Departure Day!
Now that I had a date and destination booked, I started obsessing over every detail of the cruise. I researched absolutely everything! Maybe I went overboard, but it was my first cruise and I wanted it to be perfect.
It seems that embarkation day is always the most hectic and stressful day of a vacation that’s supposed to be relaxing. I wanted to make it go as smoothly as possible. The ship was scheduled to depart at 6pm. Everything I had read said that people typically try to get there as early as possible and it’s a big “hurry up and wait” because nobody can board the ship until everyone has disembarked from the previous cruise. Boarding typically doesn’t start until around 11am. My research showed that if one arrived at the terminal after noon, they’d pretty much just walk right on with minimal waiting. Knowing this, I decided that I wanted to get on the boat and start my vacation as soon as I possibly could.
With Norwegian, 21 days to go before the trip, you have the ability to Check In online. You can book a boarding time (as well as make reservations for shows). Typically, the time slots fill up from early to late. I am a night owl, and I made sure that I was logged into my Norwegian account right at midnight, and I was able to grab the very first boarding slot. Tip: Make sure that you have all of your documents handy when you’re checking in online, including a photo of each person on your reservation. I was also able to book the shows on the days and times I wanted as well as printing up luggage tags. Victory!
The only drawback with not being able to book the shows you want to see until the 21-day mark, is that all of my specialty dining reservations were made at the 120-day mark. When making my dinner reservations, I had to anticipate what times and dates I wanted to see shows, and pray that I got what I wanted. This was another reason why I booked my check-in time and showtimes right at midnight on day T-minus 120.
I made sure to buy plenty of gadgets on Amazon. Luggage Tags, European to US outlet adapters (so I’d be able to use every outlet in the room), and I can’t even remember what else. At some point soon I’ll review my Amazon purchase history and put links in for my purchases along with reviews. Some were fantastic. Others weren’t needed at all.
Most people like to park right at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. It’s very convenient, but also expensive. I wouldn’t consider myself to be cheap, but parking there is $45/day and I felt that was way too much. I know that parking in Manhattan is ridiculous but was looking for any way to save. I figured that the parking funds could be better enjoyed in the casino. Again, more research. I found this video on YouTube. Sounded like a solid plan, at half the price! I ended up dropping my family and my luggage off right at the door of the Cruise Terminal. I then took the Lincoln Tunnel over to New Jersey (it’s free heading out of the city). The Port Imperial Ferry Terminal is not far at all from the where the tunnel pops you out in Jersey. I parked, took the $9 ferry ride back into Manhattan, and walked the 10 minutes north along the Greenway just past the Intrepid. It took me 45 minutes from when I dropped off my family to the time I joined back up with them. It was Easy-peasy, and would do it again in a heartbeat.
The Drive into Manhattan
Since I live in New England (Massachusetts to be exact), whenever I drive into the city, I have discovered THE BEST route that never has any traffic at all.
The goal was to get an early start. When we head into the city, we like to stop off at the Blue Colony Diner in Newtown, CT. It’s right off exit 10 on I-84. We’ll “tank up” with a meal and hit the bathrooms. Their baked goods are also fantastic to take to go. (Their NY Cheesecake is some of the best I’ve ever had). We figured this would tide us over until we got settled on the ship for lunch.
I don’t know how secret it is, but here’s how I drive to Manhattan. I loathe I-95 and avoid it whenever possible. I love taking I-84 west from Hartford to I-684 in Brewster, NY. From there I typically take the Sawmill Parkway in Katonah (unless it’s nighttime, because the deer can be crazy. If it’s dark out, I’ll stay on I-684. It turns into the Hutchinson Parkway. Then the Cross-County Parkway, to join up with the Saw Mill further South).
I love to drive, and I think that the Saw Mill Parkway is an outstanding road, but it may not be for everyone. It’s narrow, twisty, with low bridges and tight merges. People tend to speed on it. Oh, and there’s random stoplights around blind corners, LOL. I find it keeps me on my toes. The Saw Mill Parkway splits into the Mosholu Parkway and the Henry Hudson Parkway. Take the Henry Hudson. The Henry Hudson enters Manhattan right alongside the Hudson River. It continues under the George Washington Bridge, and literally dumps you right on at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. The ramp up to the cruise terminal is very well marked.
Boarding the Joy
We had booked the very first time slot when we did our online check-in. It was for 8:30am. I dropped off my family at 7:45am and the baggage porters were already there, ready to take our luggage.
Never having done this before, I figured that I’d meet up with my family who would just be hanging out waiting for me. Inside the terminal it was very disorganized, and from what my wife tells me, they asked if anybody had an 8am check-in time. My wife said yes, and basically started the line to wait for check-in. When I arrived, I gave her a quick call on my cell and she talked me into her location right at the front of the line. Security unclipped the ropes and let me meet up with her. It was amazing.
We checked in seamlessly and were handed a card with a number on it. I was hoping for a 1, but those very low numbers are given to people who have priority boarding, like Haven guests or those who are at a very high Latitudes rewards level. I don’t remember our number, but it was VERY good. Looking around as the terminal filled up with people waiting, we were much lower than everybody around us.
Boarding didn’t begin until approximately 11:30am. They started calling groups of people to board, and it reminded me of crazy Black Friday shopping. People were very pushy and cutting in line. They were walking in between rows of seats and basically stampeding the poor folks who were trying to maintain an orderly boarding. Unfortunately, they failed miserably. It was a complete free-for-all. I saw people with very high numbers fighting their way to the front of the line. I hate to say it, but I did not want to let them in before us. I mean, I’m a firm believer of “the early bird gets the worm.” We were the early bird, and we did everything that we could to make sure that we were some of the first allowed on.
Once we walked up the gangway, everything was far more orderly. We breathed a collective sigh of relief. We were aboard! …after touching base at our muster station location, we headed up to Deck 16 and grabbed drinks at the poolside Wave Bar. With drinks in hand, we walked over to lunch at the Garden Cafe Buffet.
People say that the Buffet is the WORST place to eat lunch on departure day. I would tend to agree if you checked in later. But, since we were some of the first on the ship, we were some of the first people to hit the buffet. We easily found a great table along the window and were able to make a few trips up to the buffet before the place started to fill up. I think that if we were to have boarded any later, it would have been much more of a hassle. When we were finishing our lunch, the place was a madhouse.
So again, things were going perfectly. Just as planned!
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