When a cruise line decides to try to make it easier for passengers to get to the ship, only the people can decide if it makes sense.
Take Norwegian's expanded offer to shuttle passengers to (and from) its Breakaway (and Gem) for $110 each. Of course, the value depends where you catch the motor coach but on the surface, this sounds attractive.
The ships depart from New York's Manhattan Cruise Terminal. The expanded service — Norwegian already has a program with a travel agency — goes into effect for 11 cities
in New England on May 3…and for five mid-Atlantic cities at the end of May.
Attractive?
Salem, New Hampshire, is on the list. That's about a five-hour drive from New York. So is Washington DC, at least four hours in the other direction. In between are 14 other stops of varying distances from The Big Apple.
Assume you're a couple. That's $220, round-trip. Let's say you're driving from Washington. Driving will cost you eight hours of gas, plus parking (a week in New York City!). A reasonable guess is that those costs will be close to paying for the bus ride.
You don't have to worry about getting lost. You don't have to deal with the stress of driving into and finding your way in New York City. You don't even have to worry about getting your luggage from the car to the ship.
It sounds like a no-brainer, and an idea that could become popular whenever cruise ships home-port in big cities.
In the end, the people will decide.
Today at portsandbows.com: The latest in cruise news
Celebrity Constellation
12 nights
May 21, 2014
Amsterdam (return): Berlin, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Copenhagen
Inside: $1,199
Cost per day: $99
www.celebritycruises.com