Ellis Island on day of the cruise -Is there time?

[World Gallery]

We are booked on the Crown Princess, leaving at 7:00PM on Oct. 13th. We have to be onboard by 6:00. We arrive in New York at 11:45 that same morning (we have to arrive the day of). We plan to check in as soon as they allow (about 1:00 they say). We were hoping to be able to head to Battery Park and catch a ferry to Ellis Island or Statue of Library National Monument island. Of course being able to go to both would be nice but I doubt that can happen. Since the Statue of Liberty is closest by ferry, that is the one we will probably do. I have no frame of reference in regards to time tables and how long things take in New York. Does this sound doable - getting to the ferry at Battery Park by hopefully 2:00, getting to the island, touring and getting back in time? We are leaving out of the Brooklyn Cruise Port. I looked at Google maps and it states that it takes 9 minutes to get from there to Battery Park (where the ferry leaves from) but not sure if this is accurate.

Thanks.

[BobK in NJ]

We are booked on the Crown Princess, leaving at 7:00PM on Oct. 13th. We have to be onboard by 6:00. We arrive in New York at 11:45 that same morning (we have to arrive the day of). We plan to check in as soon as they allow (about 1:00 they say). We were hoping to be able to head to Battery Park and catch a ferry to Ellis Island or Statue of Library National Monument island. Of course being able to go to both would be nice but I doubt that can happen. Since the Statue of Liberty is closest by ferry, that is the one we will probably do. I have no frame of reference in regards to time tables and how long things take in New York. Does this sound doable - getting to the ferry at Battery Park by hopefully 2:00, getting to the island, touring and getting back in time? We are leaving out of the Brooklyn Cruise Port. I looked at Google maps and it states that it takes 9 minutes to get from there to Battery Park (where the ferry leaves from) but not sure if this is accurate.

Thanks.

Don't go into the city, both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are actually in New Jersey and not too far from the Bayonne docks.

Ferries depart from Liberty State park at exit 14B of the NJTPK.

Look at http://www.statuecruises.com/ferry-service/welcome.aspx for schedules etc.

[alabama ghost]

I believe the Crown Princess is leaving from Brooklyn--Red Hook Terminal.

[138east]

Your plan is ambitious. What airport are you arriving at? I'm assuming LaGuardia - you get out of there by 12:30, and get to Red Hook by 1:15. You need to check in completely in order to be able to arrive back later. Unfortunately, I think the last boat that stops on the islands leaves at 2 PM. However, another choice would be a one hour harbor boatride that circles both islands. This leaves at 3:30. Back at 4:30 in time to brave the NY rush hour back to Brooklyn - public transit would be better than a cab at this time. We can get good directions from others on this forum. Red Hook is close in to NY. You should be able to do it easily in an hour.

[World Gallery]

We arrive into LaGuardia. Do you know how long of a drive it is from LaGuardia to the Brooklyn Cruise Port? I have never been to New York but I know that everything can take longer there.

Thanks for letting me know about the one hour cruise that circles the island. Do they have a website? We will do that if we don't have time to do the other options.

When I called Statuecruises.com, they said that the last ferry actually leaves at 3:00 but you cannot purchase tickets in advance for that one and it only goes to Statue of Liberty island, not Ellis Island.

Where does the one hour cruise that circles the island leave from?

Also, does Brooklyn Tunnel into New York tend to have a lot of traffic? That is the route we would have to take from the cruise ship terminal to the ferry that leaves from Battery Island.

[138east]

I looked more closely and it looks like this is a weekend only cruise in October. Sorry about that. A 3 pm boat would work for you and you can take a cab through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel probably with no problems. With all the people arriving to cruise you should have no problem getting a cab. I doubt a 3 pm boat on a Tuesday in October would be full. If you don't quite make that, then you can always go on the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island and back for free.

 

Everything can take longer in NY. It depends. If your flight is late you will lose time. An accident on the road between LaGuardia and Brooklyn will make the trip take longer. The Battery to Red Hook is ony 3.1 miles through the tunnel, so that should be a quick trip. However, be sure to print out the directions - there have been lots of comments about how NY cabs don't really know how to find the Red Hook pier.

[138east]

Also, you should post this question on the East Coast Departures forum. That's where the New Yorkers hang out and you will get better answers.