Breakaway embarkation questions

[ladybugk04]

Will be cruising on the Breakaway in September. Our flight gets in to Laguardia at 1230. How long does it take to get from airport to cruise terminal? I know it says get there 2 hours prior to sailing which would be 2pm..but what is the absolute latest they will let you board? I hope to be there in time but just curious...thanks in advance!

Edited June 18, 2014 by ladybugk04

[shof515]

depending on traffic, it can take anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours

[garycarla]

Where you flying from?

 

Hope you make it.

[wasiii]

Will be cruising on the Breakaway in September. Our flight gets in to Laguardia at 1230. How long does it take to get from airport to cruise terminal? I know it says get there 2 hours prior to sailing which would be 2pm..but what is the absolute latest they will let you board? I hope to be there in time but just curious...thanks in advance!

 

.....you could have smooth sailing or there could be traffic. You can never hypothesize about it in New York.

 

Personally I would fly in the day before. I know it's probably too late now but for next time, do yourself the favor and spend the night before in the port you are cruising from. A lot less headaches and worries.

 

wasiii

[ladybugk04]

I am flying from Pittsburgh.

[cheeseburger.in.paradise]

You should consider the Megabus next time, we took one from Baltimore and payed 27 dollars for a two way trip. It doesn't get any cheaper than that.

[mking8288]

Looking at flight schedule & equipment (aircrafts) flown between PIT & LGA - they are all regional (smaller, single aisle) jets so you will need to gate-check any and all larger carryon items, or at the terminal counter while checking in. On arrival, you will need to wait for them to unload gate-checked items on the tarmac or for them to be delivered to the luggage carousal (sometimes with all gate-check items too) before you can go outside to wait in the taxi-line and/or meet up with the car service. The BA usually sail on Sunday where it's usually busier than Saturday so the lines for transportation can be long - sorry, not the news you wanted to hear & not just a matter of being curious :rolleyes:

 

Mid to late September, there's the annual United Nations General Assembly gathering on midtown East, which usually minimally "impact" on traffic heading toward MCT on the West side of Manhattan. So, it might be "wiser" to take the RFK (formerly, Triborough) Bridge and across 125th Street & down the West Side Hwy, straight to Pier 88/90 as you will be running very, very close to the cutoff time for boarding - 2 hours before sailing or 2 PM, which is related to Homeland Security requirements for the ship to submit its final passenger manifest.

 

If you booked your own air travel, you might want to consider booking an earlier flight (if seats are still available ... most likely fees/penalities involved) or else as others said, fly in the day before - just in case. Given OP's arrangement, trip interruption insurance would be strongly advised or recommended.

 

Other factors that could negatively affect your boarding time for the ship - air traffic & airport delays, terminal & luggage issues, ground transportation issues, etc. etc. Regardless of how everyone else had a smooth flight & quick ride to the pier, which is usually about 30 minutes to 45 minutes - as measured from LGA to the pier, the only one that count is yours on the date of travel.

 

Good luck & try to re-arrange your travel plans to the pier if you could. Do you know what is your flight's on-time records ...

[BuffetPantsPls]

if it's a weekday

 

12:30 in

 

1pm luggage pick up

 

almost 0 traffic on the 2 exits of teh grand cental parkway to the 57th street bridge (15 minutes)

 

you'll get about 20 minutes of local traffic once yer in the city to potentailly 45 minutes depending on construction

should put you at the pier around 2pm.

 

if it's a weekend

 

1pm is borderline cutoff before traffic starts to pick up again.

traffic to and over the 57th street bridge could be backed up for 25-30 minutes

 

if there are street fairs/closures on the weekends you can easily add another 45 minutes to hour.

 

will put you at the pier around 3pm

[chiapet]

if it's a weekend

 

1pm is borderline cutoff before traffic starts to pick up again.

traffic to and over the 57th street bridge could be backed up for 25-30 minutes

 

if there are street fairs/closures on the weekends you can easily add another 45 minutes to hour.

 

will put you at the pier around 3pm

 

BA leaves on Sundays for Bermuda in September ... which would be the weekend ... so it would make me very nervous trying to catch the ship under those conditions ... and that's IF there are no *other* hiccups :p

[bluesea777]

Last Dec we booked last minute CTN from NYC, we flew in the morning. Landed in JFK at 10am but waited long for the luggage to appear. Traffic was horrendous (easy to get to Manhattan but you have to go around to get to Pier 88). Didn't board ship till 1:45 pm. Lucky to grab lunch before restaurant closed! It was on a Friday.

 

Hopefully you'll fare better on a Sunday.

 

If we missed the CTN (by flying in the same day) it would be no big deal as the CTN was cheap. If it was a week long cruise we'd def fly in a day or two beforehand.

Edited June 18, 2014 by bluesea777

[rvsullivan]

Will be cruising on the Breakaway in September. Our flight gets in to Laguardia at 1230. How long does it take to get from airport to cruise terminal? I know it says get there 2 hours prior to sailing which would be 2pm..but what is the absolute latest they will let you board? I hope to be there in time but just curious...thanks in advance!

 

 

Two hours before departure if you have not done on line check in. One hour if you have. Still cutting it close. Any delays and you miss your ship.

[mjkacmom]

NYC airports are not known for being on time... A little bit of rain, and you miss your ship.

[sugarnyc]

Will be cruising on the Breakaway in September. Our flight gets in to Laguardia at 1230. How long does it take to get from airport to cruise terminal? I know it says get there 2 hours prior to sailing which would be 2pm..but what is the absolute latest they will let you board? I hope to be there in time but just curious...thanks in advance!

 

If you can't get in the day before I would only take the first flight out in the morning- IMHO! Flights delays and traffic can cause lots of stress, etc...

[ladybugk04]

I have been watching the flight and its only been taking less than 1 hour to get to NY so if the plane leaves on time we would get there at 12:15. I was thinking of taking the NCL transfer service. Does anyone know how late they will come pick you up?

[wasiii]

I have been watching the flight and its only been taking less than 1 hour to get to NY so if the plane leaves on time we would get there at 12:15. I was thinking of taking the NCL transfer service. Does anyone know how late they will come pick you up?

 

.....and see if they have the answers for you.

 

http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/getting-to-the-pier

 

wasiii

[BuffetPantsPls]

I have been watching the flight and its only been taking less than 1 hour to get to NY so if the plane leaves on time we would get there at 12:15. I was thinking of taking the NCL transfer service. Does anyone know how late they will come pick you up?

 

i wouldn't worry about short commuter flights like this

 

i used to do it ny from boston all the time. it's a small plane so you wont be waiting forever for your luggage

 

it really just takes time for the taxi-ing on the runway. sunday traffic through manhattan is what's really goign to get you.

 

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/wkndtraf.shtml

tells yout he various road closings

Edited June 18, 2014 by BuffetPantsPls

[Johnny Bananas]

NYC airports are notorious for arrival and departure delays.

Last time I picked someone up from LaGuardia to drive them to the pier their flight was delayed 30 min then we encountered a street fair. Took almost 1.5 hours to get to the drop off point.

 

I think you are cutting it way too close.

 

Any small snafu can cause a domino effect and you are out of luck...

[vince_g]

I have been watching the flight and its only been taking less than 1 hour to get to NY so if the plane leaves on time we would get there at 12:15. I was thinking of taking the NCL transfer service. Does anyone know how late they will come pick you up?

 

 

But if the plane's slot at the gate is at 12:30, they may have to circle until they are cleared to land.

[TravelJoe]

NYC airports are notorious for arrival and departure delays.

Last time I picked someone up from LaGuardia to drive them to the pier their flight was delayed 30 min then we encountered a street fair. Took almost 1.5 hours to get to the drop off point.

 

I think you are cutting it way too close.

 

Any small snafu can cause a domino effect and you are out of luck...

 

Agree 100%! A few years ago, we took a family vacation to Europe using miles, so I had to fly from LaGuardia to Chicago and then to Milan. It was free and in business class, so no complaints. The airline suggested a 2-hour layover in Chicago, but being the anal planner that I am, I asked for a 3-hour layover. I didn't matter -- there were thunderstorms somewhere between NYC and Chicago (that we never saw) and we sat on the tarmac in NYC for THREE HOURS and missed our flight by minutes (actually passed the outbound jet as it was taxiing out from the gate).

 

Anything can happen with air travel -- as cited by others before, I would try to get into NYC as early as possible if not the day before. My sister is flying up from Raleigh, and they're coming in Saturday morning so if something happens to their specific flight (equipment problem) or if something extreme happens at LGA (closed runway due to an accident or something), they could always drive the 12 hours as an alternative if need be.

[TravelDiva88]

That is way too close for comfort for me. Good luck

[BuffetPantsPls]

i disagree with the above posters about LGA traffic

 

i've flown the commuter plane many many times into and out of LGA to neighboring cities and typically the process is less than an hour and it has gotten better if anything

 

http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/snapshots/airport/?locationId=37

 

JFK is also a very efficent airport

http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/snapshots/airport/?locationId=34

 

of course if you get crazy weather, yes nothing you can do.

 

 

flight lands at 12:30, the metrics say you'll most likely be 6 minutes or so late and you'll taxi around for 15 minutes.

 

A small plane from PA means that you'll get your luggage rather quickly which would put you looking for a taxi around 1-1:15

[mking8288]

Midday on a weekend - let's "add" baseball games into the mix (end of regular season) for the NY Yankees & Mets @ nearby stadiums (don't have OP's flight info, please check them on MLB's website) and I can guarantee traffic messes all over town. There's also a "slim" chance of the POTUS in town for the UN with the frequent roving roadblocks & gridlocks and frozen zones in Manhattan.

 

Last Friday morning, accident involving 2 tractor trailers in-bound at the GW Bridge's upper level with a fatality, NJ to NY - which followed a bridge "jumper" minutes earlier going the other direction mid-span on the bridge, resulted in a MASSIVE 10+ hours traffic meltown all over, ruining the morning rush hours for many (actually, many eventually turned around & went home after calling their offices/bosses, etc.) Traffic from points north to the CT stateline were impacted - good news, no cruise ship in town.

 

At this moment, it's bright & sunny and a warm 85 degree F in NYC, 15 mph wind & breeze and 10 miles visibility - guess what, my "live" FlightBoard App for LGA showing 25 flights delayed and 5 flights cancelled from 6 AM thru this afternoon so far - for a variety of reasons, and no active thunderstorms. It's not unusual for aircrafts to be put on a figure 8 holding pattern circulating until they can be "slotted" for landing, and, then to sit off the taxiway in a hold until a gate is "free" and the ramp is ready - tick, tack, tick, tack as you watched the clock run; and, as I said earlier - there's no room for most 18" to 22" carry-on suitcases in almost all regional/commuter jets.

 

OP's commuter jet is likely on its 2nd. or 3rd. flight segment of the day and if it's delayed prior to reaching PIT, then - might as well cancel the cruise or start making plans to fly to Bermuda. ** If it's Air Wisconsin, the CRJ-200 is traced to flying out of DCA around 9:30 AM & lands at PIT at 10:30 AM, departing an hour later & head for LGA. If "scheduled" to land at 11:30 AM - then, I would say the odds are better than 50:50 of making it to the pier. But, for a 12:30 PM wheels down at LGA - way, way too close for my comfort & for most of us flying quite a bit lately on a regular basis. "FlightAware" is one of the excellent travel App for both iOS and Android, great tool to track flights in almost real-time.

 

My apology for sounding too harsh and negative, and I wish the best of luck for OP in making the cruise. BA is a beautiful ship and we loved it. NCL's airport transfer service might be an option so it's best to check it out & find out the latest pickup & cutoff time at LGA.

 

Good luck & happy cruising.

Edited June 18, 2014 by mking8288

[BuffetPantsPls]

 

At this moment, it's bright & sunny and a warm 85 degree F in NYC, 15 mph wind & breeze and 10 miles visibility - guess what, my "live" FlightBoard App for LGA showing 25 flights delayed and 5 flights cancelled from 6 AM thru this afternoon so far - for a variety of reasons, and no active thunderstorms.

 

there's always someone that has to worry, else i'd never make anything on time ;-)

 

but to be fair, 25 flight delays and 5 flight cancelled out of how many total flights from 6am thru this afternoon?

 

LGA fortunately does not cross any path to teh ball games.

 

The UN is also typically not much a factor because you should be crossing the 57th street bridge not the midtown tunnel.

 

 

Good luck & happy cruising.

 

n'er tr'er words

[RickinNYC]

Yikes. I live in Queens, about 15 minutes from LGA, and even I wouldn't try risk it. Traffic on Sundays is fine in the morning, but at 12:30 or 1pm, you're going to have to now contend with all the Long Islanders that are driving in to catch a matinee or brunch. We always calculate at least 45 minutes from our apartment to the tunnel, then another 30-45 minutes to get across town, if we ever take a car service.

 

If it's at all possible to change your flight to an earlier time, I would encourage you to do so.

Edited June 18, 2014 by RickinNYC

[BuffetPantsPls]

Yikes. I live in Queens, about 15 minutes from LGA, and even I wouldn't try risk it. Traffic on Sundays is fine in the morning, but at 12:30 or 1pm, you're going to have to now contend with all the Long Islanders that are driving in to catch a matinee or brunch. We always calculate at least 45 minutes from our apartment to the tunnel, then another 30-45 minutes to get across town, if we ever take a car service.

 

If it's at all possible to change your flight to an earlier time, I would encourage you to do so.

 

why do you take the tunnel if you live so close to LGA?

 

just hop on the 57th street bridge