Question: New York City full experience

[Tweedy]

We will be doing the Canada/New England cruise in October and it will be my first visit to New York. I'm really looking forward to it. I know the hotels are extremely pricey in Manhattan and we'd like to spend at least 3 nights after the cruise. By reading through some of the posts, the Sheraton Lincoln Harbour Hotel in NJ caught my eye and sounds like transportation into the city would be pretty convenient.

 

To those of you that have visited or live in the area of NYC, do you think a first time visitor needs to stay on the island of Manhattan to experience the true New York or do you think a first timer would have the same experience staying in a surrounding area such as New Jersey? Any insight or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

[CruiserBruce]

On our first visit we did just fine staying in Secaucus.

[dmdicato]

Try Staten Island....you can take the "free" ferry over to Lower Manhattan.

[138east]

Staten Island would be my last choice if you are cruising out of Manhattan. Post the exact dates you need a room and your budget. Sometimes you can get good deals on Hotwire for a 3* hotel in midtown Manhattan. The Sheraton is a 4* hotel that is often on Hotwire in the Jersey City/Hoboken area. Secaucus is also a good choice. What airport are you flying into?

[ducklite]

I would spend the money to stay midtown someplace. It gives you the flexibility to come and go as you please, return to your hotel during the day to drop off packages freshen up or rest,

 

(I have lived and worked in NYC)

 

The last place I'd stay is Staten Island.

[Andee]

To us, it is definitely worth it to stay in Manhattan. We like being able to walk to/from our hotel, take a quick rest between daytime sightseeing and dinner, et.

 

If there are only two of you in the room and you are willing to share a bed, Priceline can be an excellent way to get a hotel at a lower price. It helps to read betterbidding and biddingfortravel first.

[Tweedy]

Thanks for your responses and Merry Christmas to all.

 

Our cruise starts in Quebec and ends in NY. We arrive on Tuesday, October 16 and plan to stay until the 19th so we have 3 full days to experience NY. We want to do a direct flight home to Vancouver and it appears Newark, NJ is our only option as there does not appear to be any direct flights out of La Guardia or JFK to home.

 

We definitely still have some time but the new year is just around the corner.. :D

[ducklite]

Newark is VERY convenient to NYC. You take NJ Transit from NY Penn to Airlink and then take the light rail to your terminal.

[138east]

I checked Hotwire for Oct 16-19 and found a 3.5* hotel for $112 in Midtown East that is likely to be the New York Helmsley (90% approval rating). This is a FANTASTIC price and it won't last long. Gets good reviews, but rooms are dated. However, it's on 42nd St. right near Grand Central. For a first time visitor I think you would find it much more convenient to stay in Manhattan, particularly at that price.

 

Staying in NJ is fine and I recommend it all the time depending on what folks want to do. However, it's not easy to run back and forth to your hotel. For a 3 day stay, you will really appreciate the convenience of being centrally located in Manhattan. If you're serious about finalizing your plans, I'd grab this hotel right now.

 

You dock in NY so the hotel will be just a cab ride away. I'd recommend taking the bus to Newark Airport because there are pickup points near Grand Central and the bus will drop you at your terminal at the airport. The train is fine, but it does involve getting yourself and your luggage into Penn Station and then from Newark Airport station to your terminal via the monorail.

[Hank1468]

Definitely stay in NYC. Use Priceline to get a great deal!

[Tweedy]

I checked Hotwire for Oct 16-19 and found a 3.5* hotel for $112 in Midtown East that is likely to be the New York Helmsley (90% approval rating). This is a FANTASTIC price and it won't last long. Gets good reviews, but rooms are dated. However, it's on 42nd St. right near Grand Central. For a first time visitor I think you would find it much more convenient to stay in Manhattan, particularly at that price.

 

Staying in NJ is fine and I recommend it all the time depending on what folks want to do. However, it's not easy to run back and forth to your hotel. For a 3 day stay, you will really appreciate the convenience of being centrally located in Manhattan. If you're serious about finalizing your plans, I'd grab this hotel right now.

 

You dock in NY so the hotel will be just a cab ride away. I'd recommend taking the bus to Newark Airport because there are pickup points near Grand Central and the bus will drop you at your terminal at the airport. The train is fine, but it does involve getting yourself and your luggage into Penn Station and then from Newark Airport station to your terminal via the monorail.

 

Wow!! Thanks for going to the trouble of looking the hotel up. That is much appreciated.

 

Thanks again to everyone else who gave their input as well.

[jmcdon7230]

That does come up as the New York Helmsley. I booked it for Oct 20 (NCL Star from New York to New Orleans on Oct 21). Total price $132. Thanks.

[138east]

Great feedback. That's an absolute steal of a price. The hotel is being renovated and sold - supposedly to be rebranded as a Westin. This should all be done by late 2012 but there is an opportunity to grab a really inexpensive room during the transition.

 

Tweedy - you really should book this hotel on Hotwire. I haven't ever seen a deal like this for a 3*+ weekday booking during the fall, which is high season. If you're concerned about prepaying, you can pay a modest amount for extra "hotel" insurance on Hotwire - similar to the cruise insurance that you've probably already taken.

[itsanita]

We are cruising out of NJ, and plan on staying with relatives in Ct. a couple days before we leave.

 

If we get into NYC around 10 am by car, would we have time to visit the 911 Memorial site and still get to Baynonne (cruise terminal) by around 1-2? I had hopped there was a ferry they could just put us on in NY that would take us to the cruise port, but I understand the only way to get there is by car.

[Got2Cruise]

You need tickets to enter the memorial park. Get them here: http://www.911memorial.org Also, I don't know about parking in the vicinity. There isn't parking close by, and any parking will be very expensive. But the drive itself from downtown Manhattan to Bayonne should be less than an hour.

We are cruising out of NJ, and plan on staying with relatives in Ct. a couple days before we leave.

 

If we get into NYC around 10 am by car, would we have time to visit the 911 Memorial site and still get to Baynonne (cruise terminal) by around 1-2? I had hopped there was a ferry they could just put us on in NY that would take us to the cruise port, but I understand the only way to get there is by car.