Navigator, New York to JFK after cruise

[Cinder]

Does anyone want to share info on the best way to get back to JFK after our cruise? Radisson said they don't offer any bus service back to the airports, but could arrange tranportation for $100 PP. I have talked to a limo driver, but it seems a little difficult for the limo to meet the ship, due to parking problems.

Can anyone share any easy way to work out the limo, or is it best just to get the next taxi in line. I know we will be wrestling luggage. Three of us will share the fare. Thanks in advance for any thoughts/assistance!

[Joanandjoe]

Teaneck is a New Jersey suburb of NYC. We've had two cruises ending in NYC (9/16 to 9/24, Montreal to NYC on the Navigator will be our third). The first time we tried using a cab. Bad idea - we waited almost a hour, in the midst of chaos. The second time we took our local cab company to and from the pier. (It was a round trip cruise on the HAL Rotterdam.) Not much better: we had difficulty connecting with the driver. Either way, getting out of the dock area is difficult, which is why other cruise lines are shifting to Bayonne and Brooklyn for cruises out of NYC.

 

Having said that, $300 is obscene for a ride to JFK, since the cab fare is $35 plus tolls of about $9, plus tip. (see the questions link at www.nypst.com). You will need either a cab or a limo service. If you have friends or co-workers in NYC itself (our NJ cab companies won't go from the pier to JFK), ask them what car service they use, and try to use it. Otherwise, check for car and limo services on www.visitnyc.com.

 

Your chances of getting a cab will depend partly on how many ships are in port that day. On our cruise, we'll be the only ship in most of our ports, but will have SIX ships at the pier in NYC: Navigator, Oriana, Golden Princess, Sea Princess, NCL Crown (unless it's in Bayonne), and Carnival Triumph. All of the others except the Oriana will arrive at 7 a.m., before the 8 a.m. arrival of the Navigator. OY!

 

Will you be on our 9/16 cruise or a different one? If you're on our cruise, let us know.

[PaulaJK]

We live in NJ. When we dine in NYC, we use

 

X-Y-Z limo/car service. They are city based.

 

You give them a call and they appear within

 

approx 20 minutes. I believe they have a web.

 

Give them a call now and see if they go to

 

JFK & the rate. We've found them reliable.

[Cinder]

Thanks for the advice, I think I will arrange a limo since there are 3 of us plus luggage. BTW, I am going on the Navigator 5/24. Thanks!

[Joanandjoe]

Radisson shows a cruise on 5/18 to 25 and 5/25 to 6/1. Which one do you mean? If it's the 5/25 jazz cruise, please post a review of the jazz aspects of the cruise. Our 9/16 Navigator cruise is also a jazz cruise.

[Cinder]

Sorry, it's the 5/25 cruise. We are going up the day before, and I got my dates mixed up.

I didn't know this was a "jazz" cruise until today, as I didn't pick the date, but I will let you know what I think when I return. I went on a "big band" cruise on HAL once, and there were less big band events then I expected. I like Jazz better then big band, so it should be fun.

[Cinder]

Just got my documents, and they say that the ship docks back in NY at 10:00. Does anyone know if this is accurate, and if it is, any advice about what time I should arrange my limo for? I have only been on larger ships, and I have no idea how fast they disembark. Thanks for advice!

[gf]

Seems to be dependent on the speed ? of the longshoremen unloading...last year it was over an hour after we were docked before we could disembark.

[Cinder]

I just wanted to follow up on my originial post. We ended up hiring "A custom Coach limousines, Inc." and they were wonderful. I used them the day we arrived in NY to take us to the theatre and hotel, then they picked us up and took us to the ship from the hotel the next morning. I can't say enough good things about the two drivers. I had booked the Jersey City Hyatt through Priceline, and that was great, as we saw the Navigator sail into port in the morning about 8:30 A.M>

The Navigator was great, and although I am no expert, the special Jazz was very nice as well. They performed twice in the show lounge, and once poolside before dinner. If I were a jazz junkie, I probably would have wished for more, but for me, it was a nice change of pace from my usual music.

The food was fantastic, and I would suggest that everyone sign up for bridge and galley tours, as very few ships are allowing bridge tours post 9/11. Both tours were very interesting.

As someone who has mostly sailed on mid to large cruise ships, it's novel to be able to walk the whole length of the ship in about 3 minutes! We were in cabins 629 and 631 and there was no bad vibration in the cabins, but a big vibration was noticible in the Portofino grill on deck 10. If I ever sailed this ship again, I would try for the same cabins, due to their excellent proximity to most activities, even though they are not by any means the most expensive on board. I loved the walk-in closet, but otherwise, the cabin was pretty similar in size to my balcony cabins on Princess or HAL. The most remarkable difference was spectacular food, although I like the food on the above lines and rarely have a complaint. Without exception, all of the fish I had was great, and the soups were wonderful. If anyone needs more information, just ask.