Parking question

[djnj]

We can’t decide if we want to fly or drive for our January 5th cruise on Norwegian Bliss. We are coming from Ohio and it’s not a bad drive except we really don’t want to have to drive into Manhattan. We are coming in the day before (Saturday) and will spend the night in Manhattan. We just wanted to know what our parking options are if we drive, except for the obvious answer of the cruise port.

Thanks

[1025cruise]

In all honesty, unless you are going to stay in NJ at one of the cruise and parks, it's not worth parking anywhere except the port. In fact, if you do a hotel in Manhattan the night before, you will probably pay more to park the car that night than at the port.

[Noxequifans]

I'd probably decide to drive myself but evaluate the chance of encountering not so friendly weather in January. 

[lenquixote66]

I am possibly the only person who lived the majority of his life in NYC who never drove in Manhattan.

My suggestion is to avoid Manhattan traffic if possible.

[138east]

 For $20/day you can park at Port Imperial in Weehawken NJ and take the ferry to 39th St.  What hotel are you staying in?  The ferry runs a series of free buses that service midtown, but your hotel might be just a quick Uber ride away.

[djnj]

We are looking at Novotel Times Square hotel. There will be 6 of us and luggage so that limits us too

[138east]

1 hour ago, djnj said:

We are looking at Novotel Times Square hotel. There will be 6 of us and luggage so that limits us too

Are you all coming in one car?  Can you roll your luggage at all?  Are you one family with children or are you multiple families that are splitting the cost.  The Manhattan pier parking is capped at $400 for the 14 day cruise, so your daily rate is $28-29/day, which makes the pier parking extremely cost effective for Manhattan.

[djnj]

We are one family of 4 with 2 friends coming along, so we probably won’t make our kids kick in on the parking. Our other concern was finding a hotel that we can park at? My husband wants to drive and I think flying is much less stressful but I’m weighing all the options 

[1025cruise]

Yes, finding a hotel in Manhattan with parking is a concern. You're going to be looking at $30-$40 just for parking.

 

Are you dead set on staying in Manhattan? IMHO, I would stay somewhere in New Jersey, then just drive to the port in the morning.

[djnj]

We have other family members that are meeting us there for the cruise and sightseeing the day before so I think we are set on staying in manhattan.  We have done the NJ stay and visited manhattan on other occasions but since were leaving from manhattan we just figured on staying there. Sounds like flying might be a whole lot easier

[138east]

1 hour ago, djnj said:

We are one family of 4 with 2 friends coming along, so we probably won’t make our kids kick in on the parking. Our other concern was finding a hotel that we can park at? My husband wants to drive and I think flying is much less stressful but I’m weighing all the options 

Quite frankly in January you need to have a plan B in case of snow as well as trip insurance.  Your primary goal is to get everyone to New York for the 14 day cruise.  There’s plenty of parking in NYC - you just have to be prepared to pay for it.  I sail every year in late Jan and have multiple plans.  Several years ago I was on a B2B from Cape Liberty and we arrived back in a major snowstorm.  No problem for us B2B’ers, but many people missed that cruise.  Chances are that won’t happen, but it is winter.

[phillyguy31]

Don't forget you are driving through central PA where snow can always be an issue that time of year. It can be beautiful in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and have whiteout conditions in the mountains. Also depending on what you are driving the hotels parking might surcharge you for oversize. When you factor everything in, it may just be a simple to fly. Since you are on the Bliss did you check out the free/discounted airfare that NCL offers?

 

[djnj]

I haven’t looked at ncl’s Air promo cause I assumed it would only be for the day of the cruise and we are definitely coming in the day before but it’s worth double checking 

[buckeyefrank]

We live in Ohio and traveled to NY last year for a cruise.  Looks like your cruise takes off on a Sunday, which is good.  I would personally drive and stay in NJ.  We stayed at the Hyatt House East Hotel in NJ.  The hotel rooms were HUGE and really nice.  There is a fantastic Italian restaurant about a 1 minute walk away from the hotel.  It's mostly a business area so staying on Sunday you should get a really good rate.

 

On the morning of the cruise, the drive to the terminal is not bad at all.  You go across the GW bridge and down the Hudson Parkway.  The terminal is right off that road.  Very easy to get to.  Only tricky part is getting off the bridge and onto the parkway.  The exit will be on the left or right depending on whether you get onto the upper or lower level of the bridge.

 

Not difficult at all and you won't have much traffic unless something is going on.

Edited August 27, 2019 by buckeyefrank

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, djnj said:

I haven’t looked at ncl’s Air promo cause I assumed it would only be for the day of the cruise and we are definitely coming in the day before but it’s worth double checking 

A deviation of up to 2 days pre or post cruise is available for a charge of $25 per passenger so you can take advantage of the promotion if you want to arrive in NY the day before the cruise.