Taxis at disembarkation Brooklyn Pier

[lkmamom]

Hi. I know that this has been answered somewhere and I have used the search engine and have not found an answer to the questions that I have, I hope that you will be patient with me, we are new to Cunard and definately new to New York.

 

We are still trying to figure out transportation to and from the Brooklyn Pier. I am finding that some car companies will transport to but then will not come back and transport to the airport. I wondered if there are taxis lined up at the Pier so that one could just get to the airport that way.

 

I know that some have suggested Aricebo (thanks:) ). I was wondering, we will be staying in Flushing the night before the cruise, would this car company be willing to pick us up there and transport us to the Pier?

 

Sorry for all of the questions. We have not been to New York before and all of the different boundaries are a bit confusing. Thanks for your patience and help:) We are so excited to give Cunard a try!!!! Can't wait for this cruise. We would love to cruise the Med. next year.

Linda

[imacruizer]

Hi Linda,

 

Welcome to the Cunard boards. We were on a cruise from the Brooklyn pier in November. We debarked quite early as we had an early flight from LaGuardia. There were many, many towncars and vans available when we debarked. There was only one taxi and there were quite a few people in line for taxis. The cost for a towncar to LaGuardia was about $60. We had four people and quite a bit of luggage so we took the towncar. Others have had good luck with Arecibo. As I understand it, you can call them as you are leaving the ship and they will send a car for you.

 

I cannot help you with your question about the Flushing hotel. I would call the hotel and ask how they would recommend that you get from the hotel to the pier.

 

Have a wonderful cruise. If you have additional questions please ask.

 

Beth

[ESLO]

We are still trying to figure out transportation to and from the Brooklyn Pier. I am finding that some car companies will transport to but then will not come back and transport to the airport. I wondered if there are taxis lined up at the Pier so that one could just get to the airport that way.

 

I know that some have suggested Aricebo (thanks:) ). I was wondering, we will be staying in Flushing the night before the cruise, would this car company be willing to pick us up there and transport us to the Pier? Linda

 

Dear Linda,

We here on the Cunard board are here to assist and help anyone that wishes assistance. No question is too little.

 

At the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Redhook, there is definitely a lineup of New York City Taxi (YELLOW) Cabs on days of Disembarkation. Yes, there are also quite a number of Private (Black) Car Services that are picking up (pre-arranged) passengers at the terminal. There maybe also some looking for passengers but can not be certain of that.

 

Do call that number and see if they will come to Flushing to pick you up since your drop off is close to their base, Redhook.

 

I am not sure who or where you are staying with, but if it is a hotel you can ask the front desk for assistance with transportation. If you are staying with family, they may beable to suggest a local car service to use.

[lkmamom]

Thank you both so much! I tried to pick a hotel close to LGA and came up with the Sheraton in Flushing. It seems also close to where the US Open is held and our son is a tennis fanatic! I know that we will not see any tennis played, but it would be fun to see the courts.

 

I want to thank you for your kindness. I like you, I enjoy helping others. I know that I will enjoy the trip so much more if we are prepared for transportation to and from. I think that I will call the hotel today, great suggestion!

Linda

[bphman]

We sailed into the Brooklyn terminal this past summer on the Crown Princess. There were quite a few yellow cabs there but we arranged for a private limo. Taxi lines can be VERY long. The Pier is located off the beaten path and I would be afraid of not finding a ride. If you do take a private car, make sure it has a T&LC license plate. DO NOT get into a car without one. And, make sure you establish a fare before getting in. The Taxi and Limo Commission authorized vehicles are very regulated. Private cars are another matter. Is you call one of the major car services, you should have no problem. If you are going to the airport, you may want to consider the ship's transfer. Tel Aviv and Carmel have always given us good service. Just remember, a yellow taxi must take you anywhere you want to go in the five boroughs.

[Wasasalad]

Other cruise lines hand out a taxi number as you leave the terminal. If you do not have a number card you do not get a taxi.

 

Does Cunard do this. If they do where do we look for the person handing out the numbers?

Thanks

 

Dear Linda,

We here on the Cunard board are here to assist and help anyone that wishes assistance. No question is too little.

 

At the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Redhook, there is definitely a lineup of New York City Taxi (YELLOW) Cabs on days of Disembarkation. Yes, there are also quite a number of Private (Black) Car Services that are picking up (pre-arranged) passengers at the terminal. There maybe also some looking for passengers but can not be certain of that.

 

Do call that number and see if they will come to Flushing to pick you up since your drop off is close to their base, Redhook.

 

I am not sure who or where you are staying with, but if it is a hotel you can ask the front desk for assistance with transportation. If you are staying with family, they may beable to suggest a local car service to use.

[BoscoBreaux]

When we got off the ship, we just left the terminal and were directed to a little concrete island where, on the left side was a line of towncars that charged a per-trip fee; there were tons of these and they were looking for work. On the right side, the taxis lined up. We had a five minute wait.

[Wasasalad]

Thank you for the information!

 

When we got off the ship, we just left the terminal and were directed to a little concrete island where, on the left side was a line of towncars that charged a per-trip fee; there were tons of these and they were looking for work. On the right side, the taxis lined up. We had a five minute wait.

[bob brown]

Thank you both so much! I tried to pick a hotel close to LGA and came up with the Sheraton in Flushing. It seems also close to where the US Open is held and our son is a tennis fanatic! I know that we will not see any tennis played, but it would be fun to see the courts.

 

I want to thank you for your kindness. I like you, I enjoy helping others. I know that I will enjoy the trip so much more if we are prepared for transportation to and from. I think that I will call the hotel today, great suggestion!

Linda

Yellow NYC taxis are relatively sparse in the outer boroughs (outside Manhatten).

There are a few taxi stands near subway stops. Most people depending on cabs will call a private (black car) car service. In most cases, the metered yellow cabs are usually a little cheaper than the black cars.

There is a subway taxi stand about a block from your hotel in Flushing.

One other suggestion for the trip to Red Hook... utilize your hotel's courtesy van to LaGuardia airport which would put you somewhat closer to Red Hook, and then take a yellow cab (plenty at LGA). A little inconvenient but it would save you some dollars, better spent on board

the ship!

[henleycruiser]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a towncar?

How is it different from a yellow cab (other than not being yellow, obviously)?

 

Thanks in advance

[smeyer418]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a towncar?

How is it different from a yellow cab (other than not being yellow, obviously)?

 

Thanks in advance

New York yellow taxis are licensed to pick up street hails with out any prearrangement. They can in fact be a lincoln town car but few of them are most are chevys or now mini vans of some sort. A car service or limo service (same thing) are licensed to pick people up by prearrangement(ie. you call them or arrange it on the internet). In most cases these cars are black and many are lincoln town cars(a brand name of car)...The town car is sometimes called a limo short for limousine also called a black car but they can be any color but yellow(reserved for cabs) and can be Mercedes limos too and many different types of cars.

 

Because the QM 2 carries so many less people then the Crown Princess getting a normal yellow cab is less of a problem for its passengers.

 

The Cruise terminal in Red Hook has arranged with a car service/limo/town car company to pick up people at the cruise terminal without prearrangement. It almost twice as expensive as your own arranged car service(like Arecibo) which is similar to what a cab will cost(the same as your own arranged car service).

 

Yellow cabs while not as plentiful as in Manhattan are generally adequate at the Red Hook terminal but you may have a wait.(people from Queens do get less service that is where Flushing is).

 

 

Myself, I call Arecibo....

[Kindlychap]

New York yellow taxis are licensed to pick up street hails with out any prearrangement. They can in fact be a lincoln town car but few of them are most are chevys or now mini vans of some sort. A car service or limo service (same thing) are licensed to pick people up by prearrangement(ie. you call them or arrange it on the internet). In most cases these cars are black and many are lincoln town cars(a brand name of car)...The town car is sometimes called a limo short for limousine also called a black car but they can be any color but yellow(reserved for cabs) and can be Mercedes limos too and many different types of cars.

 

 

So, in right hand side speak..

 

Taxi = Hackney Carriage

 

Town Car = Minicab.

 

Hopefully this should be useful for left hand siders coming across to London. Hackney Carriage will have the orange light - minicab will not. Never take a mini cab from the street. They are illegal in those circumstances and will be operating without insurance.

 

Matthew

[smeyer418]

So, in right hand side speak..

 

Taxi = Hackney Carriage

 

Town Car = Minicab.

 

Hopefully this should be useful for left hand siders coming across to London. Hackney Carriage will have the orange light - minicab will not. Never take a mini cab from the street. They are illegal in those circumstances and will be operating without insurance.

 

Matthew

 

I really don't understand the comment about the mini cab from the street here in NY. There really are almost none of them left. I haven't seen a "gypsy" cab in ten years..

 

How do you tell if a car is licensed? From the License plate. It will either say TL and C or Livery. A black car/ limo/ town car picking up on the street except by prearrangement is breaking the law but it is still properly insured as long as it has the plate I suggest above.

 

The picking up at the pier by the piers cars is by special arrangement.

 

The Yellow cabs have a medallion on the hood( a small metal plate).

[Kindlychap]

I really don't understand the comment about the mini cab from the street here in NY. There really are almost none of them left. I haven't seen a "gypsy" cab in ten years..

 

How do you tell if a car is licensed? From the License plate. It will either say TL and C or Livery. A black car/ limo/ town car picking up on the street except by prearrangement is breaking the law but it is still properly insured as long as it has the plate I suggest above.

 

The picking up at the pier by the piers cars is by special arrangement.

 

The Yellow cabs have a medallion on the hood( a small metal plate).

 

I was trying to use English terms for NY arrangements. Over here, a minicab (ie a car that needs to be booked or summonsed by phone) isn't insured if they are "plying for hire". I couldn't possibly comment on the NY situation.

 

It seems I may just have caused confusion. In which case I apologise.

 

Matthew

[smeyer418]

I was trying to use English terms for NY arrangements. Over here, a minicab (ie a car that needs to be booked or summonsed by phone) isn't insured if they are "plying for hire". I couldn't possibly comment on the NY situation.

 

It seems I may just have caused confusion. In which case I apologise.

 

Matthew

No confusion here. I just thought it was strange that someone would talk about unlicensed liverys/blackcars/limo in NY....they just rarely happen here any more. There was a time that they were plentiful outside of manhattan(they would have a state livery license not a NY City one), there were gypsy cabs but with the cell phone and 45,000 police, they just stopped. The cops would seize a car who was picking up without a license....ended it really fast.

[travel-to-go]

Matthew, I understood perfectly well what you were saying (and filed it in the back of my mind for future refere3nce!)

I think Sid missed the part where you said "Left siders coming over here" Meaning People on the left side of the pond (Americans) going "over here" England.

 

Sid- He meant British minis are like gypsy cabs. And the law says if they are hiring out illegally, as in, on the street, not by prearrangement, I believe it probably voids their insurance!

 

I think, at least.

 

 

Karie

[smeyer418]

Matthew, I understood perfectly well what you were saying (and filed it in the back of my mind for future refere3nce!)

I think Sid missed the part where you said "Left siders coming over here" Meaning People on the left side of the pond (Americans) going "over here" England.

 

Sid- He meant British minis are like gypsy cabs. And the law says if they are hiring out illegally, as in, on the street, not by prearrangement, I believe it probably voids their insurance!

 

I think, at least.

 

 

Karie

 

Thanks Karie but I don't think it voids the insurance. You don't make the person who is hurt pay for the violation. It may be a crime but that isn't the same.

[slhw]

We returned yesterday from QM2. Beforehand was a bit worried about transport to and from the ship. We booked a towncar (which turned out to be an SUV) for the ship to airport (JFK) run. We did this before we left home by email and it worked very effectively. Email address is contact@lincolnlimousine.com. Cost was 55 dollars plus tip and tunnel. It is all a bit chaotic when you come out of the terminal - there are cars etc. everywhere. In the end, because our mobile wouldn't work, we used the complimentary phone in the terminal building to ring the hire car company who then told us where our driver was. If, at any time, Cunard had intimated that complimentary phones were available, then this would have minimised our little panic. For getting to the ship from Manhattan, our hotel organised a car to pick us up from the hotel to the Brooklyn terminal. The driver then asked us if we wanted him to collect us for the airport transfer on disembarkation day but we had already booked as above. This car was driven by Juan Gomez, Chauffeur - telephone 347 728 3568 - email elgomez54@hotmail.com - and he was a nice, friendly guy. Would recommend either of above. Think that it might be a bit stressful if you haven't already booked something.

[Wadadli1]

. Cost was 55 dollars plus tip and tunnel.

 

What tunnel? From Red Hook to JFK you are essentially going east. :confused:

[Kindlychap]

Thanks Karie but I don't think it voids the insurance. You don't make the person who is hurt pay for the violation. It may be a crime but that isn't the same.

 

It does void the insurance in England and Wales. However there is a way of claiming from the insurance industry if you are hurt by an uninsured driver.

 

Matthew

[henleycruiser]

Thanks, all, for your multivarious explanations. I think I get the jist.

 

We came from Manhattan to Red Hook by yellow cab and, even though I am not familiar with Brooklyn, I had to show the Trinidadian taxi driver the way. The instructions provided by Cunard, and the big blue signs saying "cruise terminal" (complete with picture of a ship for those who can't read) were clear enough to me, but he simply wouldn't believe them.

 

As for the return trip, we're only going a mile or so, to the River Cafe in Brooklyn for a slap up lunch and final view of Manhattan before heading to JFK. I guess either a town car or yellow cab would be fine, right?

 

(Just getting dark now, 13 hours from Tortola)

[smeyer418]

Thanks, all, for your multivarious explanations. I think I get the jist.

 

We came from Manhattan to Red Hook by yellow cab and, even though I am not familiar with Brooklyn, I had to show the Trinidadian taxi driver the way. The instructions provided by Cunard, and the big blue signs saying "cruise terminal" (complete with picture of a ship for those who can't read) were clear enough to me, but he simply wouldn't believe them.

 

As for the return trip, we're only going a mile or so, to the River Cafe in Brooklyn for a slap up lunch and final view of Manhattan before heading to JFK. I guess either a town car or yellow cab would be fine, right?

 

(Just getting dark now, 13 hours from Tortola)

 

either its a short ride both the cab driver and the piers car service won't be happy with such a short ride(although they can make it back for another fare in 2 minutes) personally I would call Arecibo(17187836465) they will be happier.....and you can have the River cafe call them when you are ready to leave for where ever you are ultimately going...

[henleycruiser]

Thanks. I wondered about that. Knowing what the traffic was like on our way here, I'm sure an NYC cabbie wouldn't want to find himself stuck with a short fare within Brooklyn.

 

I've made a note of Arecibo's number - thanks

(not that I want to think about that just yet)

[Ron n Jon]

Although this pertains to a Princess cruise out of Brooklyn, NY, four of us arrived into the heart of the city via Amtrak. We hailed two cabs at the station and asked to be taken to the Princess Ship terminal. We were of course taken to the Manhattan terminal with much wringing of hands and finally told by the baggage handlers that the Princess terminal was in Brooklyn. "But I have never been to Brooklyn" said our cab driver is almost English. So we changed cabs and finally made it to the pier, in unison, an hour and fifty dollars each poorer.

 

At disembarkation, we booked the Shuttle to the station and were told that we could have done so on our arrival into New York. However no one told us such, including our travel agent who has been reprimanded for the omission.

 

FYI: If arriving via Amtrak book the Shuttle to Brooklyn and return.

[smeyer418]

Every time I post I tell people that cab drivers don't know where the pier in Brooklyn is and to bring directions with you. Its a short trip really(less than 20 minutes) and they ARE required to take you.

Please take the directions with you.

 

West to 11th avenue

a left on 11th avenue.

11 Avenue runs into west street

west street runs into the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel(you pass on your left where the World Trade Center was)

Through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Hamilton Avenue exit(exit 26) its just past the toll(4.50)

make the first left(there are signs to the terminal)

Make another left- be careful not to get back onto the tunnel

follow it down to the end(straight ahead) at the light make a left and then the first right into the terminal

20 minutes between 20 and 25 plus toll and tip.

 

This is the first report of a shuttle to/from Penn Station where did they drop you off? Is it free?