The Med

4 hours ago, FitchburgWIFamily said:

If the prices are rock bottom, it might be an indication the cruise isn’t selling well, and a lot of the concerns about lines and crowds might not be a factor.

 

 

 

 

Thank you, yes it seems that there are many fans of NCL on here which has given us a re think.

For clarification though, the concern about lines and queues was on NCL not Cunard.

The rock bottom price was for the Cunard Crossing not the Getaway cruise.

In fact when I rang my TA about the Getaway it had gone up in price from the one I saw advertised. 

10 hours ago, thistimeplease said:

My only concern with a transatlantic crossing would be the weather in January.  I definitely wouldn't be considering it but everyone is different.  

Yes this is indeed a consideration and one of the reasons that we are dithering.

On the other hand, a Cunard Transatlantic Crossing has been something that we’ve been considering for a while but it the summer we’ve tended to avoid  it because we’ve always wanted to go somewhere else where we can get off and see places.
 

In January the prices are rock bottom for the reasons that’s it’s out of season so it might be a chance to do it and cross it off our list.

Or do we head for the sun?
 

Decisions, decisions.

45 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

You want to get away from home.

Interesting ports.

Not a huge ship.

Not really interested in NY @ New Years.

Ever been to Hawaii?

How about the Pride of America?

I thought that all Hawaii cruises went from Honolulu?

16 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I’m sure they wore black in the 1920s. 🙂🙂

I’m sure they did, and most women love a black dress but I’m not one of them.

Black drains me and anyway, women of my age already struggle to not be invisible. 
 

I’m more into bright colours and getting noticed!

19 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Silver would do splendidly for b+w, gold for red and gold, and blue for whatever is left.

 

I do have a lovely black and white dress but there isn’t a black and white night on the cruise we are considering.

It’s 20’s night and Red/Gold.

But yes, I’d wear the gold one and add something red.

27 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Why won’t you get a chance to use them? And if not Cunard, where?

Because I thought that most people followed a theme.

I’ve got all manner of ball gowns, including Silver, bright blue, gold.

I think the cruise that I’m thinking of has red/gold night which I don’t have (red doesn’t suit me) and roaring 20’s that I don’t want to wear because I don’t like wearing black.

Now that I know I can wear any colour on gala night and that not everyone sticks to the theme I’m more confident to wear them.

This will be our first Regent cruise too and I was worried about being overdressed.

I’m obviously going to leave the floor length ball gowns at home but I intend to wear a cocktail dress and heels every night.

There was a series on TV about The Splendor a few months ago and I was eagerly watching what people were wearing in the evening, it did seem to be a mix of casual and dressy.

I’m casual every day at home so a holiday is a chance to dress up, I was reassured that I won’t be the only one in a cocktail dress.

That’s all really helpful and reassuring, thank you everyone.

I’m looking at the theme nights and I know what I would wear for a 20’s night but what do the Gents wear?
 

Also what is a masquerade ball dress code?
Is it just a ball gown worn with a mask?

I’m really not keen on these theme nights. I absolutely love wearing a gorgeous gown but of my own colour choosing.

I own some lovely dresses and yet on Cunard it seems that I won’t  get a chance to wear them.

3 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Personally if you are going to go to NYC you should really stay in the city. If this is not your first time NJ is OK. My wife and I go to NYC a few times a year, we live two hours away and aways stay in the city

 

At the end of the day you need to do what is comfortable for the two of you

I went to New York once a month for 22 years. Husband didn’t go there as often as me but often enough.

I’m not a City girl, don’t like crowds and have no interest in shopping.

The 2 reasons for going were to not be at home for New Year and to make use of our free flights.

However, on reflection we will probably use the flights another time.

We can’t get enthusiastic about The Getaway cruise and we’re now dithering about the Cunard crossing.

I thought that it would be lovely to dress up and get to wear the gowns that are languishing in my wardrobe.

It now transpires that the theme nights are Red/Gold (which I don’t have) and 20’s night (which I have but don’t want to wear).

So thank you everyone for the replies, it’s been helpful.

Would anyone know the theme for QM2 Transatlantic crossing departing New York on 3rd Jan 2024 please?
 

We haven’t booked it yet, still deciding but I wondered what the themes might be.

15 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

I would still stay in NYC, not all of Manhattan will be crazy

Any reason why?
The hotels on the other side of the river looked quite nice, more cost effective and with a view of Manhattan.

Just curious why NYC would be a better choice.

53 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Do some reading up, I forget for how many blocks around Times Square they do it for but you are basically locked in. I would make sure your hotel is OUT of that area 

Oh no, we’ve absolutely no intention of going anywhere near Times sq on New Year’s Eve. Or anywhere where there is a crowd.
We’ve seen a few hotels by the river on the Jersey side. We will stay in the hotel, have a bite to eat, if we see any fireworks out the window it’s a bonus although we will probably be asleep anyway.

Not a massive New Year fan which is why we want to be away from home to get away from it.

4 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Have you been in NYC for New Years Eve? It can be a real cluster to say the least Lol

No, but to be honest it’s just to be away for New Year, we won’t necessarily be celebrating. With the 5 hour time change we will probably be asleep at midnight anyway. Lol.

Oh, and we’ve just come back from a fabulous South Africa Holiday incorporating Rovos Rail and The Zambezi Queen….would rather spend the money on this type of vacation than a superior suite.

Each to their own though, do whatever makes you happy.

52 minutes ago, JustAPilot said:

Take a look at MSC and their Yacht Club rooms leaving from New York also. YC is the same concept as Haven so your own private ship within a ship concept and their interior YC rooms are priced competitively and much cheaper then what NCL wants for Haven.

Thanks but we’re not really into paying extra for Haven, we’re happy with a balcony cabin.

We don’t spend much time in the room anyway so would rather just have a balcony but take more holidays.

So far this year we’ve cruised the Caribbean with Celebrity, we’ve been to Spain twice, been to The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, numerous vacations round the Uk in our motorhome. 
In 3 weeks we’re going on Regent Seven Seas round the Mediterranean (got a feeling that will spoil us for every other cruise line).

We’ve got free flights to New York to use and we don’t want to be in the Uk at New Year so it seemed like a good time to take another cruise. 

36 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

👍

 

MSC has a 9 day leaving NYC (Brooklyn) January 6th

Thanks but that’s too late, we want to be in New York for New Years Eve then have 2 nights/ maximum 3 nights before sailing.

So a cruise would need to sail on the 2nd or 3rd January.

Even so, the destinations on the MSC aren’t inspiring me.

33 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

If you want a smaller ship the GEM is doing a 9 day out of Miami leaving January 2nd. The Gem is actually my favorite ship

Thank you but for  logistics we wanted to cruise from New York. 

Thank you JustAPilot ….. (I used to be JustAStewardess back in the day)

Anyway that’s helpful.

We’re weighing up the pros and cons but it’s looking unlikely that we will book NCL.

Its similar to cruising out of Southampton, 2 days before you reach any sun.

7 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

My goodness, I am not going to challenge and/or dispute your impressions reading whatever reviews here and/or elsewhere - FWIW - the world as a whole is very different these days, to say the least.  Reviews will always run the spectrum across the scale, relative to the expectations and demands.  I / we aren't blind cheerleaders and criticize as appropriate to us ...

 

In all fairness, post C19, lots of changes ... the grass isn't necessary greener elsewhere with the other lines, another ship.  It's what you make of your cruise experience ... mindset.  We sailed the Getaway in 2022 when it was less than full and again at the beginning of 2023, the itinerary and ports probably quite similar - overall, we had a good time onboard, wasn't perfect - had skipped a port, replaced by another, and dealt with uncertainity about where the ship will dock.  Here's the review that you might've read already and if not, feel free to skim thru it ... we're on the Epic's TA in April, fine ship too and on the GA's larger Plus ship, the Escape (again, 3rd or 4th time)  

 

 

Case in point, you aren't sure if NCL ships are small enough for your comfort, then by all means - avoid Royal Caribbean.

 

... Cunard ships are faster on the crossing but they don't visit some of the ports other lines do.

 

 

We did Royal Caribbean once and never again. We wouldn’t do Norwegian Epic again either. We wouldn’t necessarily choose a ship this large but we just want to get away for New Year and it’s just a means to an end rather than a main vacation.

Re Cunard Crossings……they don’t actually visit ANY ports, it’s just 7 days at sea!

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

NCL is in Midtown.... lots of hotel in the area. Cunard goes out of the Brooklyn terminal. For what you are going to pay for Cunard you can probably get a Haven Cabin

On the contrary, there’s not much difference in the price for a balcony cabin.

7 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

 

P.S. before booking the cruise I would check the hotels in NYC first …. It’s New Year’s Eve …. 
 

 

Yes, thank you. I put in a search for hotels near the cruise terminal and found a reasonably priced one, right on the harbour but on The Jersey side.

However I’ve only just realised that there are 2 cruise terminals and that both NCL and Cunard use different terminals.

15 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

Personally, I would go for the smaller classes if I want something different.

 

What we wanted was to fly to New York for New Years Eve, have a couple of days in NY before picking up a cruise for a duration of about 7 to 10 days.

There isn’t actually that much to choose from, and we won’t go on Carnival.

We saw the Getaway leaving on the 2nd Jan and thought it might be ok but we really don’t think it’s for us.

So it’s looking like it might be the Cunard Crossing.

We can’t see anything else that might work.

The reviews were from people who had cruised, it was at the top of this board, under reviews. I searched for Norwegian, then the ship.

Some people had previously really enjoyed NCL but not recently and there seemed to be a theme.

I agree that some people whinge for no purpose but my point was that they can’t all be wrong. These were recent reviews too, from this month.

Although to be honest, I stopped reading after about 20, I didn’t read all 600 reviews. 

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Why should a cruise line insist upon someone wearing a jacket to dine in the MDR?

Because it’s catering for those who do like to dress smartly.

Birds of a feather flock together. For those that like to make an effort to look lovely, it’s nice to be surrounded by like minded people.

There are enough cruise lines out there to choose from, there’s something for everyone thank goodness.

I admire people who say that they will never travel Cunard because of the dress code…. Great, at least you are choosing another cruise line.

The ones that really annoy me are those that know that there is a dress code but choose that line then deliberately try to be scruffy and flout the code.