Check in at NYC

[NTOFD]

same here...
what is the "being called by character" disembarkation procedure? I've only ever seen the giant throng of people in the atrium shuffling their way onto the gangway and into the terminal at a glacial pace.

The character tag that is put on your luggage is how you are called by character to leave the ship, we disembarked by character this way in Vancouver on the repo cruise last year.

 

[rantnnravin]

The character tag that is put on your luggage is how you are called by character to leave the ship, we disembarked by character this way in Vancouver on the repo cruise last year.

Does everyone just crowd into the atrium (similar to boarding) to wait for their character to be called? What if you get there after your character has been called? How would you know? Can you even hear your character being called over the din?

 

[NTOFD]

Does everyone just crowd into the atrium (similar to boarding) to wait for their character to be called? What if you get there after your character has been called? How would you know? Can you even hear your character being called over the din?

They are announced over the ships intercom, some people wait in the atrium but you can wait in many less crowded places, if your character is called you can leave at ant time.

 

[spoohs]

I was hoping to get a 10 am.m train out of Penn station, but it sounds like that will be near to impossible. If we did the Express thingy, do you think we would be able to make it at 10 to Penn station? What where the cab lines like? We haven't booked a train yet, but the 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. where a lot less expensive then the 1 p.m. train (which would be the best timing). Also trying to decide if it wil be better to drive instead of taking the train. We have an 11:00 time slot of check in, if we get there later is that okay?

 

[firsttimemom]

This is the Port schedule of ships out of Manhattan in June. Looks like it will be especially tough for cruisers on 6/17, since there will be 4 cruises coming in/out--including the Queen Mary!!!


Thank you for this info! We're on the 6/17. It's also good to see there's only the magic returning on 6/22 because we'll need to hustle to make our train at Penn Station.

 

[llqool]

Yikes! We're on the June 17th sailing w a boarding time of 11:30. For those saying not to arrive early, what about parking? I'm worried if we don't get there early , we won't be able to park. Will they let you into the parking structure before your time? Could my husband drop off me and the kids w our luggage and then park?

More details appreciated !

 

[spoohs]

Yikes! We're on the June 17th sailing w a boarding time of 11:30. For those saying not to arrive early, what about parking? I'm worried if we don't get there early , we won't be able to park. Will they let you into the parking structure before your time? Could my husband drop off me and the kids w our luggage and then park?

More details appreciated !

I don't know the exact answer to your question, but my guess is that you would be better arriving a little later so the people who are getting off the ship, get their cars out of the lot making more room.

but I too would like to know from someone who has experience with this.

 

[mmouse37]

People are requested to wait in specific lounges for their tag characters to be called. There is a list of which lounge you should wait in that corresponds to which dining room you had breakfast in.

From the Welcome Letter:

Parrot Cay - Promenade Lounge
Animator's - Studio Sea
Lumiere's - Rockin Bar D

This is so you wait on the same deck as your dining room and then proceed to the atrium when you character tag is closed. They are trying to alleviate the congestion in the atrium.

Express walk off was listed as starting at 6:30 am (but had to wait for announcement to be made) and continued until the Ariel tags were called. There was no wait in the atrium. Same with white Ariel tags...they called those people a little before 8:00 and walked right off with no crowd, no wait, swiftly through customs. All the Ariel luggage was grouped together as soon as you walked into the terminal...it was separate from all other luggage

First seating for breakfast is 7:00 am
Second seating is 8:15

Topsiders opens for Breakfast at 6:00 am as well as Cove Cafe. No room service on last morning.

I do not know what the criteria is for getting the white Ariel tags...was it Platinum members or people with no DCL transfers? don't know.

 

[Never to old]

At least we can be thankful that we are the ONLY ship in port when we return on Friday so hopefully that will help us out a little with timing!!!!! I looked to switch our train times but they are much more expensive than when we booked it so we will hope for the best!!! Are you using a taxi or car service to get to the station?

Also to our Maiden voyage cruisers - if you don't get out on express by 8:25am, i assume you can still take your luggage with you and bypass the stop at the appropriate bay - would that save us a little time?

Thanks!!

We are using a taxi both ways. I thought about a car service, but I didn't know how we would connect at the train station. Other threads said it was easy to grab a cab, so I thought that would be best. I am glad to see that on our return we are the only ship in port.

 

[NJGirl]

Taxis were easy to get it seemed. They directed people to a waiting taxi line. that seemed to be a better option then car service or private car as you didn't have to flag down your driver! Not sure how the line was as we didn't go there. And it's easy to get a cab at penn, just join the taxi line.

a 10am train sounds impossible unless you express walk off since there's no knowing how long it will be for your character. It seemed even early breakfast people didnt get off til 915 from the sounds of previous posts. It was pretty calm in the atrium as we could see from Lumiere's. Only got crowded when the next character was called. People followed directions and waited in the lounges for their tag.


For those worried about finding parking before 11...my guess is you'll be dealing with people still leaving and vacating spots until at least 10:30. It took 20 mins for my driver to get up the ramp to the drop off spot to pick us up yesterday at 10. I couldn't believe people were trying to drop off for the next cruise among all the people trying to leave at 9:45.

 

[rosermama]

Yikes! We're on the June 17th sailing w a boarding time of 11:30. For those saying not to arrive early, what about parking? I'm worried if we don't get there early , we won't be able to park. Will they let you into the parking structure before your time? Could my husband drop off me and the kids w our luggage and then park?

More details appreciated !

We recently were in NYCto see the Fanatsy and the Intrepid. There are other parkibg areas near by like across the street or around the block which charge about as much to park the car for 24 hrs. There is no need to worry about parking.

 

[Mom2PrincessesLinSy]

P


I do not know what the criteria is for getting the white Ariel tags...was it Platinum members or people with no DCL transfers? don't know.

We sailed out of Vancouver last summer, and that was the first we had seen the Ariel tags. And rest assured, if they had Ariel on previous sailings, we would have them as a momento, as my daughter is an Ariel Affectionato!

That said, we were hoping to get Ariel as our luggage tag, but no luck. Those are reserved for those who report they have early flights/trains to catch and need to be off board first or ASAP. That is part of the reason they ask for your airline/train disembarkment info during online checkin!

Also, thanks to the person who denoted the "B" means Brooklyn terminal! I bet that relieves some people! Yikes the thought of all those QM passengers plus the 3 ships!

 

[mamasha]

when does the disney transfers get called....getting nervous because our flight is out of nj at 11:30

 

[barbeml]

We were going to have family drop us off and pick us up, but it sounds like that is a lot to ask. After reading the reports (thank you so much to all who are posting) I think we will park.

 

[llqool]

We recently were in NYCto see the Fanatsy and the Intrepid. There are other parkibg areas near by like across the street or around the block which charge about as much to park the car for 24 hrs. There is no need to worry about parking.

Thanks...that sets my mind at ease. I was having a bit of a panic attack thinking about missing the boat b/c we couldn't find somewhere to leave our car! Of course, parking at the terminal would be the most ideal situation, but it's good to know there are other alternatives. It also sounds like it would be a BAD idea to get there as the terminal is just opening and all the ships are getting in.
Better to wait a bit!

 

[jbdisneymom13]

Thanks...that sets my mind at ease. I was having a bit of a panic attack thinking about missing the boat b/c we couldn't find somewhere to leave our car! Of course, parking at the terminal would be the most ideal situation, but it's good to know there are other alternatives. It also sounds like it would be a BAD idea to get there as the terminal is just opening and all the ships are getting in.
Better to wait a bit!

I agree - good to hear - also on 6/17 sailing and I too have had moments of panic about how getting to the port and parking is going to work. We have an 11 a.m. arrival time so from what I'm reading I'm thinking of trying to arrive at the port parking at 10:30. Does this sound right? Also, never been to the NYC area before and we are staying the night before on the river in Weehawken. Anyone out there have suggestions for the best route to take to the port or what time we'd want to leave the hotel to make it to the port by 10:30? It will be a Sunday morning. Thanks for all those posting info for those of us so desperately craving it!!

 

[Disney 24/7]

Weehawken has a ferry that takes you across to the New York terminal.

 

[jbdisneymom13]

Weehawken has a ferry that takes you across to the New York terminal.

I did see that but we're not sure we can/want to leave our car at the hotel for the 5 days we're gone. Plus, we will have a decent amount of luggage with us. Also, we are staying in NYC for a fews days upon our return. It would be easier - at least the way we're thinking now - to have the car at the port.

 

[NTOFD]

I did see that but we're not sure we can/want to leave our car at the hotel for the 5 days we're gone. Plus, we will have a decent amount of luggage with us. Also, we are staying in NYC for a fews days upon our return. It would be easier - at least the way we're thinking now - to have the car at the port.

Weehawken is very close to, and an easy ride to the Lincoln Tunnel, there should be very little, if any, traffic on a Sunday morning. From the Lincoln Tunnel it is only a short distance to the cruise terminal, maybe ten to twelve blocks. It should not take much more than 20 minutes.

 

[cathicool]

They are enforcing the boarding times?

We are platinum cruisers, going with "non-platinum" friends.....their boarding time is 1pm.....we will not be allowed to board together?????? I don't want to wait til 1pm to board!