Yea, there is NOTHING like going out of Manhattan. I have so many pictures of the Twin Towers when we sailed out years ago. :angel. Used to be able to see the tops of the towers in our back yard too.
We were kind of "recruited" to go on NCL Dawn a few years ago out of Manhattan. I think we went in Feb. (out of NY!!) Friends of ours were looking for a vacation home in Port Canaveral/Cocoa Beach area and that was the lst stop. DH and I continually REFUSED to go, but they kept hounding us...so DH shows up at my office one day with the cruise docs :sniper Anyway, it was the whole schmeal. The "whole family" went and we are close to them, BUT, felt kind of out of place and "duped" into looking at condos when we should have been having fun. But NCL...we just don't like the free style dining, the long lines, the food, the whole thing just didn't sit well...kind of like just going out to dinner on a busy Fri and Sat night at home. We really enjoy getting "dressed up" for our dinner meals,(DH is a cop, I'm an Orthopedic nurse, so we/I mostly really enjoy wearing fancy clothes since we wear uniforms to work) enjoy getting to know our servers, going to the same table, all that stuff. We're not snobby people at all. We enjoy "the help" and getting to know them. On Spirit, I became best buds with our cabin steward!!! I was on our balcony with binocs looking at dolphins jumping when he came in to clean and I grabbed him to come out and look and see...I really ENJOY meeting new people, hearing about and sharing their lives...hard to explain...and on NCL we didn't get that. It was just so "impersonal." Food sucked, truth be told, and I am not "picky" about that either. If I don't have to shop for it, cook it, or clean up after it, I am a
camper. But it was just...standing in line and waiting to be seated and served in a restaurant that I wouldn't think of going to at home. This is just MY OPINION. I enjoy the whole cruise experience. LOVE everything about it. I get...hmmmm....a feeling of "going home" on Carnival. We really LOVE those ships!! And just didn't feel that way on NCL Dawn. Matter of fact, on this Spirit cruise, our cabin steward told us he wished we could stay cuz he was going to miss us!!! It was the only cruise (Dawn) we got off and were honestly happy to be home. We went on Dawn CTN and NCL Spirit CTN also a few years later because we had "parties" on the ships. We live very close to the terminal in Manhattan so it is a no brainer. That was okay. But for a week's cruise...no thank you. Again, just our preference. Have been on Princess also, nice ships, LOVED RCI VOS and Empress....but...CCL...we just love that line....when you find something that works for you...:thumb We are platinum, VIP on CCL and they all but kiss our feet when we board. We get free laundry wash, dry and fold, all the extras, and the price is so right. DH gets military discount. We got an aft wraparound balcony cabin a few cruises ago and can't ever ever go back :lol DH said CCL was talking about upgrading us to a suite in Sept. I said NO WAY. I am spoiled enough as it is! Spirit wrap aft balconies have different rooms and we love that. Which is why we have to book Spirit class as the above yawner explained! You will really love the Explorer. We loved the Voyager (sister ship) Would go on it again in a heartbeat, but the $$ and perks vs. CCL just don't make it worthwhile. 2 of our "most favorite cruises" were on VOS. Brooklyn terminal is different. You take a shuttle to the ship. Strict drop off and pick up, very small areas, so be careful. When we dropped off/picked up our DS and his DW from their honeymoon we had a terrible time parking there, but DH just flashed his badge =shrug Sorry to chew your ear off (and anyone else following this thread!) I know you'll have a GREAT cruise and can't wait to hear all about it!
