Driving to Brooklyn Port from the West (80/280/78/478)& Terminal Parking Costs

[Toddcan]

First time cruising out of Brooklyn.  I'm coming in from the west (80 to 280 to 78 to 478) and when I follow google maps route, it looks pretty convoluted as the route navigates along all the side roads and side streets.   Anyone who has driven this - is it fairly straight forward?  I see some signage, but not a lot. 

 

Also, it really $45/day for parking on a 7 day cruise to park at the terminal?

 

MSC Mergaviglia in March '24

 

Thanks in advance! 

[njhorseman]

28 minutes ago, Toddcan said:

 

Also, it really $45/day for parking on a 7 day cruise to park at the terminal?

Yes it is.

[lx200gps]

1 hour ago, Toddcan said:

First time cruising out of Brooklyn.  I'm coming in from the west (80 to 280 to 78 to 478) and when I follow google maps route, it looks pretty convoluted as the route navigates along all the side roads and side streets.   Anyone who has driven this - is it fairly straight forward?  I see some signage, but not a lot. 

 

Also, it really $45/day for parking on a 7 day cruise to park at the terminal?

 

MSC Mergaviglia in March '24

 

Thanks in advance! 

We did the drive last year for our first ever trip out of Brooklyn. Driving down from Montreal, we stayed overnight in NJ then drove that exact route the morning of the cruise, rather than try to drive right to the port the day of.  I suspect that a lot may depend on what day of the week you do the drive, but we did it on a Saturday and it was quite easy. Having survived Montreal traffic all my life, New York traffic was nothing. We came over the GW Bridge, down the West side right past the Manhattan Cruise Terminal to the Battery Tunnel and on into Brooklyn. The only area I would consider a bit tough is the short drive from the end of the tunnel to the pier, as it involves some crazy switchbacks and turns through Brooklyn streets. And AFAIK, the parking rate at the Brooklyn pier has recently almost doubled to the same rate as at the MCT. When we parked there, it was only twenty something dollars.

[mjkacmom]

11 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

We did the drive last year for our first ever trip out of Brooklyn. Driving down from Montreal, we stayed overnight in NJ then drove that exact route the morning of the cruise, rather than try to drive right to the port the day of.  I suspect that a lot may depend on what day of the week you do the drive, but we did it on a Saturday and it was quite easy. Having survived Montreal traffic all my life, New York traffic was nothing. We came over the GW Bridge, down the West side right past the Manhattan Cruise Terminal to the Battery Tunnel and on into Brooklyn. The only area I would consider a bit tough is the short drive from the end of the tunnel to the pier, as it involves some crazy switchbacks and turns through Brooklyn streets. And AFAIK, the parking rate at the Brooklyn pier has recently almost doubled to the same rate as at the MCT. When we parked there, it was only twenty something dollars.

The GWB route is best for those who aren’t city drivers, I’d recommend it over the tunnels if the timing is similar. OP are you planning on staying the night before?

[Toddcan]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

The GWB route is best for those who aren’t city drivers, I’d recommend it over the tunnels if the timing is similar. OP are you planning on staying the night before?

Yes, we will stay the night before, and the bonus is that the cruise leaves and returns on Sunday, so that should help.   

 

What I normally do is stay about 1.5-2 hrs from the port, and drive in to arrive around 9:30-10:00am at the port.    What are you thinking/suggesting if I stay the night before? 

[lx200gps]

46 minutes ago, Toddcan said:

Yes, we will stay the night before, and the bonus is that the cruise leaves and returns on Sunday, so that should help.   

 

What I normally do is stay about 1.5-2 hrs from the port, and drive in to arrive around 9:30-10:00am at the port.    What are you thinking/suggesting if I stay the night before? 

A Sunday departure should be even better than when we did it on a Saturday. I timed our trip to be heading down the west side/Hudson for around 9AM, and traffic was quite light and easy to maneuver. We stayed in Teaneck, NJ at a huge Marriott near the NJ side of the GW Bridge, so we had a relatively easy and short drive on into Brooklyn. About 20 miles, an hour in easy traffic

[mjkacmom]

18 hours ago, Toddcan said:

Yes, we will stay the night before, and the bonus is that the cruise leaves and returns on Sunday, so that should help.   

 

What I normally do is stay about 1.5-2 hrs from the port, and drive in to arrive around 9:30-10:00am at the port.    What are you thinking/suggesting if I stay the night before? 

I would say stay where ^^^ stayed in NJ, west of the GWB, for a relatively easy commute to Brooklyn.

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I would say stay where ^^^ stayed in NJ, west of the GWB, for a relatively easy commute to Brooklyn.

Probably best idea.