NCL out of New York in December

[SugarAim2]

Hi - anyone have thoughts on sailing out of NYC in December? What to expect in terms of how the ship can handle the weather, etc? Anyone sailed out of the East Coast during Winter before?

 

Thanks!

Amy

[cliffd64]

Hi - anyone have thoughts on sailing out of NYC in December? What to expect in terms of how the ship can handle the weather, etc? Anyone sailed out of the East Coast during Winter before?

 

Thanks!

Amy

 

 

I have done it twice before, once in 2003 on the Dawn, and once this past December on the Spirit.

 

As long as there is not a Nor'easter (like we experienced in December of 2003) then the trip should be fine.

 

It may be a little choppy until you round Cape Hatteras, but nothing major. In this last trip in December, it was like glass, but I would not expect it to be that smooth all the time, after all, it's the Atlantic ocean.

 

If you are prone to motion sickness, your standard bonine or dramamine can be taken prior to boarding to prevent any issues.

 

In December of 2003, we left NY in a major winter storm, and had 25 foot seas all the way past North Carolina... It was a very rough sailing for most people, and while my wife and I did not get sick, many people including crew were sick.

[angeljt]

We sailed out of NY in December 2003, and hit snow storms coming and going driving, but the ship handled it fine. We sailed from NY in November, returning in December of 2006 and had beautiful weather. We were on deck for sailaway in T shirts, and returned to very mild weather also.

You just never know what you'll get....

Plan on getting to NY a day or two early if snow is in the forecast and you're not local.

 

Cliff, looks like you were on the 2003 cruise when we returned. The storm started just as we docked. It took us 3 hours to drive to CT, which is usually only a one hour drive.

 

December 14, 2003 around 8-9 AM....

[cliffd64]

We sailed out of NY in December 2003, and hit snow storms coming and going driving, but the ship handled it fine. We sailed from NY in November, returning in December of 2006 and had beautiful weather. We were on deck for sailaway in T shirts, and returned to very mild weather also.

You just never know what you'll get....

Plan on getting to NY a day or two early if snow is in the forecast and you're not local.

 

Cliff, looks like you were on the 2003 cruise when we returned. The storm started just as we docked. It took us 3 hours to drive to CT, which is usually only a one hour drive.

 

December 14, 2003 around 8-9 AM....

 

Yes, I think you are correct. It was snowing as we tried to get to the ship aboard the NCL bus from hartford... we left at 10 AM, didnt arrive at the pier until 3:30 PM... It was a mess out there.

 

We had rough seas on the way down and also on the way back... but the next time we went in December, it was like glass...

[angeljt]

Yes, I think you are correct. It was snowing as we tried to get to the ship aboard the NCL bus from hartford... we left at 10 AM, didnt arrive at the pier until 3:30 PM... It was a mess out there.

 

We had rough seas on the way down and also on the way back... but the next time we went in December, it was like glass...

 

I see you were on the Spirit in December last year and a few other times. Do you like it better than the Dawn?

We were on the Dawn Nov. 26 - Dec. 7, and had the same smooth seas. We also went in October 2005 and had very smooth sailing.

[lukes]

Weather can be a big question mark, great one day terrible the next. We were lucky. On our Dec 21/06 sailing on the Spirit the weather was fine, cool but smooth seas. You needed a sweater or light jacket on the sail away, I was in t-shirt & shorts by midday the first sea day. On the return trip the seas were again smooth and i was in bathing suit until midday on the last sea. The morning arriving back in NYC you definitely needed a jacket it was windy and cold, though no snow, this was Jan 2/07. Hopefully the weather will be as good for our Dec sailing this year.

[hazz24]

My DH and I sailed on the Dawn last Dec. We hit 27ft waves on the first day but that is to be expected like the above posters mentioned. The ship handled it ok but was a bit louder than other ships I have been on (RCI's Voyager class ships). The Dawn seemed to move a bit more also. Nothing a few drinks or some ginger ale can't take care of. Have a great trip. We are sailing out of NJ on the Explorer this Dec and next.

[cliffd64]

I see you were on the Spirit in December last year and a few other times. Do you like it better than the Dawn?

We were on the Dawn Nov. 26 - Dec. 7, and had the same smooth seas. We also went in October 2005 and had very smooth sailing.

 

 

I like them both, it basically came down to itineraries... The September and October cruises for the Spirit are one-nighters (as was the one in May on the Dawn).

 

The cruise in December was a 10 night cruise from NYC to southern caribbean. Nothing like that was available on that week for the Dawn.

 

That was one of my most memorable mainly due to the new friends I made on board. :)

[mbisson]

We sailed out of NY in December 2003, and hit snow storms coming and going driving, December 14, 2003 around 8-9 AM....

 

I betcha the pool wasn't crowded and deck chairs were easy to get!

[cliffd64]

I betcha the pool wasn't crowded and deck chairs were easy to get!

 

Deck chairs were kinda sparse... as they were tied together the first couple of days while the seas were rough :)

 

 

The pool in the spa was fun to watch however... it was sloshing pretty good.

[MrLee]

I betcha the pool wasn't crowded and deck chairs were easy to get!

 

 

But the deck chairs still probably had towels on them! :rolleyes:

[angeljt]

I like them both, it basically came down to itineraries... The September and October cruises for the Spirit are one-nighters (as was the one in May on the Dawn).

 

The cruise in December was a 10 night cruise from NYC to southern caribbean. Nothing like that was available on that week for the Dawn.

 

That was one of my most memorable mainly due to the new friends I made on board. :)

 

I've thought about the Spirit, but we seem to always end up on the Dawn out of NY. I'm thinking about the 2 nighter out of Boston on the Gem in December, but I don't know how crazy I would be cruising in cold weather and not heading someplace warm.

It always makes for a great cruise when you make new friends. We've met some really nice people, and still keep in touch. :D

Jackie

[angeljt]

I betcha the pool wasn't crowded and deck chairs were easy to get!

 

But the deck chairs still probably had towels on them! :rolleyes:

 

Ha ha!!! So very true....

[Grandpaul]

Hey, those are my towels.

[Luv4dacruise]

We sailed out of NY in December 2003, and hit snow storms coming and going driving, but the ship handled it fine. We sailed from NY in November, returning in December of 2006 and had beautiful weather. We were on deck for sailaway in T shirts, and returned to very mild weather also.

You just never know what you'll get....

Plan on getting to NY a day or two early if snow is in the forecast and you're not local.

 

Cliff, looks like you were on the 2003 cruise when we returned. The storm started just as we docked. It took us 3 hours to drive to CT, which is usually only a one hour drive.

 

December 14, 2003 around 8-9 AM....

 

Angeljt, looks like we were on the same cruise, left on Dec 7th. We also drove down from Massachusetts, was a 12 hour drive to and from for us, back to back noreasters. Boy that was fun, the cruise itself was a blast though....

[angeljt]

Angeljt, looks like we were on the same cruise, left on Dec 7th. We also drove down from Massachusetts, was a 12 hour drive to and from for us, back to back noreasters. Boy that was fun, the cruise itself was a blast though....

 

The cruise was great.... We left on that Friday night since they said you wouldn't be able to drive on Saturday due to white out blizzard conditions. We drove to CT and stayed with friends, so we were lucky.

We spun completely around on Route 84, and I didn't think we were going to make the cruise. We got to CT, and couldn't get up the mountain where they live. We called them at 1 AM, and they came down in the SUV and picked us up. We went down to dig the car out the next day, and you could just see the roof.

Were you on our roll call? We had a pretty good turnout for the CC party.

Jackie