First Timers needing help.

We are first timers (2 adults and 1 child) from Australia who will be in New York in September 2019. We are interested in a 7 day cruise and we are looking for suggestions, the Caribbean, New England, Bahamas have been mentioned and my wife would like to leave from NY, is this feasible. We would also like to end the cruise in Miami so that probably rules out New England. Any advice is appreciated.

Many cruises out of NY or Bayonne, NJ. Caribbean but most New England and Canada - high season for that itinerary - but I do nor expect that any cruises out og NY or Bayonne will end in Miami in September. Alternatively fly to Miami and take a cruise out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

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You will not be able to sail from NYC to Miami. I won't bore you will the legal details, but just accept that it is illegal. Your cruise will have to either start or end in a non-US port or return to the starting port (that is round trip NYC).

This is what is available from NYC in Sept. 2019.

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/fromnewyorkcitynewyork-sep2019.html

EM

We are first timers (2 adults and 1 child) from Australia who will be in New York in September 2019. We are interested in a 7 day cruise and we are looking for suggestions, the Caribbean, New England, Bahamas have been mentioned and my wife would like to leave from NY, is this feasible. We would also like to end the cruise in Miami so that probably rules out New England. Any advice is appreciated.

You have another issue here:

Depending on when (and for how long) in September you are planning to be in New York, your visit may coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly and/or Fashion Week. These annual events negatively impact hotel availability and price.

You will not be able to sail from NYC to Miami. I won't bore you will the legal details, but just accept that it is illegal. Your cruise will have to either start or end in a non-US port or return to the starting port (that is round trip NYC).

It is possible if the ship visits a distance port such as Aruba as part of the itinerary. See the Regal Princess itinerary for November 1, 2018 as attached.

We are first timers (2 adults and 1 child) from Australia who will be in New York in September 2019. We are interested in a 7 day cruise and we are looking for suggestions, the Caribbean, New England, Bahamas have been mentioned and my wife would like to leave from NY, is this feasible. We would also like to end the cruise in Miami so that probably rules out New England. Any advice is appreciated.

Good Day,

I know of no cruises that leave from the NY area and end in Miami. There are some open ended cruises that end in Montreal or England. I am not sure why Paul state that what you were asking was illegal. Cruising to Canada or England may give you better options to fly home. Not sure about that since I have never priced flights to Australia. I will try and attach some schedules for you to see. I would suggest a site that lists all the cruises. there is one I use but we cannot mention it here. You can email if you like and I will give it to you. I think the files attached....You have two cruise ports in NY, one in NJ, Boston and Baltimore to choice from.

Good luck with your planning

ny & NJ sept 2019.pdf

boston 2019.pdf

Good Day,

 

I know of no cruises that leave from the NY area and end in Miami. There are some open ended cruises that end in Montreal or England. I am not sure why Paul state that what you were asking was illegal. Cruising to Canada or England may give you better options to fly home. Not sure about that since I have never priced flights to Australia. I will try and attach some schedules for you to see. I would suggest a site that lists all the cruises. there is one I use but we cannot mention it here. You can email if you like and I will give it to you. I think the files attached....You have two cruise ports in NY, one in NJ, Boston and Baltimore to choice from.

Good luck with your planning

The illegality is that no foreign built and flagged ship can transport passengers embarking at one US port and disembarking at another US port without stopping at a a non US port. ( The Passenger Vessel Services Act, (PVSA), 46 U.S.C. § 55103 (b)) The reference was made to a direct cruise between NYC and Miami.

The illegality is that no foreign built and flagged ship can transport passengers embarking at one US port and disembarking at another US port without stopping at a a non US port. ( The Passenger Vessel Services Act, (PVSA), 46 U.S.C. § 55103 (b)) The reference was made to a direct cruise between NYC and Miami.

Thanks for the information. I guess I just never thought about the fact that cruises, even repo cruises, have a at least a couple ports of call. Always thought the cruise lines did it to sell the cruise not because it would be illegal otherwise.

Here are two cruises that start in New York and end in Miami.

I'll try to explain the logistics ....

Generally speaking, cruises that start in NY and end in Florida occur once annually when the ship is moved to its next region.

For example, in the early fall, ships sail the north east region, then late fall they move south to sail the Caribbean for the winter.

There will be one repositioning cruise per ship that leaves NY, stops at a couple ports (to fulfil the requirements of the PVSA) then ends in Florida, where the ship will start its winter season.

But this repositioning will happen later than September which is why there aren't many available.

The other posts have suggested good options that may work for you.

I would agree that a flight to Miami at the front end might be the easiest solution - you will have plenty of options of cruises from either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.

Thanks for the information. I guess I just never thought about the fact that cruises, even repo cruises, have a at least a couple ports of call. Always thought the cruise lines did it to sell the cruise not because it would be illegal otherwise.

The only ship that can cruise US port to US port is the NCL Pride of America. It was built in 2006 in Mississippi and is flagged in Honolulu. This is the first US passenger ship built and flagged in the US in 50 years. It only services the Hawaiian Islands.

You will not be able to sail from NYC to Miami. I won't bore you will the legal details, but just accept that it is illegal. Your cruise will have to either start or end in a non-US port or return to the starting port (that is round trip NYC).

This is not correct. Your Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) permits round trip cruises on a foreign flag cruise ship by visiting any port in a foreign country, which includes Canada, Mexico and Caribbean.

Voyage departing from one US port to another US port are also permitted, provided the ship calls at a "Distant" foreign port. This definition excludes Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, except the ABC Islands.

Therefore, a voyage from NY to Miami is acceptable if the ship visits Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao or any other distant foreign port.

The only ship that can cruise US port to US port is the NCL Pride of America. It was built in 2006 in Mississippi and is flagged in Honolulu. This is the first US passenger ship built and flagged in the US in 50 years. It only services the Hawaiian Islands.

While Pride of America commenced construction in a US yard, when the initial company went bust, it was taken over by NCL and the hull towed to Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven for completion.

Great advice and tips so far thanks, looks like we will be flying down to Florida to start the cruise.

While Pride of America commenced construction in a US yard, when the initial company went bust, it was taken over by NCL and the hull towed to Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven for completion.

Learn something every day! Didn't know about POA being finished in Germany, US made a special exemption to allow it to be US flagged. On your previous post I was quoting the Passenger Act as to regarding a direct NYC to Miami. The distant port rule is why every west coast cruise to Hawaii stops at Ensanada on the out bound leg.

Could I get some pros and cons for cruises to the western Caribbean versus eastern Caribbean, thanks in advance.

Learn something every day! Didn't know about POA being finished in Germany, US made a special exemption to allow it to be US flagged. On your previous post I was quoting the Passenger Act as to regarding a direct NYC to Miami. The distant port rule is why every west coast cruise to Hawaii stops at Ensanada on the out bound leg.

On the West Coast, cruises to Hawaii & Alaska must return to the same port they departed from, as no distant ports are readily accessible. If a foreign flag cruise ship departs and returns to the same port, the only requirement is to visit any foreign port. For Hawaiian cruises this is normally Ensenada and for Alaska cruises it is normally Victoria. In these situations, the "Distant" foreign port requirement does not apply.

When a voyage starts in one US port and ends in another US port, the requirement to visit a foreign port are more stringent. This is when the "Distant" foreign port requirement comes into play. A distant foreign port is defined as a port outside North America, which is stated as including Canada, all Central America, Bermuda, Bahamas and the entire Caribbean, except for the ABC islands.

For the NY to Maimi cruise, as it doesn't return to the same US port, the distant foreign port requirement applies. Therefore, for this cruise to be legal it would have to visit Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao or any other port outside North America.

The sticking point here is that the OP was looking for a 7 day cruise out of New York that ends in Miami. That won’t happen. As mentioned, there are some itineraries that do this but since the Caribbean is pretty far from New York and this cruise would have to hit a distant foreign port, it’s not going to be 7 days.

To the OP, if you want to stick with the 7 day cruise, fly to Miami or Fort Lauderdale and you will have tons of options in the Caribbean. As far as west Caribbean vs east; for me, east Caribbean is more about beautiful beaches while west Carribean has more adventure based excursions. But you’ll find both on either itinerary.

For example, the western itinerary we took and what we did:

1. Grand cayman - swam with sting rays

2. Belize city - went cave tubing

3. Cozumel - we went snorkeling - but you can easily get to ruins or ziplines or their version of sea world

On the eastern itineraries we’ve done:

1. St Thomas - catamaran to St. John’s for snorkeling

2. St maarten - once did an ATV tour around the island and once did a boat tour

3. Nassau - hated it, didn’t do anything here

4. Antigua - boat tour around island

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