What would you do?

[ucmino]

Looking at two cruises in 2021.  One is the Gem out of New York, 14 days, the other is 12 days out Tampa on the Jade.  Am I crazy to think about cruising out of New York in January????

[Alegeeter]

Depends what you want out of your trip.

Do you want to get into your bathing suit and sun bathe right away? If so, I wouldn't recommend New York in January. After the first 1 1/2 to 2 days it'll be warm enough to enjoy the outdoors.

[Wheeling TravelingMom]

We cruised out of NYC in November and lost two of the seven days to cold/crappy weather. We still had a great time but I just wouldn't do that in winter again if being outside is your goal. The seas were also very rocky on the days going into and out of NYC. 

Edited February 25, 2019 by Wheeling TravelingMom

[dcipjr]

Well, New York would win for me because it's 2 days longer and I don't have to fly (since I'm within driving distance of New York). And since I'm within driving distance of New York, I'm already cold in the wintertime, so I'd just enjoy the warming-up and not worry about being warm right away.

 

What's the itinerary for both? Are there any ports on one itinerary that are better than the other?

Edited February 25, 2019 by dcipjr

[lupaglupa]

We took the Breakaway out of New York in February - don't do it! The weather is cold and the north Atlantic stormy. The outside areas of the ship were closed off and the inside areas crowded. If you have the option to leave from a warmer port you will, IMHO, have a better cruise

[MS52]

We left on the Escape in January of this year.  North Atlantic going was rough, coming back was calm.  I don’t get seasick and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.  A cold day at sea is better than a day in the airport IMHO

[Tatka]

  We do not cruise out of Northeast with NCL during colder months (well this March 29th cruise will be a big exception, and I hope it will be warmer) as in some reason NCL did not put indoor pools on ships sailing from colder places. Big mistake.

 On the lighter note if you need to park your car at Manhattan terminal it is $40 per day (max $400 I believe)

[Newleno]

for me it is about price,  can you take a bus, (we take a $5 megabus to nyc), or train to nyc?  how much is air fare?, we literally walk from penn station to the cruise terminal, nyc very convenient for us.

Edited February 25, 2019 by Newleno

[Visigoth]

If you chose NY in January be sure to get good trip insurance.

[penwah2002]

Quite often we go out of NYC in the winter, my husband hates to fly.

 

That being said, we take the first and last day to really relax. We also sail in the Haven so it's just very relaxing for us in the courtyard, spa appointments and of course the casino for us.

 

It's always personal choice.

 

Have fun whatever you choose.

[PTC DAWG]

I vote WARM every time...

[shout19661966]

lots of factors involved I have cruised both ports around the same time.

 

I am from Long island so getting up and driving to the port in less then a hour and on the ship is a plus for NY. If you have trouble with sea sickness or anyone in your party does the NY port cruise down the east coast and back could be brutal if the weather is bad. neg for NY.

 

Tampa the cruise will be on a sheet of glass the whole time thats the plus.  The bad parts of cruising out of tampa is you have to fly in the day before and pay for flights and hotels etc and the BIGGEST problem with tampa port is fog this could delay your cruise on either or both ends. 

[mking8288]

It depends on a matrix of factors.  We just did a 14 days W. Caribbean itineary out of NY last month, on the bigger Escape - nearly perfect weather and calm seas.  Shorts by afternoon of Day 2 until last northbound Sea Day - PC in Florida has never been one of our favorite, but it is comparable to some disliking getting to Old San Juan at 2 or 3 p.m.  Missed GSC (again) but the rest of the ports, tropical & that it came with complimentary showers, rain & clouds at Costa Maya.  

 

We are 30 to 45 minutes from MCT and that's a bonus, booked it at 55 days out and we upgraded to a balcony for a nominal upcharge since the other freebies are useless to us.  Otherwise, would've neede 2 to 3 extra days for air/ground travel (fly to Miami, Tampa or FLL, etc.) and allow for possible delays coming home, back to work/school routines - high wind that arrived last night continued to wreck the N.E. region all day ... flights delayed, cancelled & diverted with 3+ hours ground stops at LGA, EWR and even JFK & high profile vehicles, including partial bans on tractor trailers & commercial vehicle bans at area bridges, downed wires, etc. plus the Gem coming home unable to dock due to wind & strong river currents on the Hudson.  

 

Whatever you decided, select & spend money for a good travel/trip insurance unless you feel strongly about rolling 3 dices to go self-insured.  WIth a decent thruway/interstate highway system & 4 winter tires in the snow belt region, short of a massive blizzard - nothing would stop us from doing & making a 8 to 10 hours drive to a nearby cruise pier, with a combo cruise-n-park package; and, come out just as frugal as flying south.  

 

If you cruise out of FL, advantages are obvious - many ports on less days, more choices of ships/itineraries & cruiselines to price compare ... as long as your flights are in the air and landing on-time, etc.  Alas, no clear & simple answer on a one-for-all package but you will have plenty of time to re-think the risk factors (i.e. engine propulsion issues on older ships) and change plans.  

[browniegirl]

Oh gosh, so glad I saw this question!  I just booked a 10 day out of New York in January 2021!!!  Yikes.  Being from the west coast of Canada, it didn't dawn on me that getting to New York at that time might be a huge problem or the fact it is cold on cruise for first 2 days.... I have never cruised out of there before, only florida and California (ncl platinum member).

 

So... the suggestion is to either come in a few days early to ensure I get there?  or move to a different port and cruise?  I have never been to new York and it looks breathtaking at Christmas time, had though to spend maybe 2-3 days there prior to the cruise but now I am unsure after reading this, especially the insurance part, yikes!!! 

 

Leah

[islandercruiser]

9 minutes ago, browniegirl said:

Oh gosh, so glad I saw this question!  I just booked a 10 day out of New York in January 2021!!!  Yikes.  Being from the west coast of Canada, it didn't dawn on me that getting to New York at that time might be a huge problem or the fact it is cold on cruise for first 2 days.... I have never cruised out of there before, only florida and California (ncl platinum member).

 

So... the suggestion is to either come in a few days early to ensure I get there?  or move to a different port and cruise?  I have never been to new York and it looks breathtaking at Christmas time, had though to spend maybe 2-3 days there prior to the cruise but now I am unsure after reading this, especially the insurance part, yikes!!! 

 

Leah

I was from the Wet Coast of Canada, we now live in the beautiful north, we did a cruise out of NJ December 1st 2014?  Your travel concerns ie. getting there are the same as they are getting to Florida.  Insurance same no differences.  Should you spend a few days in NYC - yup its a wonderful city to explore.  For that matter, every time we cruise and have to travel east we have always added a day or two to get there just in case and we have always bought the travel insurance including health insurance just in case.  Got caught in snow storms in western Canada, the few extra just in case days were the reason why we were able to be on the ship when she sailed out and if we were to have missed the ship, that just in case insurance would have gotten us to the first port.  Sure makes the stress of travel to get to the port a lot less stressful.

[browniegirl]

9 minutes ago, islandercruiser said:

I was from the Wet Coast of Canada, we now live in the beautiful north, we did a cruise out of NJ December 1st 2014?  Your travel concerns ie. getting there are the same as they are getting to Florida.  Insurance same no differences.  Should you spend a few days in NYC - yup its a wonderful city to explore.  For that matter, every time we cruise and have to travel east we have always added a day or two to get there just in case and we have always bought the travel insurance including health insurance just in case.  Got caught in snow storms in western Canada, the few extra just in case days were the reason why we were able to be on the ship when she sailed out and if we were to have missed the ship, that just in case insurance would have gotten us to the first port.  Sure makes the stress of travel to get to the port a lot less stressful.

Small world.....I just moved down from Northern BC a few months ago (FSJ)…. can't say I miss last winters 13 feet of snow lol!!!  Although for some odd reason Vancouver Island has had a cold snap and lots of snow which is unusual for us!  I love it personally, sunny and cold!  Thanks for your advice.  I will make sure I have insurance...….. do you do the ncl insurance or private?  I have never paid for ncl insurance, always go with bcaa or something like that?

 

Leah

[bonvoyagie]

Well I guess I will be going to find out about NYC in Feb next year - leaving from the wet coast (SFO) and ending up on the cold coast (NYC) via the Panama Canal - we opted to go this direction because we would rather take our chances on the end of the cruise as opposed to the front end. Yes we did consider the NYC to SFO portion of this cruise. We will have three sea days to acclimate.

[MJSailors]

Consider - 

An NCL ship returning to NYC yesterday was held outside of the harbor in international waters 

because of extremely high winds affecting the Metro area. It made the evening news the NYC area..

The ship docked early this morning.

Of course this caused issues for disembarking passengers regarding transportation  

rescheduling post cruise and also caused an inconvience for embarking passengers who may have needed hotel accommodations if they arrived Monday ,the day of the cruise.

Weather is unpredictable at anytime. Winter weather in NYC can obviously cause issues for cruise passengers.

Neither Celebrity sailing from Bayonne, NJ or Princess sailing from Red Hook,Brooklyn have winter sailings.

Maybe those lines know something that NCL fails to recognize.

Long answer short IMHO choose Tampa., 

 

[browniegirl]

Yes this is all such great advice!!  Definitely has helped me....think I'll be making a change.  Even though I've always wanted to see NY at xmas….sniff!!!

[graphicguy]

I've viewed this a bit differently.  I've sailed out of NYC a couple of times in the cold months.  About to do it again next week.  Never been delayed.  Things have gone smoothly.  

 

I know NY had some high winds recently (as did my home area in SW Ohio).  Never happened before for me.  Not sure how often that happens.

 

But, I do enjoy coming in for the weekend to NYC and kicking off my pre-cruise by taking advantage of what NYC has to offer.  That's always a very enjoyable prelude to the cruise.

 

The first day of the cruise, I end up exploring the ship and planning the week (while sipping a cocktail at one of the many bars I'll explore on Day 1.  No problem doing that inside.

 

By the time the ship hits first port, it's in warm climates and I'm ready to go.

 

Just how I plan a NYC based cruise.  I have enjoyed it each time.  Plus, cruises out of NYC in winter months tend to cost less (depending on cruise date) than those going out of FL.

[lupaglupa]

40 minutes ago, browniegirl said:

  Even though I've always wanted to see NY at xmas….sniff!!!

 

New York at Christmas is lovely - maybe a trip just for that (with no cruise) is something to put on your to-do list.

[Newleno]

53 minutes ago, browniegirl said:

Yes this is all such great advice!!  Definitely has helped me....think I'll be making a change.  Even though I've always wanted to see NY at xmas….sniff!!!

Have you always dreamed of seeing NYC or do you dream of seeing Tampa?

[browniegirl]

12 minutes ago, Newleno said:

Have you always dreamed of seeing NYC or do you dream of seeing Tampa?

Haha... you are funny;) I have actually cruised out of Tampa 2 or 3 times and loved it ...so yes it's also a great choice! Alot go to the western Caribbean and I've done that 3 times... need to switch it up a bit :)

[islandercruiser]

We get travel insurance through blue cross.  Use their travel and medical package.  I also verified that it covered ship medieval if needed.  Enjoy the island and don’t get caught in a snow storm on your way to the ship.  We did on our way to NYC end of November one year... oh and try not to laugh too hard when it snows 2 cm and the towns shut down lol

[jean87510]

We live an hour from nyc in south Jersey. We always rent a car for the day and drive up, drop it off, then uber or Lyft to port. It is easier if leaving out of bayonne but we have done it in nyc. We drop car off at Newark airport then take train to gcs, then taxi or uber to port.