cancelled star princess victom considering norwegian

[brovol]

my family's 3/26 cruise on the star princess was canceled after the fire, and now i am scrambling to book a replacement cruise (with my wife and two kids, ages 7 and 9). we probably need to wait until summer so kids don't miss school, but princess doesn't have many ships in Caribbean in the summer. we are considering one of the norwegian ships that sail out of new york. my wife and i are seasoned cruisers but haven't sailed Norwegian since before children. we are concerned about the new york port, as we have read bad things (tough parking, long embarkation, etc.). the reviews of the dawn and spirit seem to be love or hate. we are also considering the jewel within next several weeks. can anyone provide some opinion or analysis to us desperate princess type cruisers

[CruisingToads]

I dont know anything about the New York departure, but we were just on the jewel March 12 and loved every minute of it! I posted a review on here scroll back a page and I think its there. You couldnt pick a better ship! We had such a good time and cant wait to go back again!

 

Our embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze in Miami though. We got to the port and within less than 30 minutes were on the ship.

[brovol]

thanks toad. i am still looking for more info on the new york ships if anyone can help.

[mrsbooger]

I have never sailed Princess, but have sailed Carnival, RCCL, HAL, and NCL. I have 14 or so cruises under my belt, some with some without children. My favorite line is NCL and my kids too. They love the fact that we can eat when and where we want. My boys are 12 and 15. They have been cruising since they were 8 and 11 years old. The Dawn WAS their favorite ship until last week when we were on the Jewel. We were actually in the same port as the Star Princess just prior to the fire. It's a beautiful ship! I can't tell you about the New York situation since I cruise the Dawn back in 2003 when it was in Miami. I will tell you that your kids won't be bored on The Jewel or the Dawn. Both are fantasic ships that are just the right size. If you're concerned about the New York Port, then go ahead and sail the Jewel out of Miami. We were on the ship in less than 30 minutes. It was a BREEZE. You won't find a friendlier staff. Not sure if you read about it, but the Captain actually stopped the ship to rescue 5 Cuban Refugees last Monday at sea. It was very exciting. I have never been on a bad cruise, just some are better than others and for me Freestyle dining and NCL our my dining style and cruiseline of choice! If you have any specific questions about either ship, I'll be happy to help out. I've also cruised on The Sun on NCL.

 

Happy Cruising!

[jas7903]

The Crown Princess is sailing out of NY this summer, My family and friends are going to be on it July 29th. This is a brand new ship that is going to having her maiden voyage sometime in May. Hope this helps! We have sailed out of NY, NJ and Florida, if you live in the area, it's great, I'd rather spend the extra day or two on the ship than 2 hours on a plane. Hope this helps

 

Judy

[Chewmonkey]

I've sailed twice on Princess and twice on NCL. I just got off the Jewel yesterday in Miami. We were dropped off at the pier at 11:45. We were onboard the ship and in our cabin by noon.

 

NCL also allows you to carry off your own luggage and get off the ship first. Were were off the ship yesterday by 7:30.

 

We like Princess (sailed on the Sea and Grand) and would sail with them again, but I like NCL better.

 

As for your title, we were docked next to the Star in Grand Cayman the day of the accident. I saw the pictures of the ship afterwards. People who lost all of their belongings and were left in Jamaica can call themselves victims. People who were dissapointed about a cancellation, but received a full refund, a 25% off certificate and travel reimbursement... I dunno.

[Maryfrei]

Have cruised three times out of New York, once on Carnival and twice on NCL. Loved all three, but would give the edge to NCL Freestyle.

 

We live in CT and just love cruising out of NY. We drive to the pier and pull right up to the unloading area, leave the luggage with a porter. Next time we see it is outside of our cabin. Then we drive up the ramp, tell the attendant which ship we're on, she collects the total fee and shows us where to park, right next to the ship!

 

Then we just walk down a flight of stairs to the waiting area. As a Latitudes member, you can wait in a separate area and will board earlier than non-Latitudes members. When they are ready to start boarding, they will escort you down to the check in area.

 

Before you know it, you're on-board, having lunch, and highlighting all the things you want to do in your daily. We leave home and are literally on vacation in a few hours. To me, it just doesn't get any better.

[sun~]

I loved the NY port departure! It isn't fancy, but it beats Miami, Port Canaveral & Ft. Lauderdale for ease to get to for those of us in the NE. Parking was very easy, secure and it is great to be right along side the ship. The parking was $168 for a week. I think it took about an hour or so to get on the ship - we arrived early, before the last passengers were off, so we had to wait. No worse than any of our other cruises.

 

My boys (11 & 14) had a great time in the kids/teen program. We had a great cruise on the Spirit March 12 - 19. Terrific staff & beautiful ship made for a wonderful family vacation. They loved the fact we could choose from a variety of restaurants - even with that we kept running into the same staff members. Hint: book the Teppanyaki right away - we all loved it and would have gone back again!

 

All the people I spoke with on the cruise seemed to have a fantastic time and raved about the ship & the excellent staff. Even with 800 spring breakers (+400 kids on March break!) on board! Staff did an amazing job.