Why not more Cruise Ships out of Boston?

[MoonBaby]

Thinking maybe the terminal can't handle more :(

 

Don't know for sure though. Plenty of ships leave from NYC and the NYC Cruise Terminal is certainly doing more than they can handle! UGHHHHHHHH!!!!

 

(Had a bad experience disembarking from last cruise:mad: )

[bUU]

I think it may also be that there is a limited demand for itineraries to the north, and Boston is just that much further from the Caribbean, making it that much more difficult to run 7-day itineraries that people prefer. I sure prefer having my first port-of-call being St. Thomas rather than Norfolk VA!

[mirrajay]

Uh oh - another bad experience at the NYC Terminal? Any advice to give us traveling out of there??

[tomc]

HAL has dropped NYC in 2005, doing all its NE/C out of Boston. Previously, they used both and also ran at least one Caribbean out of NYC. I gotta take a 4:00 a.m. bus out of here (NE PA) to make the Boston sailing next year; for this year's NYC sailing, it's the more convenient 10:00 bus.

[sscruising]

I agree that the itinerary is not what a lot of people like and also the seas tend to be rougher. Another reason I believe is what they charge for port/taxes-it runs around 280pp compared to around 70 or 80 for other ports.

[karen_cpa]

Boston would be a nice choice. Maybe there are security issues? Parking issues? Or maybe the town itself doesn't want it?

[Nitemare]

Plenty of parking, no security issues as the pier is nowhere near anything. Even easy access from the airport. But just not popular for some reason, although every year there seem to be a few more cruises out of here.

[mii]

Three years ago I was on the Crown Princess out of Boston for a 10 day cruise Canada/New England and just loved it. They no longer do. I really wish Princess would consider coming back to Boston. It was really easy to fly to Boston round trip. I have heard many horror stories regarding N.Y. Maybe I can be proved wrong.;)

 

 

Marilyn

[MoonBaby]

I think a 8 to 10 day Caribbean Cruise out of Boston would do well. Simply loved the extra day on the Carnival Legend 8 day cruise last year! I know the trend seems to be towards shorter cruises...and I just can't understand it! I know everyone doesn't feel the same as me...but even a 7 day seems too short to me!

And I am sure they are plenty of New England people who would rather go someplace closer than NYC! Just my two cents!;)

[LindaKE]

I'd love to do a Canada/NewEngland, but don't want to go through NYC. There are so few options to choose from if you eliminate NYC. We're talking about choosing one that sails out of Boston just to be able to do a Canada/New England cruise.

[tomc]

MoonBaby

 

I got used to 10's and, last year, a 12-day NYC-Montreal. Never again a 7. This year, the only way I can avoid a 7 is by doing a b2b Boston-Montreal-Boston -- two 7's. Never did 14 days on a ship, but pretty sure I can handle it.

[MoonBaby]

Tom,

 

What cruise line are you looking at for the b2b? Seems only NCL and Holland cruise out of Boston. Wish more cruise lines did!

 

I am in SEVERE post cruise depression!!!!!! I am looking at the NCL Dawn out of the dreaded NYC Cruise terminal over New Year's....now if I could only figure out how to PAY for it!

[tomc]

HAL, Maasdam -- June 25 2005 Boston to Montreal; July 2 Montreal to Boston. This will be my first b2b and I can hardly wait to hear the pax embarkation letters being called, and watching them stream like ants toward the buses in Montreal, while I lean on the rail with a mug of tea knowing that I have seven ha ha ha seven more days to cruise.

[MoonBaby]

Tom,

 

What do you think of HAL? For some reason I have the impression that it's an older crowd and not very lively. I don't HOW or WHY I got that impression, lol.

 

A back to back is on my dream list of one of the cruises I want to do...it's a VERY long list!

[tomc]

HAL tends to be an older crowd, especially on the longer cruises, northbound, during the school year. The average age can easily be 70 or 70+.

 

That having been said, you may notice me saying often, "Old age isn't what it used to be." People are fond of describing HAL as a floating nursing home, or having a clientele that ranges from "walker to straight-line." Such is not the case.

 

There are often younger people on board, even if they are hard to find. But the ship is often filled with "younger at heart," as well as "well-travelled and interesting" folks. I have found very few duds. The ship is, indeed, somewhat quieter at night, but you will find a fair amount of activity in any of the public lounges. You just won't find horny guys with lust in their eyes chasing nubile young women down the decks. Maybe they did at one time, but that would have been on, say, the Lusitania or the Berengaria.

 

Those older folks will dance you under the table any night.

[MoonBaby]

You just won't find horny guys with lust in their eyes chasing nubile young women down the decks. Maybe they did at one time, but that would have been on, say, the Lusitania or the Berengaria.

LOL Tom!

Ok, DH and I are both in our 40's, NOT the party hardy and drink til you puke kind of people lol....we do enjoy a bit of nightlife, dancing, etc. Now I am going to look into HAL and see what's available...did I tell you how much I HATE the NYC cruise terminal and will NEVER cruise out of there again? (Unless someone was to say..give me a free cruise!:D )

[geoherb]

We had trouble getting to the NYC cruise terminal, with a traffic jam that took 20 minutes to get to the ship after we could see it--and a long wait in the chaos after our cruise to get a cab to LGA. But sailing away from New York City at sunset was spectacular. I think everyone should sail past the Statue of Liberty at least once.

 

I'd guess the average age of the passengers on our New England/Canada cruise on Princess was over 60. We were among the few passengers under 50. We loved it (except for one day at lunch when we had the complainers from Chicago at our table--they couldn't wait to go on Carnival for their next cruise because everything was so much better on it).

[trish1c]

What I thought would be nice is a NYC sailing to Canada that stops in Boston as a port. Most seem to have 2 sea days as they travel north. I think the "extra" port would be fun.

[tomc]

I've never been in an NYC traffic jam going to the pax terminal. But that may be more a function of grabbing a taxi from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is not that far away (42nd and 8th, driving to something like 52nd and 12th). I have been in a huge jam coming in on the airport bus from JFK on my way back to the PA Bus Term, one of those "my arthritic grandfather can go faster" things.

[mirrajay]

Trish - we are going on the Carnival Victory from NYC to Canada and we do actually have a stop in Boston! The problem is that we dont get into Boston until 3:00pm and its on a Sunday so most things will be closed by the time we actually could get to them, but hey, I take what I can get :)

[iluvcruzin]

Just another spin on the question on why aren't their more sailings out of Boston... I don't know about travel from other locations, but air travel from here to Boston is downright ridiculous. It's pretty easy to find reasonable air to NYC, Baltimore, Norfolk or Florida.. But to Boston it's outrageous no matter what airport I choose to fly out of in a 100 mile radius.

[Nitemare]

Just another spin on the question on why aren't their more sailings out of Boston... I don't know about travel from other locations, but air travel from here to Boston is downright ridiculous. It's pretty easy to find reasonable air to NYC, Baltimore, Norfolk or Florida.. But to Boston it's outrageous no matter what airport I choose to fly out of in a 100 mile radius.

It's all because of the Big Red Machine and 1975. We hold grudges here in Boston for a LONG time! :D