Help thinking of RCCL 9nt from NY

[DWEBBNY]

We are booked for the may 15th magic but are considering changing to the RCCL out of NY. We are taking my parents with us but my mom does not fly so we are thinking leaving from NY would be much easier. Mom doesn't fly. We have tried everything to get her on the plane but she won't. Has anyone taken RCCL from NY and if so what did you think?

 

[SeaSpray]

We just got back from taking Royal Caribbean's Nordic Empress to Bermuda, out of NYC. We got to the port at about 11:20am and we were on the ship by 11:45am, and having lunch in the Windjammer (their buffet restaurant) by noon.

The 9 night RCI (That's RCCL's new name - "Royal Caribbean International") cruise that you are thinking of is the new itinerary for the Voyager cruise ship, starting next summer. We considered that for next summer, too, but are going to take the kids on a Disney cruise next July, then DH and I, along with 2 of my brothers and SILs, are going to do the Voyager the following summer.

We had a van drive the 6 (DH, myself, 2 brothers, 2 SILs) of us from central NJ into the port in NYC and it was great. I wouldn't hesistate to sail out of NYC again.

 

[Mjasp]

How were the waters out of NY. I hear they are VERY rough the first 2 nights till you get out there.

Wonder if the prices will drop for the 9 night voyager out of NY. Right now they are quite pricey.

 

[Gillian]

I know that Bermuda cruises from NYC are a little rough going out. I'm not sure if a Caribbean cruise would take the same route though. Bermuda is pretty far out to sea. RCI's Nordic Empress (an older ship) supposedly doesn't handle rough seas very well, as it was built for the more shallow caribbean waters.

We did the Nordic Empress a while ago & had a great time! The only reason I would think twice about the Voyager 9 days is all the days at sea. I like to be places! But there is a lot to do on the ship.

 

[DWEBBNY]

The prices for the cruise are actually less than what I have booked for the 7 day magic. About $1000 less. Right now we have a cat.3 on the magic for May15th and a similiar room on RCI is less and it is 2 extra nights. I haven't heard anything about rough waters, I hope they are not too bad. I have heard that the food is not as good as Disney's. Has anyone else heard this?

 

[Gillian]

I have heard that the food is often better! And that was our experience when we cruised with them, but it was a while ago.

DWEBBNY, who did you book with? The prices seem about as high for a balcony cabin.

 

[DWEBBNY]

we are booking the owners siute through royalcaribbean4me.com. They were about $600 cheaper than expedia and travelocity

 

[SeaSpray]

Regarding the waters in and out of NYC:

This really depends on how choppy the water is on the days you sail. When we sailed out of NYC on June 29th, the waters were calm all the way to Bermuda. But when we left Bermuda on July 4th, the water was choppy and that night and all the next day at sea, you could definitely feel the ship rolling and pitching, but I don't think it made many, if any, of the passengers or crew sick. The captain said we had hit 15' waves overnight on Friday into Saturday. On Saturday even though the weather was nice, they had the pool closed because the waves in the pool had been sloshing all over the deck. Later in the day they reopened it though.

Regarding pricing: I've done a lot of research and realize that Disney cruises are more expensive, cabin type for cabin type, than most of the other cruise lines. But after looking into the teen's program (our DSs will both be teens when we sail next summer), we feel it's worth it. Also the Disne ships are beautiful, and while the RCI ships are beautiful too, there's just no comparing the attention to the detail that Disney provides such as the themed restaurants, themed lounges, etc.

Regarding food: I can't make a comparison since I haven't been on a Disney cruise yet. The food on RCI's Nordic Empress was good. Some dishes were outstanding while some were just "fine".

We're doing the Disney cruise next year because our DSs will be with us and we love everything we've been reading about Disney cruise lines, but we're going to book RCI's 9-night Voyager out of NYC for the following year when it'll be just the adults going because we wouldn't need to fly, and we like the itinerary and the fact that it's a 9 night sailing.

 

[ktharris]

We are booked on the Voyager out of NYC next year. We got a great deal on Columbus Week for an aft, corner balcony stateroom. The prices for this sailing were very reasonable!!

Kathy