NY vs. Florida

[Jrabbit128]

I actually live in NYC and have never cruised out of here before. I have always cruised out of Florida. Can you tell me what are some of the pros and cons of leaving from NY? I always heard the water is rough at first on the Hudson.

[greatam]

I actually live in NYC and have never cruised out of here before. I have always cruised out of Florida. Can you tell me what are some of the pros and cons of leaving from NY? I always heard the water is rough at first on the Hudson.

 

IMHO, nothing beats going down the Hudson past the Statue of Liberty and sailing under the Verranzano. It is truly a special experience leaving from the Manhattan piers. Reminds me of the days of yesteryear when the streamers were thrown, bands were playing, people were allowed to see friends/family sailaway after the onlookers had actually BEEN on the ship for a few hours, usually for lunch.

 

I have no idea about rough water. The cruises I have taken into/out of NYC have all been on the QE2. You really don't know what rough is on that ship UNTIL it gets to be a REAL storm. And rough doesn't bother me in the least.

[Got2Cruise]

The Number 1 Pro about taking a cruise out of NY is not having to deal with the airport. The second you board the ship your vacation begins.

[Betsy's Mom]

We sail out of NYC frequently. It has never been rough, but then we sail on Cunard Queen Mary II and you seldom feel anything on her.:) We did sail once out of NYC on Regent Navigator, a relatively small ship, and felt nothing either. Try it, you'll like it!:)

B.

[janetz]

Love to sail from NY. No flying, hotel, etc. There are many options from NY and New Jersey. Water has never been rough for any of our cruises. Sailing past Lady Liberty is always a highlight. :)

[geegee1]

The Number 1 Pro about taking a cruise out of NY is not having to deal with the airport. The second you board the ship your vacation begins.

 

 

Those 2 things can not be emphasized enough.

 

The only time i felt rough seas was when we were leaving San Juan last year. But that only lasted a few hours. If they could somehow add some more ports for 7 nighters or make a few 8 nighters, that would be the best.

[asylum575]

Jrabbit,

 

The huge advantage to NY sailings is the convenience. From Jamaica, it's probably a $50 cab ride. No hotel, no airport. Traveling with kids can get tough at the airport.

The downside is the itineraries. Years ago, you could only do Bermuda and runs up north. Now, you can make it to SanJuan. Carnival does it on an 8 day out of NY and RCCL does it on a 9 day out of Bayonne.

We've done Bermuda twice and NCL's FL/Bahamas run. There is nothing like being home by 10am, NOTHING.

 

Geegee,

 

Enjoy your Gem cruise. Where in Rockland? We only got 7 inches in the last storm, some parts of rockland got over a foot with power outages.

[janetz]

The Carribean Princes does late spring thru summer to the Carribean and then New England sailings from the Brooklyn terminal. Fabulous ship! :)

[Love the beach]

The Hudson is a river and I don't think I have ever seen it rough --it is usually very calm. There is nothing like sailing out of NY with the city skyline views and Lady Liberty--it is such a great feeling ( and I live here & see them all the time!). We have sailed out of NY many times and have only encountered very rough seas once (Jan of 2007) on a trip to the Caribbean. There was a bad storm which delayed the arrival of the ship into NY and we were late in boarding & sailed around 10 pm--of course the storm was still out there so we had a rough night (and were in a very far forward cabin :eek:) and next day, but after that things calmed down and the rest of the cruise was very smooth. It will occasionally get a bit choppy off the coast of the Carolinas. If sailing south during the winter months it is usually cold outside for the first day & a half going and the last day returning. Have a great cruise!

Marge

[asylum575]

Lovethebeach

 

You're right. The Hudson very rarely gets rough. I've been sailing the river and the lower NY bay for years. It doesn't get rough until you clear Sandy Hook/Coney Island points and head towards Ambrose Point. You get much rougher water whenever you cut acrosse the gulfstream which is typical of a journey down to Bermuda. I've never sailed my boat to Bermuda, but friends that have say it can be rough.

The most common time you hit it is from Key West back toward Miami. If you can make that, the Hudson is a piece of cake.

 

The big variable will always be weather and time of year. As the warm water rushes up the coast, it gets rough. Same principle as flying. Pilots avoid turbulence when possible, so do cruise ship captains.

 

In summary, sailing out of NY is awesome.

[cruiserking]

I actually live in NYC and have never cruised out of here before. I have always cruised out of Florida. Can you tell me what are some of the pros and cons of leaving from NY? I always heard the water is rough at first on the Hudson.

 

We adore sailing out of New York City. It takes us about four minutes to the pier by cab. It is superb not having to schlepp to the airport and deal with all of the airport stress.

 

But, the single highlight is cruising down the Hudson River past all of the iconic New York buildings. We love to stand on our port side balcony, sip some bubbly and gaze at the twinkling lights of the big city as we ease down the river toward the Atlantic, it never gets old.

 

Before we hit the open sea we hoof it up to the top of the ship to see the underbelly of the Verrazano Narrows as we glide under, it is very dramatic and usually summons great applause from all of those on deck. You must cruise from New York City at least once, but, I'm sure you will get hooked.

 

Jonathan

[Jrabbit128]

Thank you everyone for your positive comments. It never occurred to me to sail out of NY before, and when looking at cruises for the summer, the flights are coming out very expensive. For a 5 day cruise out of Tampa, plus flight, car rental, and 2 nights at a hotel, it is coming out to the same as sailing out of NY for 8 nights. I prefer to be on the ship as long as possible.

[asylum575]

Jrabbit,

We're planning the NCL Jewel in August for the Nick theme. Price is pretty good. If you don't want to do NCL. Carnival Pride out of Baltimore is about 3 1/2 hours away. RCCL has the Expolorer going out of Bayonne to San Juan. I prefer NYC since I work in the city and can park at work. Free parking, no hotel, no airport. It's a dream

[geegee1]

Jrabbit,

 

The huge advantage to NY sailings is the convenience. From Jamaica, it's probably a $50 cab ride. No hotel, no airport. Traveling with kids can get tough at the airport.

The downside is the itineraries. Years ago, you could only do Bermuda and runs up north. Now, you can make it to SanJuan. Carnival does it on an 8 day out of NY and RCCL does it on a 9 day out of Bayonne.

We've done Bermuda twice and NCL's FL/Bahamas run. There is nothing like being home by 10am, NOTHING.

 

Geegee,

 

Enjoy your Gem cruise. Where in Rockland? We only got 7 inches in the last storm, some parts of rockland got over a foot with power outages.

 

New City, by the High School. The funniest thing for me was that the roads were in better shape on Thursday night then they were on Wednesday night.

 

Where are you?

[asylum575]

Where are you?

 

West Nyack, by Germonds Park.

 

The roads were great. I came stayed over at work Weds worried about the roads. I came home Thurs easily and commuted back and forth Friday with no problems. Friends 20 miles away got walloped.

 

OK, back to planning cruises, I mean work;)

[Budget Queen]

I've also sailed out of NYC several times. For me, it's a priority of a price dumped cruise. :) I find the "Caribbean, Bahamas" itineraries very lacking, and only have picked them up when real cheap. I do very much like Bermuda, so will pick that itinerary first.

 

My situation is very different than many, I do not pay for air, so I book more based on itinerary and price.