WALKING to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal?

[ErikaBeMe79]

I have somewhat of a dumb question-

 

Is it actually possible to just WALK to the terminal (Manhattan Cruise Terminal) the morning of your cruise? I'm asking this WAY (!) in advance, we're not cruising for another year (plus).. but I'm a planner (ya think?) and my husband actually puts "vacation" days in quite early, as to be 100% sure he gets it. Ok, not a whole year in advance... so ok, I'm just a planner.

 

I have been to the Manhattan terminal before, but many years ago (2003) and honestly, it was my first cruise.. and I was SO excited I barely remember the arrival!! I just remember a long road/sidewalk with a LOT of cars and taxis, and being dropped off.. and then went in the building! LOL!

 

So, is it actually possible to just WALK to the terminal? I've located a hotel pretty close. We were GOING to have someone drive us down the morning of the cruise (we live in upstate ny, 3 hours away) but last time it was just SO hectic. I thought it would be easier to just go the day before, stay overnight, and walk to the terminal the next morning.

 

I do know NYC/Manhattan very well, so I know the "area" (i.e. I know how busy it is, and how most people would think it annoying to lug luggage to a terminal on foot). Husband and I have been to Manhattan MANY times and have walked with bags/luggage before.. NOT a problem for us, we've walked through the streets of Manhattan for 8+ hours straight before. So, the "hike" or luggage carrying (and we're light packers, on top of it) would not be an issue.

 

I would rather avoid a taxi/etc fee.. and just do it by foot... if possible? I can- right???

[smeyer418]

absolutely its an safe walk. All you have to do is cross 12th avenue...(there is a foot bridge at 46th street I believe but there are many crosswalks)...Its not unsafe but personally I take a cab. Its inexpensive and after all you are on vacation...but I also can understand not wanting to deal with the trafic or the driver.

[ErikaBeMe79]

Wow- quick response :D Thank you so much!!! Glad to know it's possible.. I just hadn't read of anyone ever doing it, and like I said, don't remember my pier experience the first time.. so wasn't paying attention to anyone that might have been walking. We actually enjoy walking VERY much, so that'll be a GREAT part of our vacation ;) Thanks, again!

[madelinerose]

Sure, if you're able to schlep your luggage, walking is perfect. ;)

[mike91911]

I work for Amtrak. In the months before my last cruise, any day that I had a layover at Penn Station, I'd walk down to the pier to see the ships and take pictures for the NCL board. It was an easy walk but I wouldn't want to do it with luggage.

[bobnatt]

Anything is possible but what will you do if it rains, I am sure you don't want to get your luggage wet...

[Got2Cruise]

Anything is possible but what will you do if it rains, I am sure you don't want to get your luggage wet...

 

She can always take a cab if it rains. . .

Many people get dropped off across the street. We just cross at the crosswalk, never used a foot bridge.

[goldesq]

I walked a cpl of blocks after a cab drove me most of the way uptown. I live on 18th Street (way downtown). Basically, I took my wheeled luggage and got dropped off a block or two away. I walked up to 12th Ave and crossed the street. I dont recall a foot bridge.

[smeyer418]

The foot bridge is at 46th street right near where the Intrepid docks(it is scheduled to return in November). Its there believe me. Most Nyorkers refuse to use any foot bridge....why walk up to walk across?

[signman]

It's a piece of cake to walk. If you do end up in a cab, have him drive you down 49th Street and get off at 12th Avenue. Then just walk across the street. This will save you lots of time and money on the meter.

[wiskt]

I have walked from Penn Station with a friend of mine all the way to the pier. It's a healthy walk, but no uphill. I figured by the time I got a cab I woudld be half way there and made it all the way. Took about 25 minutes.

 

The 2nd time I cruised from there I took the cab (had a lazy friend LOL)

it was about 10 bucks.

[monicajay]

Walking to the pier is very possible in New York not like Fort Lauderdale where the port is huge. We drove and parked at the pier. Got there so early (no traffic heading into Manhattan) that after we parked we walked all over the city before heading back to the pier for our cruise. Of course we didn't have luggage while walking as we had left it in the car but I would have no problems walking with my luggage. We always travel light.

 

Good luck!

[dbsb3233]

If walking with luggage, which block is closest to the actual entrance we need to go through to get to the cruise terminal (for Carnival)? I'm looking on Google Maps Streetview and as best as I can tell there's a long fence along 12th Ave blocking the entire stretch from 46th at one end to 54th at the other end. I can't tell where the actual cruise terminal is in there where we need to check in?

[Nitemare]

If walking with luggage, which block is closest to the actual entrance we need to go through to get to the cruise terminal (for Carnival)? I'm looking on Google Maps Streetview and as best as I can tell there's a long fence along 12th Ave blocking the entire stretch from 46th at one end to 54th at the other end. I can't tell where the actual cruise terminal is in there where we need to check in?

 

2nd and 9th posts, above, tell you where the footbridge is to cross 12th Avenue.

 

You can also cross at pretty much every intersection along 12th, with the traffic lights.

 

Pull up Google Maps, find the cruise terminal on 12th, and use their Street View feature (drag the little guy towards the top left corner down onto the street) to see exactly what the setup is.

[dbsb3233]

2nd and 9th posts, above, tell you where the footbridge is to cross 12th Avenue.

 

You can also cross at pretty much every intersection along 12th, with the traffic lights.

 

Pull up Google Maps, find the cruise terminal on 12th, and use their Street View feature (drag the little guy towards the top left corner down onto the street) to see exactly what the setup is.

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. As I said in the OP, I'm already using Street View (believe me, I use Street View a TON for travel planning), and I already know there's a footbridge across 12th at 46th in front of the Intrepid. That's where the south end of that long port fence is that I was talking about between 46th and 54th.

 

My question was, where between 46th and 54th is the actual cruise terminal, and is it better to come in on the 46th end or the 54th end (or is there better entrance in between that I'm not noticing on Street View)? Street View is great for viewing the area from the street, but it doesn't show where the actual cruise terminal is behind that long fence. Not that we can't walk the 8 blocks dragging our luggage if we come in on the wrong end, but I was just hoping to find the nearest entrance from 12th to the actual cruise terminal where we need to go.

 

Is that still the Intrepid end at 46th? How far is the walk from there to the actual cruise terminal? Or does each pier in there have it's own cruise terminal? Looks like there's 4 piers altogether in that stretch but it's unclear where the actual terminal is where we check in.

 

Thanks.

[Post Captain]

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. As I said in the OP, I'm already using Street View (believe me, I use Street View a TON for travel planning), and I already know there's a footbridge across 12th at 46th in front of the Intrepid. That's where the south end of that long port fence is that I was talking about between 46th and 54th.

 

My question was, where between 46th and 54th is the actual cruise terminal, and is it better to come in on the 46th end or the 54th end (or is there better entrance in between that I'm not noticing on Street View)? Street View is great for viewing the area from the street, but it doesn't show where the actual cruise terminal is behind that long fence. Not that we can't walk the 8 blocks dragging our luggage if we come in on the wrong end, but I was just hoping to find the nearest entrance from 12th to the actual cruise terminal where we need to go.

 

Is that still the Intrepid end at 46th? How far is the walk from there to the actual cruise terminal? Or does each pier in there have it's own cruise terminal? Looks like there's 4 piers altogether in that stretch but it's unclear where the actual terminal is where we check in.

 

Thanks.

 

Offhand, I'm not sure whether Carnival uses pier 88 or pier 90. But in either case, it's very easy to enter on foot right at the pier--you don't have to go down to 46th Street or up to 54th.

 

For pier 88, cross 12th Avenue at the southwest corner of 48th Street; the gate on the other side of 12th, directly in front of pier 88, will be open on sailing day. Similarly, for pier 90, cross 12th Avenue at the southwest corner of West 50th; the gate on the other side of 12th, directly in front of that pier, will be open.

 

(The crosswalks clearly visible on Google Streetview. With the pedestrian "Walk/ Don't Walk" lights, it's very easy to get across 12th Ave. at those locations. No need to use the footbridge at 46th St.)

 

Edited February 9, 2014 by Post Captain

[njhorseman]

Normally Carnival docks at Pier 90, NCL at 88. So if you cross 12th Ave at 50th St. you'll be at the entrance to Pier 90, right where you want to be.

 

For the West Side piers, the pier number minus 40 equals the street number, so (pier) 90 - 40 = 50 (th St). )

Edited February 9, 2014 by njhorseman

[dbsb3233]

Offhand, I'm not sure whether Carnival uses pier 88 or pier 90. But in either case, it's very easy to enter on foot right at the pier--you don't have to go down to 46th Street or up to 54th.

 

For pier 88, cross 12th Avenue at the southwest corner of 48th Street; the gate on the other side of 12th, directly in front of pier 88, will be open on sailing day. Similarly, for pier 90, cross 12th Avenue at the southwest corner of West 50th; the gate on the other side of 12th, directly in front of that pier, will be open.

 

(The crosswalks clearly visible on Google Streetview. With the pedestrian "Walk/ Don't Walk" lights, it's very easy to get across 12th Ave. at those locations. No need to use the footbridge at 46th St.)

 

Ah, cool! Thanks (to both of you). On Street View I saw most of those gates along the fence closed so I didn't figure I could count on entering there. But that makes sense that they would make sure the right one is open the day they have a ship using that pier. It was hard to tell whether those were entrances for the public or just authorized personnel.

 

One of the reason's I'm asking is helping to decide on a hotel for 3 nights before our Oct 4 cruise. If I find one at a decent price just 4-5 blocks from the pier then we'll just walk. "Decent price" is proving to be a challenge though. Dropping $900 for 3 nights' hotel is a bit more than I'd prefer.

[138east]

My suggestion would be to book a cancellable hotel that you can live with in Manhattan and not worry if you can walk to the pier. It's very early so I would watch prices on Hotwire and if a deal comes up for your dates, grab it. If the price and area are right and the hotel has a good approval rating and is 3* or more, chances are excellent you will be satisfied.

 

IMO the area near the pier would not be high on my list of places to stay. Wherever you are in Manhattan you can take a local bus with transfer to get within walking distance of the pier on 12th Ave.

[dbsb3233]

My suggestion would be to book a cancellable hotel that you can live with in Manhattan and not worry if you can walk to the pier. It's very early so I would watch prices on Hotwire and if a deal comes up for your dates, grab it. If the price and area are right and the hotel has a good approval rating and is 3* or more, chances are excellent you will be satisfied.

 

IMO the area near the pier would not be high on my list of places to stay. Wherever you are in Manhattan you can take a local bus with transfer to get within walking distance of the pier on 12th Ave.

Thanks. Not sure we'd wanna take the bus with all our luggage, but a taxi would be OK. Normally I like to place us near where we need to go when planning a trip, but in this case I'm seeing the hotel prices on Manhattan are so expensive that taxi fares become insignificant compared to the differences in hotel prices. We might even consider saving $hundreds by staying in a hotel outside of Manhattan and taking a taxi or subway in each day.

 

When I watch NYC-based TV shows, I always thought "How can people afford to take a taxi all over everyday???". Now I see that it's all relative. Most everything else is just really expensive.

 

I haven't started planning out the NYC attractions we want to see yet, so that may determine some too. Probably be most of the standard stuff. And I like that the Intrepid is right there nest to the cruise terminal too. Probably do that as well.

[138east]

Have you booked your flight yet? I'm seeing a 4* hotel in the Jersey City/Hoboken area for $201+ tax for your dates. This is likely to be the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor, but it could be the Hyatt or Westin.

 

From the Sheraton you would have a bus option to Port Authority as well as a ferry option and a light rail/PATH option to downtown Manhattan on weekdays (there is a PATH weekend service interruption to downtown in 2014). From the Hyatt or Westin you have a PATH option to Manhattan.

[dbsb3233]

Have you booked your flight yet? I'm seeing a 4* hotel in the Jersey City/Hoboken area for $201+ tax for your dates. This is likely to be the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor, but it could be the Hyatt or Westin.

 

From the Sheraton you would have a bus option to Port Authority as well as a ferry option and a light rail/PATH option to downtown Manhattan on weekdays (there is a PATH weekend service interruption to downtown in 2014). From the Hyatt or Westin you have a PATH option to Manhattan.

No, we haven't. Still finalizing who's coming with us at the moment. I'll take a look at those. I assume that's through Hotwire (since the hotels are not fixed). I'll have to check them out more, but so far I haven't really liked how they can't guarantee the number of beds in the room. It's me and 2 friends, so we need (or at least strongly prefer) separate beds.

 

But at these price levels, we may just have to buck it up. ;)

[138east]

Three separate beds is going to be tough.

[dbsb3233]

Three separate beds is going to be tough.

Sorry, I meant 2 rooms with 2 beds in one of them. Hotwire doesn't seem to even let that be specified, although it does say you can "try" to contact the hotel to request it. But by then you're already locked in.

[138east]

The best thing you can do is book one room for three people and one room for two people. You may pay a little more, but you will have leverage to get two beds in one of the rooms.

 

Another trick is to call the hotel ahead of time to block out your rooms and get the name of the person you speak to. I usually do this and over the years it has only failed once - one of our kids ended up sleeping on sofa cushions on the floor. Fortunately it was a Marriott and when I complained to the manager the next day, we were comp'd the room.