Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to Ellis Island

[jresmith]

My husband and I will be in New York City on Thursday, May 3, 2012 on the Caribbean Princess. We've cruised quite a bit, but have never been to NYC. I've been doing tons of research, and have not come up with a solution to my problem, so I'm hoping someone out there can help.

 

Since the Statue of Liberty is closed for renovations, we would be happy just cruising by her, but we definitely want to go to Ellis Island. I have found ways to get to Ellis Island, but I'm not sure how to get to them from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Is there any public transportation we could take from the terminal to one of the ferry stops? Would a cab be better. We will arrive at 7:15 a.m. and leave at 5:00, which means we would like to be back on the ship by 4:00. Do we have time to do anything else other than Ellis Island in that amount of time? If so, what would you suggest?

 

Thanks for your help!

Jennifer

[njhorseman]

I can't think of any reasonable way to do it by mass transit. There are no bus or subway lines that run to the cruise terminal. You would have to walk from the cruise pier to a bus stop, take a bus, then walk from a bus stop to a subway station, and take the subway into Manhattan.

 

I would take a taxi.

 

I'm not sure how much time a typical visit to Ellis Island takes, having never been there.

[boo214]

ellis island will take a few good hours at least. i would not plan on doing much else. the best way to get to the ellis island ferry is car service. try dial 7's. (212)777-7777 or www.dial7.com. you can pre arrange your pick up so you can maximize your time. you might also want to check your roll call to see if anyone is interested in going to ellis island to share the ride and cost of said ride.

[jresmith]

Thanks for the recommendations. It sounds like a taxi or car service is the way to go. I've never used a car service before. Do they wait for you or do you call them when you are finished whatever it is you are doing and they come back and get you. I'll check on our roll call and see if anyone is interested in joining us. Can a car service handle 4 people?

 

Thanks again! Jennifer

[138east]

A car service can handle 4 people. From Brooklyn Sid recommends that you use Arecibo and call them when you are ready to get off the ship.

 

I'd leave your return open. When you come back from Ellis Island you may have time to walk around lower Manhattan a bit - explore Battery Park, walk up to the World Trade Center site, walk through Trinity Church, etc. You can always hail a cab around 3 pm, but be sure to print out the directions to the Brooklyn Cruise Port since the taxi might not know the best way to get there.