Cruises from Manhattan?

[dugthetalkingdog]

My DD and I are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn/Central Park South-Midtown West, 237 West 54th Street for 281.00 a night (price includes tax). this Hotel is located just blocks away from Times Sq so you can shop and eat but also close to Central Park and The Late Night Show is not far if you want to try and get stand by tickets. I also have read that 3 other ships will be in port the same time as ours to book parking early. We will be taking Amtrack from Virginia the day before cruise.

 

[darnheather]

My DD and I are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn/Central Park South-Midtown West, 237 West 54th Street for 281.00 a night (price includes tax). this Hotel is located just blocks away from Times Sq so you can shop and eat but also close to Central Park and The Late Night Show is not far if you want to try and get stand by tickets. I also have read that 3 other ships will be in port the same time as ours to book parking early. We will be taking Amtrack from Virginia the day before cruise.

Hello neighbor! I'm also planning to take Amtrack from Virginia. Any reason to be worried doing it the day of? I plan to arrive by 11:30am. I know things can happen (my Spring break 1997 was delayed for 12 hours due to ice on the tracks!) but am on the fence about staying overnight.

 

[Sir William]

Hello neighbor! I'm also planning to take Amtrack from Virginia. Any reason to be worried doing it the day of? I plan to arrive by 11:30am. I know things can happen (my Spring break 1997 was delayed for 12 hours due to ice on the tracks!) but am on the fence about staying overnight.

We are also in Virginia and were originally going to take the train up the day of as well. But we have now decided to go up the day before for the same reason we take the 2 hour flight to Orlando the day before when cruising from PC. Probably being overly cautious, but certainly less stressful.

 

[angelinaxox]

I am also in South Jersey and have done a number of cruises out of New York. When we travel with my brother who lives in Flemington, we have gotten a car service to take us. When we come from South Jersey or my sister's house in Pennsylvania, we just drive in the morning of. We usually get there early to allow for any travel issues. We don't bother staying over the night before.

 

[rcchello]

You can always fly into Newark Liberty the night before and stay at an airport hotel. Just take the train from their in the morning to NY Penn Station. The train will stop in Newark Penn Station on the way, don't get off.
This should be a lot cheaper than staying in time square.

 

[mevelandry]

There are websites where you can get good deals for hotels.

Hotels near Times Square are generally 250$/night or more. But with some websites I've been able to get hotels for 175$ in that area.

The prices of hotels in Chelsea/Soho, near Empire State Building tend to be lower.

I liked: Fairfield Inn Times Square (rooms are cozy but comfortable, free breakfast), Marriott Marquis (amazing view of TS but can be expensive), Essex House (room was big and staff very nice, this is a luxury hotel), Courtyard 35th avenue (rooms are cozy but comfortable, free breakfast), The Pearl (it's my favorite, smaller, big rooms for NYC, with included breakfast).

 

[darnheather]

I'm going to be honest and say I am not used to a city like NY. I've only been there once, in college with a ton of friends and we stayed in a youth hostel and thought we were invincible. Now that I have to girls of my own I worry way more. I can handle the DC metro and taxis with zero issues, but NY intimidates and scares me. Coming up the day of would be stressful because things could go wrong. Coming up the day before would be stressful because it would mean two transfers and navigating a city I am really not used to.

 

[psimon]

I am also in South Jersey and have done a number of cruises out of New York. When we travel with my brother who lives in Flemington, we have gotten a car service to take us. When we come from South Jersey or my sister's house in Pennsylvania, we just drive in the morning of. We usually get there early to allow for any travel issues. We don't bother staying over the night before.

Who are you using for the shuttle? I don't think Rapid Rover will get us there.
Thanks!

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[angelinaxox]

Who are you using for the shuttle? I don't think Rapid Rover will get us there.
Thanks!

---Paul in Southern NJ

My brother has always booked it so I'm not sure. He has used different services depending on how big a car/shuttle we need. I think you're right about Rapid Rover. Although, you may want to look into seeing if there are any other car services that will come down to South Jersey or maybe see how far they will come down. Maybe, Mount Laurel is doable and someone could drop you off there.

 

[psimon]

Maybe, Mount Laurel is doable and someone could drop you off there.

The person who would drop me off is already mad at me for not inviting her. Not sure she would be happy dropping me off!

It's like adding salt to the wound.

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[angelinaxox]

The person who would drop me off is already mad at me for not inviting her. Not sure she would be happy dropping me off!

It's like adding salt to the wound.

---Paul in Southern NJ

Lol. No, that is not an option for you then.

 

[Sir William]

I'm going to be honest and say I am not used to a city like NY. I've only been there once, in college with a ton of friends and we stayed in a youth hostel and thought we were invincible. Now that I have to girls of my own I worry way more. I can handle the DC metro and taxis with zero issues, but NY intimidates and scares me. Coming up the day of would be stressful because things could go wrong. Coming up the day before would be stressful because it would mean two transfers and navigating a city I am really not used to.

I was in NYC about 2 years ago for an extended weekend and felt very uncomfortable the entire time. I don't like crowds and no matter where I was in the city, I felt like I was in the middle of an endless crowd. Other than meals and going to a play the night before we sail, I have no intention this time of venturing out into the streets to shop or sightsee. Ironically, I don't have that problem in Paris, London, Rome, Hong Kong, Cairo, etc.

 

[deanimal]

We stayed in NYC for two nights after our last cruise and stayed at the Hampton Inn Times Square North. It's literally just up the street from the cruise ship, maybe a ten minute walk which was no problem, even with a couple of suitcases. The staff was friendly and the free breakfast was great. The rooms were a little worn looking. Even though they had obviously been spruced up recently and the beds and bedding were new there were a few rough edges here and there. We got it for under $200 per night just before Easter and we felt it was good value for the location. It was great to just walk up the street from the ship to the hotel!

I agree that midtown New York can feel a bit overwhelming, especially with kids. Sometimes the walking down the sidewalk feels like you're to run a football down the field with a wall of linebackers trying to block your path! (I still love NYC though). This last trip we went to Brooklyn for a day and it was like a breath of fresh air compared to Manhattan. We're seriously considering trying to find a hotel in Brooklyn for our next trip since it's easy to connect on the subway and walking on the sidewalks doesn't feel like a combat sport there.

 

[MaineChapmans]

We drove down from Maine and stayed at our usual, the Hyatt Place Secaucus, across the Hudson. The next morning we had breakfast, packed up, and drove across under the Lincoln Tunnel and parked at the terminal. It was super easy and if we were able to take another NYC cruise, we'd do it again. (We teach and can't take the time off from our classes in October--darn it!)

That said, there are some good deals in NYC for hotels. We tend to stay at Hyatts, but there are lots of others. Taking a taxi to the terminal would be easy if you stay somewhere in Manhattan.

Have fun!

 

[tinker&belle]

We drove down from Maine and stayed at our usual, the Hyatt Place Secaucus, across the Hudson. The next morning we had breakfast, packed up, and drove across under the Lincoln Tunnel and parked at the terminal. It was super easy and if we were able to take another NYC cruise, we'd do it again. (We teach and can't take the time off from our classes in October--darn it!)

That said, there are some good deals in NYC for hotels. We tend to stay at Hyatts, but there are lots of others. Taking a taxi to the terminal would be easy if you stay somewhere in Manhattan.

Have fun!

I am looking at a couple of the Hyatts. Have you stayed at the one in Times Square?

 

[jiminy14]

We are also from South Jersey right across the river from Philly. We will be on the DVC Member Cruise at the end of September and plan to drive to the port the morning of the cruise. We priced a car service (Albert's of Mt. Laurel) and it was over $700 round trip for four people with luggage. They even suggested we contact Rapid Rover and see if they would have a private shuttle we could hire.
We figured that even with $40/night for parking, tolls and gas it would be less than half of the car service price. It is usually about a two hour drive for us so we plan on allowing 3 hours travel time to account for possible heavy traffic on the turnpike, at the tunnel and in Manhattan.

 

[psimon]

We are also from South Jersey right across the river from Philly. We will be on the DVC Member Cruise at the end of September and plan to drive to the port the morning of the cruise. We priced a car service (Albert's of Mt. Laurel) and it was over $700 round trip for four people with luggage. They even suggested we contact Rapid Rover and see if they would have a private shuttle we could hire.
We figured that even with $40/night for parking, tolls and gas it would be less than half of the car service price. It is usually about a two hour drive for us so we plan on allowing 3 hours travel time to account for possible heavy traffic on the turnpike, at the tunnel and in Manhattan.

$700 Do they feed you and bow to your every wish on the way for that kind of money?

Driving does sound more practical. My only fear is the doing it the same day and something happening along the way to delay me (I know, it could also happen to the driver of the shuttle that day as well).

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[darnheather]

I was in NYC about 2 years ago for an extended weekend and felt very uncomfortable the entire time. I don't like crowds and no matter where I was in the city, I felt like I was in the middle of an endless crowd. Other than meals and going to a play the night before we sail, I have no intention this time of venturing out into the streets to shop or sightsee. Ironically, I don't have that problem in Paris, London, Rome, Hong Kong, Cairo, etc.

Confirms what I remember about NYC. I had no issues going to Seoul alone many times, Tokyo with kids, Istanbul. Maybe it's all the movies and t.v. shows about NYC. LOL

 

[hanscarlet]

$700 Do they feed you and bow to your every wish on the way for that kind of money?

Driving does sound more practical. My only fear is the doing it the same day and something happening along the way to delay me (I know, it could also happen to the driver of the shuttle that day as well).

---Paul in Southern NJ

What part of NJ are you from? I work in Moorestown a lot. We're in Montgomery County PA near KOP. I Just asked DH and he said we're just going to drive, we'll leave early so in case we hit any traffic. I think it's only 2.5 hours from those that live in the Philly area. Amtrak could be tricky going in during the day of. I think it should be safe the day before and that is what I was normally thinking because it's so easy and I don't want to drive in Manhattan but DH has friends there and has had experience driving there so he seems like it's NBD. IDK, we'll see. I hope there is enough parking.

 

[psimon]

What part of NJ are you from? I work in Moorestown a lot. We're in Montgomery County PA near KOP. I Just asked DH and he said we're just going to drive, we'll leave early so in case we hit any traffic. I think it's only 2.5 hours from those that live in the Philly area. Amtrak could be tricky going in during the day of. I think it should be safe the day before and that is what I was normally thinking because it's so easy and I don't want to drive in Manhattan but DH has friends there and has had experience driving there so he seems like it's NBD. IDK, we'll see. I hope there is enough parking.

That's probably the bigger fear.... getting to the port and finding no parking! Then what? The last thing you need is to be in a panic looking for parking for a week. You are then at their mercy for whatever price they want to charge.

I'm in Cherry Hill. I can make it to the George Washington Bridge in under 2 hours so Manhattan should be easier. Now that they fixed/finished the NJ Tpk, the ride is much easier and faster.

At least from the KoP area, you can take the Pa Tpk straight out to the NJ Tpk and head north.

---Paul in Southern NJ