sailing out of NY

[tishie58]

We are taking our first cruise out of Miami in August. Everything has been fine in organizing this for a family of ten but I was wondering if any of you think it is money well spent to sail out of Florida instead of NY. Can you site me pros and cons..we want to plan another cruise as soon as we get back and are wondering if we should just plan to sail out of Florida again or try NY (that is where we live:) Thanks

[dental217]

You have to look at the cost of the cruise out of new York against cruise out of Florida plus airfare. I do know that when going out of Florida, flights to Lauderdale are usually cheaper than flights to Miami. Something else to look at.Also, take into consideration ports of call from both.

[ddoc]

I have sailed out of NY 4 times and out of Ft Lauderdale twice. Each one

is nice. I would never sail out of NY in the winter because of the cold.

You would spend at least 2 days of the cruise in cold weather but in the

summer it's a wonderful sight to sail past Lady Liberty. NY harbor is beautiful and it's easier to bring extra stuff (water, soda) as you have your car or limo. In the winter, its best to leave from Florida and it's

nice to go a day or two early to get in that "mood" and to make sure

bad weather at home doesn't delay your arrival.

[halos]

I've only sailed out of NY once and it wasn't nice, but that won't stop me from doing it again (in fact, I will be doing just that this coming November...and yes, it will be cold, but it's a repo, so we'll only be cold going out) But we can drive to NY so it saves us some money.

BUT..if all things were equal as far as costs, I would fly to Florida because the ports there (especially Tampa) are nicer and things seem to run smoother.

 

I'm hoping that because I'll be sailing out of NY in a cold month, We'll be the only ship in port that day. when I cruised out of NY last time in the month of June...it was a nightmare with 4 ships.

[davy jones]

I have done both a number of times.

 

Plus: You have more ship and port of call options out of Florida.

 

Minus: You have the cost and hassle of traveling to Florida.

[qzbean]

I live within driving distance of New York, and I face the same dilemma every time I book a cruise. You can get good rates out of Florida due to the number of sailings, but I've never found that those rates PLUS airfare PLUS a night in a hotel (because I would never try to fly the day of departure) can beat a fare out of New York.

 

I may reconsider next year, as the itineraries and the ships out of New York get a little repetitive, but since my favorite cruise yet was two years ago on the Legend to San Juan, St. Thomas, and Tortola, I'm repeating that itinerary again this summer on the Miracle, whcih happens to be my favorite ship. (Can't wait!)

 

You'll hear horror stories about boarding in NY, but I've always gotten there early, and it's always gone smoothly. Plus, what's a couple hours of hassle when there's a SHIP waiting at the other end of the line?! (And again, if you factor in the trouble of flying, your overall wait will still be less than two flights plus a FL port.)

 

For me, it always comes down to the overall expense. I don't care how much I spend, but when I have to spend more just to get to a different port, well, that's just wasted bar tab money!

[Peery5]

We have cruised out of Miami twice and NY once and are doing NY again in June.

Can't say that I noticed much difference boarding at either one. All cruises turned out great. For us, we don't fly, and the train trip to Miami was looong. Would never think of driving to either one. I agree choices much better out of Florida.

[AllyCat81]

Sailing out of NY was great, especially since I don't like flying!

 

The money we saved on airfare, we used to book a balcony room. It was nice to not have the extra headache of flight times/delays/etc.

 

However, having 2 sea days going out, and 2 coming in... made me long for land! By the end of day 2 I was so ready to see an island!!

 

If you're in the metro area, I say do it! If you don't like it... then you don't have to do it again :)

[Martin and Lindsey]

Is there only 1 pier for cruise ships in New York? And where exactly is it?

[NPK1]

There are 3 New York area cruise terminals. Manhattan, Hudson River at 50th and 12th, (Carnival & NCL). Brookyn at Red Hook Terminal, (Cunard & Princess) and the old Navy terminal at Bayonne, (RCCL & Celebrity)

[Keith B.]

We have sailed out of NYC twice in the past and will again this September. The reason is my wife made me promise we wouldn't have to fly for two years after our Nov. 2004 cruise. When I started to plan this cruise and was looking at Florida, my wife said 2006 didn't count because we didn't cruise at all that year.:rolleyes: So back to NYC it is. We travel by train from Boston.

 

The nice thing about NYC cruises is that they are 8+ days vs. 7+ days out of Florida and that extra day just seems to make the cruise seem even longer. We actually like the sea days and don't miss the hustle and bustle of getting off the ship at all the ports.

 

I say put me on a ship, sail it out 50 miles, drop the anchor and leave me there for 7 days and I'm a very happy camper (cruiser).

 

I'm less than pleased with the set-up in Manhattan but maybe Carnival has learned from NCL how to ease the pain. In 2004 Carnival was a fiasco but in 2005 NCL made it absolutely wonderful.

 

Whatever you decide have a wonderful cruise.

[willysgrandma]

We've found it cheaper to cruise out of Florida even with airfare than cruising out of NY.

 

The cruises are more expensive going out of NY. And we tend to like the Southern Caribbean which requires us to fly to San Juan.

 

Our least expensive cruise was the Crown Princess out of San Juan - it was $400 per person cheaper. We also don't like sea days, which is anothe reason we usually stay away from NY cruises.