Disembarking in New York

[kelly3399]

We will be on the Caribbean Princess later this year. The ship is scheduled to dock at 7:30 am and we are planning to self disembark. Are there taxis readily available and can we make a 10:30 am train easily from Penn Station? All help appreciated. Thank you, Kelly

[Pia1913]

We will be on the Caribbean Princess later this year. The ship is scheduled to dock at 7:30 am and we are planning to self disembark. Are there taxis readily available and can we make a 10:30 am train easily from Penn Station? All help appreciated. Thank you, Kelly

 

If it's a weekend, no problem. On a week day you will have to contend with rush hour traffic going into Manhattan. Taxis will be there.

[Nitemare]

All the info you could need about New York ports is here

[RickEk]

We will be on the Caribbean Princess later this year. The ship is scheduled to dock at 7:30 am and we are planning to self disembark. Are there taxis readily available and can we make a 10:30 am train easily from Penn Station? All help appreciated. Thank you, Kelly

 

There will be taxis available when the ship docks. You might also consider a car service. In theory, you should be able to get to Penn Station in time, but for whatever reason if disembarkation is delayed, it'd be pushing it.

[Crzn-Life]

We've never arrived in NY on the Caribbean Princess but have done so many times on the QM2. If the ship docks in Manhattan you should be able to make it easily. If it docks in Brooklyn it depends on the day of the week. We've done self-help on the QM2 and made it to Penn Station from the Brooklyn pier in time for the 11:02 train. HOWEVER..we always have a limo waiting for us. Before we started reserving a limo and were taking our chances with a taxi we had a long wait in line for the taxi and were late getting to the station but lucky for us the train was delayed because of mechanical problems!

 

The taxi line at Brooklyn can be long and if it's a weekday, you won't see as many taxis as you do on weekends. Also traffic can be an issue on weekdays. You're liable to encounter more traffic going in to Manhattan than if you were going to La Guardia.

 

We'll be on the QM2 in August and will be taking the 11:02 train from Penn station. As long as the ship is on time and there are no problems with customs clearing the ship we'll be OK and probably get to the station with lots of time to spare. We call our driver to let him know when we are leaving customs so he is able to get to the waiting area about the same time we do so no waiting for a taxi.

[cruiserdru]

We have disembarked in NYC 4 times and taken the train from Penn Station to return to Fredericksburg.

 

The first time (11/2005) we did so I bought tickets on an afternoon train (1:30) as I was concerned about when we would get to the station. That was on a Tuesday. We were at the station before 0930 and we did self-disembarkation.

 

In 12/2007 on a Thursday we had the same experience. In 10/2008 on a Sunday, same situation. In 6/2011 on a Friday, same situation.

 

After the first time I started moving up my reservations and now select a train between 10 and 11 am. Penn Station is not a great place to spend time and Amtrak charges you the current rate for the train you are changing to if you want to change your tickets.

 

Yes, I may have been lucky four times in a row but I would rather pay to change the tickets to a later train than spend an excessive amount of time in Penn Station.

[kelly3399]

Thanks for all the answers. It is on a Saturday from the Brooklyn Pier, so sounds like it should be OK. There is a train at 1:30, but don't want to hang around Penn station for an extra 3 hours if it can be helped. Would a pre-booked car service be much faster than just getting into the cab lineup? Kelly

[Pia1913]

Thanks for all the answers. It is on a Saturday from the Brooklyn Pier, so sounds like it should be OK. There is a train at 1:30, but don't want to hang around Penn station for an extra 3 hours if it can be helped. Would a pre-booked car service be much faster than just getting into the cab lineup? Kelly

 

Saturday - you will be fine. Metered taxi can end up being more expensive than car service. I would look into service.

[geoherb]

The only time we sailed in and out of NYC we had problems getting a cab after the cruise. Fortunately we did not have an early flight, so we were not in a hurry. And even better luck, when we got to the airport, the airline was able to put us on an earlier flight so we did not have to kill time there.

[Crzn-Life]

As I said in previous post, we use a limo service and make advance reservations. If traffic is heavy, a metered taxi can cost more than a limo. There could be a long line of people waiting for a taxi. We believe that the advance reserved limo is the best way to go for us because it eliminates worry and stress because we know that 99% of the time we'll get to the station in plenty of time for the train.

 

By the way, there is an Acela/1st class lounge at Penn Station which makes the wait there a little more tolerable.

[caribill]

Thanks for all the answers. It is on a Saturday from the Brooklyn Pier, so sounds like it should be OK. There is a train at 1:30, but don't want to hang around Penn station for an extra 3 hours if it can be helped. Would a pre-booked car service be much faster than just getting into the cab lineup? Kelly

 

Usually yes, as there will be a line for the cabs, but if you call your car service as you prepare to disembark, it will be there waiting for you when you exit the terminal and you will not have to wait in line with others for it.

[camly]

Do you have to book the tickets for amstrak in advance or can you just turn up to buy them? Thanks.

[njhorseman]

Do you have to book the tickets for amstrak in advance or can you just turn up to buy them? Thanks.

 

If you don't buy them in advance you run the slight risk of the train you want being sold out and then having to wait until the next available train. Usually they're only sold out during peak travel periods revolving around major holidays, but I think it's best to buy tickets in advance.

[camly]

Thank you njhorseman.

Do you know how much do I have to pay to change the tickets for the later train if I missed the departure time? I am trying to find out roughly how long it will take me from the ship to Penn station on an April Saturday morning. The ship will dock at 8:00am. I will do self disembark hoping to save some time. Then I have to queue up for a taxi (or unless you can suggest any better forms of transport?) Many thanks.

[FuninWB]

Our bus will not arrive to pick us up until 1 PM according to the schedule. Is there a place for us to wait which is inside? We will be disembarking in December.