Getting to Manhattan Cruise Terminal

[ilovefh]

We're coming from NH in June for a cruise out of Manhattan. We'd like to arrive the night before rather than driving down the morning of. We can't leave NH until 3:30 pm or so on a Wednesday.

 

We have toyed with some ideas but we can't settle on one.

 

1. Take the bus from NH to Boston and then Amtrak to NY. Get a hotel and the next day we would take a cab to the port.

 

2. Drive to NY, stay at a hotel near the port, drive to the port in the morning.

 

3. Drive to somewhere within an hour commute to the port the night before. Then drive to the port the morning of. For this option we found the Super 8 North Bergen. It isn't too far, but takes us through the Lincoln Tunnel to the cruise port. We like this idea the best because the hotel is $98/night but how long would it actually take us to get to the port?

 

We don't need fancy, just safe and to make sure we are at the port early enough to get parking.

 

Any other ideas I didn't think of?

[1025cruise]

If you are coming from NH, there is no need to drive to Jersey and then circle back. Stop somewhere in CT, maybe in the Hartford area, and then get on the W Cross for the rest of the way.

[ilovefh]

If you are coming from NH, there is no need to drive to Jersey and then circle back. Stop somewhere in CT, maybe in the Hartford area, and then get on the W Cross for the rest of the way.

 

The Hartford area is a little further out than we would like for the morning of. We were hoping somewhere that was less than an hour, which is why the location of the Super 8 interested us.

 

I'm not very familiar with traffic in NY, but during rush hour how long would it take us to get from Hartford to the cruise terminal?

[Nitemare]

Hartford to the Manhattan cruise terminal takes us about 2 hours on a Saturday morning (leaving Hartford around 8:30AM).

 

There are lots of hotels in Stamford, often for not much more money, which means a much shorter drive the next morning.

[Post Captain]

ilovefh ~

 

I agree with Nitemare about staying in Stamford, an hour or so from New York City (although things get pretty congested during the multi-hour rush hour, especially around Stamford and then again as you near NYC). There are a number of hotels right downtown off I-95. (However, some of those tend to be rather pricy on a weeknight, as many of these hotels cater to corporate business travelers visiting Fortune 500 companies in the area.)

 

You might also take a look at hotels/motels in the Darien-Norwalk-Westport-Fairfield area, immediately north of Stamford along I-95 or the Merritt Parkway (Route 15).

 

In any case, coming down from New Hampshire, it doesn't make sense to stay in New Jersey--it's on the wrong side of the Hudson, and you'll pay dearly in $$$ and time (traffic) to get through the Lincoln Tunnel or across the Geo Washington Bridge.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Post Captain

[1025cruise]

I live in metro west MA. I drove to the port in Manhattan the day of a cruise. After looking at the options, it just didn't make sense to me to go ahead of time. I think we left around 8:00, grabbed breakfast to go, and got to the pier by noon.

[138east]

Where are you coming from in NH? What is the exact date of your cruise and how many nights is the cruise?

 

Have you considered taking the cruise bus down the morning of the cruise?

[mizLORInj]

If you wish to stay with your initial plan #3, the hotel in N. Bergen, it is only 10 minutes through the Lincoln Tunnel into NYC, and another 10 minutes to the port. Not far at all.

[marco]

Check out Courtyard by Marriott in Tarrytown, NY. It's close to the Westchester airport. Sometimes you can get a room for little more than $100 a night, it's about a mile from the Metro North train station, you can take the train from there to Grand Central and then a cab over to the pier, or check out a car service into the city and I think if you can leave your car there for $10-$12 a day. Come down from NH into CT then get on the Merritt/Wilbur Cross Pkwy.

[138east]

Ilovefh - please post the details about your dates and number of people. I have Hotwired hotels in Stamford several times and have been very happy with the results. There is also a super 8 in Stamford that is under $100/night. IMO a much better choice than the super 8 in North Bergen which is on the access road to the Lincoln Tunnel.

 

These are the directions to the Manhattan Cruiseport from the I95 area in southern CT. From Stamford you would use the cutover from Rye NY. On a weekday morning you should leave the Stamford area between 9:30 and 10 to be at the port between 10:30 and 11 am.

 

From I95 there is a cutover to the Merritt at Milford CT exit 38. At Rye NY there is another cutover to the Hutchinson River Parkway South exit 21 immediately after exit 1 in CT. This cutover is longer than the one at Milford and involves getting off onto I287 West and following the signs to the Merritt/Hutch. You get off onto a service road, go through a few lights and take the turn for the Hutch south.

 

The Merritt Pkwy becomes the Hutchinson River Pkwy at the NY/CT line. From the Hutch take exit 15 in New Rochelle to get on the Cross County Pkwy. Stay in the middle left lane, which will become the left lane when the road "scrunches". This leads onto the Saw Mill River Pkwy South which becomes the Henry Hudson Pkwy at the NYC line ($4 toll). Stay on the Henry Hudson to where it ends at the Manhattan Cruiseport. The toll is worth every penny.

 

The are no triucks on this route and you will avoid any traffic issues on the Cross Bronx Expressway or the intersection with I87.

[marco]

Just a reminder...parking at the cruise ship terminal in Manhattan is now $40 a day. If you arrive 10-ish you should be fine. Most of the folks getting off the ship the day you're getting on should be gone, so if they parked, they're outta' there. However, I've never seen a "sorry full" sign at the terminal parking lot.

[ilovefh]

Hartford to the Manhattan cruise terminal takes us about 2 hours on a Saturday morning (leaving Hartford around 8:30AM).

 

There are lots of hotels in Stamford, often for not much more money, which means a much shorter drive the next morning.

 

Thanks! Stamford might be an option.

 

ilovefh ~

 

I agree with Nitemare about staying in Stamford, an hour or so from New York City (although things get pretty congested during the multi-hour rush hour, especially around Stamford and then again as you near NYC). There are a number of hotels right downtown off I-95. (However, some of those tend to be rather pricy on a weeknight, as many of these hotels cater to corporate business travelers visiting Fortune 500 companies in the area.)

 

You might also take a look at hotels/motels in the Darien-Norwalk-Westport-Fairfield area, immediately north of Stamford along I-95 or the Merritt Parkway (Route 15).

 

In any case, coming down from New Hampshire, it doesn't make sense to stay in New Jersey--it's on the wrong side of the Hudson, and you'll pay dearly in $$$ and time (traffic) to get through the Lincoln Tunnel or across the Geo Washington Bridge.

 

We don't mind the extra driving the night before, which is why we were thinking of that option. We're okay with the extra the night before if it means less time the morning of the cruise. We figured with the distance of 4 miles, it would be one of the shortest drives even with the Lincoln Tunnel.

[ilovefh]

I live in metro west MA. I drove to the port in Manhattan the day of a cruise. After looking at the options, it just didn't make sense to me to go ahead of time. I think we left around 8:00, grabbed breakfast to go, and got to the pier by noon.

 

We'd have to leave too early for that and we know we won't be sleeping much on the cruise so we'd rather not start out tired. It takes around 5 hours with no traffic and we'd like to arrive around 10.

 

Where are you coming from in NH? What is the exact date of your cruise and how many nights is the cruise?

 

Have you considered taking the cruise bus down the morning of the cruise?

 

I wasn't aware there was a cruise bus! We're in the Lakes Region coming down for a June 5 cruise. Again though, I think the morning of might be too close for comfort for us. This is one of the band cruises and I don't know if they will do one again, so it's once in a lifetime for us so we can't risk missing it!

[ilovefh]

If you wish to stay with your initial plan #3, the hotel in N. Bergen, it is only 10 minutes through the Lincoln Tunnel into NYC, and another 10 minutes to the port. Not far at all.

 

That's what we were thinking. We thought maybe even with delays it would still be the shortest route to the terminal on the morning of, other than just staying in Manhattan.

 

Check out Courtyard by Marriott in Tarrytown, NY. It's close to the Westchester airport. Sometimes you can get a room for little more than $100 a night, it's about a mile from the Metro North train station, you can take the train from there to Grand Central and then a cab over to the pier, or check out a car service into the city and I think if you can leave your car there for $10-$12 a day. Come down from NH into CT then get on the Merritt/Wilbur Cross Pkwy.

 

Thanks I will looking into that!

[ilovefh]

Ilovefh - please post the details about your dates and number of people. I have Hotwired hotels in Stamford several times and have been very happy with the results. There is also a super 8 in Stamford that is under $100/night. IMO a much better choice than the super 8 in North Bergen which is on the access road to the Lincoln Tunnel.

 

These are the directions to the Manhattan Cruiseport from the I95 area in southern CT. From Stamford you would use the cutover from Rye NY. On a weekday morning you should leave the Stamford area between 9:30 and 10 to be at the port between 10:30 and 11 am.

 

From I95 there is a cutover to the Merritt at Milford CT exit 38. At Rye NY there is another cutover to the Hutchinson River Parkway South exit 21 immediately after exit 1 in CT. This cutover is longer than the one at Milford and involves getting off onto I287 West and following the signs to the Merritt/Hutch. You get off onto a service road, go through a few lights and take the turn for the Hutch south.

 

The Merritt Pkwy becomes the Hutchinson River Pkwy at the NY/CT line. From the Hutch take exit 15 in New Rochelle to get on the Cross County Pkwy. Stay in the middle left lane, which will become the left lane when the road "scrunches". This leads onto the Saw Mill River Pkwy South which becomes the Henry Hudson Pkwy at the NYC line ($4 toll). Stay on the Henry Hudson to where it ends at the Manhattan Cruiseport. The toll is worth every penny.

 

The are no triucks on this route and you will avoid any traffic issues on the Cross Bronx Expressway or the intersection with I87.

 

Thanks! What kind of traffic is there earlier in the day on this route? Ideally we'd like to be there by 10. We're cruising June 5 so we're looking for something for June 4. There are just two of us.

Edited January 28, 2014 by ilovefh

[138east]

What day of the week would you be doing this?

 

Remember - this is the New York metro area. Traffic on a weekday morning sucks during the morning and evening rush hour. I wouldn't leave Stamford before 9 am.

[ilovefh]

What day of the week would you be doing this?

 

Remember - this is the New York metro area. Traffic on a weekday morning sucks during the morning and evening rush hour. I wouldn't leave Stamford before 9 am.

 

It's a Thursday. That's why we thought about heading to NJ the night before. We'd miss rush hour that night and our commute in the morning should be less.

[138east]

IMO you're not buying anything by staying in NJ. It looks good on paper, but the reality is that the Lincoln Tunnel traffic can be a real bottleneck in the morning beyond 9 am even if you are getting on in North Bergen. It doesn't take much to turn what should be a 20 minute trip into a much longer adventure.

 

Have you ever driven in Boston during rush hour? New York is much worse. You will do much better on the cars only parkway route that literally ends at the Cruiseport. Absolutely no local street driving in NYC until the very end. No jockeying buses and trucks to get into the correct lane so you can go uptown coming out of the tunnel.

[Got2Cruise]

IMO you're not buying anything by staying in NJ. It looks good on paper, but the reality is that the Lincoln Tunnel traffic can be a real bottleneck in the morning beyond 9 am even if you are getting on in North Bergen. It doesn't take much to turn what should be a 20 minute trip into a much longer adventure.

 

Have you ever driven in Boston during rush hour? New York is much worse. You will do much better on the cars only parkway route that literally ends at the Cruiseport. Absolutely no local street driving in NYC until the very end. No jockeying buses and trucks to get into the correct lane so you can go uptown coming out of the tunnel.

 

Please, listen to Carol. :D But if someone wanted to come down the night before maybe someplace in Westchester right before the city?

[138east]

We have lots of family in Westchester and over the years have frequently needed a hotel in the area. The Westchester hotels tend to be super expensive or real dives so we have settled on Stamford. I have stayed in the Super 8 but I much prefer taking a chance on Hotwire if the price is comparable. The Stamford hotels are close to I95 and only 10 minutes beyond the NY line. Greenwich is fine as well, but there are usually better deals in Stamford.

[kabux]

That's a lot of $$ to park at the port!! Would you consider driving to the route 128 Amtrak station in Westwood MA and parking there - I think it's $12-14/day then the train is about $50 each way per person. Might be less of a headache and may possibly save some money

Good Luck!

Edited February 2, 2014 by kabux
add info

[margincall]

Before I retired last year,I worked 2 blocks from the Lincoln tunnel.if you are driving on a week day,the ride from north Bergen can be over an hour,more in rush hour. Even weekends can be bad thru that tunnel.

Also the north Bergen hote ls are not the greatest area.if you stay in jersey,try secaucus and leave plenty of time