HAL Homecity bus transport

[nbevins]

years ago we drove from mich to harrisburg pa and caught a bus(provided by cruiseline) into nyc ..do you know if this is still done and wht stops they ake

[Navy_Chief]

HAL does still run this service. We are taking the service into New York this year in fact. Our bus starts in Boston and stops in Providance, New London, New Haven and onto NYC piers in Manhatten. Others in our roll call are taking the bus in from points west such as what you describe. The service is porvded as a charter by Academy Bus Lines: http://www.academybus.com/home.asp

[LizB1]

As NavyChief says HAL is offering this bus service for the Noordam cruises. And, yes, there is service between Harrisburg, PA and the pier according to the Caribbean brochure.

 

We are taking it in January from Providence, RI and found it very convenient for us last April.

[chot]

Hi- We're taking the HAL bus for our Dec. 6th cruise. It leaves Harrisburg,Pa. then on to Stroudsburg, Pa. (where we will board) then on to Mt. Arington, NJ, and on to the pier. Our time to leave is 9:30 and arrival at the pier is 12:00.

Chot

[Sunshine91]

We're taking the bus from Philly to NYC. Took it this past Feb, too, for the inaugural. We actually live in southern DE so stay with my aunt, who lives just outside Philly, the night before.

Our bus was packed. It was non-stop straight to the pier - 2 hrs. There was another one making stops here & there in NJ.

Easily the smartest $49pp we spent towards the trip. :)

[nbevins]

we live in albany area--anyone familar with bus transport from there??

[caribbeanqueenie]

Does anyone know the price from Harrisburg to New York per person and what they would charge for vehicle per day?

Thanks

[AAAAmerican]

I think from the NY Capitol Albany , I saw posts saying it was from the small airport there.

 

But call HAL. As others can get the best answers:

 

1-877-SAIL HAL:cool:

 

Yes there TOLL FREE LandLine...

 

 

 

we live in albany area--anyone familar with bus transport from there??

[chot]

caribbeanqueenie;

The HAL bus from Harrisburg cost $89. Our pick-up is in Stroudsburg, Pa. at 9:30 --arriving at the pier at 12:00. Not sure how much the car parking fare is. pretty much I think.

Chot

[rodree]

To nbevins:

We live about 20 miles South of Albany and always take a limo service out of the Catskill area to and from N Y or Boston.Well, not really a limo but an auto.

The service is door to door with a very efficient and friendly driver.

Sure saves that uncomfortable air ride from NY to Albany and from there home.

Will post the phone no. if you wish.

[Chillen]

Where do they pick you up in Stroudsburg. The last bus I took was from Philly, but I had thought about doing the Stroudsburg one. (I grew up in East Stroudsbrug)

[chot]

Hi- The HAL bus will be picking us up at the Martz bus terminal on rt. 611. It has a large parking lot--easy to get to. Pick up time is 9:30, arriving at the pier at 12:00. We live in Saylorsburg,Pa.

Chot

[DMRick]

From Albany, you park at the airport (or get dropped off) and Hal takes you to NYC for $69 round trip.

[emmylou]

Sunshine91

Did you take the bus from Philly at Essington?When called Hal they said the closest one to us was Essington,pick up was at 7:45 a.m. and we wouldn't arrive at the pier after 11.What time did they tell you to arrive to get on board and was there more than one bus waiting to pick up?We live in New Jersey which is an hour and a half ride to New York from where we live and are rethinking the bus wouldn't mind extra time on a bus but that amount of time seems excessive.

When in January is your cruise?

emmylou

[Sunshine91]

Emmylou -

Yes, the Philly bus pick-up is at the SunPark on Essington Ave. It's right near the Philly airport, just off I-95. The 7:45a time sounds right. I think the bus actually got there about 8:15a. It was cold last Feb! And the wait is outside, with no comfort facilities. Took a while to load everyone & the luggage, but I think we got moving close to 9am.

We were 2hrs on the road. Made no stops. Our driver was in contact with the NJ bus, which was making stops at various points.

Once we got to the pier, the stevedores took care of the luggage. We were herded upstairs into the terminal & had a bit of a wait, but so what - we were there!

Funny thing is, our tix said the arrival time was something like 3pm. We knew there were pick-up points in NJ so we just assumed that the Philly bus would be making those stops, too. Nope. Non-stop - for which we were glad. Maybe HAL just puts those late times on there for a buffer, "just in case."

We're on the Jan 6 cruise.

[MBeamTX]

The homeport bus was very convenient for my parents, who took it to/from Stroudsburg for the November 15 Noordam sailing. But I'd offer a word of warning about the bus schedules - they're very much "time approximate". The bus left Stroudsburg almost an hour later than scheduled, but were still at the port in Manhattan at the expected time. I was a bit late joining them at the pier because I didn't think they'd make up that much time. On the return trip, they left the pier at about 11 am and made it back to Stroudsburg in record time - by 12:30 pm instead of 2:30 pm. Those drivers are fast!

 

The moral of the story is to make sure that you are at the bus stop on time, but be prepared to wait. And if you're being picked up on the return trip, make sure that you have a cell phone to call your driver if you're running early.

 

Happy cruising,

Susan

[emmylou]

Sunshine91,

Thanks for the info.We are on the Jan.27th cruise.The one from Essington

is that where the Sunpark parking garage is??You said there are no comfort facilities but is there a shelter to wait in in the event the weather is bad or are we standing on the corner waiting for a bus that from what I heard is consistantly late.Would like any info we can get even if you would please post when coming back.and was there more than one bus or more but they went on to pick up in New Jersey

emmylou

[Sunshine91]

Emmylou - Nah - we were outside in the cold. It was a Saturday so the office was closed. If you needed to go, well, you had to wait until the bus got there (it has a restroom). As far as inclement weather, well, hmmmm, some folks were lucky enough to have their drivers waiting with them in their nice warm heated cars, but most of us were standing out there in the cold. It wasn't too bad, but then again, it wasn't raining or snowing, either. :eek:

I think some folks might have left their cars parked at the SunPark behind the office but am not positive. Try googling SunPark to see what you come up with to find rates, phone number, etc. It's in an industrial area near the airport. We stood waiting in front of the office building in the parking lot. Not a street corner, exactly. :D Also, there was just 1 bus from Philly & a separate 1 for NJ. But, that was back in Feb. Don't know if this is still how it's done. I can let you know when we get back.

My aunt lives in Newtown Square, not too far from there so will drop us off Jan 6. On the return its all going to depend on what time we get back. It's a Wednesday & she's a teacher - we might be waiting there a while or calling a cab. :rolleyes: