Royal Caribbean to go Head-to-Head with NCL in NYC

Explorer of the Seas returns to Bayonne for winter 2013/2014,

via RCCL:

Vacationers also can choose seven-night Bahamas cruises, featuring calls at Nassau , Bahamas; Port Canaveral, Fla.; and Royal Caribbean’s private island CocoCay. The December 22 and 29 departure will see guests celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Day, respectively, at Nassau; while the Mar. 21, 2014 sailing will offer guests an eighth night at sea.

NCL has been pioneering the 7-night NYC to Bahamas and Florida since the Norwegian Sea first started sailing it back in 2001. I’m surprised it took this long for another cruise line to give NCL some strong competition on these short Bahamas routes.