Carnival (or any) cruises leaving from NY/NJ area??? HELP !!!

[disney9696]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what thoughts everyone has about a Carnival cruise-----specifically, the 5-night Carnival Glory----cruising out of the NY/NJ area?? I have a "free week"over the summer, and as much as I'd like to do a Disney Cruise, I live in NJ and the airfare to Florida in August is INSANE !! I want it to be sort-of budget-friendly, and that is why I am not looking into 7-nighters.......SO..............

Has anyone been on this ship?? If so, positive AND negative comments are welcome !!!!!

AND...........

I have been going nuts to find the best price possible for this (or any) cruises. I have checked BJs, Entertainment, AARP, AAA and cruise websites. Does anyone have a GREAT website they could offer ???? If I could find a 7-nighter that is cheap enough, out of NY or NJ, I would grab that !!!!

THANK YOU in advance for any help anyone could give to me !!!!!

Lisa

 

[maslex]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what thoughts everyone has about a Carnival cruise-----specifically, the 5-night Carnival Glory----cruising out of the NY/NJ area?? I have a "free week"over the summer, and as much as I'd like to do a Disney Cruise, I live in NJ and the airfare to Florida in August is INSANE !! I want it to be sort-of budget-friendly, and that is why I am not looking into 7-nighters.......SO..............

Has anyone been on this ship?? If so, positive AND negative comments are welcome !!!!!

AND...........

I have been going nuts to find the best price possible for this (or any) cruises. I have checked BJs, Entertainment, AARP, AAA and cruise websites. Does anyone have a GREAT website they could offer ???? If I could find a 7-nighter that is cheap enough, out of NY or NJ, I would grab that !!!!

THANK YOU in advance for any help anyone could give to me !!!!!

Lisa

http://www.americandiscountcruises.com/ This is the website that my DH uses when he books our cruises. You could check them out. I also can't comment too much on any Carnival cruises yet. Our first one is this coming August. But we'll be on the Carnival Miracle? I think that's the one. LOL We have gone out of NY though. Once last year and the first time back in '06. Hopefully you can get a decent price on that website!!!

 

[luvdisney00]

Subbing, I'm very interested in doing a cruise of ouf NY/NJ sometime in the next few years.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'm a frequent cruiser and unless you go last minute, I've always found that it was cheaper to fly and cruise out of Florida than it is to just get the cruise out of MD/NJ/NY or Boston.

 

[msmayor]

In terms of 'best price', pretty much what you see is what you get. Cruising out of the northeast is great for those who don't want to spend the money on airfare, but you won't find cruise fares that match what is in Florida. Supply and demand - there are far more ships leaving out of Florida than the NY/NJ area so there's more competition for the vacation dollar there.

Most lines no longer permit travel agents to discount their fares; you may find agencies that will offer additional perks such as on-board credit or free travel insurance, but these offers change pretty regularly.

Remember when using any of these 'discount' search engines (like cruise compete) not to be swayed by the first low price you see. That may not include port fees and taxes, and once you add those in the price may be exactly the same as what you'd get direct through the cruise line. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples.

We did the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore last summer, 7 nights to Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport. Not a terribly exotic itinerary but we were going more for the relaxing-on-the-ship angle than the ports (though we did go to the Magic Kingdom on our Port Canaveral day - not everyone thinks its a great idea because of the time and $$ but we already had tickets and having been there many times, knew how much we'd accomplish). We live in NJ and it was an easy drive to/from Baltimore to save $1200 in airfare. We booked 15 months ahead and ended up with a price of $750pp for an August cruise (we booked two staterooms for the four of us to gain extra space and two bathrooms; we have two teens).

 

[mickeyluvr004]

Hi we sailed on Carnival Dream last june out of port canaveral.. we live in ct and we drove.. not a bad drive if you have the time.. we are heading down to tampa feb 21 to get on the inspiration.. we love carnival, i hear alot about Royal Carribean but for the money Carnival is what we are doing.. good luck i called Carnival direct as my travel agent was getting a higher price.. Good luck and have fun

 

[HeatherC]

I would suggest that you keep checking Carnival's website along with Royal Caribbean....they go out of NJ.

They do have price drops at times and I have been able to snag great deals that way. last April I did a 5 night to Bermuda for $450 and then a 9 night with our whole family over Thanksgiving for $650. This was on Royal Caribbeans Explorer of the Seas out of NJ.

Also be sure to check for resident discounts...that is how I got the Bermuda deal.

I also use cheapertravel.com for pricing and then cruisecompte.com when I am ready to book to see who will give the best onboard credit or prepaid tips.

Hope this helps!

PS...You could also consider Baltimore if you can drive further.

 

[mjkacmom]

We have taken 2 NCL cruises out of NYC, and loved them! I can't imagine doing traditionally cruising again, or flying to Florida vs. driving 20 minutes to the port! Summer is peak season, and it's always going to cost more to cruise out of NY/NJ vs. Florida, especially during the summer.

 

[ericamcl]

The Norwegian Epic leaves from NY - i'm a travel agent part time and they always have great deals too!

 

[WDWjen]

We took a carnival (victory?) out of NYC to Canada a few years back. It was our first cruise together and we didn't bring the kids, and went with another couple..;.we had a great time and I would recommend it if you are easy going and looking for a fun time. Not the best food I've ever eaten but enjoyed the whole trip. Our bar bill was more than the total cruise, however so read into that what you will!!!

First, it was so easy - we took the LIRR to the city, grabbed a cab, and got on the ship no problem. Second, as I said we didn't have our kids with us so it was a REAL vacation for us! Third, we didn't care about ports or destinations (went to St John in Canada). We had a great time on the ship, casino, ,spa, read books, took naps, etc. Also -we didn't have great weather for July- very foggy... but who cares!?

That being said, our next cruise we would like a bit better food choices (carnival was just OK) and a better destination (bermuda or bahamas) but we will likely have to go for a longer cruise (5-7 nights instead of 3-4 nights) At the time leaving our kids for 4 nights was enough! We are planning on bringing them next time.

We looked into the DCL but we have 3 kids so its just so expensive to fly to florida and cruise w/disney. I think we will look into the RC from Bayonne or the one from Baltimore.

Bottom line - if you are just looking for an easy getaway from the NY area the carnival line is great. BUT I dont have much to compare to..

 

[quentina]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what thoughts everyone has about a Carnival cruise-----specifically, the 5-night Carnival Glory----cruising out of the NY/NJ area?? I have a "free week"over the summer, and as much as I'd like to do a Disney Cruise, I live in NJ and the airfare to Florida in August is INSANE !! I want it to be sort-of budget-friendly, and that is why I am not looking into 7-nighters.......SO..............

Has anyone been on this ship?? If so, positive AND negative comments are welcome !!!!!

AND...........

I have been going nuts to find the best price possible for this (or any) cruises. I have checked BJs, Entertainment, AARP, AAA and cruise websites. Does anyone have a GREAT website they could offer ???? If I could find a 7-nighter that is cheap enough, out of NY or NJ, I would grab that !!!!

THANK YOU in advance for any help anyone could give to me !!!!!

Lisa

Norweigion does a 7 night, Bermuda, out of Philadelphia. I think Carnival may have one out of there also.

 

[mjkacmom]

Norweigion does a 7 night, Bermuda, out of Philadelphia. I think Carnival may have one out of there also.

Actually, NCL goes to Bermuda out of NYC, and Philly recently closed it's port for cruising. And a PP said that the Epic sails from NYC - currently, just the Jewel and Gem from NCL, and there is no way the Epic would get out of the NYC port under the bridge.

 

[mdsoccermom]

The Norwegian Epic leaves from NY - i'm a travel agent part time and they always have great deals too!

I think you need to do some retraining with NCL U. The Epic sails from Miami and will also be doing Med cruises roundtrip from Barcelona.

To the OP, can you leave from Baltimore? Carnival and Royal Caribbean sail year round from there.

 

[disney9696]

Hi Neatokimmo,

Tried to send u a PM, but it says your message box is full......hope you get this !!!!!!!
Lisa

 

[disney9696]

I think you need to do some retraining with NCL U. The Epic sails from Miami and will also be doing Med cruises roundtrip from Barcelona.

To the OP, can you leave from Baltimore? Carnival and Royal Caribbean sail year round from there.

Yes, Baltimore is not out of the question......will check there too, thanks!!

Lisa

 

[blondietink]

We have found that booking direct with Carnival is the cheapest way to go. Have compared prices, including the sale prices on different cruse sites and nothing can beat what we paid direct with Carnival for our upcoming cruise in February.

 

[disney9696]

WOW EVERYONE !!!

Thanks soooo much for your speedy replies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Am still willing to hear what anyone has to say !!!!

Thanks so much !!

Lisa

 

[stingray65]

In November I booked a 9 nite cruise with Royal Caribbean in April to Port Canaveral, FL, Key West, FL, Nassau, Bahamas , CocoCay, BahamasA. balcony out of Baltimore for $1099 and recieved $175 shipboard credit, $100 spa certificate and dinner at their signature restaurant through Crucon cruise outlet.

 

[macfinn]

i have done this twice, once 6 years ago and agin last spring. WE live in Rhode Island and drove to NYC, it cost 250 to park for the week. If you live in Jersey you should be able to get a car service to pick u up.

The cruise is un believable, embarkation for carnival is very good, we took carnival miracle...4 sea days...3 islands....grand turk,half moon cay and nassua bahamas....there is so much to do on the ship that u dont even realize your at sea....there is a kids club that we used for our 3 and 6 yo,seperated by age and we could not get them out of there....great for us..
carnival is by far the cheapest , if you want a little more luxury do the royal carribean,but it will cost u probably 400-500 more than carnival. the only draw back is when u come back it does take a little longer to get off the ship, i think because there are a few ships that arrive at the same time, customs is a breeze...take the elevator to the parking deck and your off....this is of coures my opinion....but it was anice 8 day vacation that kids would enjoy, the bermuda cruises are very nice, but bermuda is a bit stuffy and not a lot of things to do for the kids....carnival is the best bang for the buck....enjoy

 

[ericamcl]

I think you need to do some retraining with NCL U. The Epic sails from Miami and will also be doing Med cruises roundtrip from Barcelona.

To the OP, can you leave from Baltimore? Carnival and Royal Caribbean sail year round from there.

you're absolutely right - thank you for correcting me.

i was playing on the dis while working on a quote for someone on the Epic - my bad

i guess that's what I get for multi tasking....