Cruising from NY?

I have never been on a cruise. Neither has DH. We have a 2.5 yr old DS.

I've been thinking that I'd like to try a short cruise that leaves from NY. Nice and easy so that we can try it out. I'm thinking something that's like 3-4 days.

I don't know where to begin looking though. What cruise lines leave from NY? Which ones are good? Toddler friendly? etc.

Also, how does pricing work? Is it possible to get great last minute deals or do you have to book in advance to get good prices?

Thanks! I really don't even know where to begin with this.

Re: Cruising from NY?

I like vacationstogo.com for searching for cruises. You can search for less length of trip, leaving from NY for any month/s and see all options and base prices so as to compare.

Usually I go directly to cruiseline website to price from there because you can pick which floor you want to be on etc and see exactly how much trip would cost.

Depending on when you want to travel, it will be more expensive in the summer.

We have cruised all the major crusie lines and I'm sure you would enjoy anyone!

Re: Cruising from NY?

I have seen some great deals for cruises out of NY on Disney Cruise line for early this summer (last minute guarantee rates).

To get the best deal either book as early as possible, or try to get in at the last minute. bear in mind though with last minute cruising, your choices will be limited in terms of stateroom location, dining seating and spots at the kids programs.

I'm the biggest fan of Disney Cruise Line.

One thing to remember with ANY cruise and little ones is that they can't go in the pools if they are not fully potty trained. Just a good FYI to know

Re: Cruising from NY?

The only issue with cruising from NY is they are usually a bit longer since it's further from the destination (if going south)...and you get more "sea days" to spend on the ship and less for island hopping/exploring or excursions.

My MIL and friend both separately did a Bermuda cruise and while the weather wasn't great (rainy in May), they enjoyed it. I think those can be shorter.

Re: Cruising from NY?

There really aren't any 3-4 day cruises from NY except for a select few cruises to nowhere (which are mostly 1-2 days - NCL, and Disney are two that I can think of off the top of my head). Otherwise you are looking at 5-7 day cruises or more.

We cruised our of Bayonne on Celebrity (Summit) last summer with our girls who were 2 and 4 and we had a blast. It was 2 days down (although we lost one sea day to Irene) and then 3 days in Bermuda and 1 sea day back.

Most of the cruises out of NY are to either Bermuda or Canada - but there are some like Disney that goes to the bahamas - but those are a full week or longer.

RCCL, and Celebrity sale out of Bayonne, NJ. Princess, NCL, Carnival, Disney sail out of NYC.

Re: Cruising from NY?

We just came back from a RCCL cruise that sailed from Cape Liberty (Bayonne NJ). It was a longer one, 9 nights that hit Bermuda, St, Maarten, Puerto Rico and Labadee.
There are shorter cruises that go to Bermuda only, it's mostly days at sea.

Princess sails from Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Re: Cruising from NY?

Look into Norwegian Cruise lines, it departs from NYC and goes to Bermuda. I did that cruise several years ago and 1.5-2 days your on the water and 4 days around different parts of Bermuda and then another 2 days on water going home. Bermuda is beautiful and I really enjoyed my trip.