New to Royal Caribbean

[mommyto2kids]

We are new to RCL are considering a cruise out if New Jersey or Maryland this January.

We have previously sailed Carnival and Disney so ROyal Caribbean is new to us.

 

Looking for links to good info threads, tips and also opinions on sailing from NJ or Maryland in January as all of our previous cruises were from Florida or San Juan.

 

Thanks

 

 

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[RSLeesburg]

RADIO just did a fantastic review of the Grandeur, which sails out of Baltimore, and if you wait about 3 weeks, I will post something about my first cruise on her too!

 

Here is the link.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1905936

[George C]

I think you will love RCCL, we do many lines and RCCL does so many thing well. Only problem with leaving from up North is no pool/sun for 1st couple of days

[DonnaK]

I've been on Explorer from New Jersey many times, and it's really a wonderful ship!

 

The 7 day itineraries aren't too exciting, but there are some longer itineraries that are preferable if you can swing it.

[mommyto2kids]

Thanks everyone. We have a10 night DCL cruise booked for next Oct so really want something within driving distance. The longer itineraries are out bc the kids missed the first 4 days of school bc of our August DCL cruise so I don't want them to miss more than 5 days of school in January.

 

I'm debating between the 7 night out of New Jersey and the 8 night out of Baltimore.

[vlynn]

We have sailed out of Baltimore the last two January's and will be again in 2014. We love Baltimore's port, it is super easy. The weather is cold the first and last day, otherwise it is wonderful.

[Oshawapilot]

x2 the weather, that's obviously the biggest difference between cruising from a warm weather port in the winter vs a cold weather port in the winter.

 

We've done a few winter cold weather departures now and they varied greatly... On one of our Explorer cruises it was cold for the first 36 hours or so, but they tend to cater to this reality and plan a lot of indoor activities. We were pretty brave and went out on deck quite a lot nonetheless, but it was far from pool weather - the pools were closed until day 3 IIRC.

 

Our last cruise in March on Enchantment was the complete opposite - beautiful warm weather, so nice that they actually had the sailway party on deck.

 

You never know what you're going to get on the east coast - you could be sailing away in a snowstorm, or you could be breaking out your shorts and T-Shirts already if you're a hardened winter-ite like us northerners. ;)

[KeywestK]

The Port of Baltimore is the easiest to cruise in and out of. Easier and more efficient than Bayonne (IMO,) and its location right off of I-95 makes it a very easy drive from wherever you might be coming from.

 

I live in the area, so if OP has any questions about it, please post them.

[LBumb]

welcome

[lakelorain]

I think you'll find the Explorer offers more for kids. Check out the profiles of the 2 ships on the RC website.