Car Service Brooklyn to Maryland

[agathasmum]

We will disembark QM2 in Nov and are wondering if anyone has used a car service from Brooklyn to Maryland? Any any companies you would recommend / avoid?

 

Are car services allowed into the terminal area or is there a better place where we can arrange to meet the driver?

 

Thanks!

[princeton123211]

15 minutes ago, agathasmum said:

We will disembark QM2 in Nov and are wondering if anyone has used a car service from Brooklyn to Maryland? Any any companies you would recommend / avoid?

It can be done but it is going to cost you an arm and a leg. For example its outside of the operating zone of Carmel/Dial7 which are often mentioned on this board. Some of the higher end companies that own their own cars will quote you on it but they are going to be "garage out to garage in" meaning you are going to be charged from the moment they leave the garage to get you in Brooklyn until they return to that garage in New York-- so you'll be charged for the ride in both directions. 

 

Even UberX on a good day is going to be $650 and UberBlack is $830. Another app I use called Blacklane is going to be $640. There is a huge jump in price once you get below Philadelphia-- we often take an Uber up to JFK and its only about $200-250ish but thats a long way off $650 to Baltimore (I don't know where you are in Maryland so thats what I used for these numbers). 

 

Personally I would take Amtrak to Baltimore or BWI and then have a car service pick me up from there. Dramatically less expensive. 

 

20 minutes ago, agathasmum said:

Are car services allowed into the terminal area or is there a better place where we can arrange to meet the driver?

Yes-- car services can pick you up right outside of the terminal. 

[agathasmum]

7 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

It can be done but it is going to cost you an arm and a leg. For example its outside of the operating zone of Carmel/Dial7 which are often mentioned on this board. Some of the higher end companies that own their own cars will quote you on it but they are going to be "garage out to garage in" meaning you are going to be charged from the moment they leave the garage to get you in Brooklyn until they return to that garage in New York-- so you'll be charged for the ride in both directions. 

 

Even UberX on a good day is going to be $650 and UberBlack is $830. Another app I use called Blacklane is going to be $640. There is a huge jump in price once you get below Philadelphia-- we often take an Uber up to JFK and its only about $200-250ish but thats a long way off $650 to Baltimore (I don't know where you are in Maryland so thats what I used for these numbers). 

 

Personally I would take Amtrak to Baltimore or BWI and then have a car service pick me up from there. Dramatically less expensive. 

 

Yes-- car services can pick you up right outside of the terminal. 

Thank you for the info. We did Amtrak before but it was a hassle as there were no preallocated seats and we had to find space for cruise luggage, LOL.

To be honest two one-way flights are looking about the same as your estimates for a car service, so it isn't THAT bad, LOL.

[princeton123211]

28 minutes ago, agathasmum said:

Thank you for the info. We did Amtrak before but it was a hassle as there were no preallocated seats and we had to find space for cruise luggage, LOL.

If you take the Amtrak Acela high speed train there is all assigned seating which you can choose in advance so you wouldn't have that issue again. And you can use Red Cap service in Penn Station to board the train early and have them carry your luggage. Will still be a lot less expensive than the car service.

 

Of course if price isn't a concern it is less hassle to just get in a car and go. 

[agathasmum]

7 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

If you take the Amtrak Acela high speed train there is all assigned seating which you can choose in advance so you wouldn't have that issue again. And you can use Red Cap service in Penn Station to board the train early and have them carry your luggage. Will still be a lot less expensive than the car service.

 

Of course if price isn't a concern it is less hassle to just get in a car and go. 

 

I guess I should have mentioned that it's the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the Acela prices are as eye wateringly high as the car services, LOL

Moving on to "Plan D" .... car service to EWR and then get a one way rental car from there...

Edited October 10, 2023 by agathasmum
typos

[princeton123211]

5 minutes ago, agathasmum said:

I guess I should have mentioned that it's the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the Acela prices are as eye wateringly high as the car services, LOL

Makes sense-- thats a brutal day no matter what you do. 

[GTJ]

46 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

If you take the Amtrak Acela high speed train there is all assigned seating . . . .

When I read the comment, "We did Amtrak before but it was a hassle as there were no preallocated seats," my reaction was that this prior travel may have been a long time ago, when most trains in the northeast corridor were unreserved. During those years seats were not allocated to passengers, and there was always the possibility that there would be more passengers than seats and some people would have to stand. Today, however, trains in the northeast corridor are all-reserved, meaning that all the seats are allocated and no one should have to stand. What caught my eye was the commenter's use of the word "preallocated" to describe the seating, rather than "preassigned." Even though all seats are reserved, none are assigned. In other words, by having a reservation, there will be a seat allocated, but no specific seat is assigned. So I don't know if the commenter actually meant using the word "preallocated," something that is no longer the case for any northeast corridor travel; or if the intent was to have used the word "preassigned," something that remains unable for coach travel but is available for business and first class travel.

[navybankerteacher]

6 hours ago, GTJ said:

…Even though all seats are reserved, none are assigned. In other words, by having a reservation, there will be a seat allocated, but no specific seat is assigned. …

Incorrect — when you book Acela you get an assigned seat.

[GTJ]

7 hours ago, GTJ said:

[Assigned seating] remains una[vaila]ble for coach travel but is available for business and first class travel.

To clarify for those not fully understanding my prior comment (perhaps due to my error in spelling the word "unavailable"): On all-reserved Amtrak trains operating in the northeast corridor, specific seats are not assigned, with the exception that assigned seats are "available for business and first class travel." Thus, Acela trains, which offer only business and first class seating, have assigned seats available. In addition, other northeast corridor trains--specifically the Northeast Regional, Carolinian, Palmetto and Vermonter trains--also offer assigned seats but only in business class cars. Further information on selecting seats in business and first class is available on the Amtrak website at http://www.amtrak.com/reserved-seating. Seats in coach are reserved but not assigned. The information I provided was correct, but perhaps its focus on business and first class service across multiple northeast corridor Amtrak trains, and not specifying particular train names or types (e.g., Acela), confused some people. Hopefully this note clarifies any such remaining confusion as to the extent of seats being assigned on Amtrak's northeast corridor trains.

 

I recognize the importance of assigned seats to some people, but I don't share that enthusiasm. Instead, my preference is for seats not being assigned, and other than truly long-distance trains, for seats not being reserved. In my view, there is simply too much hassle and inconvenience in having to secure a reservation and seat assignment, as opposed to simply boarding the next available train. Additionally, and especially when traveling on business where plans may change on short or no notice, having to change reservations and seat assignments is terribly inconvenient. Southwest Airlines shares my view, and while its seats are reserved, there are no seat assignments. (The former Eastern Shuttle, and its successors, had neither reserved nor assigned seats.) I also note that Greyhound Lines recently went all-reserved, with seat assignments available optionally for an extra charge. Seemingly, my view is in the minority here, and seats being assigned or not may well be a deciding factor for at least some people.

[Brighton Line]

16 hours ago, agathasmum said:

 

I guess I should have mentioned that it's the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the Acela prices are as eye wateringly high as the car services, LOL
Moving on to "Plan D" .... car service to EWR and then get a one way rental car from there...

Why go to NJ to rent a car?

2 Miles away in "Downtown Brooklyn" all the major car rentals have local offices. Hertz has three HLE's, closest one is on Atlantic Ave another near the Barclay Center and one closer to Prospect Park. Avis is across the street on Atlantic Ave and I'm sure National has one nearby.

 

From Atlantic Ave you can get right on the I278 and over the Verrazano Bridge (hah seeing it from the other angle) to points south. 

[agathasmum]

4 hours ago, Brighton Line said:

Why go to NJ to rent a car?

2 Miles away in "Downtown Brooklyn" all the major car rentals have local offices. Hertz has three HLE's, closest one is on Atlantic Ave another near the Barclay Center and one closer to Prospect Park. Avis is across the street on Atlantic Ave and I'm sure National has one nearby.

 

From Atlantic Ave you can get right on the I278 and over the Verrazano Bridge (hah seeing it from the other angle) to points south. 

 

Thank you! I'll look into that 🙂

 

 

[markeb]

On 10/10/2023 at 3:44 PM, princeton123211 said:

Makes sense-- thats a brutal day no matter what you do. 

I wonder if they can just spend a night and try Monday? “Might” be better, although I think Thanksgiving now starts the Sunday or Monday before and ends about Wednesday of the following week!

 

Back to the OP. You live in the Mid Atlantic. Is there anyway on earth you’d choose to drive on I95 on the Sunday after Thanksgiving? How bad is the Acela priced that day?

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, markeb said:

I wonder if they can just spend a night and try Monday? “Might” be better, although I think Thanksgiving now starts the Sunday or Monday before and ends about Wednesday of the following week!

 

Back to the OP. You live in the Mid Atlantic. Is there anyway on earth you’d choose to drive on I95 on the Sunday after Thanksgiving? How bad is the Acela priced that day?

Acela pricing this close to the last week of November is likely to be awesome.  
 

Thanksgiving is coming to be a “shelter in place” event — okay to host a gathering, but hardly fun to get to one.