Hi Everyone, thanks for all your much appreciated opinions. I'm seriously considering booking the Dawn the middle of October to celebrate 20 years with hubby. The price looks pretty darn good,and I understand the ship is nice, the itinerary...(Port Canaveral, Grand Bahama Island, Great Stirrup,Bahama, and 2 days at Nassau) But,
I never fly into NY for anything and would like some tips as to: Transportation to the port. O.K., brace yourselves...We have a formal function the night before and would be leaving from it tuxedo and long gown, to hop a plane at 12:55 AM, straight to the port! (Sounds romantic? Crazy? We'll put our jeans on before boarding the plane) Ha! ha! Jet Blue would arrive at JFK at 6:35 AM. the morning of the cruise. I'm thinking since the ship's departure is 4:00PM that day, we'll be there in plenty of time, and could board maybe around 1:00PM??? We would need to know the best way to get from JFK at 6:35am to the port 30 miles away?
Hi Everyone, thanks for all your much appreciated opinions. I'm seriously considering booking the Dawn the middle of October to celebrate 20 years with hubby. The price looks pretty darn good,and I understand the ship is nice, the itinerary...(Port Canaveral, Grand Bahama Island, Great Stirrup,Bahama, and 2 days at Nassau) But,
I never fly into NY for anything and would like some tips as to: Transportation to the port. O.K., brace yourselves...We have a formal function the night before and would be leaving from it tuxedo and long gown, to hop a plane at 12:55 AM, straight to the port! (Sounds romantic? Crazy? We'll put our jeans on before boarding the plane) Ha! ha! Jet Blue would arrive at JFK at 6:35 AM. the morning of the cruise. I'm thinking since the ship's departure is 4:00PM that day, we'll be there in plenty of time, and could board maybe around 1:00PM??? We would need to know the best way to get from JFK at 6:35am to the port 30 miles away?
Your best bet is to take a taxi from JFK. There is a flat fee from JFK into Manhattan (currently $45) plus tolls and tip. The trip should take about 45 minutes. I'd suggest picking up breakfast at the airport, as you will not be able to board the ship until around noon -- and there's not much around the cruise terminal.
On your return, the fare will be metered, but very likely won't be much different.
I second Lisa's congratulations! That's certainly a milestone in this day and age.
Dawn is a wonderful ship. I agree with Lisa, get a meal before heading to the ship but I'd do just a snack. My reasoning is that as soon as you board you can go straight to the Venetian where they'll be serving lunch. You can sit by those huge 2 or 3 story windows and watch the boats on the Hudson. That's what we did. This time we get to board an hour early because we're now Latitudes members. We intend to take every advantage of being aboard early. It's so much fun to roam the ship when it's empty!
BTW, we did a modified version of the itinerary you're considering and had a blast!
Enjoy it!
PS: Traveling to the airport in formalwear after a party sounds like a great time to me…just think of all the looks you’ll draw! What fun!
My husband and I just sailed the Dawn from the 9th to the 16th out of NY. The advise given to date is good. It took us no less than 45 minutes to cross town late in the morning to get to the ship. Once at the terminal, the traffic was horrible. The taxi had to do a circle to finally get to the drop off area. Be prepared. 1 pm should be better. We got there at around 11:45am to board early. We are also Latitude members. Once on board, the buffet will be open as will the bars so you can wait and have lunch on board if you want. They do not allow you to enter your room until 2:00 pm as they are still cleaning the floors and it is a good time to check out the ship. Also, at this time you can schedule excursions if you haven't already. As for the ship itself. It's nice but not overly elegant. I've sailed NCL's Star and Dawn and a Princess cruise. Princess is far more sophisticated but we enjoyed the casualness of NCL on this last trip. We knew what we were getting into. On this cruise, they had a formal night but not very many people partook in the activities. On Princess, it seems almost everyone does. NCL take really good care of their ships and you will find your room is well maintained. We had a mini-suite balcony, mid-ship on the 11th level. Very nice. Food was generally okay but not great. I was a bit disappointed. On Princess I felt like I ate in a 5 star restaurant each night. On the Dawn, it wasn't even close, even in the specialty restaurants. I wouldn't waste my money going to them with the exception of Cagney's (had a GREAT steak). When we sailed the NCL Star in 2002, the food was much better. Not sure what has happened. There is lots to do and tons of entertainment. Overall, we had a great time and I would recommend NCL to those who want a "casual" cruise experience with little staff interaction. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.
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