Help me choose a cruise with my sister

[JamieLogical]

My sister is in desperate need of a break from real life and I have offered to take her on her first cruise sometime this spring. I've been frustrated by the current "free airfare" promo artificially inflating the price of what should otherwise be pretty cheap sailings. But, my sister needs to get her time off request in ASAP so I think I have narrowed the choices down to two sailings the week of April 7.

 

5-Day Breakaway from New Orleans to Costa Maya

• Pros:
  • Free Airfare
  • I've never been on the Breakaway before.
  • We can spend a couple of extra days in New Orleans, which my sister has never visited.
  • Cheaper cruise fare.
• Cons:
  • The free airfare will likely get us there the day of embarkation and make us leave the day of disembarkation. Though we may be able to work it out with Norwegian to let us stay an extra couple of days for an up-charge.
  • The cruise itself is only 5 days and only goes to one port.
  • We would have to fly and deal with all the logistics involved with that.
  • Hotel, food, and beverages for those extra couple days could be a significant additional cost.

 

7-Day Escape from NYC to Florida & Bahamas

• Pros:
  • We can drive to the port and park at the pier.
  • I am already familiar with the Escape, having already sailed her twice.
  • Full 7-day cruise.
  • It's a Latitudes Rewards sailing, so I'll get an extra point for each night and $100 OBC.
• Cons:
  • We are basically paying for airfare we won't be using through the inflated cruise fare price.
  • I've already been on the Escape twice.
  • The cruise fare itself is significantly higher.
  • The itinerary is nothing to write home about.
  • Sailing out of NYC in April means cold days to start and end the cruise.

 

Tell me what you think! I mostly just wanted to play with the Poll feature. 😋

[PTC DAWG]

Bermuda in April will be pretty cool...water and all...

 

and New Orleans is fun, not sure how the free air works for extra days though...

 

good luck whatever you decide..

Edited November 1, 2018 by PTC DAWG

[JamieLogical]

4 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Bermuda in April will be pretty cool...water and all...

 

and New Orleans is fun, not sure how the free air works for extra days though...

 

good luck whatever you decide..

 

Neither of these cruises goes to Bermuda.

[LrgPizza]

The Escape one. Longer cruise. Better ship.  That's all.

[JamieLogical]

Need more votes! Post has 41 views and only 4 votes and it's currently a tie! 

[YVRBassElectric]

ANY excuse to go to New Orleans (I can live vicariously through your review, our NO Breakaway cruise got cancelled because of surgery)

Call NCL and see if you have to take the free airfare. 

[Two Wheels Only]

22 minutes ago, LrgPizza said:

The Escape one. Longer cruise. Better ship.  That's all.

 

Ditto

 

[Happy2b@sea]

It sounds like you'd be bored going on the Escape for a third time.  There are other cruises out there.  I went on the Epic for the 3rd time and while I love the ship it gets boring watching the same shows!

[heelfan94]

I voted for the longer one.  We did a 5 day cruise once and I would pick 7 if we did it again.

[JamieLogical]

26 minutes ago, LrgPizza said:

The Escape one. Longer cruise. Better ship.  That's all.

 

 

I do love the Escape. It was my first cruise ever, so it holds a special place in my heart. It's also the ship I took my parents on for their first cruise, so it would be appropriate for my sister's first cruise as well. My older sister and my oldest brother both just sailed on the Getaway (different weeks from each other) and both had a great time, so I would hope the Breakaway would be similar to that.

[Iworktocruiseandtravel]

The 5-day, but extend it both before and after with hotel stays in New Orleans (you can sightsee)

 

 

[dubroben22]

if you call NCL agent and say you do not need airfare you will get a discount. I know that my agent said 200$ off mini-suite and 500$ off suite for Dec Gem sailing instead of airfare. (i live in NYC)

[Stace894]

I vote longer cruise as well.  5 days just isnt enough.  Love the Escape, so much to do.  If you can afford, even for a day, do spa passes.  Great place to spend time if you need to relax.  

 

[JamieLogical]

3 minutes ago, Stace894 said:

I vote longer cruise as well.  5 days just isnt enough.  Love the Escape, so much to do.  If you can afford, even for a day, do spa passes.  Great place to spend time if you need to relax.  

 

 

Great call on the spa passes. If we do the cruise out of NYC, it might be a great place to spend those cold days at the beginning and end of the cruise!

[JJAuckland]

I have voted for the longer cruise.....as.....if its your sisters first cruise, and although you are familiar with the ship it will be all new to her whichever you choose, the longer on board the better as you can really enjoy all the ship has to offer.

Coming from NZ & having been to New Orleans (and loving it), going on the shorter cruise if you can extend & have a couple of days in New Orleans exploring & spending time with your sister is also extremely appealing to me.. also a new ship for you so both you & your sister will be having a new experience together...sorry, no clear cut choice as I see it.. :-)

[rtkenmore]

Escape is a great ship but all I hear is primarily complaints about the Florida/Bahamas itinerary..  GSC often gets canceled and then you're stuck with Port Canaveral and Nassau as your only stops.  Nassau is cool if you've never been but once you've been once or twice, it gets old quickly to me...  And Port Canaveral is just Eh...

 

Costa Maya is not my favorite western port but it is a very nice, clean port with a decent amount of stuff to do and anytime you can depart Nola, that's a win to me.  I love sailing down the Mississippi and watching the little fishing pockets and towns pass by.  And there is a TON of stuff to do in Nola pre or post cruise.

 

As for the airfare, I think I saw someone else post that adding days before or after is not an option without a significant fee tacked on or unless you book the hotel through NCL as well (I don't recommend that as they overcharge for hotels).  I'd be more inclined to bite the bullet and forego the free airfare. You should be able to get pretty decent airfare direct from EWR or LGA on a major carrier I would think.

 

As for Nola, don't stay in the Quarter...  Stay on Canal or just west of Canal more in the Central Business District.  Le Meridian is a great location along with Sheraton, Marriott , Queen & Crescent, etc.  Do get a trolly day pass instead of paying by the ride.  The day pass runs for 24 hours (I think) from the time of first use and you can get it on your phone through the app (no card to keep up with).  If you want a good, true New Orleans excursion, go on a Swamp Tour Airboat.  Enjoy some DAMN good food too.

 

My vote would definitely be Nola between these two....

 

But I'd suggest taking a look at Epic for April 6th.  That is a great itinerary as well and includes GSC, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  Still has the airfare option and free at sea too.  Epic has the best Thermal Suite in the fleet in my opinion as well.  I, personally, would much prefer this trip over the Florida/Bahamas trip from NYC.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Neither of these cruises goes to Bermuda.

Wow, I mis read that....sorry..  those ports out of NY wouldn’t be my first choice, I’ll say that.  

Edited November 1, 2018 by PTC DAWG

[JamieLogical]

27 minutes ago, rtkenmore said:

But I'd suggest taking a look at Epic for April 6th.  That is a great itinerary as well and includes GSC, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  Still has the airfare option and free at sea too.  Epic has the best Thermal Suite in the fleet in my opinion as well.  I, personally, would much prefer this trip over the Florida/Bahamas trip from NYC.

 

Epic isn't even on my radar, because even though my sister and I are very close, we are NOT close enough for me to feel comfortable with the VERY non-private bathroom situation in Epic staterooms.

[Pebbs48]

29 minutes ago, rtkenmore said:

But I'd suggest taking a look at Epic for April 6th.  That is a great itinerary as well and includes GSC, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  Still has the airfare option and free at sea too.  Epic has the best Thermal Suite in the fleet in my opinion as well.  I, personally, would much prefer this trip over the Florida/Bahamas trip from NYC.

I vote for this itinerary!  16 days to go! 

[rtkenmore]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Epic isn't even on my radar, because even though my sister and I are very close, we are NOT close enough for me to feel comfortable with the VERY non-private bathroom situation in Epic staterooms.

 

They are not nearly as bad as they seem.  I sailed with my mom actually our second NCL cruise on Epic and did not mind the set up at all.  It was just a suggestion because to me, the Epic sailing is much more superior itinerary choice than the others.

[Pebbs48]

http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/feature/Norwegian-Epic-Bathrooms-062810.cfm

 

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, rtkenmore said:

 

They are not nearly as bad as they seem.  I sailed with my mom actually our second NCL cruise on Epic and did not mind the set up at all.  It was just a suggestion because to me, the Epic sailing is much more superior itinerary choice than the others.

 

I agree about the better itinerary. It's the same one I did on my first cruise on the Escape out of Miami. I got to hold a sea turtle in Grand Cayman!

[rtkenmore]

6 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I agree about the better itinerary. It's the same one I did on my first cruise on the Escape out of Miami. I got to hold a sea turtle in Grand Cayman!

 

I went to Hell and back AND got to hold a sea turtle in Grand Cayman.

 

I'd definitely ask around and get some first hand feedback from people who have done Epic before just counting that one out entirely.  A lot of people that have never set foot on the ship talk about how bad the set up is...  When it really isn't that bad.

 

Another option would be book two inside studios and choose the drink package.  You could get adjoining rooms and turn it into your own little inside mini-suite.

[Pebbs48]

Since you've already done the Epic itinerary on the Escape, what about the Star out of Miami to the US & British Virgin Islands? 

Otherwise I would pick the Breakway because it's NOLA. 

Edited November 1, 2018 by Pebbs48

[Trobrah]

Another pro for the 5 day cruise: Maya Chan, just outside of Costa Maya, is one of the best excursions my DW and I have been on. It is owned by an American expat. Fabulous Mexican food. All top shelf alcohol. Palapas and water toys. Taxi to and from is included. It is not run by NCL so it is reasonably priced.

Jay