksgiving - in San Francisco, Chicago or Houston- this year it will be Houston. Just last week we booked our flight: NY to Houston on Monday 11/21 returning Saturday 11/26. Not only are fares much better by thus avoiding peak days, you also avoid the heavy crowds. Flying in the US on the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving is usually a breeze.

[Pudgesmom]

You will encounter much less hassle DURING the cruise if you choose the later option. Many schools in our area close for the entire week of Thanksgiving, and even if they don't, parents will take children out of school Mon-Wed. So you can expect lots of Americans and their children on the ship as well as at your ports of call during first cruise. The second one would have you traveling there during the holiday, but then things would be quieter during your trip as everyone will have gone back to school/work.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Pudgesmom

[sbbquilter]

We have cruised that week after the Thanksgiving holiday (your NCL choice) and it was wonderful. The ship was being decorated for the holiday which made it even prettier. There were very few children as the big family event was the previous week. And a chance to spend a couple days in New Orleans adds to the appeal.

[OCruisers]

For the type of cruise you want Celebrity would be a great choice ... but, but, but the NCL because it's out of New Orleans would certainly be tempting. :)

[cdn_tbird]

Just pulled the trigger and booked the Celebrity Cruise. DW has already started researching shore excursions. Of course now that it's just the two of us, we'll look at booking local tours and not just go through the cruise line.

 

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