Airport / Hotels for Emerald Princess Sailing from NYC

[Guardsy]

Our first time cruising out of NYC, Nov. 4, on the Emerald Princess.

 

Looks like we will likely sail out of Brooklyn?

 

Suggestions on where to stay for a couple of days in advance?  Places that are close to the terminal, easy to get to from the airport? Easy to get into Manhattan?

 

Which airport?  JFK or LaGuardia?

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and experiences!

[rdsqrl]

If you want to spend your pre-cruise time in Manhattan, then I'd stay in Manhattan.  You only have to make one trek to Brooklyn, to get the ship, instead of many back-and-forth treks into and out of Manhattan.   

 

I usually stay at the Waldorf, or the Omni Berkshire, near 5th Ave/St. Patricks/Rockefeller Centre.   If you're looking for moderate pricing, I've stayed in two Courtyards in Manhattan over the past couple of years and been pleasantly surprised with both (traveling with family; otherwise, wouldn't have been my choices).  One is in the theatre district, very close to Times Square (Courtyard Manhattan Central Park on 54th and Broadway).  Lots of good restaurants around and the draw for us on that trip was walking distance to the three theatres where we had tickets.  The other was in the Garment District, off 8th Ave, a few blocks from Macy's at Herald Square (Courtyard Manhattan Times Square West on W 37th).  The car service from there to the Brooklyn port was quick and not expensive. 

 

I prefer LGA. 

[skynight]

I would not select hotels in Red Hook area. Not much there. Post 2 has a lot of good information. If you wish to be close to Red Hook maybe opt for a hotel in lower Manhattan near the financial district.

Airports. LaGuardia is the closest. JFK is a little further away. If you are planning a post cruise stay in Manhattan then Newark is also an option.

I would refer to the East Coast departures board for additional information.

[navybankerteacher]

Since it’s rebuilding, LGA is much easier to navigate than JFK - and EWR is least convenient.  There are some inexpensive hotels in lower Manhattan which are very convenient to the ferry across to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal - near a lot of restaurants and interesting sites, as well as close to direct subway connections to east side and west side midtown Manhattan locations.

[njhorseman]

11 hours ago, rdsqrl said:

I usually stay at the Waldorf

It's been closed for renovations for about 6 years.

[princeton123211]

3 hours ago, njhorseman said:

It's been closed for renovations for about 6 years.

Got to see inside recently. Aside from some landmarked spaces like the lobby you wouldn’t recognize it. Been all ripped apart for high end condos.

[Brighton Line]

Not only are there very few hotels in Red Hook Brooklyn it is a transit desert. There is no close subway line to the Pier and only two bus lines with only one near the pier. You will be stuck in cabs/ride share and traffic. 

Stay in Manhattan or a hotel along 4th Ave Brooklyn but the best for only a day in NYC as others have said is staying in Manhattan. 

 

Saturday sailing is Friday night in Manhattan, and downtown in Financial District maybe the answer for less expensive (NYC wise) rates. 

[GTJ]

6 hours ago, Brighton Line said:

Not only are there very few hotels in Red Hook Brooklyn it is a transit desert.

The phrase "transit desert" is commonly used today in transportation circles, but it is probably overused. Many times southeastern Queens County gets this label, not because of a lack of bus routes or LIRR stations but seemingly because there's no subway stations. Similarly, I am reluctant to label Red Hook in this manner. True, there are "only" two bus routes here, but that's a good number for the size of the neighborhood. (There used to be more bus routes, but today's B57 and B61 cover what were formerly routes B61, B75, and B77; the once-important route B33 that connected the Hamilton Avenue ferry with Ebbets Field had declined in patronage so much--the ferry had closed in 1942, and the stadium was demolished in 1960--that it was an infrequent rush hour only route carrying virtually no passengers when it was finally discontinued in 1993; and the weekday-only B77 shuttle to the Erie Basin breakwater via Columbia Street was inconsequential, having little purpose and few passengers, and discontinued in the late 1980s.) Moreover, there's also two ferry routes, one to Atlantic Basin, immediately adjacent to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal at Pier 12, and another to Erie Basin, immediately adjacent to the IKEA store. No doubt that the neighborhood is not bustling with transit, and certainly the subway is a bit distant, but I think that because public transit both exists and is right-sized here, I would not use the "transit desert" label.

[Guardsy]

We sail on Saturday.  We fly into LGA on Thursday late afternoon.  For the moment I have booked two nights at a nice hotel near Prospect Park in Brooklyn.  We plan to travel into Manhattan on Friday morning for some touristy things and hopefully a TV show taping. Then Saturday morning over to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.  Did I do anything wrong?

[njhorseman]

34 minutes ago, Guardsy said:

Did I do anything wrong?

Without knowing the name of the hotel it's impossible to give any specific advice. I believe the closest hotels to Prospect Park are at least a mile away and given that the park itself isn't postage stamp size at over 500 acres, a mile or more in different directions can mean entirely different neighborhoods with different levels of safety, amenities such as restaurants, and access to mass transit.

 

If the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes haven't been settled there aren't likely be any TV show tapings to attend.

Edited September 1, 2023 by njhorseman

[Guardsy]

27 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Without knowing the name of the hotel it's impossible to give any specific advice. I believe the closest hotels to Prospect Park are at least a mile away and given that the park itself isn't postage stamp size at over 500 acres, a mile or more in different directions can mean entirely different neighborhoods with different levels of safety, amenities such as restaurants, and access to mass transit.

 

If the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes haven't been settled there aren't likely be any TV show tapings to attend.

Comfort Inn - Prospect Park.   I would be very surprised if the strike last until Oct. 31.

[njhorseman]

6 minutes ago, Guardsy said:

Comfort Inn - Prospect Park.   I would be very surprised if the strike last until Oct. 31.

Hopefully others can weigh in about the neighborhood, etc. as i haven't been in the area in many years.

The Writers Guild has been on strike for four months, so another two...who knows?

[GTJ]

I don't think I see anything wrong, per se. The most important thing is to understand where you will be staying. This is not a very exciting neighborhood, but it offers a location very close to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal; presumably you have chosen to stay here because it is a good value. Despite its name, the hotel is not at Prospect Park. It is slightly closer to Green-Wood Cemetery (itself a sight to see) than Prospect Park, but its immediate surroundings are a mixture of industrial and residential. Very good pizza is available just over a block away, Luigi's Pizza on Fifth Avenue between 20th Street and 21st Street. The hotel is in-between two subway stations on Fourth Avenue, about four or five blocks to either, so reasonably convenient for travel to and from Manhattan. Some television programs tape are in Astoria, Queens, which is a slightly longer subway trip than Manhattan. Going to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal you can either get the bus there (route B61, on 9th Street) or a very short taxi ride (you will likely have one of the lowest taxi fares of any person on your cruise vessel).

[Langoustine]

On 9/1/2023 at 4:03 PM, njhorseman said:

 

The Writers Guild has been on strike for four months, so another two...who knows?

As a member of SAG-AFTRA, I can tell you that we regard this as a fight to the death, and I do not see it being settled until December.

[navybankerteacher]

58 minutes ago, Langoustine said:

As a member of SAG-AFTRA, I can tell you that we regard this as a fight to the death, and I do not see it being settled until December.

Starting to sound like a suicide pact.  Unless BOTH sides are willing to accept SOME compromise, this sort of negotiation is pointless and hopeless.

[JGmf]

As mentioned above, I'd reverse it and stay in Manhattan and then take a ride share or taxi to the cruise terminal.  There's way more to do and see in Manhattan and it's all very intuitive and walkable.

 

Hope you have a great cruise.  I was on the Emerald this past June.  I really liked the ship and the crew.

[Guardsy]

19 minutes ago, JGmf said:

As mentioned above, I'd reverse it and stay in Manhattan and then take a ride share or taxi to the cruise terminal.  There's way more to do and see in Manhattan and it's all very intuitive and walkable.

 

Hope you have a great cruise.  I was on the Emerald this past June.  I really liked the ship and the crew.

Understood.  My thinking was that we get into LGA after 6 PM and after a long flight, we would just hit the hotel and dinner.  The next day, all day is in Manhattan.  Want to see the 911 memorial, Rockefeller Center, etc. capped by dinner and then back to Brooklyn.  So, not just staying in one area of Manhattan; hitting lower and mid-town.  The next morning, free breakfast at the hotel and then short taxi to the ship.  Little traffic, no bridges, etc.  If I am wrong, please tell me!  Still time to change plans.

[JGmf]

@Guardsy You're good.  Your plan is solid.given the logistics you mentioned. 

 

That said, if you could find a hotel in Manhattan at a low enough price point for your wallet, you'd be already there and extend your full "City explore day" to the maximum extent....with the added benefit of avoiding the traffic and hassle of getting from/to Brooklyn on a Friday which is never any fun.  Getting to Brooklyn on a Saturday morning, however, should be a breeze.

[Brighton Line]

Comfort Inn Prospect Park is closer to ***** Cemetery than Prospect Park. Its between 3rd Ave where the elevated I-278 Gowanus Expressway runs and the busy 4th Ave with the new construction hotel in the middle of 20th Street. On the corner of 4th Ave is a local Pizza Shop next to a Deli and over on 21st Street/4th Ave is a local Pharmacy. The closest subway is 25th Street and 4th Ave a local stop for the R subway train (Little longer walk the other direction is another local R stop Prospect Ave).

The block is mix use Residential/Commercial with really nothing around other than above. 

 

Brooklyn port is only 1.75 miles away 10 minutes without traffic no more than 30 with. Saturday departure traffic should not be an issue. Weekdays 3rd Ave has heavy traffic to/from Manhattan during rush hours as it leads to/from the Hugh Cary Tunnel under the Gowanus as a lot of people take 3rd Ave as an alternate route with traffic spilling over to 4th Ave. 

 

 

[Got2Cruise]

On 8/12/2023 at 11:42 PM, Guardsy said:

Our first time cruising out of NYC, Nov. 4, on the Emerald Princess.

 

Looks like we will likely sail out of Brooklyn?

 

Suggestions on where to stay for a couple of days in advance?  Places that are close to the terminal, easy to get to from the airport? Easy to get into Manhattan?

 

Which airport?  JFK or LaGuardia?

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and experiences!

I’d stay in the Financial District of Manhattan. The rates for the properties are lower than midtown. The only property in Brooklyn I recommend to tourists who aren’t street savvy is the Marriott Brooklyn Bridge and that’s always expensive. 
 

Choose either LGA or JFK whichever works out best for you. But do know LGA is shut down more often than JFK. 

Edited September 7, 2023 by Got2Cruise

[gbolton]

Hotel rates are sky high that weekend because it is the NYC Marathon weekend.

We didn't know that when we originally booked the same cruise.

We are coming in by train from Canada and are hoping that there will be taxis available at the Moynihan train station. Please advise if we should wait for a taxi at 8th street or 31st street to go to Brooklyn Cruise Port.

 

We have been stung before with pre-booking a car service, paying ahead, and they did not wait for us, (we were a long time going through customs, this was in Galveston) and they would not give us a refund.  We do not have a telephone to use in the U.S. so we were unable to advise them we were trying to get through.

As for Uber and Lyft, we are in our seventies and haven't ever used them, plus we have the added difficulty of needed to transport a folding wheelchair. Yes, one of us uses a mobility device, much to the chagrin of all those able bodied folks, sorry but I love cruising too!

 

Any advice about the taxi from the train station to the port will be much appreciated.

[GTJ]

Do note that Pennsylvania Station is located astride Eighth Avenue, not 8th Street, a very important distinction. There is a taxi stand on Eighth Avenue, at West 33rd Street. That said, however, it is not necessary to go to a taxi stand. This being the heart of midtown Manhattan you can stand on virtually any street surrounding Pennsylvania Station and hail a taxi. If I were to do so, then I would more likely hail a taxi on either Seventh Avenue or Ninth Avenue, both being one-way avenues with traffic heading downtown, towards Brooklyn, rather than on Eighth Avenue, which is one-way heading uptown, away from Brooklyn.

 

I understand the reluctance of ordering a car in advance, for precisely the reasons stated. You would obligating yourself to find one particular vehicle, at a time pre-selected in advance, providing frustration both for scouting that vehicle and having no flexibility in timing. Uber and Lyft are slightly better than the pre-arranged car, as you can make the arrangements at the time needed, but it still requires searching for one particular vehicle reserved for you. Additionally, Uber and Lyft are usually more expensive than a taxi. In contrast, there are 13,587 taxis in New York City, any one of which can you provide you with the desired transportation, at any time you desire that transportation, and doing as simply as going to any street and raising your arm.

 

Finally, I should note that you will need to decide whether you do, in fact, desire to fold-up the wheelchair and transport it in the trunk, or if the wheelchair user prefers to travel in his or her wheelchair during the journey. However, there are fewer than 3,000 accessible taxis in New York City, so sometimes it can be difficult hailing an accessible taxi. To compensate there is a free accessible taxi dispatch service available: you can find details here: http://www.nyc.gov/site/tlc/about/accessible-dispatch.page. Note, however, that it can take up to 30 minutes for an accessible taxi to arrive, and there exists the same problem as noted above, as to finding one specific vehicle (but at least you do not have to pay in advance to have an accessible taxi dispatched).

[princeton123211]

17 hours ago, gbolton said:

Hotel rates are sky high that weekend because it is the NYC Marathon weekend.

We didn't know that when we originally booked the same cruise.

We are coming in by train from Canada and are hoping that there will be taxis available at the Moynihan train station. Please advise if we should wait for a taxi at 8th street or 31st street to go to Brooklyn Cruise Port.

I can't tell from what you've written here but it sounds like it's possible you're coming in on an international Amtrak trip the same day as your cruise departure (which I'm inferring based on you asking for advice for a taxi from the train station). If so thats a giant risk as those trains are notorious for getting held up for hours crossing the border. 

 

17 hours ago, gbolton said:

We do not have a telephone to use in the U.S. so we were unable to advise them we were trying to get through.

It could be worth renting an international cell phone if your Canadian cell phones won't provide international service. Rentals are fairly inexpensive and would have been worth it just to solve this issue. 

 

17 hours ago, gbolton said:

As for Uber and Lyft, we are in our seventies and haven't ever used them, plus we have the added difficulty of needed to transport a folding wheelchair. Yes, one of us uses a mobility device, much to the chagrin of all those able bodied folks, sorry but I love cruising too!

This is sort of an area where Uber shines-- it allows you to request accessible vehicle pickups directly in the app. As GTJ mentions, the number of of truly accessible taxis in NYC is significantly less than the general taxi pool and will frankly be a bit of a crapshoot. If a fully accessible vehicle isn't required most taxis should be able to fit a folding wheelchair. 

 

58 minutes ago, GTJ said:

There is a taxi stand on Eighth Avenue, at West 33rd Street. That said, however, it is not necessary to go to a taxi stand. This being the heart of midtown Manhattan you can stand on virtually any street surrounding Pennsylvania Station and hail a taxi. If I were to do so, then I would more likely hail a taxi on either Seventh Avenue or Ninth Avenue, both being one-way avenues with traffic heading downtown, towards Brooklyn, rather than on Eighth Avenue, which is one-way heading uptown, away from Brooklyn.

I would highly recommend using the taxi stand. My wife and I did what's suggested here a few weeks ago (I used to live in Manhattan 15 years ago and very well versed in hailing a NYC cab) and it was frankly a full contact sport. It's bedlam on those corners where there are a significant amount of folks vying for taxis that are trying to skip the taxi line. You essentially have to step out into the street over a bike lane to jockey for a cab and hope that someone else doesn't jump into it. Then you basically have to throw your stuff into the back of it in the middle of traffic. 

 

Both of us are fully able and were only with carry on roller luggage. I can't imagine doing that with full size luggage and a wheelchair. I would use the taxi queue so you at least have a decent place to load into the cab as you'll be carrying more than most. 

[gbolton]

Thank you to both of the responses to my question about the taxi situation.

All of your answers have been duly noted and I appreciate the time that you took to explain the issues that could/will arise.

One of you will be happy (?) to know that we are not taking the train across the border for the reason you mentioned (delays), but also because everyone has to get out of the train and go through customs, and stand around and wait for the train to be cleared.  Seeing as that I cannot stand for more than a minute, that would be challenging for me, and I don't know where they will be stowing my wheelchair.

Fortunately we have a son who will drop us off at the Niagara Falls station in NY, and take our vehicle home with him. Its always difficult when the ship leaves from one port and arrives at another.  When I was more mobile just a few years ago we left our van in Montreal and our final port was Boston, we took a Greyhound bus to Montreal and that was an event in itself!

Sadly, during Covid, the Greyhound bus company pulled out of Canada and is no longer operating there.  

[Nitemare]

There is a good chance your Canada cellphone company can enable US calling for you for a small fee.  I'd check there because even if you don't use it for a car service, it's a comfort to have it available "just in case" you need it in NYC or elsewhere in your travels