NCL Jewel - May 19

[lgfromdg]

Hi - thought I'd come here and see if I can get some help. MY DD and her BF are thinking of booking the Jewel cruise leaving from the Manhatten terminal on June 13. I'd like to run 2 scenarios past you and get some ideas/opinions.

 

The first - fly into Newark the day before. Since they are young, they don't have a lot of extra money so staying in NYC is not an option. Can you suggest a reasonable hotel with free shuttle from the airport? What would be the best way (no transferring) to get to the port and approximately how much would it cost? Is Super Shuttle an option from a hotel?

 

The second - fly in to Newark the day of the cruise. Obviously not the best plan but considerably cheaper. We were looking at the Super Shuttle for transportation to the port- does anyone know for sure if they go there?

It looked like the cost for a shared-ride would be $44 for the 2 of them; how long does the shuttle wait for additional passengers? Do you think this is a good way to get to the port?

 

Thanks for any advice you can give. I'm more experienced with sailing out of Miami - the times I've cruised out of NY, I've been with my sister who lives in NJ, so we haven't had these issues.

[BlueHerons]

Hi - thought I'd come here and see if I can get some help. MY DD and her BF are thinking of booking the Jewel cruise leaving from the Manhatten terminal on June 13. I'd like to run 2 scenarios past you and get some ideas/opinions.

 

The first - fly into Newark the day before. Since they are young, they don't have a lot of extra money so staying in NYC is not an option. Can you suggest a reasonable hotel with free shuttle from the airport? What would be the best way (no transferring) to get to the port and approximately how much would it cost? Is Super Shuttle an option from a hotel?

 

The second - fly in to Newark the day of the cruise. Obviously not the best plan but considerably cheaper. We were looking at the Super Shuttle for transportation to the port- does anyone know for sure if they go there?

It looked like the cost for a shared-ride would be $44 for the 2 of them; how long does the shuttle wait for additional passengers? Do you think this is a good way to get to the port?

 

Thanks for any advice you can give. I'm more experienced with sailing out of Miami - the times I've cruised out of NY, I've been with my sister who lives in NJ, so we haven't had these issues.

 

I would not recommend flying in the day of because summer thunderstorms, which are common daily in the southeast and east coast, will shut down air travel all up and down the eastern seaboard.

 

That said, since they are young, they could probably priceline a Manhattan budget hotel for a little more than what Newark hotels would cost them. They can cheaply take the Air Train into the city.

 

The extra $50 or so on the Manhattan hotel would completely make their trip.

[mking8288]

If they can get cheaper fares flying into LGA or JFK instead of EWR, there would be more options and choices - for example, local car service from hotels near LGA to Manhattan's cruise piers should run around $40 w. tips - door to door. The Flushing/Queens-based car service we used all the time will take up to 4 of us with luggage in a Honda/Toyota minivan for this flat rate with advanced reservation.

 

Please do not use Super Shuttle here in NYC, as you will sitting in their van until it's full and it could be going all over the place in Manhattan before reaching the pier and it ain't cheap for 2 people traveling together - enough to pay for a metered yellow taxi ride from LGA to the pier, traffic & road conditions permitting on the AM rush.

 

Have they priceline out hotels in Manhattan and Queens/Brooklyn for 1 night or use hotwire to see whether they can find something within budgets - could be saving money on lodging but ended up spending an arm and a leg on transportation, or dragging bags thru the train, subway, stairs and shuttle buses, etc. EWR is ideal for those sailing out of Bayonne, NJ but not for sailing out of Manhattan like NCL cruises.

 

Do they plan to do any sightseeing at all in the city/Manhattan or just want to come to NY to do the cruise & fly home directly afterward?

 

If they are sticking to the plans to fly into EWR with a great hotel deal overnight, free airport shuttle services - they can shuttle back to EWR and take the Coach USA EWR-Manhattan bus (Olympia Trails) for $15 OW/pp and then a short cab ride from the NYC bus dropoff points to the pier for $10 to $15. A # of recent threads were posted here discussing various pros & cons ....

[lgfromdg]

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. They're just in the beginning of planning so this will help them make their decisions.

[BlueHerons]

If they can get cheaper fares flying into LGA or JFK instead of EWR, there would be more options and choices - for example, local car service from hotels near LGA to Manhattan's cruise piers should run around $40 w. tips - door to door. The Flushing/Queens-based car service we used all the time will take up to 4 of us with luggage in a Honda/Toyota minivan for this flat rate with advanced reservation.

 

Please do not use Super Shuttle here in NYC, as you will sitting in their van until it's full and it could be going all over the place in Manhattan before reaching the pier and it ain't cheap for 2 people traveling together - enough to pay for a metered yellow taxi ride from LGA to the pier, traffic & road conditions permitting on the AM rush.

 

Have they priceline out hotels in Manhattan and Queens/Brooklyn for 1 night or use hotwire to see whether they can find something within budgets - could be saving money on lodging but ended up spending an arm and a leg on transportation, or dragging bags thru the train, subway, stairs and shuttle buses, etc. EWR is ideal for those sailing out of Bayonne, NJ but not for sailing out of Manhattan like NCL cruises.

 

Do they plan to do any sightseeing at all in the city/Manhattan or just want to come to NY to do the cruise & fly home directly afterward?

 

If they are sticking to the plans to fly into EWR with a great hotel deal overnight, free airport shuttle services - they can shuttle back to EWR and take the Coach USA EWR-Manhattan bus (Olympia Trails) for $15 OW/pp and then a short cab ride from the NYC bus dropoff points to the pier for $10 to $15. A # of recent threads were posted here discussing various pros & cons ....

 

Excellent advice and I totally agree. Whatever they save on lodging they could easily end up spending in time and money.

[mking8288]

Excellent advice and I totally agree. Whatever they save on lodging they could easily end up spending in time and money.

 

Not sure which IL airport they are flying into our NYC area, but it seemed that fares are lower between ORD-LGA vs. ORD-EWR for mid June. So let's see how the total expenses could add up.

 

A 3 star Flushing/Queens hotel close to LGA with free shuttle pickup is priced at $125 for June 12, taxes & fees adding up to under $160 - 4.5 rating on Tripadvisors. The 3 top TA rated ones in Flushing are all great and know of folks staying there recently with high marks, the Sheraton is in downtown Flushing and literally on top of the NYC transportation hub - bus to LGA, #7 subway direct to mid-town Manhattan (Times Square in 35 minutes on express track at rush hour) and also 2.5 short city blocks to LIRR train to Penn station (fast but infrequent except at rush hour) and plenty of ethnic Asian/Chinese food being in NY's 2nd. Chinatown - open late into the evenings (including Sunday night ....)

 

Everything is walking distance & there's a newly open AppleBee at the new Sky View (indoor) Shopping Mall - with major chains like Target & Best Buy to pickup needed/last minute items for the cruise.

 

The Lexington Marco is on Northern Blvd. off Main Street is a bit further away but still very good, the Fairfield Inn by Marriott is further out in an industrial area (not as desirable) but both along with the Sheraton has frequent & regular LGA shuttle (free) so they will not spend a dollar on cab/taxi/car service at all (okay, tip the driver ....)

 

On embarkation day - being budget conscious and traveling light - they can take the subway into Manhattan & get a free bus transfer (using MetroCard) at 42nd. Street for a very scenic cross-town ride (Grand Central, NY Public Library at 5th Avenue & Time Square/Port Authority Bus Terminal) in the mid-morning all the way to the West Side Hwy at 12th Avenue (on the other side of the Circle Line & opposite the Intrepid musuem) where they can walk the several blocks to the cruise terminal (early/mid June is usually warm but comfortable enough) - without using a taxi or car service at all. Or, they can take the subway to 42nd. Street & spend just $10 for a short 10-15 minutes ride for that 12 to 15 blocks.

 

Post-cruise/debarkation - just take one of the many waiting taxi to LGA for $30 to $40 + tips/tolls (skip waiting for the NCL bus program - $30 p/p ?? or Super Shuttle ride-sharing with up to 9 others) and they will be homeward bound.

 

While airport hotels at EWR offered free shuttle, that's pretty much it - no choice or option to walk around, eat or see the neighborhood without involving some forms of publc transporation: bus or train - and aside from one nearby indoor outlet/shopping mall that close around 6 pm Sunday evening, there's literally NOTHING to do around that area at all - okay for crusing out of the Bayonne Piers (see the excellent thread/sticky on all the details) the next day.

 

If the plan is for NOT staying overnight pre-cruise & flying in the morning, as BlueHerons said, it's kind of risky unless they are on a 6 am non-stop with possibility of alternate flights that will get them into LGA before noon, which will usually give them ample time to get to the piers for the checkin - then just catch a waiting taxi or car service to Manhattan for around $40 (typically 45 to 60 minutes ....)

 

 

On a personal/unrelated note: Can't believe it, we will be on the Jewel in less than 4 days - by this time Sunday afternoon, we will be done with lunch in the MDR & ready for a quick nap before the muster station drill & sailaway party - YES, just pick up some suntan lotion for the "gang" for the warm weather in the Bahamas - tired of the snow this cold winter and 7 nights will at least give us a much deserved break, LOL .... :p Going to write a CC review when we get back, ahhhh - still no UPSELL call, words being that it's fully booked except for maybe the insides :D

[lgfromdg]

Thank you so much for all the additional info.

[Buffy29]

Hi - reading your tips has been very useful for our cruise on the Jewel in June, I wonder if you have an experience of hiring a car in Canaveral and how easy was the return?

 

We usually hire (rent) a car for the whole of our two week holiday in Orlando but never just for a day before, but we would like to do some shopping and looking around the cocoa beach area whilst we are there.

 

Thanks

 

Kathy

 

PS enjoy your cruise