Nervous 1st Timers with NCL

[blondebratz]

:confused: Hi, my elderly Mother and I are thinking of cruising to Canada and New England in September (flying to NY) and would love to try an NCL ship - I guess it would be The Dawn, as that's the ship being advertised here in the UK. Never been outside Europe before and really looking forward to it. We really need your expert advice here and I wondered if any of you lucky worldwide travellers could recommend which stateroom and deck to choose please:confused:. We absolutely have no idea of what to ask for apart from we don't want to be too near to the entertainment at night time. We can't stretch to the high end staterooms (which we would ideally love to), can only manage an outside or at a stretch, possibly a balcony.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Karen:D

[garycarla]

It would be a GREAT trip, I am sure.

 

If sailing from NYC, make sure you go a day or more early to take in the sites there, vs just the cruise. Great city to visit. I did not notice that the Dawn was New England, but if you say so. The Jewel does it from NYC and the Spirit from Boston. We have done the Spirit out of NYC before and will do one of those again. Great trip.

 

Balcony is really nice, but not required, based on your funds. If I had to pick extra nights in NYC vs balcony/oceanview, I would settle with the Oceanview. A good share of people have inside cabins or oceanviews and do just fine.

 

See some notes in the link below, but most important, scan through these boards and see what others are talking about.

[sjbdtz]

I would look for a balcony near the middle of the ship, near an elevator (to make it easier for your mother to get around).

 

If you get one on the Port side, you'll be facing toward land most of the trip.

 

If you get a cabin on the Starboard side, you'll be facing water most of the trip, but you'll be on the better side to see the sail-in to Quebec city, where the battlements are astride the cliffs. (and you'll see the topography for the battle of the plains of abraham (Wolfe v. Montcalm).

 

 

I haven't taken the cruise, but I have travelled extensively in the area and you'll be delighted with how beautiful everything is. The leaves will be just starting to change... and New York won't be quite as hot as in August.

 

 

Have a great trip.

[blondebratz]

Thanks for your kind advice and so quickly too. ............yes it is The Jewel as you mentioned (my mistake!!!). We have looked at so many brochures and get confused with every one!!:confused: We will be travelling from the UK and will have 2 nights in NY before the cruise starts which should be fab.

 

Port side - is where we will ask for then and in the middle of the ship.

These boards are a mind full of information and so very helpful.

Many thanks for your kind advice.

[Arwenmark]

Your mother doesn't by any chance need a wheelchair does she? if so that could change what you need to book.

[numberguy]

Just one thing I found out about the hard way. If you get an outside stateroom, and they offer you "obstructed view," beware. That would mean that your room probably looks out onto the tender boats. You can often see around/over them, though.

 

If the view is not that important to you, you might not think that would be a problem. However, if you have any ports in which you would have to tender rather than dock (and I've never cruised in Canada/New England before to know), they'll have to lower the tender boats. The machinery to lower the tenders could be right outside your window, which could lead to a very loud winch noise at 5:30 am (I discovered this on our Alaska cruise).

 

No discouragement intended, just full information.

 

--Michael

[CruiseNut7]

We cruised the Canada/New England itinerary and it's a wonderful sailing - you will experience some beautiful country.

 

As others suggested, I would select a cabin on the port (or left side) of the ship near elevators, if possible. If you can afford a balcony, it is nice to have - but, we have to book according to our budget.

 

You will have a fabulous time - I know that when I cruised the British Isles, it was amazing! :)

[garycarla]

They show a map of the itinerary on the ncl.com website. Portions of the cruise you will be way out of site of land. And each day you are in port, the side of the ship may not matter. And, a few days the land will be off the starboard side.

 

So, port may be better, but only slightly. Midships is for sure a good idea. Plan on wide changes in weather from day to day.

[cv322]

I would definitely go for a balcony cabin (but NOT obstructed view). The foliage will be wonderful in September! Have a great cruise.

[maggie0104]

We had a midship balcony on deck 9 on the Dawn in January and could not complain. No noises (other than from neighbors yelling at each other). Have fun!

[cynbar]

Take a look at the deck plans, and try to avoid booking anything under the pool or the buffet. Those can be really noisy-- cleaning goes on overnight, some cruisers are up early and moving chairs around, etc. You'll be coming to my part of the world, and I think September will be a great time of year. Bring clothing you can layer, however --- in September there are some lovely warm days and also quite cool nights and early mornings.

[MalteseSkipper]

We just returned from a Norwegian cruise and loved it. We took a New England/Canada tour four years ago and it was my favorite itinerary ever. Our ship left from Boston and we went a day early to sightsee.

I really don't think you'll see pretty foliage as we went the middle of October and didn't see pretty fall foliage until Quebec City (where it was beautiful.) But you'll be in warmer weather than we were which will be wonderful. We hadn't had a balcony until two years ago in Alaska. But once you've had a balcony, you will never go without one. Quebec City is one of my favorite cities in the world. You will think you're in Europe (of course being from the UK, maybe that's not as big a deal as it is to me.) Being on the side of the ship in Quebec City to see the town would be a huge bonus. Have fun!