Carribean Princess from Brooklyn: Stay near airport or port?

[Chance's Mom]

We are on the Carribean Princess mid-Sept. and will be arriving the night before (Friday) at LaGuardia. Would you stay near the airport for your hotel, or would you get closer to the port? We would like to keep the hotel bill under $200, and are a little concerned about traffic. Which would be worse, Friday night or Sat. a.m.? We will not be doing the Princess transfers, so our transportation will be by cab. (unless you have other suggestions!):) Thank You!

[kruzin']

:)we are doing the crown on 0923 to canada and we have made resv at the hampton inn manhattan soho at 54 watts st for 2 pre cruise nights ..it is 16.00 p.p for the blue shuttle from ewk to the hotel and we will get a cab from the hotel to brooklyn on 0923...this hampton is new (9mos old) ..

We are on the Carribean Princess mid-Sept. and will be arriving the night before (Friday) at LaGuardia. Would you stay near the airport for your hotel' date=' or would you get closer to the port? We would like to keep the hotel bill under $200, and are a little concerned about traffic. Which would be worse, Friday night or Sat. a.m.? We will not be doing the Princess transfers, so our transportation will be by cab. (unless you have other suggestions!):) Thank You![/quote']

[GTJ]

It probably doesn't make much difference.

 

The area around the Brooklyn cruise ship terminal, Red Hook, is rather industrial, and there is only one motel within walking distance of the terminal. There's an IKEA furniture store, a Fairway supermarket, and a few urban pioneers that have some small businesses around this area, but there's really not much else going on around here. There is no subway station here. Some suburbanites not used to urban industrial areas may feel uncomfortable here, especially at night, but city dwellers probably would not have a problem.

 

Downtown Brooklyn and the surrounding area has a few more hotels, perhaps a bit more activity, but you'll then need to take a taxi or the B61 bus to travel between the hotel and the terminal. Transportation is generally better, and you would be able to find hotels near the subway.

 

Hotels near LaGuardia Airport are mostly the standard bland airport hotels. Again, there's not much going on at night, but suburbanites might feel more comfortable in these surroundings. As with Red Hook, there is no subway near the airport.

 

There's slightly more risk in traffic delays staying near LaGuardia, but there are so many available surface streets that a traffic backup should not be much of a concern. Nevertheless, I would anticipate less traffic on a Saturday morning than on a Friday evening.

[Chance's Mom]

Thanks for the info! We are boring people, so we will probably stay near the airport and cab it in on Sat. am.

[GTJ]

Staying near LGA is probably a safe bet. You really won't have enough time to truly enjoy any of the things that NYC has to offer so there's no need to fork over the big bucks for midtown. Perhaps contrary to popular perception, taxis in NYC are not all that expensive: fares are $2.00 per mile, plus a small assortment of other minor charges, plus tip. It is about 12 miles between the airport and the cruise ship terminal in Brooklyn. You could also use public transportation, but that would involve a few transfers and probably not the best alternative from LaGuardia (especially if you're not already familiar with the City and its buses and subways).

 

One opportunity you might have to enjoy a small piece of NYC is to see if one of the LaGuardia Airport hotels in Flushing can give you a good rate (e.g., Sheraton, Howard Johnson, Comfort Inn, Wingate, Best Western). Flushing is a few minutes away from the airport, and most of the chain hotels there provide complimentary shuttle service between the airport and the hotels. Flushing is an urban center that is predominantly Chinese, but also with substantial Korean, Afghan, and Pakistani population. There are more Chinese in Flushing than in Chinatown, and the restaurants are overall superior. It is a bustling place, yet not that many NYC visitors pass through. There's a subway and LIRR station in Flushing as well. Do note my bias: I live in Flushing.