NYC CRUISES PLANNING/INFO ThREAD!

[Minnie Monellen]

I live in North Jersey. I'll be taking a taxi ($38, plus tolls & tip) to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

 

[mickeyluv]

For you it would be easier to fly into Laguardia. Your friends may not have a choice because of their international flights. Most international flights depart & arrive from JFK so they may not have much of a choice.

By the time next year rolls around the new World Trade Center Tower may be mostly finished. It's still being built. There is still a memorial there.

The easiest way would probably be DCL transfers in you fly in day of. They would most likely have a designated point for pick up then drop you right off at the port just like in Port Canaveral. If you fly in a few days before I would take a taxi from the airport. From Laguardia to midtown is approximately $30-40 total (not each). There is never a shortage of taxis at the airport. Your friends could do the same from JFK but it would be more around the $60 mark.

You've been very helpful!! Thanks so much!!

 

[Qtips4Mick]

We just got back from a NCL trip. Because there were 5 of us we needed a town car (really needed a van) It was close to $160 plus. I noticed the lot from the ship in port and asked and was told it was $25 per day..For me it would have been great we are maybe 25 minutes North.

 

[flexsmom]

Generally, parking is not include in hotel rates in Manhattan. There is a Sheraton Suites in Weehawken, NJ, that I use frequently for visitors that is just across the Hudson River from the Ship Terminal, with a ferry about 50 yards from the front door. They adjust their parking policy occasionally. I hope to speak with the management and see about cruise length parking coupled with a stay. Let y'all know.



Well, Penn Station to the piers would be about $10-$11 including tip. There ARE some small SUV taxi, but they're still only 5 passenger, so 4 plus luggage might be tight.
http://www.taxifarefinder.com/info.php?city=NY
Here's a great resource, be sure to click through to the Taxi & Limo Commission site for more guidance. Whatever you do, DO NOT take a "livery" car (used to be known as "gypsy" cabs) unless you've contracted with them prior. They are NOT allowed to take what is called a street hail, but their drivers are very aggressive in haunting transit facilities, airports etc, and soliciting travelers. At best you'll be overcharged.

Thank you - you beat me to it!


I have a few relatives in NYC, and none own cars primarily because they take longer than the subway, the traffic is crazy, and parking costs are really high (apartments don't "come with" a free parking space". Anyway, as a result, they subway, walk, or taxi everywhere, so I finally took the plunge and got comfortable doing it when I'm there for work. (I'm sure we'll have many NY-dwellers who will chime in here, too!) I actually walk more when I'm in NY than any other place - it's kind of nice.

My taxi from Penn Station to the 47th St hotel where I stay usually runs around $7+tip, so that cab fare would make sense to the piers, esp with luggage. There is a cab stand right outside the exit of the Amtrak side of Penn Station, so you can be assured of getting a registered cab. I also like that they all take credit cards - easy in, and easy out. Oh - and then I just close my eyes and try not to back-seat drive, but my right foot still furiously pumps the brakes without me thinking about it!

The one time we did drive, our hotel pointed out two or three daily garages that were within a couple of blocks. They ranged from $40-$47/day.

 

[mommy2tati]

Thank you - you beat me to it!


I have a few relatives in NYC, and none own cars primarily because they take longer than the subway, the traffic is crazy, and parking costs are really high (apartments don't "come with" a free parking space". Anyway, as a result, they subway, walk, or taxi everywhere, so I finally took the plunge and got comfortable doing it when I'm there for work. (I'm sure we'll have many NY-dwellers who will chime in here, too!) I actually walk more when I'm in NY than any other place - it's kind of nice.

My taxi from Penn Station to the 47th St hotel where I stay usually runs around $7+tip, so that cab fare would make sense to the piers, esp with luggage. There is a cab stand right outside the exit of the Amtrak side of Penn Station, so you can be assured of getting a registered cab. I also like that they all take credit cards - easy in, and easy out. Oh - and then I just close my eyes and try not to back-seat drive, but my right foot still furiously pumps the brakes without me thinking about it!

The one time we did drive, our hotel pointed out two or three daily garages that were within a couple of blocks. They ranged from $40-$47/day.

I'm one of the rare New Yorkers who actually drives everywhere. I hate, repeat hate public transportation (subway, buses). I don't like how everyone is on top of each other (during rush hour of course). Plus my daily commute is shortened by an hour when I drive. If I took public transportation it would take a little over an hour. When I drive it takes 10 minutes.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

A couple of years ago we got in a gypsy cab. It was around 5 in SoHo and no one would stop. A $15 cab fare cost $35! I learned to take the subway during rush hour much faster and cheaper.

We travel into NYC for a weekend every other month. We love it there.

I've found over the years a lot of information on:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/

I highly reccomend to visitor's the Food's of NY tour:
http://www.foodsofny.com/index.php
We have taken every single one with the kids except the new NoLita tour. They are neighborhood walks that include stops along the way to sample. Each one has two sit down spots. I highly reccomend the Chinatown tour. You really need a guide to get to the places. Wandering around aimlessly can be fun but when someone points at a building "Recognize this, it is the Friends building" you will get much more out of it.

The other great tour company is On Location Tours which runs a Sex and The City Tour: Absolutely no kids but I did the tour with a girlfriend and had a blast!
http://www.screentours.com/

 

[PoopDeckPappy]

For those looking to drive in check out the following link:

http://nyc.bestparking.com

.

Great idea. We're taking two cars from Rockland county NY and we'll park one while my bil drives the other home (he's not going). I'll just drop everyone in my car off at the pier and park up the block and save quite a bit of money.

Just something to share...I always check the pier cam in the morning of the cruise to be sure the boat came in on time. Once I went to board an NCL ship and it was late by 3 hours causing a delay in boarding of course. I'd rather wait in my living room than in the pier terminal.

Also if you're having someone pick you up, I call them in the morning and let them know when to pick me up rather than plan the time a week in advance.

If you plan on taking a cab from the pier to the train station, airport, hotel, etc. on disembarkation day there is a taxi stand right across the street (look for it on embarkation day). It can be a lot quicker to walk across the street sometimes than to wait up top for the cabs to load. Just take the elevator to the ground level after returning to the pier terminal.

For those flying, don't be afraid to look to Westchester airport for flight options too. Great little airport, easy in and out. I saved $500 flying from there to Orlando when compared to Newark to Orlando.

 

[WiscBill]

Hello everyone! We are cruising the Magic out of NY in August of 2012 . We are from NC and will be flying into NY. We normally fly Southwest Airlines and I see that they only fly into Newark or Laguardia. Our friends from England who will be cruising with us will be flying into JFK. How difficult will it be to get to JFK to meet up with them? We are planning to come up a day or so pre-cruise as we have never been to NY before! It's so exciting!!! I know it's 16 months away but I can't help myself...I've already been doing a little research . Anyone have any tips for those of us who have never been to NY? I would love to go the set of the Today Show one morning! I love watching that show in the mornings while have my cup of coffee before work. Someone else I talked to said go to China town but I have no idea what they are talking about . Any advice and info would be much appreciated!! TIA

Where are you flying from in NC? If its Raleigh, there are flights on Delta and American that go into JFK. Depending on the time of day, those flights are comparable in cost to Southwest. Your friends can also consider flying into Newark. Please be aware that JFK consists of several terminals that are linked by an automated (and slightly confusing) railway. It could be difficult to meet up with your friends even if you both arrive there.

As noted elsewhere, there is really no public transportation from LaGuardia, poor public transit from JFK(you take an automated train to a subway station and then to Manhattan), and decent public transport from Newark. Cabs from JFK have a fixed rate to midtown, it's metered from LaGuardia.

 

[Coconuts]

Subbing... I just booked this cruise today and don't know what our travel plans will be. We might drive ourselves and park, or we might be able to get my MIL to drive us. Time will tell.

 

[SeaSpray]

I just found out about this bus company. $100.00 per person, round trip, to the Manhattan terminal. They already have a link in place all set for Disney Magic passengers. I wonder how good this bus company is?

Here's a link to their Disney Magic page:

https://www.enttours.com/destinationdetail.aspx?iDestinationInfoId=35

EDITED TO ADD: I just spoke to someone at Entertainment Tours and they said that they aren't even sure if they're going to be offering bus service for the Disney cruises afterall. They said they're going to remove the web page that I linked to above, and to check back at the end of the year.

Okay........ LOL Time to explore other travel options! LOL

 

[Melcatfish]

All being well we will be flying in from England the day before, either to JFK or Newark. Where would people suggest is the easiest/most cost effective place to stay and to get to the port?

We will be staying in New York for a few days after the cruise, hopefully this will be in Holiday Inn/Crowne Plaza/Staybridge etc on Priority Points, so not too worried about that side of the stay, its more the night before the cruise.

Any guidance much appreciated.

Bumping this question - looking for a decent but not too expensive hotel for the night before the cruise after flying in from the UK. Also we will have 3 adults and 2 children so any suggestions of places suitable for a party of this size both for the pre cruise night and then also in NYC for a 4 or 5 night post cruise stay...

Mel
x

 

[mommy2tati]

Bumping this question - looking for a decent but not too expensive hotel for the night before the cruise after flying in from the UK. Also we will have 3 adults and 2 children so any suggestions of places suitable for a party of this size both for the pre cruise night and then also in NYC for a 4 or 5 night post cruise stay...

Mel
x

What do you consider not too expensive?

 

[sarahsmom73]

We are doing a limo from my brother's house in Walden NY...

 

[Happy Goofy]

The bus from Entertainment tours sounds like an option for us. We would be coming from south of Hartford, CT so New Haven would be the closest pick up spot. Does anyone know if we can leave a car there?

 

[Tigger1313]

I checked into taking the train from Baltimore/DC area and t would be $98 round trip per person. Parking will be $30 a night. I think we will drive up and park at the port.

 

[mmouse37]

Here are some pics from NYC terminal site.

http://www.nycruise.com/terminal.html

Here is also a link to the press release put out by the NY Economic Development Corp. and they finally put a link to the press release on the NYcruise.com website

http://www.nycruise.com/index.html

http://www.nycedc.com/PressRoom/Pres...ruiseLine.aspx

MJ

 

[Coconuts]

Wow! Is the parking at the port that's $30/night inbetween the cruise ships?

 

[mmouse37]

Wow! Is the parking at the port that's $30/night inbetween the cruise ships?

Yes, parking is actually on the roof of the terminal building.

MJ

 

[slg]

bump

 

[SeaSpray]

I just found out about this bus company. $100.00 per person, round trip, to the Manhattan terminal. They already have a link in place all set for Disney Magic passengers. I wonder how good this bus company is?

Here's a link to their Disney Magic page:

https://www.enttours.com/destinationdetail.aspx?iDestinationInfoId=35

EDITED TO ADD: I just spoke to someone at Entertainment Tours and they said that they aren't even sure if they're going to be offering bus service for the Disney cruises afterall. They said they're going to remove the web page that I linked to above, and to check back at the end of the year.

Okay........ LOL Time to explore other travel options! LOL

Just bumping up my Edit, in case anyone else was planning on considering this bus company!