Too cold to do Cape Liberty, NJ cruise in Dec?

[zeppgirl]

I'm having internal turmoil because we are looking to book our next cruise. The best deal and the longest cruise is one sailing from Cape Liberty to Florida and the Bahamas. All looks good, except I'm concerned about flying to NJ in the winter and that the first few days and last few days of the cruise will be cold. Has anyone sailed from here in the winter and if so, how was your experience?

 

 

[smplybcause]

It'll be cold. There's a chance it'll be during a warm spell, but you likely won't have warm weather until you get far enough south. 

 

I mean if it's not in the 60s except for Florida you won't be in the 60s until you get that far south. 

[CruiseBride926]

4 minutes ago, zeppgirl said:

I'm having internal turmoil because we are looking to book our next cruise. The best deal and the longest cruise is one sailing from Cape Liberty to Florida and the Bahamas. All looks good, except I'm concerned about flying to NJ in the winter and that the first few days and last few days of the cruise will be cold. Has anyone sailed from here in the winter and if so, how was your experience?

 

 

We did a December cruise on Anthem in 2019. There is so much to do indoors that we didn’t even miss the outside for the day and a half or so that it took to get to warmer weather. 

[mets123]

I've sailed many times in December and early January with no issues. The threat of heavy snow doesn't occur until the end of January. By day two I'm usually wearing shorts. Plenty to do inside. Don't worry.

[Merion_Mom]

2 hours ago, zeppgirl said:

I'm having internal turmoil because we are looking to book our next cruise. The best deal and the longest cruise is one sailing from Cape Liberty to Florida and the Bahamas. All looks good, except I'm concerned about flying to NJ in the winter and that the first few days and last few days of the cruise will be cold. Has anyone sailed from here in the winter and if so, how was your experience?

 

 

 

Anthem is made for this climate.  Go ahead - book it.  You'll have a great time.

[YankeesFan4Life]

Jersey weather sucks Nov-March. Not uncommon to have a foot of snow dumped on us at any given time. That being said, Newark Airport very rarely closes because they have one of the best ground crews around. Kudos to them!  However, like people said before, don’t think you’re getting outside for a couple days, probably at least til you get down to The Carolinas. Always the casino and plenty of indoor activities. I live 25 minutes from Bayonne and have never and will probably never cruise in the winter from Jersey just because I think it’s a waste to not be able to utilize the whole ship for 3-4 days. Just my two cents…

[livingonthebeach]

19 minutes ago, YankeesFan4Life said:

Jersey weather sucks Nov-March. Not uncommon to have a foot of snow dumped on us at any given time. That being said, Newark Airport very rarely closes because they have one of the best ground crews around. Kudos to them!  However, like people said before, don’t think you’re getting outside for a couple days, probably at least til you get down to The Carolinas. Always the casino and plenty of indoor activities. I live 25 minutes from Bayonne and have never and will probably never cruise in the winter from Jersey just because I think it’s a waste to not be able to utilize the whole ship for 3-4 days. Just my two cents…

 

Too bad the casino allows smoking.  For most non-smokers that indoor cigarette intake precludes even entering, much less spending any time there. 

[boscobeans]

Day one is spent getting to know the ship, eating, getting settled in your stateroom, dinner, unpacking, a show, the casino and a lounge. 

 

By the time you are up and around the next morning you will be 400  miles to the South of New York and in milder weather. 

The final day at sea the weather will be mild but during the night you will be reentering the cold weather. 

 

More that 2 decades sailing from NYC. NJ and Baltimore in the Winter months, and have never been bummed out spending a day on the ship.. 

48 minutes ago, YankeesFan4Life said:

...  because I think it’s a waste to not be able to utilize the whole ship for 3-4 days. Just my two cents…

 

.... couple days, probably at least til you get down to The Carolinas.

That's how we felt years ago however for us to spend 3-4 days on a ship during the Winter and we decide to fly to Florida we use up 5 to 7 days of vacation time, since we always fly down a day ahead, especially in the Winter.

 

Would rather spend 7 days ON THE SHIP than 3-4 on the ship and 2 (maybe more) days in airports and hotels also we would rather spend the money on the cruise than on flights and hotels.

 

You are almost 400 miles South and in the Carolinas the next morning...

 

After about 30 Caribbean cruises we probably have flown about 12 times and saved $36,000+ if you add up flights, cabs, hotels, time spent in airports and restaurants.

 

Only problem now is there are less choices than there were a few years ago, but since we have been to almost every island the itinerary isn't as important as the length of the cruise and there are fewer and fewer 14 and 12 days cruises..   

 

 

[jptoz]

By 4  pm on day 2 you will probably  be in 70 degree weather. Next morning you will be off the coast of Florida. I've done this cruise alot, and the biggest problem with it is the florida stop. Its absolutely  useless. As others have said Anthem is built for cold weather. Lots of great indoor venues. 

[soremekun]

33 minutes ago, jptoz said:

By 4  pm on day 2 you will probably  be in 70 degree weather. Next morning you will be off the coast of Florida. I've done this cruise alot, and the biggest problem with it is the florida stop. Its absolutely  useless. As others have said Anthem is built for cold weather. Lots of great indoor venues. 

Quoting for emphasis.  Yes, the Florida stop is useless.  I guess it's a part of the itinerary to use up some time.

[Lady Hudson]

49 minutes ago, soremekun said:

Quoting for emphasis.  Yes, the Florida stop is useless.  I guess it's a part of the itinerary to use up some time.

And for families to get to Disney for a day trip!  

[soremekun]

1 minute ago, Lady Hudson said:

And for families to get to Disney for a day trip!  

It's an hour commute each way.  I guess it is possible.

[Arzeena]

9 hours ago, zeppgirl said:

I'm having internal turmoil because we are looking to book our next cruise. The best deal and the longest cruise is one sailing from Cape Liberty to Florida and the Bahamas. All looks good, except I'm concerned about flying to NJ in the winter and that the first few days and last few days of the cruise will be cold. Has anyone sailed from here in the winter and if so, how was your experience?

 

 

Excellent experience always. We live one hour from the port so we pick that as our first option for winter sailing. If you sail from Florida, you get to the warmth faster, ofcourse but we really enjoy sailing from our homeport in the winter.

Don't let the cold scare you one bit. It is nice to wave bye bye to the cold as you sail away.

 

[Lady Hudson]

1 minute ago, soremekun said:

It's an hour commute each way.  I guess it is possible.

Royal runs bus trips.  I believe many families take advantage of this.  Ships generally don’t leave Canaveral until after 9 at night — sometimes as late as 11.  Canaveral is usually a ship day for us with possibly a specialty restaurant and/or a spa visit.

[soremekun]

1 minute ago, Lady Hudson said:

Royal runs bus trips.  I believe many families take advantage of this.  Ships generally don’t leave Canaveral until after 9 at night — sometimes as late as 11.  Canaveral is usually a ship day for us with possibly a specialty restaurant and/or a spa visit.

I have this cruise booked for December 2021.  Per the current information in the cruise planner, we arrive at Port Canaveral at 1pm and depart at 9pm.

[Bradison]

We did Anthem out of Newark in March 2017.  Hoped for a decent day and it was 38 degrees.  Tried to be outside for sail away and it was a no go for us.  Weather was rough in the mid Atlantic (roughest we have ever experienced).  We had a JS with the oversized balcony and we spent the least amount of time on it on any cruise.  We got to Florida and it was 70 degrees.  Very nice but not cruise weather to us.  They had to skip Coco Cay (no pier at that time) and we got to Nassau early and spent a day and half there.  Went to Atlantis and it was just barely warm enough to swim.  This was in March.

 

For us it was our worst cruise.  We had two kids with us but they were 17 and 23.  The bumper cars and sports plex were nice but not really that big of a draw for us.

 

We loved the ship and would highly recommend Quantum class and can't wait to try it in the Caribbean and/or Alaska.  

[Arzeena]

2 minutes ago, Lady Hudson said:

Royal runs bus trips.  I believe many families take advantage of this.  Ships generally don’t leave Canaveral until after 9 at night — sometimes as late as 11.  Canaveral is usually a ship day for us with possibly a specialty restaurant and/or a spa visit.

So does NCL. We have taken this bus trip  many times to meet up with family.

[rjrpar]

We have cruised out of NJ about 6 times on 10-12 day cruises.  I agree with previous posters that by day 2 you are in fairly warm weather - maybe not swimming but comfortable.  However on every cruise, the last sea day (usually the 3rd consecutive ) has been cold and windy but we consider that 1 lost day well worth not having to fly to Florida

[soremekun]

2 minutes ago, Bradison said:

We did Anthem out of Newark in March 2017.  Hoped for a decent day and it was 38 degrees.  Tried to be outside for sail away and it was a no go for us.  Weather was rough in the mid Atlantic (roughest we have ever experienced).  We had a JS with the oversized balcony and we spent the least amount of time on it on any cruise.  We got to Florida and it was 70 degrees.  Very nice but not cruise weather to us.  They had to skip Coco Cay (no pier at that time) and we got to Nassau early and spent a day and half there.  Went to Atlantis and it was just barely warm enough to swim.  This was in March.

 

For us it was our worst cruise.  We had two kids with us but they were 17 and 23.  The bumper cars and sports plex were nice but not really that big of a draw for us.

 

We loved the ship and would highly recommend Quantum class and can't wait to try it in the Caribbean and/or Alaska.  

I did this cruise in February of 2020 and the waters were certainly rough.  

[jptoz]

55 minutes ago, Lady Hudson said:

And for families to get to Disney for a day trip!  

I say useless, because Anthem 7nter gets there at 12pm By the time you get off the ship and travel to Disney, you'll probably get 5hr at a park. A Lot of $ to spent, for the amount of time.  8 nter  different story. Could do a day trip there. So if the O.P. is looking to do  a Disney outing, you  need to do the 8nter in my opinion.

[Lady Hudson]

1 hour ago, soremekun said:

I have this cruise booked for December 2021.  Per the current information in the cruise planner, we arrive at Port Canaveral at 1pm and depart at 9pm.

Not a long time, for sure, but times do vary.  My memory says we often got into port around 11 — maybe allowed off the ship around 12.  Certainly has to do with when the ship is allowed to dock.  Had one trip where the navy was doing something at the dock area and we were delayed.  The navy had priority!!

 

For those of us without children sailing the trip may not be worth it.  Families with young children may have a different idea.  😀

[Cigar King]

The cruise will be fine.  My experience is that the weather is not too cold on that first sea day.  I'd suggest you plan on flying in a day early though.  That way you have at least one day for contingencies if the weather closes in.

[LuCruise]

29 minutes ago, jptoz said:

I say useless, because Anthem 7nter gets there at 12pm By the time you get off the ship and travel to Disney, you'll probably get 5hr at a park. A Lot of $ to spent, for the amount of time.  8 nter  different story. Could do a day trip there. So if the O.P. is looking to do  a Disney outing, you  need to do the 8nter in my opinion.

For our Anthem March 2020 cruise that never happened, we originally planned to take the Disney excursion (transportation) . We were going to go to Disney Springs and perhaps also resort hop. I agree as it's a lot of money to spend for a few hours but this would still have given us a bit of a Disney fix 

 

That was our original plan. Then a couple weeks before, we switched to Kennedy Space Centre, which seems like another good option.

[zeppgirl]

thanks, we have seen where the port is in Florida and the Orlando one isn't in a prime location...I think we will pick another cruise but do appreciate the info!

[sixbirches]

We have cruised many, many times in the winter out of Bayonne on Anthem and on Explorer before, when she was there, and also out of NYC on Norwegian. We have driven to the port in snow a few times. No problem.  And we have never had a bad cruise. A sail away in the snow is beautiful!
Anthem is built for winter. It’s a fabulous ship. No one ever seems to talk about rain when you’re cruising, which can definitely limit your outdoor activities. But on Anthem it’s not an issue because the ship has so many great indoor spaces. 

I have zero interest in the hassles of flying to Florida to cruise. I’m just hoping Bayonne opens up soon since we have a cruise booked in October!