Too cold to do Cape Liberty, NJ cruise in Dec?

[Coralc]

We have had cold weather out of Tampa and New Orleans on our last two February cruises. Even colder than back home in California. I tried to talk DH in to a February cruise out of Bayonne. He said NO.  

[pcutrone]

We woke up the first morning with snow on our balcony, which was actually pretty cool. I wouldn’t hesitate to go on Anthem in the winter. 

[F27TW]

If you're flying in from somewhere else to begin with, fly straight to Florida and get on a ship there.   You'll already be in warmer weather and have the best weather that way.

 

I  live here in the Northeast (Connecticut) and I know how bad our Decembers can be.  Contrary to the post earlier that the winters "really don't start getting bad up here till end of January" .. thats total rubbish.   We've had major storms in December and it is nasty and cold.

 

If you're the outdoor types, being trapped inside on a ship in rolling seas for the first 2 and the last 2 days of your cruise will suck.   And you don't even wanna know what a mess any of the NYC airports can become once a storm hits. 

 

I say start at a warmer port. 

Edited July 27, 2021 by F27TW

[time4u2go]

On 6/27/2021 at 8:01 AM, boscobeans said:

Would rather spend 7 days ON THE SHIP than 3-4 on the ship and 2 (maybe more) days in airports and hotels also we would rather spend the money on the cruise than on flights and hotels.

OP is flying anyway.

[ray985]

I did a January cruise from Baltimore a few years ago and wouldn't do it again. So much time is wasted being trapped inside the ship. That being said, I was on a smaller/older ship, the Carnival Pride. The Anthem of the Seas has a lot more indoor areas/facilities and covered pools so that could change it, but personally, from now on I'm flying down to Florida for winter cruises. It's just a much more fun experience to start off the whole cruise on a warm note. 

[Iamcruzin]

I live in NY and never thought I would want to take a winter cruise out of Cape Liberty.  After being on Anthem in June of 2019 I have changed my mind. That ship is built for cold weather sailing. We spent a lot of time in the adult solarium on sea days and we were in the Caribbean. The views were so fantastic that we just didn't want to be on deck. We also spent a lot of time in  Club Two70 which had a beautiful AFT view while you were enjoying a cocktail or lunch.  With that said, I don't think I would want to be on an indoor winter cruise while covid is still a threat and there are limitations of space on board if you aren't vaccinated.  If I had to fly to port anyway I would fly to a port in a warm climate like Florida or one of the Caribbean islands.

 

[Iamcruzin]

On 6/27/2021 at 8:01 AM, boscobeans said:

 

Would rather spend 7 days ON THE SHIP than 3-4 on the ship and 2 (maybe more) days in airports and hotels also we would rather spend the money on the cruise than on flights and hotels.

Only problem now is there are less choices than there were a few years ago, but since we have been to almost every island the itinerary isn't as important as the length of the cruise and there are fewer and fewer 14 and 12 days cruises..   

 

 

I feel the same way. We can sail in a balcony, buy the drink package and enjoy a longer cruise sailing from NY or NJ  for the cost to fly to Florida or Puerto Rico. I do wish there were more choices for longer itineraries . I will not sail a 7 day itinerary that calls on Florida, Coco Cay and Nassau.  I have now started to look at NCL and Carnival 🤭 for longer cruises from this area.  Celebrity to Bermuda in the early spring is the only other option. They were sailing longer itineraries to Bermuda before the shutdown.  However I would only sail on Anthem in the winter months unless another line has a ship conducive to the cold weather.

Edited July 27, 2021 by Iamcruzin

[Georgeny]

We have done this sailing many years, last being Anthem holiday cruise 2019. Who knew it would be our last cruise for so long due to covid. I believe you are flying in from California? Then I would have to recommend that you fly to Florida and find something with more southern type Caribbean ports if sun and fun outdoors are what you are looking for.

 

We enjoy sailing from Bayonne simply because it is a simple drive and park for us. Baltimore Harbor the same. Especially now because flying is not something we wish to do right now.

 

Weather on December sailing from Bayonne, no one, not even those nice weather persons with all their acu-weather and high dollar radars can really predict. We have sailed from Bayonne in December and it was a warm Spring like day. We have sailed same time frame boarded with snow on the deck and having to wait in port until 4 am next day to actually sail due to high seas. Your weather will be luck of the draw! That includes Florida and Nassau ports. We've had sailings that cold front followed us entire cruise which I admit was frustrating. Day before we arrived in Port Canaveral was close to 80, day we arrived 60's, Nassau was same. 

 

To sum up, think of this as a cruise where you will enjoy ship. If you want to enjoy ports pick something else. Anthem has great solarium pool area, as people have said, built for cold weather sailing. No problem getting from airport to cruise port, very close bur we always go day early even though we are only 66 miles  from house to port. It is a heavy traffic area and we don't like taking chances. Newark airport is only 10 miles away. JFK and LGA can be a bit more difficult.

 

If you decide to take this cruise I would offer that booking the Hilton Garden Inn in Staten Island as a day before might be of interest. They are close to Airport and Cruise terminal and offer shuttles for both. Though I would confirm that is still the case. Covid has changed so much. The Hilton Hampton Inn is in the same parking area shares shuttles if less of a rate. The Garden Inn has a nice restaurant right in it as well, easy walk from Hampton through parking area. Again please check since things have changed since covid.

 

George in NY

[alexgtp]

I am excited to do this ship out of Cape Liberty. We are sailing the NYE21 trip.

 

Even if the weather is bad, it still has 2 pool area's that are covered and 1 is adult only, close to the bar..LOL!! 

 

Also with all the airline shortages and now the plane fuel crisis looming ahead, we booked our flights to arrive 2 days ahead. Gives us time to scramble if anything get's in our way we are ready. 

 

Nothing getting in the way of this cruise, other than mother nature , CDC, US GOVT, or RCCL shutting it all down.

[Travel R]

Take some time pre or post cruise to visit New York; the City is beautiful in the winter, especially decked out for the holiday season.

 

[Just don't block the middle of the sidewalks to stop and look when us locals have to get to/from our offices.]

[Georgeny]

29 minutes ago, alexgtp said:

Nothing getting in the way of this cruise, other than mother nature , CDC, US GOVT, or RCCL shutting it all down.

 

LOL we all know that feeling. You forgot NJ!

 

George in NY

[Baron Barracuda]

Have done a number of winter sailings out of Bayonne.  Love leaving from Cape Liberty as it takes the uncertainty of flying out of the equation.  Few years back did a family Xmas sailing from NJ on Explorer.  Ship left in a blizzard, 10" of snow on the deck.  Pool deck was closed to passengers for two days.  Many, many arriving by plane missed the ship including the band and priest who was to say Xmas mass.  They didn't catch up to us until our first stop three days later in San Juan.

 

Believe winter sailings from NJ are great, but only if you can drive to ship.  Why take the risk of flight delays/cancellations and two days of cold weather each way.  Better off flying direct to Fl and enjoy warm weather throughout.

[billslowsky]

I took a January cruise out of Manhattan a few years ago, the year of the "bomb cyclone" that a large NCL ship got caught in.  It wasn't the cold weather that was the issue, the seas were pretty rough for the first two days. Almost dreaded going back, still a lot of rough seas.  

 

I wore shorts most of the time, even to walk outside in the mornings, I wasn't outside all that long anyway.

Edited July 27, 2021 by billslowsky

[sixbirches]

No one will agree about sailing from Bayonne in winter. Personally, we love it.  And that’s all that matters. We’ve sailed Explorer, Anthem  and NCL Gem abc just when it was in NYC. We prefer RC but any cruise is good—any season of the year.

[njkruzer]

22 minutes ago, sixbirches said:

No one will agree about sailing from Bayonne in winter. Personally, we love it.  And that’s all that matters. We’ve sailed Explorer, Anthem  and NCL Gem abc just when it was in NYC. We prefer RC but any cruise is good—any season of the year.

We loved it and miss being able to drive to the pier.  Btw while I understand the comments about rough seas just a reminder that you can have rough seas in the Caribbean too.   Recall a winter cruise from Florida,  can't recall the ship, where 2nd night barf bags lined the halls and half the passengers didn't make it to dinner.  I seem to recall on one cruise we couldn't visit Grand Cayman because of rough seas.  Captain tried two places without success.  Neither was during hurricane season. 

[CanadaRob]

Have done Quantum and Anthem on 12+ day cruises,  We've intentionally chosen Bayonne vs FL/Texas based on longer cruises and cheaper airfare.

Yes there is a cool day on either end.  That is why we need the 12 or 14 days to make it worthwhile. 

Will look at sailing again if possible, if the went back to 12-14 N regularly.

 

[pthjudy]

On 6/27/2021 at 6:50 AM, YankeesFan4Life said:

Jersey weather sucks Nov-March. Not uncommon to have a foot of snow dumped on us at any given time. That being said, Newark Airport very rarely closes because they have one of the best ground crews around. Kudos to them!  However, like people said before, don’t think you’re getting outside for a couple days, probably at least til you get down to The Carolinas. Always the casino and plenty of indoor activities. I live 25 minutes from Bayonne and have never and will probably never cruise in the winter from Jersey just because I think it’s a waste to not be able to utilize the whole ship for 3-4 days. Just my two cents…

Lifelong NJ resident and agree about the weather. Three comments though. First we did just book Anthem this winter because I’m not ready to fly again yet and I need to use my OBC from a cancelled cruise. Second there are loads of stuff to do on the ship and the solarium area is warm. And finally, we took a cruise a few years ago in February from LA to Hawaii. Over 2 weeks and we didn’t put bathing suits on even once. No, it wasn’t cold but it wasn’t very warm either. 

[Travelling2Some]

12 hours ago, Travel R said:

Take some time pre or post cruise to visit New York; the City is beautiful in the winter, especially decked out for the holiday season.

 

[Just don't block the middle of the sidewalks to stop and look when us locals have to get to/from our offices.]

Very true,  New York is wonderful (yes, even now)  BUT please don't be those tourists who stop at the top/bottom of escalators or in the middle of sidewalks.

[Coralc]

On 6/26/2021 at 8:54 PM, zeppgirl said:

I'm having internal turmoil because we are looking to book our next cruise. The best deal and the longest cruise is one sailing from Cape Liberty to Florida and the Bahamas. All looks good, except I'm concerned about flying to NJ in the winter and that the first few days and last few days of the cruise will be cold. Has anyone sailed from here in the winter and if so, how was your experience?

 

 

I wanted to book a cruise out of Cape Liberty in February. And my husband said, "Are you high? NO." 

 

[Coralc]

3 hours ago, pthjudy said:

 And finally, we took a cruise a few years ago in February from LA to Hawaii. Over 2 weeks and we didn’t put bathing suits on even once. No, it wasn’t cold but it wasn’t very warm either. 

 

The Pacific Ocean is not warm. I wonder how the Navigator sailings will do over the winter. Although we will probably book. There is no snow. 

[mets123]

18 hours ago, F27TW said:

If you're flying in from somewhere else to begin with, fly straight to Florida and get on a ship there.   You'll already be in warmer weather and have the best weather that way.

 

I  live here in the Northeast (Connecticut) and I know how bad our Decembers can be.  Contrary to the post earlier that the winters "really don't start getting bad up here till end of January" .. thats total rubbish.   We've had major storms in December and it is nasty and cold.

 

If you're the outdoor types, being trapped inside on a ship in rolling seas for the first 2 and the last 2 days of your cruise will suck.   And you don't even wanna know what a mess any of the NYC airports can become once a storm hits. 

 

I say start at a warmer port. 

Have you actually sailed out of NJ in the winter? About 8 years ago I remember having Christmas dinner on my deck in shorts. It was 85 or so that day. 

[njkruzer]

1 hour ago, Coralc said:

 

The Pacific Ocean is not warm. I wonder how the Navigator sailings will do over the winter. Although we will probably book. There is no snow. 

I remember a January cruise out of California,  the old love boat itinerary.  I think we were on the Vision. While the ports were lovely, it was cold and windy the last 2 nights as we sailed back to Long Beach.  At least one evening they closed the outdoor promenade so you couldn't go out after dinner.   I was told this was not unusual.   Totally surprised by the weather. 

[rbschultz]

On 6/26/2021 at 11:54 PM, zeppgirl said:

I'm having internal turmoil because we are looking to book our next cruise. The best deal and the longest cruise is one sailing from Cape Liberty to Florida and the Bahamas. All looks good, except I'm concerned about flying to NJ in the winter and that the first few days and last few days of the cruise will be cold. Has anyone sailed from here in the winter and if so, how was your experience?

 

 

 

I've done them now twice during the winter. Yes... its frigid the first day or two. Embarkation day for our Quantum cruise was one of the coldest days on record for the past decade. That said, there is plenty to do inside during the first day or two. Also... the outdoor hot tubs feel amazing when its freezing outside 😉 

[rwmartin]

6 hours ago, rbschultz said:

 

I've done them now twice during the winter. Yes... its frigid the first day or two. Embarkation day for our Quantum cruise was one of the coldest days on record for the past decade. That said, there is plenty to do inside during the first day or two. Also... the outdoor hot tubs feel amazing when its freezing outside 😉 

I agree. Sitting in a hot tub when it freezing outside is the best! If it’s snowing too, it’s even better. 

[F27TW]

15 hours ago, mets123 said:

Have you actually sailed out of NJ in the winter? About 8 years ago I remember having Christmas dinner on my deck in shorts. It was 85 or so that day. 

 

.. Notice he didn't mention where the ship actually was on that 85 degree day.   Maybe already in Nassau or St. Maarten?  It was  NOT off the coast of Jersey, thats for sure. 

 

And no .. i'd never sail outta the northeast in winter ... only in spring/summer/early fall.  

Edited July 28, 2021 by F27TW