Help us decide!!

Hello all!

I am looking to book a cruise for later this year with a few friends. They have left it up to me for the most part to decide which cruise we pick. This is turning out to be tougher than I thought with everyone's parameters! even having a tough time deciding which one I want myself! But I have narrowed it down to 3 options and am interested in hearing some of your pros and cons and ideas!

Here's some back info that will help

Last year I booked us all on a Florida and Bahamas cruise on the Breakaway from NY. Everyone had a great time but definitely could of used more hot days to spend out on deck. (We cruised in November last year and plan to this year in Oct/Nov again)

We all loved the Breakaway but definitely want to go on a newer ship. We live all over Canada some in Vancouver and some in Ontario and even a couple on the east coast so flights can be tricky and definitely a big portion of the cost.. NYC is definitely the easiest and cheapest port of departure.

Option 1

7 Day Bermuda on the Escape

- This is our best priced option. The ship is new and the flights are easy for us all

- some of the concerns would be how is the weather in late October in Bermuda I feel like this could be a cool cruise for the most part.

- Spending so much time in Bermuda brings up alot of questions.. is the casino open? do you pay extra taxes on drinks and shopping?

Option 2

7 Day Florida & Bahamas on the Escape

- Another well priced option and again on the new ship

- same trip as we took last time however which is not terrible because we can enjoy the ship more or take different excursions

- but same concern with warmth last year we had great weather for the 3 days we were south but it was cold leaving and coming back to nyc

Option 3

7 Day Western Caribbean on the Getaway

- Our most expensive option and ship is only slightly different than the breakaway

- in my opinion best itinerary by far and probably i am sure the best weather

- toughest for everyone to get to Miami

We have some future cruises booked on the Epic and Bliss but for this year choosing this one has been tough any ideas would be greatly appreciated

as always thanks to everyone who responds!

It will be tough to get more warm days when you leave in Oct/Nov from NYC. If warm weather is your biggest concern, go out of Miami. There, you will have warm deck weather from the start. Leaving from NYC, it will be at least a day and a half before getting into a warmer climate in late October, early Nov..

Are you limited to a 7 night sailing? There may be longer sailings out of the NYC area that would give you more warm days (either on NCL or on another cruise line sailing out of New York/New Jersey).

Hello all!

 

I am looking to book a cruise for later this year with a few friends. They have left it up to me for the most part to decide which cruise we pick. This is turning out to be tougher than I thought with everyone's parameters! even having a tough time deciding which one I want myself! But I have narrowed it down to 3 options and am interested in hearing some of your pros and cons and ideas!

 

Here's some back info that will help

 

Last year I booked us all on a Florida and Bahamas cruise on the Breakaway from NY. Everyone had a great time but definitely could of used more hot days to spend out on deck. (We cruised in November last year and plan to this year in Oct/Nov again)

 

We all loved the Breakaway but definitely want to go on a newer ship. We live all over Canada some in Vancouver and some in Ontario and even a couple on the east coast so flights can be tricky and definitely a big portion of the cost.. NYC is definitely the easiest and cheapest port of departure.

 

 

Option 1

 

 

 

7 Day Bermuda on the Escape

 

- This is our best priced option. The ship is new and the flights are easy for us all

 

- some of the concerns would be how is the weather in late October in Bermuda I feel like this could be a cool cruise for the most part.

 

- Spending so much time in Bermuda brings up alot of questions.. is the casino open? do you pay extra taxes on drinks and shopping?

 

Option 2

 

7 Day Florida & Bahamas on the Escape

 

- Another well priced option and again on the new ship

 

- same trip as we took last time however which is not terrible because we can enjoy the ship more or take different excursions

 

- but same concern with warmth last year we had great weather for the 3 days we were south but it was cold leaving and coming back to nyc

 

 

Option 3

 

7 Day Western Caribbean on the Getaway

 

- Our most expensive option and ship is only slightly different than the breakaway

 

- in my opinion best itinerary by far and probably i am sure the best weather

 

- toughest for everyone to get to Miami

 

 

We have some future cruises booked on the Epic and Bliss but for this year choosing this one has been tough any ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

as always thanks to everyone who responds!

Take a look at the Breakaway out of New Orleans, Western Caribbean, November. Just a thought. Warmer weather, good ports.

If you can go in early October check out The Bliss and the Mexican Riviera out of Loss Angeles.

The breakaway is only 4-5 years old. The only newer ships are getaway, escape, and bliss. Of which getaway is an almost exact sister ship only one year newer. So that just leaves the escape and bliss. As someone else already posted, I would consider looking at embarking from a warmer port to maximize your warm days. Use the cruise search and filter on your dates/ships/departure ports and go from there.

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Drop Option 2 immediately it is a pretty poor itinerary. Of our nine cruises so far it was by far the least enjoyable.

I'm on the Escape out of NYC Oct 21st...I'm actually looking forward to this itinerary....

We enjoyed the Florida and Bahamas itinerary I thought those ports were excellent it's why we have considered doing it again.

We have booked the bliss out of New York for 2019 for a longer cruise so yes we are only going to do a 7 day this year to keep costs down.

I looked at the breakaway out of New Orleans but I don't think we want to go on the same ship again.. so it's really between the escape and the getaway.

I see it as nicer ship but cooler weather lower price and shorter travel

Or

Older ship similar to what we just went on but better weather and itinerary but longer travel and higher cost..

Thanks for all the ideas though it is much appreciated and helps me take in account things I might not think of

This site is the best

In a NUT SHELL - recommendations have nuts - avoid nut allergies ! LOL !

October-November tail gating hurricane troubled waters ?

NYC or Boston cold start not excitingly hot

Miami is fine for routine warm Caribbean cruises

Consider smaller ship sailing the Warm southern Caribbean - San Juan

cheersforbeers recommendation -best- Breakaway out of New Orleans, Western Caribbean***

3 ports of call and 1 cay

*** 1 sea day going and 1 sea day coming back weather iffy in northern Caribbean - Mississippi River

New Orleans central for all concerned to gather for the cruise

www3traveler recommendation -good- October check out The Bliss and the Mexican Riviera***

3 ports of call

*** 1.5 sea days going and 1.5 sea days coming back weather iffy* off of the Baja Penisula

*as if La Nina meets El Nino mixed bag of weather on a collision course

Air fares to Los Angeles a better bargain than east coast port cities but your Canada origin is not

a great competive factor - have affinity relations with an airline - plan on using them

When are you thinking of doing the Escape? Maybe we will be on the same sailing [emoji3]

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I think I agree since it's only a 7 day might be nice to start in Miami where it's already warm! Plus I don't want the NYC departure to get stale since we are departing from there again next year..

The getaway is still a bit newer from the breakaway even if not much so it should be an improvement..

I'm also seeing the epic out of Canaveral too but the prices seem odd that they are higher for a older ship..

I've done a west coast cruise before and it was great but the prices for this year on the Bliss are right out of our range and as for the older ships we have a few singles in the group so we need ships that have those cabins..

Gja360 - if we go on the escape we are looking at the Oct 28 Bermuda or the Oct 7 Florida one

My vote is for the Getaway. Fly into Fort Lauderdale, it’s cheaper than Miami.

I am looking to book a cruise for later this year with a few friends. They have left it up to me for the most part to decide which cruise we pick. This is turning out to be tougher than I thought with everyone's parameters! even having a tough time deciding which one I want myself! But I have narrowed it down to 3 options and am interested in hearing some of your pros and cons and ideas! [\quote]

 

To answer the Casino question, yes, the Casino opens at 9:00 pm nightly while in Bermuda.

 

Based on your careabouts, I would strongly recommend the Bliss. It's a brand new ship (just floated out of dry dock for the first time yesterday) and will be making it's maiden voyage next month. The Bliss will do 4 Mexican Riviera cruises out of Los Angeles in October, transit the canal and begin Eastern Caribbean cruise out of Miami in mid-November.

 

The Bliss will be brand new with all of the latest bells and whistles.

My vote is for the Getaway. Fly into Fort Lauderdale, it’s cheaper than Miami.

Not from every location that OP is talking about.

Bermuda cruise hands down!!

Bermuda is still hot (if not very warm) in Oct.

BUT, you mentioned late October, you better re-check as the last Bermuda cruise on Escape out of NYC is 30 Sept ... in this case it's good time. Bermuda will still be hot and sea warm.

And you all friends will enjoy the 3 days in Bermuda together.

as of this morning our group is leaning towards the Bermuda cruise on the escape.. our cruise planner with ncl alerted me today was the last day of the $50 deposit and the 2 free upgrades! so we better decide soon !

The Escape goes to Bermuda twice in October one is 14th - 21st and the other being a Halloween cruise departing on the 28th

now the earlier departure would probably be better for weather but the thought of being on a ship for Halloween seems pretty cool as well and gives and extra couple weeks to save up for final payment and the trip itself.

I still cant get over the odd itinerary though arriving at 5pm - overnight - full day - departing at 3pm the following day. Has anyone done this? I feel like you would not get off the ship that first evening and I am sure you would not have much time to do much the day you leave so really you just get the one full day in port which is very nice I must admit because I golf and I have never had a stop long enough to get a game in on vacation!

but its the cool weather is still my main concern with this one. I also hear Bermuda is quite a expensive island (I found golf for $150 which I thought was reasonable!)

If you can possibly do a 14 night cruise on the Dawn out of Boston on October 26th, it's sailing round trip to the Eastern Caribbean. Just a thought.

The Dawn is not a newer ship but just underwent a multi-million dollar dry dock in 2016. She looks like a new ship and has a great crew, entertainment, and service. We have sailed on her many times to Bermuda, and find that seven days go by so quickly.

We are booked on that one with another couple. Looking forward to it.

:) We Love Bermuda in October :D

NCL Dream Bermuda June2008

NCL Dream Bermuda Oct. 2008

NCL Spirit Bermuda Sept. 2009

NCL Spirit Boston to Quebec Sept.2009

NCL Spirit Quebec to Boston Oct. 2009

NCL Spirit Bermuda June 2010

NCL Sun W. Caribbean Nov.2010

NCL Dawn Bermuda Sept. 2011

NCL Dawn Bermuda Oct. 2011

NCL Dawn Bermuda June 8th 2012

NCL Dawn Bermuda June 22 2012

NCL Dawn Bermuda Sept 2012

NCL Dawn Boston to Quebec Oct. 2012

NCL Dawn Quebec to Boston Oct. 2012

NCL Dawn Western Caribbean Apr. 14th 2013

NCL Dawn North bound Repo Apr. 21st 2013

NCL Dawn Bermuda Sept. 2013

NCL Dawn South bound Repo Nov. 2013

NCL Dawn Bermuda July 11 2014

NCL Dawn Boston to Quebec Sept. 12 2014

NCL Dawn Quebec to Boston Sept. 19 2014

NCL Dawn Bermuda Oct. 10 2014

NCL Dawn Bermuda Sept. 4 2015

NCL Dawn Bermuda August 26th 2016

NCL Dawn Bermuda June 9th 2017

Or whenever we can

Well the trip has been booked and of course it's not an option I initially picked lol

I found the 10 day western Caribbean on the epic at the same price as all the 7 day options we were considering.. so needless to say everyone voted yes on that and we are all booked!!

Great itinerary I can't wait! Also will be my longest cruise ever! Since it was a distinctive voyage there were even more free throw ins

The epic looks like a great ship at least will be different than the breakaway we were on last year

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions! Time to start the planning :D

Hello all!

 

I am looking to book a cruise for later this year with a few friends. They have left it up to me for the most part to decide which cruise we pick. This is turning out to be tougher than I thought with everyone's parameters! even having a tough time deciding which one I want myself! But I have narrowed it down to 3 options and am interested in hearing some of your pros and cons and ideas!

 

Here's some back info that will help

 

Last year I booked us all on a Florida and Bahamas cruise on the Breakaway from NY. Everyone had a great time but definitely could of used more hot days to spend out on deck. (We cruised in November last year and plan to this year in Oct/Nov again)

 

We all loved the Breakaway but definitely want to go on a newer ship. We live all over Canada some in Vancouver and some in Ontario and even a couple on the east coast so flights can be tricky and definitely a big portion of the cost.. NYC is definitely the easiest and cheapest port of departure.

 

 

Option 1

 

 

 

7 Day Bermuda on the Escape

 

- This is our best priced option. The ship is new and the flights are easy for us all

 

- some of the concerns would be how is the weather in late October in Bermuda I feel like this could be a cool cruise for the most part.

 

- Spending so much time in Bermuda brings up alot of questions.. is the casino open? do you pay extra taxes on drinks and shopping?

 

Option 2

 

7 Day Florida & Bahamas on the Escape

 

- Another well priced option and again on the new ship

 

- same trip as we took last time however which is not terrible because we can enjoy the ship more or take different excursions

 

- but same concern with warmth last year we had great weather for the 3 days we were south but it was cold leaving and coming back to nyc

 

 

Option 3

 

7 Day Western Caribbean on the Getaway

 

- Our most expensive option and ship is only slightly different than the breakaway

 

- in my opinion best itinerary by far and probably i am sure the best weather

 

- toughest for everyone to get to Miami

 

 

We have some future cruises booked on the Epic and Bliss but for this year choosing this one has been tough any ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

as always thanks to everyone who responds!

Remember, that’s also hurricane season.

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Remember, that’s also hurricane season.

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Posted earlier:

October-November tail gating hurricane troubled waters ?

Weather also could take a mean sweep into the Gulf.

Mex Rivera is not immune from dicey weather.

Where ever you go - there you are - enjoy the moment !

I vote for option 1 as Bermuda is nice in October. Much to see and do on the island and including the Naval port area.

Here is a thought, you can take (I know another cruise line) but the Anthem of the seas goes out from port Liberty in NJ and you can fly to Newark. They have 2 full pools and one is covered. They also have a solarium with a cascading pool as well.

going out of Port Liberty is great. But I was on the Escape out of FL and loved the ship and the Thermal Spa is a must if you can afford the week pass.

good luck