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QM2 in NYC - Transportation to Pier and Watching Arrival


CynthiaRI
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We leave for our first cruise aboard QM2 next month, departing from NYC. After reviewing the posts, I have 2 new questions.

 

1. What is the best place on land to view the arrival of the QM2 in the morning? I would love to be able to view from land that morning. Ideally, it would be great to get views of the QM2 passing under the Verrazzano Bridge. (Yes, I realize this will be very early in the morning.)

 

2. What is the recommendation for the best way to travel from a Manhattan hotel (near Times Square) to Red Hook. We were planning on Uber, but some other posts have me second-guessing that choice.

 

Thanks!

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If you are staying in Manhattan the closest view you will get is just above the Staten Island Ferry terminal. You would otherwise have to travel to Brooklyn about 5 - 5:30 AM because that is when she usually passes under the bridge. It takes about an hour for the ship to come up to Redhook, turn, and tie up. You would only see the ship at a distance as it's about five miles between the bridge and the tip of Manhattan. (Alas, the last time she used the Manhattan pier was September 2014.) Cunard has a 2011 video of her NY arrival:

.

 

If you are adventerous at that early hour, the best viewing place is a fishing pier on the Brooklyn side: American Veterans Memorial Pier. First light will be illuminating her starboard side. However it's not a busy place at that hour and getting into a situation that might involve the NYPD or an emergency room is not something I would choose to risk on embarkation day.

 

If you have your laptop and internet at the hotel, the Harbor House web cam will show the ship's arrival:

Harbor House Web Cam. I think they are fans of QM2. Overnight they normally point the cam to Manhattan but on days where QM2 is expected the cam is pointed at the bridge.

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If you are staying in Manhattan the closest view you will get is just above the Staten Island Ferry terminal. You would otherwise have to travel to Brooklyn about 5 - 5:30 AM because that is when she usually passes under the bridge. It takes about an hour for the ship to come up to Redhook, turn, and tie up. You would only see the ship at a distance as it's about five miles between the bridge and the tip of Manhattan. (Alas, the last time she used the Manhattan pier was September 2014.) Cunard has a 2011 video of her NY arrival:
.

 

If you are adventerous at that early hour, the best viewing place is a fishing pier on the Brooklyn side: American Veterans Memorial Pier. First light will be illuminating her starboard side. However it's not a busy place at that hour and getting into a situation that might involve the NYPD or an emergency room is not something I would choose to risk on embarkation day.

 

If you have your laptop and internet at the hotel, the Harbor House web cam will show the ship's arrival:

Harbor House Web Cam. I think they are fans of QM2. Overnight they normally point the cam to Manhattan but on days where QM2 is expected the cam is pointed at the bridge.

 

Thanks! I was worried about the safety issue. :-( We'll have to decide what to do. It may be fun just to see it arriving from Manhattan.

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The closest Manhattan spot would be the Battery Gardens restaurant which is in a park just above the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall terminal. It is the last stop on the #1 train. You will only see the ship in at a distance since she will start to pivot around for the Redhook terminal. I shot a video from this spot a few years ago and had to really zoom in.

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There is a strip of parkland near Fort Hamilton - on the Brooklyn side of the Verazzano Narrows, just north of the bridge.

 

This shows on Google maps as 'John Paul Jones' park right next to the bridge & 'Shore Road Park' adjacent to the Belt / Shore parkway. Getting there in the morning, then to Red Hook terminal when encumbered by luggage might be an issue.

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There is a strip of parkland near Fort Hamilton - on the Brooklyn side of the Verazzano Narrows, just north of the bridge.

 

This shows on Google maps as 'John Paul Jones' park right next to the bridge & 'Shore Road Park' adjacent to the Belt / Shore parkway. Getting there in the morning, then to Red Hook terminal when encumbered by luggage might be an issue.

 

 

Thanks. Plan would be to cab to Brooklyn to view arrival, then back to hotel to finish packing up and gather up everyone else.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Roy's idea of the Staten Island Ferry is a great one. I may have to do that one of these days. She usually passes under the V. Bridge around 4:30am, if she's running on time. You can track her progress by using a ship app' like MarineTraffic.

 

TheOldBear's suggestion of seeing her pass under the bridge from the Belt Parkway on the Brooklyn side just north of the bridge is also a great one, but it sounds like it won't work for you. For anyone else who's interested, if you look on Google Map just about 500 feet north of the bridge along the Belt, then switch to 'Satellite View' you'll notice a 'stop and park' type lot just off the parkway. It's right at the water's edge. A perfect view. If you're at all concerned about safety, just sit there in your vehicle and keep the doors locked.

 

I got there the weekend before last around 4:00am and sat and waited in my truck. I was following her progress on the app, and around 4:30 I could see her from quite a distance as she approached from out in the bay and made her turn for her final run for the bridge. She was so spectacularly lit up from bow to stern. Thrilling. I got out and walked to the railway along the water to see her make her final squeeze under the bridge. Fantastic.

 

It must have been truly inspiring, as a few days later I booked my first journey on any ship ever: Hamburg>NY, November 2019 on the QM2.

 

Hope you have a fantastic voyage, Cynthia!

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Roy's idea of the Staten Island Ferry is a great one. I may have to do that one of these days. She usually passes under the V. Bridge around 4:30am, if she's running on time. You can track her progress by using a ship app' like MarineTraffic.

 

TheOldBear's suggestion of seeing her pass under the bridge from the Belt Parkway on the Brooklyn side just north of the bridge is also a great one, but it sounds like it won't work for you. For anyone else who's interested, if you look on Google Map just about 500 feet north of the bridge along the Belt, then switch to 'Satellite View' you'll notice a 'stop and park' type lot just off the parkway. It's right at the water's edge. A perfect view. If you're at all concerned about safety, just sit there in your vehicle and keep the doors locked.

 

I got there the weekend before last around 4:00am and sat and waited in my truck. I was following her progress on the app, and around 4:30 I could see her from quite a distance as she approached from out in the bay and made her turn for her final run for the bridge. She was so spectacularly lit up from bow to stern. Thrilling. I got out and walked to the railway along the water to see her make her final squeeze under the bridge. Fantastic.

 

It must have been truly inspiring, as a few days later I booked my first journey on any ship ever: Hamburg>NY, November 2019 on the QM2.

 

Hope you have a fantastic voyage, Cynthia!

What a wonderful story, I hope you enjoy your first crossing.
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Roy's idea of the Staten Island Ferry is a great one. I may have to do that one of these days. She usually passes under the V. Bridge around 4:30am, if she's running on time. You can track her progress by using a ship app' like MarineTraffic.

 

TheOldBear's suggestion of seeing her pass under the bridge from the Belt Parkway on the Brooklyn side just north of the bridge is also a great one, but it sounds like it won't work for you. For anyone else who's interested, if you look on Google Map just about 500 feet north of the bridge along the Belt, then switch to 'Satellite View' you'll notice a 'stop and park' type lot just off the parkway. It's right at the water's edge. A perfect view. If you're at all concerned about safety, just sit there in your vehicle and keep the doors locked.

 

I got there the weekend before last around 4:00am and sat and waited in my truck. I was following her progress on the app, and around 4:30 I could see her from quite a distance as she approached from out in the bay and made her turn for her final run for the bridge. She was so spectacularly lit up from bow to stern. Thrilling. I got out and walked to the railway along the water to see her make her final squeeze under the bridge. Fantastic.

 

It must have been truly inspiring, as a few days later I booked my first journey on any ship ever: Hamburg>NY, November 2019 on the QM2.

 

Hope you have a fantastic voyage, Cynthia!

 

 

Thanks so much for a wonderful story! We found out a high school friend of my husband will be camping on Staten island when we're there, mostly so he can get up to see the arrival of the QM2. Unfortunately, I think we're going to miss it, but another time this is still a wish of mine! But who knows, I may change my mind and find a driver for the morning! :-)

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Please make sure your taxi driver knows exactly where he is going. We had a nightmare journey a couple of years ago. Taxi driver got lost it took us three hours to get to port, his English was very limited. He pulled up outside a house in Brooklyn and said you are here!! It was a well known company that we have used many times before.

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