Getting to Manhattan Cruise Terminal, NYC

[Smitheroo]

What are some ways to get from the Port Authority on 41st st NYC to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal  where NCL docks?  Rome2Rio has two choices  1) taxi  - is it really only $11-14 or 2) walk- 24 minutes.  How feasible is it to walk?  I am very familiar with NYC from many years ago- grew up across the river in NJ.  Would this walk go through a seedy neighborhood (in the am)  I plan to have a carry on  so luggage not a problem but the taxi is a no brainer if only $11-$14  for ease and safety.

 

I first planned to take the bus from Portland, Me to the Port Authority, NYC for  $170 round trip.  I found a flight with a much better arrival time (due to it being much shorter to fly than by road) for not that much more. It arrives in Newark.  There is a bus from Newark to Port Authority for $9.  

 

Aside from an NCL transfer from Newark Airport to Manhattan Cruise Terminal (which I havent investigated yet)  what are other choices?  Has anyone done this, interested in your experience.   If the NCL transfer from airport to cruise terminal was $75 , going by bus from Newark airport to Port Authority and then Taxi to the dock might be about $25.     I like to consider all possibilties.  In January weather could be a big factor.

 

Anyway, interested in all experiences  I would rather arrive at Newark than JFK or LaGuardia unless I was taking an NCL transfer. Making your own way from those 2 airports would be a hassle. Newark much easier

[debenson0723]

You might want to check the Ports of Call forum on this board...lots of information on transportation options, especially under the East Coast departures section.

[mjkacmom]

Nj transit train from airport to PA.

[Smitheroo]

34 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

You might want to check the Ports of Call forum on this board...lots of information on transportation options, especially under the East Coast departures section.

thanks, I will do that!

[dbrown84]

you will definitely see related topics on the east coast departures section.  I find it interesting you ask if the neighborhood is seedy.  There is a recent thread where I mentioned that I planned on walking from the train station to the port, as long as it's not too cold and/or windy (my cruise is in January).  I still plan on walking.  Someone did respond that I shouldn't walk because it was thru a seedy neighborhood.  I found it hard to believe that the neighborhoods would be so bad that you couldn't walk thru them during the day.  Maybe it's just the DC boy in me. 

[UKstages]

i live in the allegedly “seedy” neighborhood, adjacent to the broadway theatre district. I routinely walk this neighborhood, even at night and in the wee hours of the morning. and I typically walk, with luggage, through this allegedly “seedy” neighborhood to the manhattan cruise terminal. i did so just a few weeks ago.
 

it’s perfectly safe and you’ll see many people doing this, including the ship’s crew, who can often be found at the nearby target store, buying snacks, sundries and personal items. you are more likely to get scammed in a taxi from port authority than you would be if you walked through the neighborhood. taxi drivers, after waiting in a queue to pick up a fare, will not be terribly pleased that you are going such a short distance. but, yes, the fare will be low, assuming they don’t take you for a ride… $14 sounds about right.

 

as for the bus from EWR (newark airport express), it’s $9.35 for seniors (62 and above) or $18.70 (regular price). a taxi from EWR to the manhattan cruise terminal at peak times will run about $120 including tolls, surcharges and tip.

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

Nj transit train from airport to PA.

I meant Penn station.

[Treasure Hunter]

Check out the NCL transfers from the airport. January in NY could be sunny and brisk or a blizzard. That could be the longest 24 minutes of your life. 

[destar]

13 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Check out the NCL transfers from the airport. January in NY could be sunny and brisk or a blizzard. That could be the longest 24 minutes of your life. 

This, taxi or uber avoid lots of headaches and hassle.

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Check out the NCL transfers from the airport. January in NY could be sunny and brisk or a blizzard. That could be the longest 24 minutes of your life. 

If it snows the train is a good idea, it’s a very short 2 stops I believe.

[GTJ]

Applicable to all decisions is the fact that the area between midtown Manhattan and the Manhattan Cruise Terminal is relatively secure. Generally, you need not concern yourself, though if walking between, say, midnight and 6:00 a.m., you should be more attentive (though that is probably the same advice that would apply most anywhere).

 

Walking between Port Authority Bus Terminal and the Manhattan Cruise Terminal is a pleasant stroll, suitable for most people other than those who are frail, disabled, or carrying substantial baggage.

 

There are several choices of travel from Newark Airport to midtown Manhattan, but the Coach USA bus from the airport terminals is the most convenient and direct, short of a hired car (e.g., taxi). The regular is $18.70, with half fare for seniors. The bus brings passengers to West 42nd Street, west of Eighth Avenue, outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Other options include (1) trains, which requires a transfer from a monorail train to a commuter train, that leave you at Pennsylvania Station, more distant from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal than Port Authority Bus Terminal, and (2) local public transportation, which requires multiple transfers, that leaves you at Herald Square, also more distant from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal than Port Authority Bus Terminal. While there are ferries from New Jersey that arrive in Manhattan at Pier 79, which is very close to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, there is no convenient transportation from Newark Airport to any of these New Jersey ferries. I imagine that the NCL-arranged transfer would be the most expensive and least flexible means of travel--and for those reasons I would likely reject the option--but it would obviate the need to get from any midtown Manhattan transportation terminal to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

 

From Portland I also note the existence of a very comfortable bus service operated by Concord Coach Lines. With 2+1 executive-style seating, free movies, power outlets, and Wi-Fi Plus, it is a really nice way to travel. Not cheap, but $85 one-way is not unreasonable. Departing from the combined railroad and bus terminal in Portland at 6:30 a.m. daily except Tuesdays, the first class coach arrives on the east side of Manhattan, East 42nd Street between First and Second Avenues (not Port Authority Bus Terminal) at 12:30 p.m. . . . you could then ride the M42 crosstown bus from the Concord Coach Lines stop to the Hudson River, near the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

Edited November 5, 2023 by GTJ

[navybankerteacher]

8 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

...

 

Anyway, interested in all experiences  I would rather arrive at Newark than JFK or LaGuardia unless I was taking an NCL transfer. Making your own way from those 2 airports would be a hassle. Newark much easier

I would rather go from/to LGA of JFK to Manhattan Cruise Terminal than EWR -- unless the fare to EWR was really better - I am not clear on why you think EWR would be preferable:  shorter as the crow flies, I suppose -- but are you a crow?

[Smitheroo]

1 minute ago, navybankerteacher said:

I would rather go from/to LGA of JFK to Manhattan Cruise Terminal than EWR -- unless the fare to EWR was really better - I am not clear on why you think EWR would be preferable:  shorter as the crow flies, I suppose -- but are you a crow?

no, but I'm an old lady and we get things cheaper lol. There's a bus service that goes from Newark to the Port Authority in NYC and for seniors the fare is $9.   But that's several steps to get to the boat and it might be easier to take an NCL transfer.  

[UKstages]

12 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I am not clear on why you think EWR would be preferable:

 

savvy new yorkers know that it's much easier - and almost always quicker - to get to midtown west from EWR than any other new york area airport.

 

it's also a hub for united airlines, so those who prefer united, or those who are using or accruing united frequent flyer miles fly into newark airport.

 

 

[GTJ]

2 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

I'm an old lady and we get things cheaper lol. There's a bus service that goes from Newark to the Port Authority in NYC and for seniors the fare is $9.

That's one of the things I try to be conscious of when I provide advice here. As a condition for receiving federal financial assistance, federal law requires that transportation providers must offer elderly and disabled passengers a minimum 50 percent discount during off-peak hours (this is codified at 49 U.S.C. § 5307(c)(1)(D)). That, of course, changes the economic analysis for such elderly and disabled persons. The Federal Transit Administration, which enforces this law, requires that its grantees advertise the discounted fare whenever the regular fare is advertised. Nonetheless, many who are not yet elderly or disabled, or who do not routinely use public transportation, overlook this benefit,.

 

From Newark Airport, the Coach USA bus service benefits from federal financial assistance, while the NCL-arranged transfer does not. Elsewhere on a cruise, this half-fare economic incentive makes the use of federally-subsidized public transportation becomes an even greater bargain for elderly and disabled persons, compared to unsubsidized market-rate tours and transfers. Some municipalities try to impose hoops for half-fare programs, and so it is wise for elderly and disabled to do advance research to ensure receipt of the statutory discount . . . exactly as is being done here!

[GTJ]

3 minutes ago, UKstages said:

savvy new yorkers know that it's much easier - and almost always quicker - to get to midtown west from EWR than any other new york area airport.

True. But there's municipal pride involved. As was reported by the New York Daily News:

 

"The story went that one day in 1934 the formidable new mayor of the City of New York was flying home from Chicago aboard a TWA DC-2 that landed, as was its practice, at Newark. And everyone got off the plane except Fiorello LaGuardia, who pointed out that his ticket said CHICAGO-NEW YORK and said he wanted to go to New York, not Newark. And the captain politely explained that, well, Newark was where New York flights landed because that’s where the airport was. And LaGuardia said again that his ticket damn well said New York and he refused to leave his seat. And the captain thought this over, and by and by the plane was in the air again, delivering Mayor LaGuardia, its sole passenger, to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, which could only just barely accommodate a DC-2. This was, the story went, specifically the reason that five years later New York City had the biggest and best-equipped airport in the nation."

[Smitheroo]

Yay, for once I'm savvy

[Smitheroo]

7 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I meant Penn station.

Doesnt it go on to the Port Authority which is closer?   I remember the stops, something like 14th, 21st, 34, (Penn Station)  42 (PA)

[Smitheroo]

25 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

savvy new yorkers know that it's much easier - and almost always quicker - to get to midtown west from EWR than any other new york area airport.

 

it's also a hub for united airlines, so those who prefer united, or those who are using or accruing united frequent flyer miles fly into newark airport.

 

 

I remember when Newark airport was built, or at least expanded to its current size. I grew up a few miles away in Hudson Co.   Planes flew over our house approaching the airport all.day.long

[Smitheroo]

5 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

If it snows the train is a good idea, it’s a very short 2 stops I believe.

which train? 2 stops from where?

 

[njhorseman]

1 minute ago, Smitheroo said:

Doesnt it go on to the Port Authority which is closer?   I remember the stops, something like 14th, 21st, 34, (Penn Station)  42 (PA)

No...NJ Transit goes to Penn Station . You might be thinking about PATH...but even that only goes as far as Herald Square, not to Port Authority.

[Smitheroo]

6 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Check out the NCL transfers from the airport. January in NY could be sunny and brisk or a blizzard. That could be the longest 24 minutes of your life. 

they definitely could be easier

[Smitheroo]

7 hours ago, UKstages said:

i live in the allegedly “seedy” neighborhood, adjacent to the broadway theatre district. I routinely walk this neighborhood, even at night and in the wee hours of the morning. and I typically walk, with luggage, through this allegedly “seedy” neighborhood to the manhattan cruise terminal. i did so just a few weeks ago.
 

it’s perfectly safe and you’ll see many people doing this, including the ship’s crew, who can often be found at the nearby target store, buying snacks, sundries and personal items. you are more likely to get scammed in a taxi from port authority than you would be if you walked through the neighborhood. taxi drivers, after waiting in a queue to pick up a fare, will not be terribly pleased that you are going such a short distance. but, yes, the fare will be low, assuming they don’t take you for a ride… $14 sounds about right.

 

as for the bus from EWR (newark airport express), it’s $9.35 for seniors (62 and above) or $18.70 (regular price). a taxi from EWR to the manhattan cruise terminal at peak times will run about $120 including tolls, surcharges and tip.

I would never take a taxi unless I thought my life depended on it.   Which is why I asked if Rome2Rio is correct when they estimate a fare of $11.  I have walked many neighborhoods that one would consider "sketchy" in my younger years  but I have been away for quite awhile.  

[njhorseman]

1 minute ago, Smitheroo said:

which train? 2 stops from where?

 

NJ Transit from Newark Airport, stopping at Newark Penn Station , Secaucus Junction (usually) and terminating at New York Penn Station.

[Smitheroo]

4 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

No...NJ Transit goes to Penn Station . You might be thinking about PATH...but even that only goes as far as Herald Square, not to Port AuthorityOh.

Oh Ok. Its been awhile.  I'm not even sure there was a NJ transit into Penn Station when I lived there. I know there was PATH.  Maybe there was but I only used the PATH or "the tubes" as we called them back then  From Harrison NJ, or Journal Square in JC  mostly over to Greenwich Village