New England & Canada in September 2016 on Summit

My wife and I have booked a Fly/Cruise on Celebrity Summit for New England / Canada cruise starting at New York.

The cruise starts 18th Sept. 2016, and we want to fly to NY on Wed. 14th Sept to have 3 full days in NY. we haven't been to NY before.

Problem is Celebrity have included an overnight for 17th Sept, and a day room on cruise return. Too early for details of which hotel, but we want one central (e.g Times Square) and also to extent to 4 nights.

I think that the price with Celebrity will be much more expensive than if we can organise the 4 nights ourselves. Celebrity have advised that they won't know which hotels are available until 6 months before cruise. I'm sure I can arrange an hotel a lot earlier than that. Also if we decide to organise the 4 nights ourselves Celebrity have advised that we will lose the pre-cruise overnight stay.

I will really appreciate any advice on how to proceed, and roughly what kind of cost should a say 4/5 star hotel cost. Also can we choose the hotel rather than Celebrity telling us which one we are allocated.

Thank you.

Welcome to Cruise Critics.

Celebrity contracts with only certain hotels and they are not 4 or 5 stars from what I've seen.

We just did the Canada/New England cruise and stayed at the Newark Airport Renaissance on our own. There was a large group of Brits at the hotel who booked the package that you currently have and transportation to the port was via motor coach. Not a bad hotel but not 4 stars and in New Jersey not New York. You will not be able to choose your hotel if you stay with the Celebrity package.

What airport are you flying into or is it too early to know? If it is Newark then you will most likely be at a New Jersey Hotel.

You can google 4/5 star hotels in New York in Times Square to get an idea of the cost.

There is absolutely no need to let Celebrity book your hotel. You can do much better yourself, especially since you will be in NY for several days. I always book my pre-cruise hotel stays and have never had an issue.:)

We are flying into Newark.

Thanks for the replies.

Very quickly googled NY hotels and they are very much cheaper than the travel agent had advised us to expect from Celebrity. So I don't mind losing the Celebrity overnight. No brainer really.

Can I arrange transport from Newark to the hotel, and from then from hotel to cruise terminal in advance.

Thanks

Have you considered changing your booking to Cruise Only option? Then book your flight and hotel separately. Most travel agent will be able to package a flight and hotel stay with some kind of discounts.

I didn't realise that I could do that. I thought that the booking with Celebrity (via Thomas Cook) was firmed up - i.e. no changes allowed.

There are a number of car services in the New York, New Jersey area that you can arrange in advance. We just used Dial 7 from our hotel to the port and from the port to Newark airport.

Again, google New York car services. There is also a lot of information on the New York metro area on the East Coast Departure Boards. Here's a link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=415

Also info on the ports on this board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

and you can find others on your cruse on this board, just look for your sailing date:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=286

I didn't realise that I could do that. I thought that the booking with Celebrity (via Thomas Cook) was firmed up - i.e. no changes allowed.

You may be correct, no changes allowed but if you want to fly in 4 days early wouldn't that be a change? Although, it is too early to be booking air so that may be an option that can be changed. Your best course is to contact Thomas Cook and work out any deviations to your schedule.

I didn't realise that I could do that. I thought that the booking with Celebrity (via Thomas Cook) was firmed up - i.e. no changes allowed.

That's because in the UK many high street TAs sell the cruise as part of a package. You would need to speak with your TA to discuss any changes and what they may cost you. You are able to book the cruise only portion if you so wish, however as you have already reserved through a TA, you would need to discuss your options with them.

We book our own flights and hotels, ensuring we always fly in a couple of days early. You always need to price it out prior to booking to see which is the cheaper/better option for your personal circumstances. Others prefer to have everything taken care of by the cruiseline, they like the convenience and reassurance. Cruising with a family, I like to save the pounds :D.

I didn't realise that I could do that. I thought that the booking with Celebrity (via Thomas Cook) was firmed up - i.e. no changes allowed.

You can make changes, but you will be charged £35 p.p to do it.

I changed our flight to 5 days earlier when we went to Hawaii- it was too far to fly to just have an overnight in Honolulu.

Celebrity still booked our flights, but not transfers or hotel on the outward flight.

However they arranged our return transfer and return flights.

We also booked with Thomas Cook in 2012.

Remember advice from U.S cruisers doesn't hold good if you live in UK, where there are different Terms and Conditions.

Hello Bluerhino, we are taking the same cruise as you and would be happy to share the ride from midtown NY to the port. We have stayed in NY many times, and can also share some hotel suggestions with you. We can better communicate on the "connections" postings, where you can hear from others on this cruise.

If you do keep your package, is there an way to make sure the hotel is actually in Manhatten and not in Newark? If you have e never been to NYC that is where you will want to be located.

Going to the TA this afternoon.

Depending on the response to our questions, I think we will stick with the flights, opt to arrange our own hotel, and forfeit the Celebrity pre-cruise overnight.

We've cruised out of Bayonne before. We found that staying at a hotel in NJ and taking the train into NY worked very well and saved hundreds. Just make sure that your hotel offers shuttle service to the train station. Get off at Penn Station and you are right in the heart of things. The train is very inexpensive and very easy to navigate. We had a car take us to the port. Happy sailing!

Judy