Cruising out of Baltimore or New York in the winter?

[Duckie26]

My thoughts exactly. I hope on our upcoming Jan cruise everyone else on the boat is too particular about temps and stays inside on those days so my husband and I have the tubs to ourselves (although I wouldn't be opposed to sharing the tub with cool people!)

 

Don't get too excited.... we cruised in January last year and all the hot tubs were always busy on the Pride. LOL

 

We spent some time in them ourselves. It was awesome...until you had to get out. LOL Just remember to bring your robes. :)

[Thirsty Cruiser]

...We spent some time in them ourselves. It was awesome...until you had to get out. LOL Just remember to bring your robes. :)

Talk about shrinkage!!! Yikes!!! :o

 

To the OP, I would check temp forecasts down the Atlantic coast and dress accordingly. Even in the Bahamas, you can have days that barely make the fifties. Pack accordingly.

[nybumpkin]

NCL's Jewel left NYC yesterday afternoon with wind gusts over 50 MPH. If Carnival did sail from NY in the Winter I'm sure they would have departed as well.

Our neighbors are on this cruise. They left early Sunday morning so they made it to NYC before the worst of the storm. I'll be very interested in how the first day of sailing went....

[nybumpkin]

Received a phone call this afternoon from the neighbors on the Jewel, calling from Port Canaveral. It was rough sailing out of NYC and the ship had some broken glass (nothing like what Brilliance of the Seas experienced in the Med a couple of weeks ago), but once they weathered the storm it was fine. And the hot tubs are open and are being well patronized.:D

[dmwnc1959]

I recently took the Celebrity MERCURY out of Baltimore on a 9-night Bahamas cruise. It was 47 degrees when we pulled into Key West. The whole eastern seaboard was in a cold snap and we didn't hit 'warm' weather until Nassau when it got up to 75 degrees.

 

Here are some pictures in a slideshow of the tempest we hit off of the coast of Cape Hatteras. The day started a little rocky and got worse. Most of the pictures were shot from my Deck 9 balcony, some from the Deck 5 Atrium windows and the Deck 6 Promenade. The whole slideshow takes less than 3 minutes to go through but worth your time to see just how quickly our day deteriorated.

 

[birdie16]

Wow DMWNC1959! Great photos! Thanks for posting...I will NOT be cruising out of Baltimore or New York in the winter for sure...I don't care what the deals are.

[madgally]

So, not too many people in the hot tubs on those "bookend" days?

 

Hot tubs are great in the cold, and not as much fun when it's hot out. We use ours in NY much more often in the winter then we do in the summer. Mostly the kids will jump in it to make the pool feel cooler in the summer.

[rrraydon]

I suppose this counts for early March as well (out of Baltimore)? I'm not as much concerned about the temps. but rather how rough the Atlantic seas are this time of year. Anyone have any experiences?

 

 

Cruised the Pride out of Baltimore last Feb and a couple of weeks ago. Smooth sailing a few weeks ago, but last Feb was a little rocky coming back. Wasn't too bad at all..and I hope not too bad this Feb either.

 

Also, lots of people in the hot tubs a few weeks ago too. Just hop from the outside hot tubs and run up to the steam room in the spa..lol.

[dmwnc1959]

Wow DMWNC1959! Great photos! Thanks for posting...I will NOT be cruising out of Baltimore or New York in the winter for sure...I don't care what the deals are.

 

The seas, like the weather in Alaska, are unpredictable but can be generalized. Winter makes it worse only because it is so cold when the relative wind speeds and temperatures combine to freeze the jacuzzi overflow to the decks, which it did with us. And because a cold front was gripping the east coast we didn't find relief until Nassau, Day 5 of our 9 day cruise.

 

Some of the deals are just too good to pass up. I got a single occupancy rate on a balcony for 9-nights in the Celebrity MERCURY for less than $900, which is a steal. I can handle the rough seas having been in the US Navy for 12-years and enjoyed the ride that little tempest offered.

 

I am guessing if you take the proper anti-seasickness precautions well in advance of sailing day it helps.

 

Whatever your situation, do like commercials say and 'just get out there'.

 

Bon Voyage!!!

[Giulia]

We were on the Dec 19 - Dec 26 cruise on the Pride out of Baltimore. By the second sea day it was warm enough to enjoy some balcony time with a sweater on. Next three port days were mid 70's, and it really didn't get real cold until mid-day on the last sea day. Weather was MUCH better than we had even hoped for. On the first sea day we had 40 mph winds and were travelling at about 22 knots and it was smooth sailing.

 

We arrived back in Baltimore on the day the big storm was expected but didn't notice any extra motion.

 

G

[patseacruiser]

Christine - She's coming back today isn't she? Can't wait to her how it was going out.

[Donna1127]

We did it on NCL in Feb. 2007-never again. Took at least 2 days to warm up, then we had 3 days in warmth, then 2 more cold days back. We are leaving in Sept from NY on the Miracle this year, but at least it will be warm the whole cruise.

[chrystine]

Christine - She's coming back today isn't she? Can't wait to her how it was going out.

 

Pat, she is back. She said it was fine, no problems sailing out at all but she said the water was rough the first night out and lots of people were sick. She said the cruise left something to be desired, but that is another story lol.