Driving into Manhattan on a Wednesday

[DuckTollerFans]

Our next cruise departs Manhattan on a Wednesday.  Thinking about staying in an outlying suburb (perhaps with friends in Westchester) and then driving/parking at the port. 

How crazy is the drive along the Henry Hudson Parkway?  We don't need to be first in line at the terminal so perhaps waiting until the business day is started traffic would be lighter.

That said, if we get on the highway and stay in the right lane for the duration, that shouldn't be too bad, right?   It can't be worse than driving in Philly or Chicago.

 

[njhorseman]

20 minutes ago, DuckTollerFans said:

Our next cruise departs Manhattan on a Wednesday.  Thinking about staying in an outlying suburb (perhaps with friends in Westchester) and then driving/parking at the port. 

How crazy is the drive along the Henry Hudson Parkway?  We don't need to be first in line at the terminal so perhaps waiting until the business day is started traffic would be lighter.

That said, if we get on the highway and stay in the right lane for the duration, that shouldn't be too bad, right?   It can't be worse than driving in Philly or Chicago.

 

If you're departing after rush hour barring traffic accidents, snow or some other unusual circumstances you'll be fine.

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, DuckTollerFans said:

Our next cruise departs Manhattan on a Wednesday ... if we get on the highway and stay in the right lane for the duration, that shouldn't be too bad, right?   It can't be worse than driving in Philly or Chicago.

 

OMG ... Hey, stranger - how've you been lately.  NY area has been back to normal lately, crazy busy & plenty of aggressive drivers everywhere, no worst than Philly or Chicago, better than greater LAX with 8 lanes each way - but, as NJH said, go easy & wait till the morning rush hour begin to drop off, do a last minute Google Map/Waze live traffic check on your planned route to Pier 88, and you should be good to go.  That Hudson River - upper Manhattan crossing at Riverdale shortly after you cross into the Bronx from Yonkers is EZ-Pass or Toll-by-Mail only, should zip easily right thru, watch for traffic merge on your left as you slide under the GWB with all the NJ commuters heading south for mid/downtown - figure about 15 to 30 minutes on average for this entire portion, unless ...  

 

Susan & I early retired since we last sailed, looking forward to cruising more ... things happened along the way, then boomed - pandemic, missed nearly 2 year's worth of cruising & long distance/overseas travel.  Sold on house finally last Spring, downsized to 2BR co-op living, just 25 minutes to MCT on weekends, LOL.  Oh well, we are all still here, healthy, vaxxed & boosted - bags always semi-packed & ready to go.  Hmmm, you are cruising soon on a weekday - just about when, not a typical 7 nighter ... Gem again or ??   Anyway, best regards - healthy, happy & safe one.  Henry 😉

[Nitemare]

We took that road on the Thursday before Christmas at about 9:30AM and flew all the way from the bridge down to Canal street where we were staying.  Small backup at the lights near the cruise terminal, and it was a holiday week, but still a weekday and we weren't sure what to expect.

[navybankerteacher]

After 10:00 AM the Henry Hudson should be largely clear of AM commuter traffic.  So shooting to arrive at the pier sometime between 11:00 and noon makes sense.

[DuckTollerFans]

12 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

OMG ... Hey, stranger - how've you been lately.  NY area has been back to normal lately, crazy busy & plenty of aggressive drivers everywhere, no worst than Philly or Chicago, better than greater LAX with 8 lanes each way - but, as NJH said, go easy & wait till the morning rush hour begin to drop off, do a last minute Google Map/Waze live traffic check on your planned route to Pier 88, and you should be good to go.  That Hudson River - upper Manhattan crossing at Riverdale shortly after you cross into the Bronx from Yonkers is EZ-Pass or Toll-by-Mail only, should zip easily right thru, watch for traffic merge on your left as you slide under the GWB with all the NJ commuters heading south for mid/downtown - figure about 15 to 30 minutes on average for this entire portion, unless ...  

 

Susan & I early retired since we last sailed, looking forward to cruising more ... things happened along the way, then boomed - pandemic, missed nearly 2 year's worth of cruising & long distance/overseas travel.  Sold on house finally last Spring, downsized to 2BR co-op living, just 25 minutes to MCT on weekends, LOL.  Oh well, we are all still here, healthy, vaxxed & boosted - bags always semi-packed & ready to go.  Hmmm, you are cruising soon on a weekday - just about when, not a typical 7 nighter ... Gem again or ??   Anyway, best regards - healthy, happy & safe one.  Henry 😉

Hello Henry!

This thread has eased some of my anxiety about a trip to the terminal, including some ideas about what timing is best.  Our other cruises have included a hotel stay in NJ where we leave our car and they drive us over.  Might do that again too.  Now that we're <90 days and it seems it WILL happen I guess it's time to put some plans in place.

Yep - we're heading out on the Gem again.  We'd made plans in 2020 (Canada) and 2021 (Bermuda) - neither happened - so this time we're attempting the eastern Caribbean for a 10 day adventure.  Third time's a charm, right? Ted retired a few months ago and I cut my hours way back so why not do a 10 day! Neither of us have ever been to any of these ports (Virgin Islands, Puerto Plata, St. Maarten, etc)

"Things" are OK on this side of the state.  COVID numbers are way up in Monroe County, but we are careful about the places we go and the people we see. It's a lot of assessment/management and knock on wood, this has worked out well.  I'm thinking for the 3-4 weeks before we leave in March, I'm going nowhere except on dog walks with the Toller.  Of course, if I learned ANYTHING over the past 2 years it is to be flexible and know that things can change quickly and you have to adapt, and b*tching about it doesn't solve it. 

Nice to hear you and Susan are doing well and I wish you a Happy New Year!

- Julie