Philadelphia To New York

[scanner219]

Was going to drive from Philly to New York but with the recent price increase to park I'm looking for an alternate way. How do you get there & what times do you go? I'm booked on the Miracle in Sept.

[bobnatt]

From Philadelphia a nice alternative would be to take Amtrak to Penn Station and it is a 10 minute cab ride to the Manhattan cruise terminal (probably a half hour to Brooklyn). I would take a 9am Amtrak train and you should be fine. Only issue may be if you have a lot of luggage as it could be a hassel getting from the train to a cab.

[Patrickfromchicopee]

I would take a train the day before your cruise to penn station. Remember passenger trains take back seat to cargo trains. Get off train at penn 32nd st walk 2 blocks to a red roof inn and take a cab in morn to dock. My wife and I are doing this on April 30 for a May 1st Carnival trip only we are coming from Upstate NY.

[Kristina685]

Or if you are on a budget, the cheapest way IMO (Amtrak can be around $90 bucks per person) is to take the R7 Regional Rail out of Philly to Trenton and hope on the NJ Transit train to NYC. Might take you longer but it's cheaper and you can take a longer nap :) The train schedules for both lines are online so you can plan accordingly. We sail the Miracle from NYC in May and are renting a bus (there are 40 people going) to get from Philly to NY. Good luck and enjoy your cruise!!

 

~Kristina

[CruisinMommas]

Took NJ Transit train in Trenton to NY in Jan. r/t fare was appx $24.00. The ride is about 1.25hrs from Trenton. We also had friends who were cruising out of NY who took the bus out of Mt. Laurel NJ and were happy with how it turned out. There was no parking fee.

[dahammer]

Take NJ Tranist from Princeton Junction, the daily parking rate is $4 a day and there are a ton of spaces. Parking in Trenton is more expensive.

[mamaofami]

There may be a ton of spaces, and maybe not. I don't know if there is long term parking at Princton Junction, but I can ask. My kids lie there. If you want to know, tell me.

[Deb1113]

Go Greyhound. It's much easier than the train because there is room at the bottom of the bus to store your luggage, and you don't have to worry about making your connection. You can get roundtrip tickets online for $23.00. Just be sure to take an express (that only stops in Mt. Laurel). The Port Authority is about 10 minutes from the terminal.

[bobnatt]

Another way to go is to rent a car in philadelphia and drop it off in NYC. I just checked with Hertz and a one way rental from Philly to west 55th street in NYC is apporximately $100 plus gas and tolls. Depending on how long your cruise is this could be a savings over parking at the pier and a lot more convenient than the train alrternaitves.

 

Even the rental wouldn't be a huge savings over parking at the pier, even with the price increase, unless you are going on a very long cruise.

 

Frankly, I would find another way to meet my budget and drive to NYC and park at the pier instead of dealing with either the train or the bus.

[RHefley228]

BoltBus (a new low-cost subsidiary of Greyhound) is currently charging $1 each way. See http://www.boltbus.com for details.

[nursegrrl8]

My mom uses Dave's Limo (van service). I don't know what they charge though.

[Deb1113]

My mom uses Dave's Limo (van service). I don't know what they charge though.

 

Last year it was $90 per person, round trip. That's why I took Greyhound.

[Deb1113]

Another way to go is to rent a car in philadelphia and drop it off in NYC. I just checked with Hertz and a one way rental from Philly to west 55th street in NYC is apporximately $100 plus gas and tolls. Depending on how long your cruise is this could be a savings over parking at the pier and a lot more convenient than the train alrternaitves.

 

Even the rental wouldn't be a huge savings over parking at the pier, even with the price increase, unless you are going on a very long cruise.

 

Frankly, I would find another way to meet my budget and drive to NYC and park at the pier instead of dealing with either the train or the bus.

 

Why? The bus couldn't be easier.

[annpharm]

Has anyone ever used bolt bus? I got a quote of $33 roundtrip for 3 from philly to ny. Sounds great...however I don't know how much a cab from 6th and canal to the brooklyn pier will be. Does anyone have any ideas on how to find out about how much that would be-seems like anything less than $250! and I am still ahead!! (not to mention gas and tolls).

[smeyer418]

Has anyone ever used bolt bus? I got a quote of $33 roundtrip for 3 from philly to ny. Sounds great...however I don't know how much a cab from 6th and canal to the brooklyn pier will be. Does anyone have any ideas on how to find out about how much that would be-seems like anything less than $250! and I am still ahead!! (not to mention gas and tolls).

Its brand new I don't think anyone has been on it yet. A cab from 6th and Canal should be less than $25.00...ita about 4 miles....

[annpharm]

Thankyou!!

[robstrash]

Take NJ Tranist from Princeton Junction, the daily parking rate is $4 a day and there are a ton of spaces. Parking in Trenton is more expensive.

 

This is only true for weekends only. Actually, the parking at Princeton Junction is about the worst for NJ Transit. They are planning on testing the valet parking at this station since it's so bad. If you go on a weekday, you pretty much have to arrive between 6:30 - 6:45 am to have a chance to get a spot (lot opens up to non-pass holders at 6:30).

[maryln]

This is only true for weekends only. Actually, the parking at Princeton Junction is about the worst for NJ Transit. They are planning on testing the valet parking at this station since it's so bad. If you go on a weekday, you pretty much have to arrive between 6:30 - 6:45 am to have a chance to get a spot (lot opens up to non-pass holders at 6:30).

It's easier to park at the Hamilton station now that they have the parking garage.

[Deb1113]

Has anyone ever used bolt bus? I got a quote of $33 roundtrip for 3 from philly to ny. Sounds great...however I don't know how much a cab from 6th and canal to the brooklyn pier will be. Does anyone have any ideas on how to find out about how much that would be-seems like anything less than $250! and I am still ahead!! (not to mention gas and tolls).

 

 

Why aren't you getting the $1.00 rate on Bolt Bus? Check their website and join the rewards program. You don't have to do anything, but you will get priority (first) seating and after 8 trips, you get a free trip. I actually just made reservations for my Sept. 1 cruise. I even made two at different times on the return. I'm not sure if I will make the 8:30 bus, so I figured for $1.50 (incl. service fee), I may as well make one for the 10:30 bus as well.

 

https://www.boltbus.com/default.aspx