NYC CRUISES PLANNING/INFO ThREAD!

[pjstevens]

Hi,

We just returned from the 6/17 Magic cruise. We had a late afternoon flight so were not worried about debarkation times. We have decided to cruise again on 9/7 and are looking at taking Amtrak home. Our best options seem to be a 10:15 AM or a 1:15 PM train out of Penn Station.

We are wondering if the 10:15 is a possibility if we carry off our luggage as per the early debarkation option (2 adults/ no kids)? Any information about the earliest time you were able to debark would be helpful.

Thank you.

I think you would make this fine doing walk off. We were late seating so we didn't get off the ship til we absolutely had too. The longest thing was the line for the taxi. We had an 11:30 train and were there in plenty of time to get coffee and sit for a while.

 

[DL1957]

I think you would make this fine doing walk off. We were late seating so we didn't get off the ship til we absolutely had too. The longest thing was the line for the taxi. We had an 11:30 train and were there in plenty of time to get coffee and sit for a while.

Thanks for you info. We were trying to decide whether or not to walk off. We have an 11:30 train to Richmond VA likely the one you took because I believe it stops in Delaware. We also have late seating.

 

[SueTGGR]

Hi,

We just returned from the 6/17 Magic cruise. We had a late afternoon flight so were not worried about debarkation times. We have decided to cruise again on 9/7 and are looking at taking Amtrak home. Our best options seem to be a 10:15 AM or a 1:15 PM train out of Penn Station.

We are wondering if the 10:15 is a possibility if we carry off our luggage as per the early debarkation option (2 adults/ no kids)? Any information about the earliest time you were able to debark would be helpful.

Thank you.

We were on the one before you (6/10) and they had 6:30AM as the earliest you could walk off with your own luggage. My issue would be traffic. I grew up in Los Angeles and the traffic in NYC was CRAZY!!!

Also, if anyone is looking for options we used a service called groundlink.(they have an app that you can track your driver and make any changes) It worked out beautiful. We used them from JFK to the hotel and then from the hotel to the port the next day. You got a set price and a vehicle according to how many people and how much luggage. Both times they were there a good 10 minutes beforehand. Both drivers were independent as they didn't "work" for groundlink but were put in to rotations to get customers from them. Their vehicles were nice and clean and they got us right from point A to point B efficiently. The 1st driver was talking to us about all the things we were seeing as we made our way which was so nice since we didn't have much time to spend in NYC. The 2nd driver was a little worried as he was not completely familiar with the cruise terminal but there were no problems at all!
Getting to the airport after the cruise was with Disney and I would have hated to be in a big rush as it was more of an ordeal but we weren't in a big hurry, either.
Tomorrow, I will go back and see if I can answer any questions for anyone and see if anyone has scanned Navigators, yet.
Later,
Sue

 

[SueTGGR]

anyone that have used dcl transfers....what time do they call disney transportation leaving the ship?

We did Disney Transportation for our 6/10 cruise and what it looked like is that they had a constant flow of people loading onto buses and taking off. We were one of the first called as they recommended if you had a flight before 1:30PM to be off by 8:30am. Since we had a flight leaving @ 1:25PM, we went to guest services and got different tags so we could get off earlier. than the 9AM tags we had. We ended up with Tinkerbelle which had us off from 8-8:30. I don't remember how long it took to get off the ship (seemed forever ) but I grabbed a porter (highly recommend especially if you have children), DH found our luggage, flew through customs (because of the porter) and to the buses. They asked our name and which airport and which airline, pointed us to a bus as they loaded our bags (with DH watching to make sure they went on the same bus we were getting on) and off we went with the bus 3/4 full? maybe? No dashing through the airport, we found a place to make hamburgers to eat for lunch on the plane and on to our gate around boarding time. Sounds crazy but it was just about perfect. I would definitely do it again.
Thank you New York!!!
Good Luck and happy sailing!
Sue

 

[mamasha]

We did Disney Transportation for our 6/10 cruise and what it looked like is that they had a constant flow of people loading onto buses and taking off. Sue

we have a 11:39 flight from newark will i make it using dcl?

 

[Coconuts]

For anyone who has driven and parked at the port, what is the luggage process?

Do you park and then bring your own luggage over? This might be hard for us with 3 kids and Grandmom.

Do you pull in, drop your luggage, then park?

Also, how long is the walk from the garage to the actual port/ship? My mother can walk VERY short distances by herself, so I was wondering if I should bring a wheelchair.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Minnie Monellen]

For anyone who has driven and parked at the port, what is the luggage process?

Do you park and then bring your own luggage over? This might be hard for us with 3 kids and Grandmom.

Do you pull in, drop your luggage, then park?

Also, how long is the walk from the garage to the actual port/ship? My mother can walk VERY short distances by herself, so I was wondering if I should bring a wheelchair.

Thanks for the input!

I strongly recommend you have some type of transport/wheelchair for your mother. There's a lot of walking from drop off to getting on the boat.

 

[taximom00]

I strongly recommend you have some type of transport/wheelchair for your mother. There's a lot of walking from drop off to getting on the boat.

What about if we are being dropped off? I figure we will leave our luggage with the porter in our general drop off location. Then is there less walking?

Is this closer than if walking from the garage?

We leave Sunday!!

Thanks!

 

[Henlady]

I also need info similar to Coconuts. DH and I and my mom (85), DH mom (87) will be on a 5 night cruise. Can we drop off mom & mom and one of us, at the entrance to port/security, then the other go park the car and meet up with us? Someone suggested that if you are parking at port, to park the car and hand off the luggage to the porters at the parking area.
I am totally unfamiliar with the NY port and would appreciate a "walk thru" from someone else who has driven to port.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Minnie Monellen]

What about if we are being dropped off? I figure we will leave our luggage with the porter in our general drop off location. Then is there less walking?

Is this closer than if walking from the garage?

We leave Sunday!!

Thanks!

We used a car service. We were dropped off in front of the terminal. A porter was there to get our luggage (6 pieces, including the walker). The ship was at Pier 88, berth 2. It was at least two blocks of walking to the end of the pier, and then at least a block of walking on the ramps to board the ship. I pushed my mother in her transport chair. I paid close attention to the distance traveled, glad that I didn't have her use her walker. Also, I knew this question would be asked on the DIS.

Probably easier to drop off passengers and luggage at the curb, and have the driver park the car in the parking garage. It's a small area where you wait to board the ship. Very little seating. I sat on the floor part of the time. We got there at 10:55 a.m. and were boarding the ship at 11:55 a.m., boarding card # 4.

 

[Henlady]

I pushed my mother in her transport chair. I paid close attention to the distance traveled, glad that I didn't have her use her walker. Also, I knew this question would be asked on the DIS.

Re: Transport chair....do they have these available at port for cruiser use?

 

[Minnie Monellen]

Re: Transport chair....do they have these available at port for cruiser use?

I bought the transport chair via the internet from 1-800 Wheelchair. It's a Fly Lite and only weighs 13 lbs. Best $150 I ever spent!

You can contact the Manhattan Cruise terminal regarding availability of transport chairs. Below is the e-mail address. They usually reply promptly.

Manhattan Terminal Main Office
711 12th Avenue
at West 55th Street
New York, NY 10019
email: MCT@nycedc.com

Ports America
Fax: (212) 641-4490
Baggage Information: (212) 641-4477
Ports America Parking: (212) 641-4454
Primary Phone: (212) 246-5450

Tom Spina (VP Director of Cruise Operations)
Office: (212) 586-2341
Cell: (347) 672-4573

Leonard A. Imperial (VP Cruise Terminal Operations)
Office: (212) 312-3797
Cell: (347) 461-3165

Other Useful Phone Numbers:
U.S. Customs: (212) 399-2901
U.S. Immigration: (212) 641-4461
For general New York City information, call 311 or (212) NEW-YORK
Multi-lingual customer service agents: (212) 484-1222

 

[nlm74]

Hello,
We're off on the 9/7 Canada cruise and I was wondering if anyone knows the show schedule and times. I believe we're in early seating for dinner.

Thanks so much.

 

[jilljill]

Hello,
We're off on the 9/7 Canada cruise and I was wondering if anyone knows the show schedule and times. I believe we're in early seating for dinner.

Thanks so much.

Have you looked at the Navigator's that are posted? You can find them under the Staterooms 'tab' at the top of the boards.

 

[nlm74]

Thanks! Checked it out.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Question about Penn station and Amtrak...if we leave the ship and return to Penn station via taxi, is there a way for them to store our luggage so we can do some sight seeing? or at least get lunch? We have a 3pm train out of the city..that should give us a good 5.5-6 hours in the city.

 

[wdwfreeksince88]

We are on the 9/12 sailing....just wondering we have a check in time of 1130 at the port....we are going to use a car service from the Newark area to get there. What time should I schedule to be picked up? Also what is the latest time to get off the ship so I know what time to schedule to be picked up. Thanks for all the info!!!

 

[Henlady]

wdwfreeksince88:
If I may ask, what car service are you useing? DH is stressing big time about driveing into NYC, and my alternative is to find indoor parking somewhere in NJ and taking a car service to port and then having them pick us up and take us back to the car. Any suggestions?

 

[wdwfreeksince88]

I haven't chosen yet....I have been leaning towards dial7 as I know a few people that have used them before.

 

[Kristina - Mom]

I am thinking about getting the "Beer Gift" for my DH. I understand it is $14.95 for a souvenir beer mug and then you get a larger sized beer for the price of a smaller one. I saw this in the gift section of the DCL website. Wondering if this should be done ahead of time or if I can do it right when we get on the ship?

Also wondering, can this be used in the dining rooms and/or by the pools? I don't think it would make sense to get it if it can only be used in the various bars.

Thanks so much....on the August 12th NYC to Canada cruise....