Sailing out of NY

[kakarp]

I’m thinking of maybe sailing out of NY but have heard it can be a rough sail in the upper Atlantic. What are some of your thoughts? I live in New England but have always flown to Florida for cruising.

 

Thanks Kevin

[dmwnc1959]

Yes, it can be very rough sailing out of the northeast, especially in the winter months. Even in summer it can also be smooth sailing one week and something from the Perfect Storm the next. I sailed out of Baltimore two years ago and it was fine until we were off of the coast of North Carolina, then the seas turned into a churning tempest. You just have to take your chances and go with it, or fly to Florida and deal with the airlines. Last year for the first time 2004 I boarded a plane and headed for Miami to board a ship. Figured I'd rather deal with a couple of hours being inconvenienced than a couple of days of being tossed around like a cork.

 

From my 2010 cruise:

 

 

[Bonnie J.]

When we went from NYC to Canada the sea wasn't rough but the fog was VERY thick. Ship had their fog horn sounding all night. The fog would lift then come back. When it was there in port you couldn't see what was across from the ship. It was also chilly. On July 2nd it was 63' and windy coming home. No one sat on the deck

[johneeo]

I’m thinking of maybe sailing out of NY but have heard it can be a rough sail in the upper Atlantic. What are some of your thoughts? I live in New England but have always flown to Florida for cruising.

 

Thanks Kevin

 

You never know.

 

I have gone out of Bayonne twice in the summer, and both times it was smooth as glass.

[EGG]

I've sailed out of NY 7 times, 3 times to NE/Can, once to Bermuda and 3 times to the Caribean. 3 of these cruises were in Nov. and Dec. We only had bad seas once and the day after was smooth as glass. As you know, you don't usually get sunning and swimming weather in the fall or winter or spring from NY. The seas have consistantly been worse on our 3 cruises out of Los Angeles and San Diego.

[spirit rev]

We have sailed from NYC in January five times. As a general rule, when we are coming back north we have hit some rough seas off North Carolina that last for several hours but not usually days. Yes, there was one trip when it did last "forever". Likewise, one year (2010) we sailed out of NYC into a nor'easter with significant wind over night the first night and then smooth sailing for the rest of the trip, including coming north along North Carolina. I haven't found the sea conditions so troubling that I feel it necessary to fly to Florida for a Caribbean escape in Januaary.

 

Also, my Canada/New England experience from Boston was totally different than the poster's above. Yes, it was cool but it was October. Never had problems with sea conditions while on this cruise, except as we entered the St. Lawrence.

[mizLORInj]

Correct, it's not truly predictable.

Have sailed out of NY/NJ during all seasons and the roughest water was one way to Bermuda in June. Other than that, nothing so rough that I remember it. Even had days of dead calm seas out in the middle of nowhere!

 

The runs to Canada have been fine except last September's tail end of a hurricane the last sea day for a few hours. Other than that we've had fog sometimes and sometimes perfect sunny weather.

 

Have fun!!!

[5fathom]

Not trying to discourage you ..... but. We have sailed the North Atlantic twice. Once, out of Boston to Bermuda in Oct and the other a repo from Puetro Rico to NY via Bermuda in early May. From PR to Bermuda, smooth as glass. From Bermuda to NY we had rough heavy sea's. We have cruised 35 times and those were two of the roughfest. However, as stated before the North Atlantic is unperdictable, very hard to figure out !

[marco]

As most of the above have stated, it's totally unpredictable. We've sailed out of NY/NJ over 25 times, either a cruise or transatlantic. We've sailed in May/Jun/Jul/Aug/Sep/Oct/Jan/Feb. Sometimes it was smoother and brighter in Jan/Feb then in other months (of course, it was cooler, but smoother and sunnier sometimes) We did a Canada/New England cruise a few years ago in July. As the air was a LOT warmer than the water it was VERY foggy while at sea most of the time, (and a bit cool and NOT ideal deck sunning weather), but smooth as glass and once we docked in the ports, it was lovely weather.

[trish1c]

I had one cruise out of NYC where it was smooth as glass both ways. We had one where it was so rough you had to hold the handrails to walk or you would be thrown to the ground. I even got bounced off my mattress in bed in the cabin.

It all depends.

However, the convenience of driving home & being in my own house before noon can't be beat.

[sjcruiser]

We've done it over Thanksgiving (Bayonne), and it was windy the first day while sailing out, and when sailing back in. Once we hit the Carolina's, the weather was great. We're sailing on the Miracle this summer, so the weather should be pretty decent.

[indigosails]

Yikes~ Those pictures look like when we crossed the Drake.

 

To the OP: Yep, the Atlantic can be rough, but you never know. It's all about the weather. Just hang on tight and keep smiling.

[karinad]

Last year was our first time sailing out of NY/NJ. We did a 10day caribbean cruise in Nov. We had smooth sailing to and from. My only problem, if u want to call it problem, is not enough time to enjoy the sun. It's nice spending some time on the ship, but kind of a downer being in the cool weather 6 days out of 10. What we loved was not flying! The convenience of getting off the ship and getting in the car and going home. It's the best! We're looking at doing NE/CA. this yr.

[kakarp]

Thank you all for your thoughts and photos. I'm still not sure, it doesn't look fun to me.

 

But my DW says!

 

 

NO WAY, YUK YUK YUK

 

Thanks

Kevin

[maryred]

Don't completely discount the idea of cruising out of an East Coast port other than FL. 4 out of our 7 cruises have been from either Miami or Port Canaveral (the other 3 from NYC or Baltimore) and 3 out of the 4 FL cruises we ran into rough seas that lasted the entire day or longer wherether were 2 which were rough enough to cancel most of the daily activities. With the 3 cruises from non-FL ports we've only had 1 that had an over night's worth of rough seas and that was the just before putting into Port Canaveral (I think we were off the northern FL coast at the time).

So our rule of thumb now is no cruises out of FL from May to Nov (hurricane/tropical storm season), and no Nov to Mar cruises from NYC or Balitmore (Nor'easter season). But that still leaves Norfolk, VA and Charleston, SC as (easy to drive to) options if we were required to travel to different ports for some reason.

[richard1s]

I’m thinking of maybe sailing out of NY but have heard it can be a rough sail in the upper Atlantic. What are some of your thoughts? I live in New England but have always flown to Florida for cruising.

 

Thanks Kevin

 

Sailing out of NYC is a very memorable experience, especially if you combine it with a day or two in the city. The port is hectic and traffic can be a problem, so you should allow sufficient time. Sailing down the river and passed Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty is very moving. Certainly something to consider is the possibility of rough seas. On our May cruise out of NY to Bermuda, the conditions going there and returning were incredibly rough. Enjoy your cruise if you decide to go.