Late evening departure from MCT (NYC)

[johnrich]

Our cruise doesn’t leave until 11:00 PM. I am assuming it is since the ship is repositioning from Miami to New York. We have air and transfers through NCL. If we have an early flight and are able to make it to the pier early (before they start allowing people into the terminal) is there someplace at the port to store our luggage so we can explore Manhattan?

Has anyone ever had a late evening departure (11 PM)? What time do they usually let you start boarding?

Edited July 13, 2022 by johnrich
Spelling correction

[markeb]

Best bet is probably to store you luggage at Schwartz. Link here: http://schwartztravel.com/

 

357 W 37th St. Not far from Penn Station & Times Square and recommended here for years. That would give you the freedom to explore Midtown, got back and pick up your bags, and then check in. If you're getting in hours early, I'd head from the airport to Schwartz, to explore, then go back for my bags and catch a cab/Uber to the terminal.

 

No idea on cruise check in time, unfortunately!

[princeton123211]

9 hours ago, johnrich said:

Has anyone ever had a late evening departure (11 PM)? What time do they usually let you start boarding?

It will be dictated by the cruise line but check what time the previous cruise is scheduled to arrive. If its a late 11pm departure because the ship isn't arriving until noon, then you obviously won't be able to check in early. If the ship arrives at the normal 6/7am time slot, the previous passengers are going to be disembarking by no later than 10am and in all likelihood you can check in at the normal time and then go explore a bit. 

 

Personally I would make a reservation at a nice hotel in midtown for breakfast/brunch and have their bell staff store bags for the day which they'll be happy to do if you're eating there. Then proceed to the ship in the afternoon when you're ready/at the time you've been given to check in. 

[GTJ]

10 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

It will be dictated by the cruise line but check what time the previous cruise is scheduled to arrive. If its a late 11pm departure because the ship isn't arriving until noon, then you obviously won't be able to check in early. If the ship arrives at the normal 6/7am time slot, the previous passengers are going to be disembarking by no later than 10am and in all likelihood you can check in at the normal time and then go explore a bit.

I am assuming that the planned voyage is that of the Norwegian Breakaway, departing New York on August 21, 2022, just before midnight for a 7-night round-trip excursion to Halifax and intermediate ports. The vessel will have been previously operating out of Miami on 7-night round-trip excursions. Its last Miami departure, on August 14, 2022, will be a shortened 5-night excursion, returning to Miami on August 19, 2022, at 7:00 a.m. The vessel will discharge all her passengers, then deadhead without passengers from Miami, arriving in New York two days later on August 21, 2022. Once it does arrive, there will be no passengers to off-load, and so I would expect the vessel to be available for boarding soon after its arrival in New York City. When exactly will it arrive? While there might be an anticipated internal timetable, because the vessel will not bound by any cruise itinerary, it will get to New York City when it gets there . . . depending on how fast it travels. Given the late scheduled departure time, I would expect that NCL anticipates the vessel to arrive sometime in the late afternoon or early evening.

 

Once in New York City on August 21, 2022, the Norwegian Breakaway will operate eleven consecutive 7-night excursions to Halifax and return, concluding the season on November 6, 2022. Later that day the vessel will depart on a 14-night repositioning cruise from New York City to New Orleans, and upon arrival on November 20, 2022, she will engage in a series of 7-night round-trip excursions from New Orleans to Mexico and Central America through April 16, 2023. After the winter in New Orleans, the vessel deadheads again to New York City, followed by an Atlantic Ocean crossing and a summer in Europe. I don't understand all of this deadheading to New York by a large vessel like Norwegian Breakaway. Yes, the Passenger Vessel Services Act regulates cabotage, but I would think that the cruise line service planners could offer some sort of one-way international itineraries that are PVSA-compliant.

[johnrich]

On 7/13/2022 at 7:45 PM, GTJ said:

I am assuming that the planned voyage is that of the Norwegian Breakaway, departing New York on August 21, 2022, just before midnight for a 7-night round-trip excursion to Halifax and intermediate ports. The vessel will have been previously operating out of Miami on 7-night round-trip excursions. Its last Miami departure, on August 14, 2022, will be a shortened 5-night excursion, returning to Miami on August 19, 2022, at 7:00 a.m. The vessel will discharge all her passengers, then deadhead without passengers from Miami, arriving in New York two days later on August 21, 2022. Once it does arrive, there will be no passengers to off-load, and so I would expect the vessel to be available for boarding soon after its arrival in New York City. When exactly will it arrive? While there might be an anticipated internal timetable, because the vessel will not bound by any cruise itinerary, it will get to New York City when it gets there . . . depending on how fast it travels. Given the late scheduled departure time, I would expect that NCL anticipates the vessel to arrive sometime in the late afternoon or early evening.

 

Once in New York City on August 21, 2022, the Norwegian Breakaway will operate eleven consecutive 7-night excursions to Halifax and return, concluding the season on November 6, 2022. Later that day the vessel will depart on a 14-night repositioning cruise from New York City to New Orleans, and upon arrival on November 20, 2022, she will engage in a series of 7-night round-trip excursions from New Orleans to Mexico and Central America through April 16, 2023. After the winter in New Orleans, the vessel deadheads again to New York City, followed by an Atlantic Ocean crossing and a summer in Europe. I don't understand all of this deadheading to New York by a large vessel like Norwegian Breakaway. Yes, the Passenger Vessel Services Act regulates cabotage, but I would think that the cruise line service planners could offer some sort of one-way international itineraries that are PVSA-compliant.

Thanks GTJ!  Actually it’s not the Breakaway. It’s the Joy next spring but it is doing the same thing the Breakaway does and deadheads from Miami to NYC with no pax. I would think they could make the last cruise in Miami a short 3-nighter to the Bahamas then do a northbound from Miami with pax and do a stop in the Bahamas or even Canada before coming to NYC. I would think something like that would be PVSA compliant.
 

I’ll be anxious to see what time the Breakaway gets into NYC next month and starts to board as that may give me a bit more data to plan my trip. 

[njhorseman]

27 minutes ago, johnrich said:

I would think they could make the last cruise in Miami a short 3-nighter to the Bahamas then do a northbound from Miami with pax and do a stop in the Bahamas or even Canada before coming to NYC. I would think something like that would be PVSA compliant.

No, that would not be PVSA compliant. A repositioning cruise starting in one US port and ending in another US port such as this one from from Miami to NY requires a call at a distant foreign port . The closest distant foreign port to the East Coast would be one of the ABC islands, which would take the ship thousands of miles and many days out of its way.

Edited July 19, 2022 by njhorseman

[GTJ]

21 hours ago, njhorseman said:

No, that would not be PVSA compliant.

Very true, if attempting go from Miami to New York. An alternative to going from one U.S. port to another U.S. port via a distant foreign port includes going from a U.S. port to any foreign port, or vice versa. With some ingenuity it might also be possible to take advantage of the exceptions for cruises to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (where the coastwise laws do not apply).

 

One possible plan that could work for NCL is a deadhead from Miami to the Bahamas, then an itinerary from the Bahamas to New York. Were NCL to operate from Grand Bahama, then passengers could travel on the Balearia ferry from Fort Lauderdale, and make a direct connection to the cruise vessel. Another possible plan is a one-way cruise from Miami to Canada. Many vessels complete their autumn fall schedules with a one-way repositioning from either Montréal or Québec to Florida, but I have not seen any late summer schedules repositioning from Florida to Québec or Montréal. It might not work here, though, as NCL is to do round-trips from New York to Halifax, not one-ways between New York and Québec or Montréal.

 

It just seems such a waste to travel all the way between Miami and New York with no passengers, and the NCL schedulers should be able to devise something that will generate at least a modicum of revenue.

[johnrich]

22 hours ago, njhorseman said:

No, that would not be PVSA compliant. A repositioning cruise starting in one US port and ending in another US port such as this one from from Miami to NY requires a call at a distant foreign port . The closest distant foreign port to the East Coast would be one of the ABC islands, which would take the ship thousands of miles and many days out of its way.

Thanks. I knew it had to stop at a foreign port, but didn’t know it had to be a distant foreign port. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. 

[GTJ]

5 minutes ago, johnrich said:

I knew it had to stop at a foreign port, but didn’t know it had to be a distant foreign port.

The actual rule is codified at 19 C.F.R. § 4.80a, which you can read in full here. And yes, it is an arbitrary rule. Why should Aruba be classified as "distant" and Bermuda as "nearby," thereby qualifying the former but not the latter?