Disembarking freestyle from the Dawn in NYC

[MyCousinRachel]

Please tell me more about disembarking from the Dawn in NYC. We are sailing next week in a mini-suite to Bermuda. NCL says that you can have breakfast, wander the ship or stay in your room until it is time to leave. Is that true? What time will we get off the ship to meet our ride home? How long does it take to find your luggage and go through customs? Is there a (auto) standing area for taxis and friends waiting to pick up? Thanks for the info.

[nlt46]

We took off our own bags when we were ready to go. We walked across the street to meet our ride. We coordinated with cell phones. Our ride was glad that she did not have to get into the traffic line up. There were many limos there waiting too; so, I figured that it was a good place to meet. How long it takes to find your bags depends upon how many bags are still there when you leave and how well you have marked your bags. We left at 9:00, but we could have stayed longer. When many of the people have gone, I get nervous. I don't know why. Always have.

Nancy

[flowerchild]

Dh hates to leave our luggage outside the cabin the night before disembarkation and since NYC is our home port, we decided to try self disembarkation this time.

 

We ordered room service for breakfast and slept in till about 9am. We hung out in our cabin till about 10, were through customs in 15 minutes.

 

The NYC port has two levels, one for arriving pax and one for departing. We had our ride meet us on the arriving level (top level) and there was virtually zero traffic.

 

Painless. Knowing DH, we'll probably do this from now on.

[Grandpaul]

We sail on the Dawn a lot from NY and are usually almost the last passengers to disembark. A few times we have left around 10:30. As mentioned almost no one is there and everything goes smoothly. I never could figure out why people are in such a hurry to get off the ship unless they have transportation commitments. But I'm glad they are.

[EileenN]

Grandpaul, I agree. Why do people, who feel so sad about ending this fabulous vacation, rush with break neck speed, pushing and bumping everyone else to get off the ship as early as possible. Wait till the crowd gets off and are picked up and your ride will find you with ease. Relax in your room and enjoy the morning. You are usually in port by 6:30 or 7:00 but don't have to leave till at least 10:00. Enjoy to the end.

[uneamie]

We always take our own luggage off.....much easier that way. We have one huge piece of luggage that allows us to attach 2 more pieces which my husband rolls out on the wheels....I carry the 2 carry on's. It's a piece of cake. We have breakfast and leave the ship at our leasure because we drove and parked so no one is waiting for us.

[2Cruise4Ever]

We always hang around and enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the last day. We usually drive to NYC. So, there's no rush to get off the ship. I think 10:30 is the last call for passengers. We're usually in our car by 10:00.

[garycarla]

We love the self disembark. Both full size suitecases have wheels and we attached 2nd bag to them. hint - hang bags low, they seem to weigh much less that way vs putting on TOP of the bag near the handle.

 

In any event, we have been among the first off,and also late. Only reason to be first off is flight issues. Otherwise, take your time, but plan on getting off mid morning. constant announcments of colors will get old, and the steward does have lots of work to do.

[Grandpaul]

We better be quiet about the late disembarking so it doesn't catch on and soon everyone will be doing that. So don't tell anyone.

[MyCousinRachel]

Thank you all so much for the replies. My husband would prefer to get a ride in and home rather than drive ourselves. He's stressed that parking will be an issue, even though it seems it is pretty smooth and readily available.

 

We are night owls and late risers and love a hot breakfast - so we'll aim for a 10 AM pickup from my dad after our last breakfast on the Dawn.

 

Thanks again!!

[Grandpaul]

Hope you have a great cruise. Something to think about is you can have the driver leave you off across the street from the ship right on the highway. Much easier than having to drive up and back down the parking ramp.

[noydouask]

Today the line for walkoff's were crazy but everything moves. Stay alittle later and have a last meal. All the bags were lined up and we moved thru customs with a breeze.

[MagicMike]

Today the line for walkoff's were crazy but everything moves. Stay alittle later and have a last meal. All the bags were lined up and we moved thru customs with a breeze.

 

I was there with noydouask, we were the first color to disembark, were walking off by 10, picked up by our car service at 10:30 and home before 11. I'll agree the line for walk offs was crazy, but it seemed to move pretty well.

[mrsbojamp]

I was also there yesterday and agree that the walk-offs were a bit out of control. Maybe it was just the crowd on board last week. People were getting very angry about not being able to get an elevator. They were dragging their huge bags down the staircases and literally trampling over young children. It was very sad. DH and I chose to leave our bags to the bag handlers. You choose the color (and hence the time) you want to get off. We chose 10:30, and that's exactly when our color was called. The CD stated in the disembarkation talk that it would take 45 minutes from the time you're exiting the ship until you're "breathing NY air." That was quite accurate - we were sitting in our car parked at the pier at 11:10!

[flowerchild]

Being picked up across the street is a decent idea, but may include some walking...with luggage...

 

We had our ride pick us up on the upper level, the arriving level as opposed to the departure level. We took an elevator. No traffic at all on the second level.

 

Good luck and have fun.

[jjjct]

I am considering a NCL cruise in Jan. 10 from NY. Is parking at the pier convenient and how much does it cost per day? We are from the Philadelphia area, any suggestions on transportation to the pier would be appreciated.

[Grandpaul]

Parking at the pier is very convenient. $30 per day. We live in Albany and we take the train to Penn Station. Works out very nicely. It's about a $10 cab ride from Penn to the pier.

[Grandpaul]

Here's how convenient the parking is at the pier.