NY Bahamian Cruise: Airport Questions

[Jen_R]

We have the opportunity to possibly do a last minute booking for Oct. 14th on the Disney Magic. I have sailed DCL several times but have no clue about sailing out of New York so I have a few questions:

1. Is one airport better than the other for flying into?
2. If we fly into JFK, it looks like our option to fly out would be a flight at 11:29AM. Is this too early?
3. We would love to do Disney transfers since my husband has some medical restrictions but do they do transfers for the NY cruises?
4. I'm assuming we would fly in the night before the cruise and we'd need a place to stay. Again, we would like to use Disney transfers but are open to other hotels if they have transportation to the ship. Any suggestions?

Any advice for how to handle the logistics in and out of NY would be hugely appreciated. I have only been to NYC one time (very briefly) and have no clue where to start looking. I'm just feeling a lot of pressure because if we're going to book this, we'll have to do so quickly and I want to make sure it's all going to work out.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dug720]

JFK is always my first choice, but 11:29 is definitely pushing it. I haven't looked at the "suggested times" page lately, but I want to say 12:00 is the minimum time suggested by DCL.

If JFK is not an option, EWR would be my next choice.

LGA is my last resort even at the best of times. They are doing construction which has led to massive delays and confusion getting to and from the airport.

I live here, so I have no clue about their hotels and/or transportation. But yes, I ALWAYS fly in at least one night prior to a cruise.

 

[Jen_R]

JFK is always my first choice, but 11:29 is definitely pushing it. I haven't looked at the "suggested times" page lately, but I want to say 12:00 is the minimum time suggested by DCL.

If JFK is not an option, EWR would be my next choice.

LGA is my last resort even at the best of times. They are doing construction which has led to massive delays and confusion getting to and from the airport.

I live here, so I have no clue about their hotels and/or transportation. But yes, I ALWAYS fly in at least one night prior to a cruise.

Thanks for the quick reply! JFK seems to be our cheapest pricing - but the price for the flights after 11:30 go way up so that worries me a bit. I think that DCL does always suggest 12:00 - but I also know that a lot of people book earlier flights with no issues out of MCO (myself included)...just wasn't sure how long it takes to get from port to JFK. The cost is so much higher that we might actually be better off staying over one more night. I might have to start looking closer at hotel options.

 

[Dug720]

Thanks for the quick reply! JFK seems to be our cheapest pricing - but the price for the flights after 11:30 go way up so that worries me a bit. I think that DCL does always suggest 12:00 - but I also know that a lot of people book earlier flights with no issues out of MCO (myself included)...just wasn't sure how long it takes to get from port to JFK. The cost is so much higher that we might actually be better off staying over one more night. I might have to start looking closer at hotel options.

It really depends on traffic if you're taking a cab or car service. It's an hour and a half to 2 on public transportation - but it could also easily be that with a car.

 

[Jen_R]

It really depends on traffic if you're taking a cab or car service. It's an hour and a half to 2 on public transportation - but it could also easily be that with a car.

I think we'll look at paying the extra cost for a later flight. We do have TSA pre-check but I just don't like feeling like we might not make it. This will be our first flight where my DH has a pacemaker so I'm not sure how well the whole pre-check thing is even going to work at this point. I did find that they recommend noon.

We'll probably use the Disney transfers just for simplicity - and help with the luggage. I would love find a cheap hotel by the airport that has free transportation to the airport and back so that when we land we can get to the hotel for free....but then we can get back to the airport for free in the morning to take Disney transfers to port. Not sure if free airport transfers exist at a decent hotel by JFK but I'm going to get on that now.

Thanks again for all your information!

 

[Dug720]

I think we'll look at paying the extra cost for a later flight. We do have TSA pre-check but I just don't like feeling like we might not make it. This will be our first flight where my DH has a pacemaker so I'm not sure how well the whole pre-check thing is even going to work at this point. I did find that they recommend noon.

We'll probably use the Disney transfers just for simplicity - and help with the luggage. I would love find a cheap hotel by the airport that has free transportation to the airport and back so that when we land we can get to the hotel for free....but then we can get back to the airport for free in the morning to take Disney transfers to port. Not sure if free airport transfers exist at a decent hotel by JFK but I'm going to get on that now.

Thanks again for all your information!

You're welcome! Good luck!! (I'm not sure that "cheap" and "NYC-area" exist. At least not for decent places.)

 

[Napoleon Dynamite]

Since that cruise ends on a weekend, you shouldn't have many traffic issues like you would have during the week.

 

[NancyDVC]

Later is better. Getting to JFK from the ship terminal in Mnahattan is not a 'quick trip'. It can take anywhere from 45 minutes or more in a 'good traffic' situation. I would book a later flight. The suggested flight times for disembarking are based on Port Canaveral. With New York traffic I would definitely book a later flight. That being said I wish you a great trip. Sailing in and out of New York is a great experience!

 

[Jen_R]

Thanks everyone! We are going to book the later flight - better safe than sorry is always my motto with cruising.

We are so excited to take the cruise out of New York and I think 4 days at sea are exactly what we need! Looking forward to learning more about the whole itinerary and how the 1-day pass to WDW works!