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Cruise out of Boston or New York City?


biojeep
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We are looking at cruising to Canada/New England with NCL out of Manhatten or RC out of Boston. Both go to the same ports. Would like to hear pros & cons about embarking from these 2 cities. Both cruises cost the same. We would fly in the day before & would not have much time to sightsee in either place. Would like to hear from people who have experience using these 2 embarkation cities.

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All other things being equal...comparable airfares and travel times probably being the most important consideration, I would make the choice based on your preference of cruise line and ship. Some people prefer Royal Caribbean, some prefer NCL. One particular ship may appeal to you more than the other. Do you have any significant amount of cruising time on either line? On the ships being used?

 

It's just a matter of your individual tastes, not some absolute factual choice.

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All other things being equal...comparable airfares and travel times probably being the most important consideration, I would make the choice based on your preference of cruise line and ship.
In addition to flight costs....

  • look at hotel rates
  • look at transfer costs
  • look at commuter congestion

Love New York.... but I had to get creative with the above issues when visiting Manhatten.

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So that would be the Gem and the Serenade you are considering? What exact dates are you looking at? Your exact dates will affect the cost of accommodations.

 

You should look at the costs of flights, hotel and transportation. Hotels in both Manhattan and downtown Boston are very expensive. New York has three airports. La Guardia, JFK, and Newark. The pool of airport hotels is best at Newark. Staying at JFK is not recommended. Car Service/cab from LGA to Manhattan is $40-50, JFK to Manhattan about $75, and from Newark to Manhattan about $100-120. Train/cab is an option from JFK and Newark. Airport bus/cab is an option from all three airports.

 

Boston has one airport that is close to the cruiseport - about a $25 cab fare. There are less expensive airport hotels northeast of town that have airport shuttles. There are several hotels in the Dorchester area of Boston and Quincy that have both airport and cruiseport shuttles.

 

I must admit that I live in the Boston area and have sailed RCL almost exclusively. I have however done a cruise to nowhere on the Gem for the NY sailaway down the Hudson, which is spectacular. Serenade is a Radiance class ship with lots of glass and a covered solarium pool in addition to an open pool deck. In comparing the two ships, the Serenade would always be my choice - the overall layout is better, the public areas and their external visuals are better, and the inside cabins are larger and nicer than the oceanview I had on Gem.

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Both cruises are for September 30 & hotels costs are comparable - Novotel in Times Square & Seaport in Boston. Flight costs are about the same. My biggest concern for New York was getting to hotel from LGA. Big city seems very intimidating.

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Both cruises are for September 30 & hotels costs are comparable - Novotel in Times Square & Seaport in Boston. Flight costs are about the same. My biggest concern for New York was getting to hotel from LGA. Big city seems very intimidating.

 

Options for getting to a hotel are the same in both cities...taxi, Uber or car service. It might be a few dollars cheaper in Boston than NY because the airport in Boston is a little closer.

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Both cruises are for September 30 & hotels costs are comparable - Novotel in Times Square & Seaport in Boston. Flight costs are about the same. My biggest concern for New York was getting to hotel from LGA. Big city seems very intimidating.

 

From LGA you book a car service like Dial7 or Carmel Limo to ease your concerns.

 

For Sep 29 Hotwire has a 4* hotel in the Boston Seaport district for $170 ($216 with taxes and fees). This is likely to be the Westin, but it could also end up being the Seaport. Any 4* hotel in the Seaport area will be very nice and also very close to the port. I recommend Hotwire for this area all the time and have actually used it myself to get a killer deal at the Westin on July 4. Silver Line public transit is right there should you want to go downtown. The whole waterfront area is new within the last 20 years and is not at all intimidating. You can even get to these hotels for free by taking the Silver Line from the airport.

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As you said you wanted to arrive a day early and do some site seeing, with ancillary costs being basically the same, and which ship/line a toss-up, which city would you'd prefer to site see in might be a decision maker.

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However, if there are the same ports, it takes longer to get to Maine/Canada from NYC than from Boston.

 

Which really doesn't matter, first full day is at sea per the schedule it will be at sea to monopolize spend on the ship so it doesn't matter leaving Boston or NY with the same ports.

It really doesn't take two days to get to Bermuda but even on a 5 day cruise to Bermuda it takes the same length of time "at sea" as a 7 day.

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You know the NCL product. The various dining venues and Freestyle concept. If you've always wanted to experience NYC you'll be happy.

 

Boston is also a lovely city. If you are interested in American history especially, it's a wonderful day of visiting. The Royal ships are more traditional with meals but they do have anytime dining.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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