Tell me about the NY port departure

[ArielRae]

We are considering doing a cruise out of NY. Please tell me everything you think we should know. How much is parking at the NY port? Any think special we should know about checking in that day? Any hotels you recommend for the night before and or after the cruise? We will be traveling from Southern New Jersey if that helps with some of the info.

 

[msmama]

There's a thread with a lot of info from years past. I know there's a hotel in New Jersey that a lot of people stay (and park) at that takes you to the port in the morning. It's about $40 a day to park at the port I think (but wouldn't be surprised if it went up). There are cheaper places to park, but it's still NYC so nothing I would actually call "cheap."

If you're looking to stay in the city there's a holiday inn express about a block and a half from the port that I stayed in last year. It was nice (small, by similar to every other NYC hotel I've stayed in).

I found check in to be very easy. I've never actually cruised out of PC so I hear that terminal is super disney-fied, but I had no complaints about the NY terminal. It is small, and our boarding was started late because of...a reason I don't remember, but I'm not the kind of person that would complain about that when I'm about to get on a disney cruise (though there were many complainers). I will say that the next pier over was I think RC and it was kind of disaster over there, with people lined up everywhere, luggage everywhere, waiting and milling about. We had to walk through it but we got to the Disney pier and the porter took our luggage and we were directed where we needed to go with ease.

I leave this Sat for my 2nd cruise out of NYC and will be booking for next year on board.

 

[dclpluto]

We are considering doing a cruise out of NY. Please tell me everything you think we should know. How much is parking at the NY port? Any think special we should know about checking in that day? Any hotels you recommend for the night before and or after the cruise? We will be traveling from Southern New Jersey if that helps with some of the info.

Parking last I heard is 40 dollars a night. Arrive early as the parking I heard can fill up than you have to park at another location. Can’t help you with hotels since I’m also from south jersey.

 

[Pens Fan]

The hotel with the park, ride and cruise package @msmama was referring to is the Hilton Garden Inn in Ridgefield Park, NJ. You have to book that specific package which you can find under Special Offers on their website. We used them in 2016, and have them booked again for next fall. It is a really nice hotel in a safe area (or at least it seemed to be), and having a car service take you to and from the pier makes it a winner for us. We are on a 10 night cruise next fall, so at $40 per day to park at the pier, just parking alone would cost more than we are paying for the entire hotel package.

We had no problems sailing out of NYC - actually we loved it. The views are incredible and we love that we can drive vs. having to fly - big cost saver. I remember long lines in security and check in, but it moved pretty quickly. There was a slight delay in getting on the ship, though I never really knew why. We have sailed out of lots of different ports, and they all have their own little quirks. At the end of the day no matter where you sail from you are going to drop your bags with the porters, go through security, get in line to check in then have a seat and wait for your number to be called if it's not already open boarding when you arrive. No big deal.

Have fun!

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

For our October cruise out of NY, we arrived at the port at 9:52 (DW clocks us on our travels). We were the 4th car on top of pier 88 (of note, we returned to pier 90). There was a quick inspection of the van by a security dog, but we unloaded and were on our way in moments. Cost was $40/day. We were probably number 50 in the pre-security line. Very weird. They had a line set up before they opened the security area (kind of like the parking lot line at PC). Once they opened the gates, check-in went smoothly. There was a Coast Guard inspection that day, so we didn't board until 11:30 or so, but that seemed to be a one off.

We drove up from VA, and in NJ we were on the Turnpike. Easy-peasy drive until about 10 miles from the tunnel. We crawled for 1.25 hours until the tunnel, then it was a quick jaunt through the lower west side to the piers. Despite the waiting at the gate, I recommend getting there early so as to ensure a parking spot & overcome the inevitable nightmare traffic on the northern end of the turnpike.

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

[ArielRae]

Do you know what time they drive you over the the ship in the morning?

The hotel with the park, ride and cruise package @msmama was referring to is the Hilton Garden Inn in Ridgefield Park, NJ. You have to book that specific package which you can find under Special Offers on their website. We used them in 2016, and have them booked again for next fall. It is a really nice hotel in a safe area (or at least it seemed to be), and having a car service take you to and from the pier makes it a winner for us. We are on a 10 night cruise next fall, so at $40 per day to park at the pier, just parking alone would cost more than we are paying for the entire hotel package.

We had no problems sailing out of NYC - actually we loved it. The views are incredible and we love that we can drive vs. having to fly - big cost saver. I remember long lines in security and check in, but it moved pretty quickly. There was a slight delay in getting on the ship, though I never really knew why. We have sailed out of lots of different ports, and they all have their own little quirks. At the end of the day no matter where you sail from you are going to drop your bags with the porters, go through security, get in line to check in then have a seat and wait for your number to be called if it's not already open boarding when you arrive. No big deal.

Have fun!

 

[Pens Fan]

Do you know what time they drive you over the the ship in the morning?

They will pick you up whenever you want. The hotel contracts this out to a private car service. When you check in they will give you vouchers to cover the cost of both trips, and they will ask you what time you want to be picked up. For the trip back to the hotel at the end of the cruise, they will give you a number to call to arrange to be picked up.

The only odd thing about the car service was that while they dropped us off right at the pier (there were porters standing there waiting for your bags just steps away), when it came time to be be picked up after the cruise they told us we had to go across the street near the cab stand. It wasn't a big deal, but we just were a bit surprised. It was a little hectic finding the right car, but it all worked out. I wouldn't let that deter you from using this service. If you don't want to have to drive into the city yourself, or if you want to save some money, it's a great package. I'd estimate that from the time we exited the ship we were back at the hotel in less than an hour. And that includes getting bags, going through customs, finding the car, etc.

 

[cmwade77]

Something you should know is if it is a trip going to Canada from New York, you will have to fill out Canadian customs forms before getting in line to check in, even if it is a closed loop cruise. It's not a big deal, other than had we known about that before we entered the terminal, we would have been better prepared to deal with it.

 

[ArielRae]

Just looking at the personal navigators for the Disney Magic and under lunch it says that Lumiere’s is A La Cart. Does that mean it is a pay meal? When we were on the Dream Royal Palace was open for lunch and didn’t say A La Cart on the personal Navigator.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

Just looking at the personal navigators for the Disney Magic and under lunch it says that Lumiere’s is A La Cart. Does that mean it is a pay meal? When we were on the Dream Royal Palace was open for lunch and didn’t say A La Cart on the personal Navigator.

In this case, a la carte means off the menu (not a buffet). No upcharge.

 

[ArielRae]

Cool thanks

 

[Neptune's Fork]

I see many have already given you the details. I just sailed out of NYC on Magic last month and the sail away is spectacular. Much more interesting than the usual ports cruise ships sail out of.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We sailed out of NYC last month. When we arrived at the port, there was a HUGE long security line as another cruise line was also loading -- so two ships' worth of passengers in the security line. We were NOT expecting it as we hadn't experience such a long line when we embarked from Galveston or Port Canaveral. The line did keep moving, but it was a less than magical way to start our vacation, in my opinion. I wouldn't think twice about it next time, but it was such a shock to us this time around. So, I wanted to mention it.

Have fun!

 

[hanscarlet]

We found it was mostly pretty easy, it was crowded though when we arrived at 11:45 but after they started boarding then things moved faster. We got there at a crowded time, we had PAT 3 but ended up with boarding group 17 because of the time we arrived there and the lateness the NYC team allowed us to board. We were the first cruise after the TA so I think that had to do with the delay in boarding (seemed about 30 min later than PC).

Two helpful threads that I used a lot when preparing for my cruise:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/nyc-port-parking-lot-need-advice-please.3640371/#post-58326443

https://www.disboards.com/threads/just-back-from-dvc-magic-nyc-cruise-any-questions.3551696/page-2

 

[mmouse37]

Just looking at the personal navigators for the Disney Magic and under lunch it says that Lumiere’s is A La Cart. Does that mean it is a pay meal? When we were on the Dream Royal Palace was open for lunch and didn’t say A La Cart on the personal Navigator.

No, there are no pay meals other than Palo (on the Magic) It just means it is not a buffet, you order off a menu.

MJ

 

[WendyMichigan]

My favorite hotel in NYC is The Hudson. It's a little North of the port, but it's a botique with good prices and the floors are Pergo and not carpet so it's super clean. They have the coolest bar there.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

We found it was mostly pretty easy, it was crowded though when we arrived at 11:45 but after they started boarding then things moved faster. We got there at a crowded time, we had PAT 3 but ended up with boarding group 17 because of the time we arrived there and the lateness the NYC team allowed us to board. We were the first cruise after the TA so I think that had to do with the delay in boarding (seemed about 30 min later than PC).

Two helpful threads that I used a lot when preparing for my cruise:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/nyc-port-parking-lot-need-advice-please.3640371/#post-58326443

https://www.disboards.com/threads/just-back-from-dvc-magic-nyc-cruise-any-questions.3551696/page-2

Thank you for those links. We are sailing out of New York in 2018 and this info will be really helpful.

 

[cruiser21]

I can't help with driving, but maybe this will help someone else. We flew into EWR and stayed at Embassy suites the night before. We ubered to the port 48.00 dollars. Dropped our bags and walked up 50th street to Times Square. We came back around 1pm there was no line. I don't remember a line at 11 am either, but were platinum so we board when we feel like it. There's a liquor store a few blocks up that sells beer and wine. After the cruise we walked to the double tree suites on 47 th st and 7th avenue where we spent two nights post cruise.
I found cruising out on NYC to be pretty easy... similar to Vancouver as far as walkability. It's an easy 15 minute walk from the port to Times Square where numerous hotels are located. We ubered back to ewr for 67.00. Not that impressed with the customer service you get from Uber but the savings vs a cab is worth it.
We saw the Rockettes while we were there. I believe the shows start on Veterans Day weekend. We went to top of the Rock, Rockefeller center, Empire State Building and Trump tower. I would recommend anyone cruising out of there that's not from NewYork to spend a couple of days pre or post cruise.
Other then cost of hotels and food NYC is a pretty simple place to cruise out of.

 

[MLSChi]

We stayed at the Fairfield which was .02 miles from the port. Rooms were tight like all NYC rooms but a $7 cab ride got us to the port. We didn't go until noon and it was a piece of cake. Easy luggage drop, easy to check in and go through security and we were on the boat!

 

[Leeba]

You said South Jersey ... any chance you can take the train in? We live in central NJ (mercer county) and took the train from Hamilton to Penn Station in NYC, and then got a cab to the port. Easy peasy. Not sure how far south you are though.

And yes, the sail away was gorgeous! Enjoy!!