Waaaaay too early NYC planning :)

[George C]

Uber works fantastic in Manhattan. Get the Uber app. You will have door to door transportation and you can even sit and rest if the wait will be more than a few minutes.

 

 

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Totally agree , mostly used Uber on last few trips to NYC, also get app for TKTS to see what Broadway plays are 50 percent off, TKTS also has added new location in Columbus circle, besides Times square and South street seaport ( another one is in Brooklyn), got excellent seats for Waitress, Groundhog day and others last month

[Clay Clayton]

We had success with Today Tix app for last minute tickets. We loaded both it and TKTS onto our phones.

[Brighton Line]

We had success with Today Tix app for last minute tickets. We loaded both it and TKTS onto our phones.

 

Today Tix is a form or "Rush" tickets or lottery. Playbill has a list of rush/lottery tickets for day of performance low cost.

Rent was famous for selling the first two rows of orchestra for $20 whomever got to the box office when it opened.

Now there are different variants from in person to digital to even social media lotteries and still the old rush to the box office is out there.

 

Even with lottery some of them have terms that you have a time limit to pay for your tickets so you are still rushing ;)

 

You also have standing room only tickets sold on the day of performance.

 

http://www.playbill.com/article/broadway-rush-lottery-and-standing-room-only-policies-com-116003

[Boatingmom]

I would choose met over moma. Separate days. Museum of natural history is favored over moma by my family. Just saying. I would research more on trip advisor. Stay midtown. Sheraton Times Square is affordable and safe. You can walk to some of the museums. What about a broadway show? The World Trade Center museum is moving and worth the trip downtown too. Very moving

 

 

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[navybankerteacher]

Thank you. Yes, the Met and MoMA are the top two things on our to do list....so whatever makes it easier and more enjoyable to do both of those and not be (too) rushed is going to be the way we want to go. Thanks for the timing advice, I'll be sure to start the hotel search early so we can get something booked where we want for sure!

 

Roosevelt Hotel - adjoining Grand Central Station may fit your bill. Easy walk (15 minutes) to Rockefeller Center/St. Patrick's/MOMA, short Lexington Ave. subway ride to Met Museum. Much more convenient to most places on your list than something in Times Square area.

 

I think it would be about $260- $270 per night -

[Arzeena]

So, here's the deal with a couple of questions for our NYC area folks. Wife and I have a cruise out of NYC in Oct. 2018. I'm not an OCD down-to-the-minute planner, but I do love to research and make (and as my wife loves to tell me, continually change) general plans on what we'd like to do and see.

 

With that in mind, the two questions I'll ask are:

 

1. What area(s) would be the best for a hotel that would make plans as easy as possible? We'd want to walk/subway as much as possible and not rely on taxi/Uber.

2. Does this sound realistic (not packing too much into two days, etc.)?

 

We'll most likely have two full days plus the embarkation morning in NYC. NCL Gem leaves Sunday Oct. 28th. We'd most likely fly into JFK or EWR on a redeye from Seattle, getting in early Friday morning.

 

Plan may be to car service from the airport into Manhattan, leave bags at hotel, and start out Friday morning doing our stuff. At this point, we're mainly museum lovers. So a plan may be to walk around Friday AM (Rockefeller Center? St. Patrick's Cathedral?) until MoMA opens and spend 3-4 hours there. Then back to our hotel, check in and relax for a little bit. Then the Friday evening plan would be to subway to The Met Museum of Art from about 5:00 until it closes at 9:00pm. Then back either to the hotel or hit Top of the Rock if the night sky makes it worthwhile.

 

Saturday may be heading down to the Whitney (on my wife's wish list), spending a few hours there and then walking the High Line to the Chelsea Market. Spend the afternoon walking around/visiting Chelsea (love the neighborhood idea, but so many to see!) until we head back to the hotel for dinner (we'd love to eat at and visit Grand Central Terminal) and then whatever Saturday night holds.

 

Back to a question...if this is a not-inconceivable plan, would a hotel in the MoMA area or the Grand Central area be best? Or somewhere else? Cost isn't too much of an issue....if necessary I'd rather be in the $300-350 range for convenience than save $100 and have the hassle of everything taking more time.

 

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

 

Thanks for starting this thread. Great and informative posts from all the people. I took a lot of notes.

 

We are also on the same Gem cruise. Welcome aboard!

[texaskit]

Glad to know I'm not the only OCD super pre-planner here!! We'll be coming off that cruise as you will be getting on. We are also planning to go down to DC for 3-4 days following and trying to decide best transport. One way Amtrak not bad. DH needs cane sometimes so, we priced with companion fare..but then there's the issue with the luggage. But hey, got plenty of time to figure that part out. Will be keeping eye on this thread and note paper handy. This will be our 1st NCL adventure after 4 Carnival cruises (no flaming please-it is what it is), so we're gonna be like newbies all over again.

[frankp01]

If thinking Amtrak, keep in mind that the fares rise as your travel date approaches. Book at least 14 days out (or more) to snag the best fares.

 

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[texaskit]

If thinking Amtrak, keep in mind that the fares rise as your travel date approaches. Book at least 14 days out (or more) to snag the best fares.

 

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Thank you for tip!!

[markeb]

Glad to know I'm not the only OCD super pre-planner here!! We'll be coming off that cruise as you will be getting on. We are also planning to go down to DC for 3-4 days following and trying to decide best transport. One way Amtrak not bad. DH needs cane sometimes so, we priced with companion fare..but then there's the issue with the luggage. But hey, got plenty of time to figure that part out. Will be keeping eye on this thread and note paper handy. This will be our 1st NCL adventure after 4 Carnival cruises (no flaming please-it is what it is), so we're gonna be like newbies all over again.

 

Probably worth it's own thread on getting from Manhattan to DC. But for some of your concerns and the previous post:

 

The least expensive tickets on Amtrak from New York Penn Station to DC Union Station are currently $49/person each way. Those are limited tickets, must be purchased at least 14 days before travel (and generally much earlier), and are non-refundable. They're called "Saver" tickets and are not combinable with any discounts. That's also on the Northeast Regional, which will take about 3 1/2 hours.

 

There is a "Value" fare that tonight looks like $91/person/each way (that varies). Still have to buy early for best prices, but those are refundable and can be combined with AAA, Senior, etc., discounts.

 

The Acela Express typically takes just under 3 hours, but can be 5-10X more expensive; it can also be cheaper, depending on the day of week and time of day. No discounts on Acela on weekdays, but they are available on weekends. I take Acela if I'm really in a hurry and the pricing is similar; that's not very often.

 

At NYP, if you can get your bags into the terminal, you can request a Red Cap who will get your bags on the train. You can also request a Red Cap for assistance in DC. There's no checked baggage on the NE Regional or the Acela, but you can bring 2 bags up to 50 pounds per person plus two personal items on the train (in theory; I really wouldn't try that!).

 

Again, if you're seriously looking at information on DC and transportation to DC, I'd start a new thread at some point.