Disembarkation Norwegian Escape NYC

We arrive at NYC at 8am on the 21st December after a 12 night Southern Caribbean cruise - just wondering at what time everybody has to be off the ship? I know they give staggered times to disembark but we don't have to be at the Newark Airport until about 1pm for our 3.15pm flight to Calgary. Just wondering if we should get off early and spend a few hours in NYC or should we stay on till about 10am and then start to make our way to the airport? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Typically they want everyone off the ship by about 9:30 am.

If the weather is good you might want to disembark early and take a taxi to Schwartz Travel on West 37th St. http://schwartztravel.com/ which will store your luggage for $10 per piece, and then do some sightseeing in Manhattan.

You haven't mentioned how you're planning to get to Newark Airport. Do you need any advice ?

Some advice on the best way to get to Newark would be fantastic - there will be 6 of us travelling in total, youngest being 12 years old.

In looking at the calendar I realized that Dec.21 is a Friday...which tends to have heavy traffic any time of the year, and it also is the last work day before Christmas for many people, meaning there will be hoards looking to get out of Manhattan as soon as possible that day. Newark Airport, crowded on any day, will be absolutely jammed with holiday travelers that afternoon. You're on an international flight to boot. All that leads me to recommend that you need to build in extra time for both your trip from Manhattan to the airport and extra time to check in and clear security at EWR. This means you're not going to have a lot of time for sightseeing before you depart for the airport.

I'd recommend arriving at EWR by about 12:30 to 12:45 for your flight.

Both the highways and railroad trains will be packed. My inclination is to stay off the roads and take a New Jersey Transit train from NY Penn Station to Newark Airport Station ( NOT Newark Penn Station !). At Newark Airport Station you will need to transfer from NJ Transit to the AirTrain, which will take you to your airline terminal at EWR. Please note that you need to take your NJ Transit ticket with you, as you will need it to pass through the gates to board the AirTrain. The NJ Transit fare you'll pay will include the fare for accessing the AirTrain.

I would recommend taking a NJ Transit train that departs NY Penn Station no later than about 12 noon.

By the way, Manhattan itself is packed with tourists at that time of the year.

Given all of the challenges of the Friday before Christmas (and not really having time to sightsee in NY), what about just taking an NCL transfer to Newark Airport? If won’t be the most cost effective solution, but it might be the least hassle.

Here are some links.

Newark Airport bus from Port Authority Bus Terminal - https://www.airport-ewr.com/bus.php

https://newarkairportexpress.com/

NJ Transit train - https://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_System_Map.pdf

https://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainTo

From station = New York Penn Station

To Station = Newark Airport

Fare is $13/pp

The Friday before Christmas most likely will be a gridlock alert day. It probably won’t be bad going right from the pier into the Lincoln Tunnel to EWR, but the city will be clogged with last minute shoppers and those wanting to see the tree and decorations.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

The Friday before Christmas most likely will be a gridlock alert day.

Not likely, but definite. We go from 10 Grid Lock Alert Days to 16 this year.

1st one is this coming Monday with the UN General Assembly (I saw NYPD Harbor units were practicing today on the east river during my daily lunch walk).

NYC DOT List: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/gridlockalert.shtml

NY Times (Not fake news) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/nyregion/nyc-traffic-gridlock-alert-days.html

We are on the same cruise, also flying out of Newark later in the afternoon at 5pm -- definitely appreciate the transportation tips.  My husband will be recovering from shoulder surgery, so unable to lift any suitcases, so we have to stick with transport that doesn't require him to do much with his case, so I think we will be stuck with some form of car transport

You should aim to get to the airport 3 hours before your flight. Stay on the ship for as long as possible, there should be a lot of traffic that day, plus I’m guessing long security lines at the airport with holiday travel.