Getting from 6th Ave and 54th Street to Red Hook

[RJChatsworth]

Is it any easier these days in a yellow cab?  Cab drivers in Manhattan didn’t have a clue how to get to Red Hook.  One I gave the co-ordinates to didn’t know how to use his satnav.  Another asked us to get out of his cab in an undesirable part of Brooklyn because he was so reluctant to wind his window down and ask for directions.  We refused, he finally got us to the Marriott in Brooklyn and we changed cabs.  I refused to pay him.  Other drivers have admitted they didn’t know how to get there before we got in.  Twice we called the well-known chauffeur company in Brooklyn beginning A…… to pick us up at the Crowne Plaza, off Times Square and they didn’t turn up but swore blind they did once even though we stood at the door for an hour waiting!
 

I don’t need all this hassle on holiday.  Anyone got a good reliable and uncomplicated way of getting from Manhattan to Red Hook, please?  Don’t suggest the Wall Street ferry with luggage!

[1025cruise]

Uber/Lyft?

[BklynBoy8]

 

We use Dial 7 for our uses when we are in Manhattan to Brooklyn.

 

And local car service in Brooklyn to our Red Hook Terminal.

 

 

[D&N]

With our mobility and the 2 medium roller cases and 2 cabin sized backpacks we would be travelling with, if there was a problem with cab drivers not knowing where they were going I would ask to be dropped off at the Wall Street terminal and we would manage fine from there.

 

But if you can't do that or don't want to, I don't see a better option than a cab, unless Cunard offer a transfer from a central point in Manhattan.  As 1025cruise suggests I would also consider UBER, which we already use in France.

 

Given your experience, I would swot up on the routes to Red Hook on Google Maps and Street View and program them into a satnav on my phone then give the cab driver directions.

Depending on traffic Google defaults to a route via West St and a toll tunnel. I'd be inclined to force it via Brooklyn Bridge, which I believe is toll free. Cab drivers must know where Brooklyn Bridge is??

Then you just need to know the exit from the bridge and directions from there to Red Hook.

I just followed that route on Street View and didn't make a single wrong turn. Unfortunately when I arrived there was no sign of the ship. 🤣

[GTJ]

4 hours ago, RJChatsworth said:

Is it any easier these days in a yellow cab? Cab drivers in Manhattan didn’t have a clue how to get to Red Hook. * * * I don’t need all this hassle on holiday. Anyone got a good reliable and uncomplicated way of getting from Manhattan to Red Hook, please? Don’t suggest the Wall Street ferry with luggage!

TLC regulations require all taxi drivers to have a street atlas with them. My suggestion is, that after haling a taxi, make inquiry if the driver has every been to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, or otherwise knows exactly where it is. If not, then demand that the driver pull out his or her street atlas to ascertain the route to take to the terminal. This to be done prior to dropping the flag: the driver is supposed to know how to go there, and there is no obligation for you to pay him or her while ascertaining the directions there. Is this foolproof? No, some drivers are simply geographically illiterate (in part driven by the TLC's examination that has de-emphasized geographic knowledge). Another strategy would be to familiarize yourself with the geography of Brooklyn, learn the streets and plot a path. Use Goolgle street views to give yourself an understanding of the surroundings. Then give specific directions to the taxi driver, guiding the taxi driver to the terminal. (I recall having to do this myself several years ago in Fort Lauderdale. Having arrived on a Celebrity Cruises vessel from San Diego, we were next destined for the railroad station for our train back to New York. The Fort Lauderdale taxi driver did not know the way from the Fort Lauderdale port to the Fort Lauderdale railroad station, and so I gave directions to the taxi driver.)

 

Will Uber and other FHV drivers be any better? Probably not--it is the same pool of drivers--and those drivers may not even be required to have a street atlas with them.

 

The more certain way of arriving at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is to plan out the journey, yourself, using fixed-route transportation . . . where the transportation regularly operates along a prescribed route there is little opportunity for the driver to become lost. But you have excluded the possibility here, no need to further discuss.

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, GTJ said:

TLC regulations require all taxi drivers to have a street atlas with them.

The TLC should move into the 21st century like the rest of humanity and require taxi drivers to have a GPS-based navigation system. Why "professional" drivers aren't required to have one and use it is beyond comprehension.

 

3 hours ago, GTJ said:

Will Uber and other FHV drivers be any better? Probably not--it is the same pool of drivers--and those drivers may not even be required to have a street atlas with them.

There's huge difference between FHVs and taxis. When you use an FHV you're given a fixed fare quote. In a taxi your fare will vary according to distance traveled, as well as time if the taxi is in heavy traffic. If your FHV takes a roundabout route or gets caught in some traffic your fare doesn't increase, while your taxi fare will be run up by either. As a result, there aren't the same negative financial consequences for you if your FHV goes a bit astray or takes a little longer to get to your destination, so the FHV driver's geographic knowledge is less important to you and your wallet.

[GTJ]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

The TLC should move into the 21st century like the rest of humanity and require taxi drivers to have a GPS-based navigation system. Why "professional" drivers aren't required to have one and use it is beyond comprehension.

There may well be some merit in that (though what happens when the connection fails? Atlases always work!) It seems to be in the same category of requiring E-Z Pass to be available. But I do like atlases: they are good to get a better overview of the area, and it requires some thought on how to get from here to there, which can be a good thing. Computer-based systems tend to be narrowly-focused, and many drivers proceed only by following directions without really knowing where they are. Best situation is to have both systems, as well as just having a good innate sense of geography.

 

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

There's huge difference between FHVs and taxis. When you use an FHV you're given a fixed fare quote. In a taxi your fare will vary according to distance traveled, as well as time if the taxi is in heavy traffic.

A fair fare consideration! Indeed, my own professional can be billed either by time or on a flat fee basis, and I much prefer flat fee because then I don't have worry about interruptions, being excessively thorough, or otherwise. Same idea as the fare for taxis versus other-FHVs. But as to the quality of the driver, himself or herself: is the driver one or the other type of vehicle going to be any better with geography? I don't think so, but I am open to contrary empirical evidence. Might there be a difference between a person who owns the vehicle versus someone who leases the vehicle? Possibly.

[Nitemare]

Not sure who the "A" company is, but Dial 7 and Carmel are recommended here constantly and I don't recall many folks coming back with complaints

[BklynBoy8]

1 hour ago, Nitemare said:

Not sure who the "A" company is, but Dial 7 and Carmel are recommended here constantly and I don't recall many folks coming back with complaints

IMHO.....Dial 7......no complaints....

[lx200gps]

13 hours ago, njhorseman said:

The TLC should move into the 21st century like the rest of humanity and require taxi drivers to have a GPS-based navigation system. Why "professional" drivers aren't required to have one and use it is beyond comprehension.

 

There's huge difference between FHVs and taxis. When you use an FHV you're given a fixed fare quote. In a taxi your fare will vary according to distance traveled, as well as time if the taxi is in heavy traffic. If your FHV takes a roundabout route or gets caught in some traffic your fare doesn't increase, while your taxi fare will be run up by either. As a result, there aren't the same negative financial consequences for you if your FHV goes a bit astray or takes a little longer to get to your destination, so the FHV driver's geographic knowledge is less important to you and your wallet.

Excellent point. There should be one other advantage to using a ride share. Given the comments about taxi drivers not even knowing how to get to Red Hook (and I've driven to it from northern NJ, it's not that hard to find), I would expect that using, say, Uber would get by that problem by it's very nature. When you use the Uber app to call a ride, you are required to specify exactly where you are, and EXACTLY where you want to go. If the Uber driver accepts your ride, doesn't that mean they are admitting they know exactly how to get there? I'd love to hear examples of people hailing an Uber only to be told by the driver they have no idea where they are going.

Edited May 21, 2023 by lx200gps

[mking8288]

Without getting sidetracked on a off-topic discussion/chat about NYC's TLC and what they can, should and do, etc. - suffice to say, Carmel and Dial 7 and 2 of the well established citywide car services, computerized dispatch with multiple bases & their own garage/staging points (near airports & transit hubs) - 2 fleets of hundreds of assorted vehicles.  I have yet to come across a Carmel driver that hasn't been to Pier 88, Red Hook or Cape Liberty cruise terminals, perhaps or unless they are new on the job & only recently started driving for a living - that might be your nice & neat Uber or Lyft driver working her/his on a part-time and as desired basis.  But, they all used & sometimes depend on real-time GPS-assisted navigation system if going to a new address that they aren't familiar with, especially to the outer boroughs - I know, from having spoken to Lyft drivers (and our local Dominos pizza deliveries) that their customized mapping system are a little different as a spin-off tailored using Waze & other commercialized fees-based products out there ... the given address do, sometimes, come up with errors & they end up being mis-directed to the wrong location, while I am waiting a few blocks away.  

 

I see no reasons to not pre-book Carmel or Dial 7 ahead, they can easily speed-dial or access their fleet's frequently used destination list to match up your Red Hook address, put in gear & start going to drive mode.  The apparent savings these days in NYC are minimal between Uber/Lyft and Carmel or Dial 7, I've done these real-time price checks on a quite a few trips going to/from airports and cruise terminal(s) lately - whoever can show up a little faster at our door steps with a competitive fare is all I care, just buckle up for safety as I don't like getting T-boned while riding or driving.  

 

There is one subtle reasons that I suspect, some drivers, might not want to go across/under the East River for a good fare to Red Hook, and that is long-term traffic on the BQE or I-278, with 3 highway lanes merging into 2, both out-bound & in-bound ... as they could be coming back into Manhattan with an empty cab or zero riders (unlikely, unless you leave very early for Brooklyn & no pax disembarking the ship)   On weekend mornings, traffic typically move close to & above the official speed limit but weekdays, that's often massive gridlock & rolling stop-n-go to/from Brooklyn ports.  

 

Carmel drivers typically already have the ride's destination address & routing info loaded when they show up to do our ride - and, nowadays, AI with voice recognition are making a difference, bypassing the need to "input" an exact address ... if only Hertz can do the same for their fleet of GPS-enabled vehicles for hire ... for $15 a day or $75 a week, plus taxes - you would think that Hertz can do a little better in how to better program their navigational coordinates.  

 

Trip from Manhattan to Red Hook in a yellow taxi is based on metered fare, plus tolls and surcharges, and congestion fees (more & higher add-on coming soon) to be added, expect to pay more & higher total if caught in gridlock traffic ... Carmel or Dial 7 will be on a confirmed & quoted flat rate, unless they also instituted surge or peak traffic pricing.  

 

Safe & happy travel.  

[RJChatsworth]

Many thanks to those taking the trouble of replying to my question.  I look forward to even more!

Someone asked who A……… were.  Arecibo Car Service.

[BklynBoy8]

35 minutes ago, RJChatsworth said:

Many thanks to those taking the trouble of replying to my question.  I look forward to even more!

Someone asked who A……… were.  Arecibo Car Service.

 

Located in Brooklyn not that far away from Red Hook Terminal and Highways & Tunnels/Bridges.

[frankp01]

On 5/20/2023 at 11:11 AM, RJChatsworth said:

Don’t suggest the Wall Street ferry with luggage!

The ferries actually have a fair amount of room for luggage. With barely sloping boarding ramps. As long as you have rolling luggage, you should be OK. Here's a photo of quite a bit of luggage for the three of us. Leaving Red Hook we often take the ferry to Wall Street, then change to the ferry to E 34th St. There's an express bus from the ferry terminal to Penn Station.  It does involve two changes, but otherwise it's very painless (and faster than traffic, sometimes)

[Mira28]

On 5/22/2023 at 4:20 PM, frankp01 said:

The ferries actually have a fair amount of room for luggage. With barely sloping boarding ramps. As long as you have rolling luggage, you should be OK. Here's a photo of quite a bit of luggage for the three of us. Leaving Red Hook we often take the ferry to Wall Street, then change to the ferry to E 34th St. There's an express bus from the ferry terminal to Penn Station.  It does involve two changes, but otherwise it's very painless (and faster than traffic, sometimes)

Helpful post, thank you. Might I ask, how long does the ferry take from Wall St. to Red Hook? Does it dock close to the pier? When leaving the port you take the ferry back to Wall St. and then another to E. 34th?

[frankp01]

The ferry from Wall St to Red Hook is only about 10 minutes. And it couldn't dock closer to the QM2 pier. It's maybe a 5-10 minute walk from the cruise terminal exit to the ferry dock. If you're heading to 34th St, then yes, you'd change ferries. You can change at Wall St, but sometimes the connection works better at one of the other stops. It pays to download the app. It will calculate the best route for you and you can buy the tickets there.

 

The New York NYC Ferry Service by Hornblower

 

[Brighton Line]

35 minutes ago, Mira28 said:

Helpful post, thank you. Might I ask, how long does the ferry take from Wall St. to Red Hook? Does it dock close to the pier? When leaving the port you take the ferry back to Wall St. and then another to E. 34th?

Download the NYC Ferry app, you can put in your departure/arrival and date/time and see the schedule. Brooklyn South route runs 30 minute headway but they don't really make up lost time so the app can help. 

On the website, you can download and print schedules but there won't be real-time updates. 

A 10:58a Wall Street Departure is scheduled to depart Red Hook at 11:15a

[BklynBoy8]

The Ferry Terminal (Waterway behind ship) is located behind the left side of the QM2 Bridge.

 

[steve4031]

On 5/21/2023 at 8:43 AM, lx200gps said:

Excellent point. There should be one other advantage to using a ride share. Given the comments about taxi drivers not even knowing how to get to Red Hook (and I've driven to it from northern NJ, it's not that hard to find), I would expect that using, say, Uber would get by that problem by it's very nature. When you use the Uber app to call a ride, you are required to specify exactly where you are, and EXACTLY where you want to go. If the Uber driver accepts your ride, doesn't that mean they are admitting they know exactly how to get there? I'd love to hear examples of people hailing an Uber only to be told by the driver they have no idea where they are going.

I drove for Uber and Lyft for a couple of years.  When the driver accepts the ride they have no idea where the passenger is going until the passenger gets into the car and the driver taps a button acknowledging that they have picked up the passenger.  Then the app provides directions to the destination.  

 

Unscrupulous drivers will call you and ask you where you want to go and if they do not want to drive to that destination they will pressure you to cancel the ride.  The driver does not get penalized for canceling the ride.  The passenger may incur a 5-dollar fee.  

 

If you opt for the more expensive cars, then you sometimes get professional drivers and better experiences.  

 

 

[lx200gps]

46 minutes ago, steve4031 said:

I drove for Uber and Lyft for a couple of years.  When the driver accepts the ride they have no idea where the passenger is going until the passenger gets into the car and the driver taps a button acknowledging that they have picked up the passenger.  Then the app provides directions to the destination.  

 

Unscrupulous drivers will call you and ask you where you want to go and if they do not want to drive to that destination they will pressure you to cancel the ride.  The driver does not get penalized for canceling the ride.  The passenger may incur a 5-dollar fee.  

 

If you opt for the more expensive cars, then you sometimes get professional drivers and better experiences.  

 

 

That's very interesting, I had no idea. As I had said, I assumed drivers knew their destination before even picking up the fare. Based on your experience, and that of other drivers, what is your opinion of very short distance fares? I assumed that when I called an Uber to drive half a kilometer, farther than we can drag our heavy luggage, that the driver would know he is going a short distance and agrees to the fare. Now you're saying they don't know, is a typical driver upset by that? IIRC there is a minimum fare charged, but is it considered a bother? Admittedly we only ever use Uber between an airport, a pre-cruise hotel and the cruise port but sometimes the drives can be very short.

[steve4031]

1 hour ago, lx200gps said:

That's very interesting, I had no idea. As I had said, I assumed drivers knew their destination before even picking up the fare. Based on your experience, and that of other drivers, what is your opinion of very short distance fares? I assumed that when I called an Uber to drive half a kilometer, farther than we can drag our heavy luggage, that the driver would know he is going a short distance and agrees to the fare. Now you're saying they don't know, is a typical driver upset by that? IIRC there is a minimum fare charged, but is it considered a bother? Admittedly we only ever use Uber between an airport, a pre-cruise hotel and the cruise port but sometimes the drives can be very short.

I did not mind the short fares.  I am one who has booked an Uber or Lyft to avoid walking 5 or 6 blocks because I had not taken care of my health.  The only riders I disliked were drunks.  I avoided driving at those times.  

 

I once had a Lyft driver in Portland, Oregon try to shame me for not walking a short distance.  He mentioned that the distance was walkable.  I told him "If I wanted to walk I would walk."  He stated that he was unsure if I knew the distance was walkable in a somewhat smug tone of voice.   I had had enough.  I told him that every time he opened his mouth his rating was going down and his chance of receiving a tip was now zero. He had to have the last word, and I for sure had the last word when he got a 1-star rating and a note that he was not accommodating to passengers who may have a disability.   

[lenquixote66]

Allstate Limo Service has been operating more than 25 years.