New York airport closest to cruise port

[muth cruiser]

I am booking airline tickets to New York for our transAtlantic cruise. Does anyone know which airport is the closest or easiest to get to the cruise port.

 

Do you use a taxi or is there a better mode of transportation?

 

Thanks for your help.

[micmacmissy]

Look at Newark, NJ - probably will be cheaper than LGA or JFK, but that depends on where you're flying from.

[KT Freeman]

Depends on which port. If it's Manhattan, Newark is closer. If it's Brooklyn, LaGuardia is closer. Be prepared: the Manhattan port is a zoo with everyone coming and going, especially if more than one ship is there.

[hypercafe]

You can use a Taxie or have a car service meet you like Dial 7. The cruise line also might have transfers. Check out air pricing, some times there is a big difference between airports. All three are doable, I guess you are just going one way.

[Noxequifans]

I'll guess O will be leaving from the Manhattan cruise port. Newark airport is relatively close but in-bound traffic can be significantly backed up during the morning rush hour. LGA is a bit further but offers several routes into Manhattan to deal with the morning rush. JFK is the the greatest distance away. A car service such as Dial 7 would be my choice.

[StanandJim]

Stan and I are native New Yorkers, who have since migrated to Connecticut, and for us, JFK is the easiest, closest, cheapest commute from the NY piers.

 

If we had our druthers, and were flying into New York, we would fly into JFK, book a hotel in midtown Manhattan , and stay for two or three days, seeing "discounted" Broadway shows via the TKTS booth, or spectacular Cabaret at 54 Below or the Metropolitan Room before sailing.

[JVNYC]

I live in Manhattan. Any of the airports will work. Taxis & car services are abundant & can get you anywhere in the city quickly. Book whatever airport gives you the best value.

[BillPizzaiolo]

I live in Manhattan. Any of the airports will work. Taxis & car services are abundant & can get you anywhere in the city quickly. Book whatever airport gives you the best value.

 

Quickly is a relative time frame depending on traffic and whist might be happening in the City on the day you need to get to the port. Remember that the UN is in NYC and it and other events can impact the cross town traffic coming from JFK and LaGuardia. Commuter traffic going through the tunnels from NJ's EWR (Newark) in the mornings and may have significant delays. Always allow for extra time. Super Shuttle, Dial 7's, Uber and Yellow cabs are all excellent. Prices are competitive and somewhat similar. Price out the various air fares to the various airports. JFK usually has the best schedule and gets the most flights with landing priority over the other two airports. IMHO it is most distant from down town and the West side ports. Be sure to spend extra time in the City that never sleeps there are so many things to see and do. Take advantage of them and enjoy your trip.

[JVNYC]

Quickly is a relative time frame depending on traffic and whist might be happening in the City on the day you need to get to the port. Remember that the UN is in NYC and it and other events can impact the cross town traffic coming from JFK and LaGuardia. Commuter traffic going through the tunnels from NJ's EWR (Newark) in the mornings and may have significant delays. Always allow for extra time. Super Shuttle, Dial 7's, Uber and Yellow cabs are all excellent. Prices are competitive and somewhat similar. Price out the various air fares to the various airports. JFK usually has the best schedule and gets the most flights with landing priority over the other two airports. IMHO it is most distant from down town and the West side ports. Be sure to spend extra time in the City that never sleeps there are so many things to see and do. Take advantage of them and enjoy your trip.

 

 

Yeah...what he said! =)

Edited January 15, 2016 by JVNYC

[BillPizzaiolo]

What he said! =)

 

I forgot to mentionWednesdays mid day can be problematic as it is the Matinee day for the theatre district and lots of people drive in at that time (Lincoln tunnel traffic). Friday evenings can be bad too as well as holiday weekends or summertime commutes in and out of the City. Week before Christmas and New Year's can be tough as well. Add that to all the other things that can impact traffic and you have a typical NYC day.

[bitob]

If u are leaving from Manhattan la guardia is much closer than jfk with far less traffic

[RJB]

If u are leaving from Manhattan la guardia is much closer than jfk with far less traffic

Agree. LGA is a much better choice than JFK. Newark is also a good option. We flew into Newark a few years ago in June and it took about 30 min. to get across the river to the pier. I would use either one. :):)

[StanandJim]

If u are leaving from Manhattan la guardia is much closer than jfk with far less traffic

 

Actually, that is completely untrue. La Guardia is the New York metro areas' second tier airport, and the one whose facilities were recently compared to those of an Airport in a Third World Country.

Traffic on the Grand Central Parkway is equally bad as the Van Wyck Expressway, and just as unavoidable unless you deliberately pick an off hour flight.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ny-laguardia-20150727-story.html

[RJB]

Actually, that is completely untrue. La Guardia is the New York metro areas' second tier airport, and the one whose facilities were recently compared to those of an Airport in a Third World Country.

Traffic on the Grand Central Parkway is equally bad as the Van Wyck Expressway, and just as unavoidable unless you deliberately pick an off hour flight.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ny-laguardia-20150727-story.html

I guess you did not live in NY long enough to drive there. How will you get to Manhattan from JFK? The only other way is the Belt Parkway where you go all around Brooklyn in twice the time. I think you need to admit you don't have a clue what you are talking about. The second tier airport is still a lot closer to Manhattan as is Newark. Not planning on living there, just getting off the plane and getting in a cab. If you live in Conn. you probably have not been to a N.Y. airport in years, so let's not rely on advise that is 30 years old.

[cotto22]

We did an Oceania transatlantic that ended up in New York in 2014. We flew home from Newark using Oceania's air arrangements. At first, I was surprised at that choice of airports, but we were there in less than 30 minutes. Of course, it was around noon by that time, so the traffic was not bad, considering.

As an aside, having lived in New Jersey for many years prior to our move to Texas, I would avoid LaGuardia unless they have drastically improved its facilities. Newark may not be the nicest airport around, but its logistics are better, imo. If things have changed for LaGuardia, I am sure someone will let me know!

[bitob]

I guess you did not live in NY long enough to drive there. How will you get to Manhattan from JFK? The only other way is the Belt Parkway where you go all around Brooklyn in twice the time. I think you need to admit you don't have a clue what you are talking about. The second tier airport is still a lot closer to Manhattan as is Newark. Not planning on living there, just getting off the plane and getting in a cab. If you live in Conn. you probably have not been to a N.Y. airport in years, so let's not rely on advise that is 30 years old.

 

 

I guess they'd rather be stuck on the bqe for three hours. Lol

Lifelong New Yorker. I stand by my opinion. Laguardia is best choice

[Mura]

LaGuardia is the best for us but we live in Brooklyn Heights and so with no traffic it takes maybe 10 minutes, in heavy traffic maybe 30. But that doesn't help people who want to get to the west side seaport.

 

FYI, a plan has been proposed to major upgrades to LaGuardia but I'm not sure when that would start or when it will be in effect. This would be a multi-year project.

 

For us, in Brooklyn, Newark is usually better than JFK in terms of driving times. But we did miss our first flight to a Renaissance cruise leaving Lisbon in Oct '99 because there was an accident on the highway which delayed us significantly. We'd have made the flight except that our tickets had to be rewritten. The computer had no problem with DH's ticket but couldn't manage to correct mine. By the time they realized we had no more time the gate had closed ... and our luggage had been sent on to Paris rather than Lisbon ... So we went to Lisbon a day late. Fortunately we'd planned on going in two days early AND Ren was giving us two hotel days prior to the cruise.

 

Normally we will opt for Newark depending on the flight times. But I would assume for people who don't live here, JFK is probably better. Certainly there are more flight. Just know that traffic in rush hour is a beast ... WHEREVER you are going.

 

Mura

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Actually, that is completely untrue. La Guardia is the New York metro areas' second tier airport, and the one whose facilities were recently compared to those of an Airport in a Third World Country.

Traffic on the Grand Central Parkway is equally bad as the Van Wyck Expressway, and just as unavoidable unless you deliberately pick an off hour flight.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ny-laguardia-20150727-story.html

 

Having flown in and out of all these airports, I'd put JFK at the bottom--horrible place. I like La Guardia best, although traffic into Manhattan can be problematic, I admit. Newark has improved over the years, and there's a train you can take right into Manhattan, which runs very efficiently, and if I was flying in to embark a cruise, that's the one I would choose.

[oceanbill457]

Where ever you fly into, find out definitively where the ship sails from. On a Regatta cruise this past fall, Oceania failed to inform some guests and their TAs ,the ship had been rerouted to a Brooklyn vice Manhattan departure. Several arrived at the Manhattan terminal and had to quickly grab cabs to Brooklyn.

[newbie60]

Where ever you fly into, find out definitively where the ship sails from. On a Regatta cruise this past fall, Oceania failed to inform some guests and their TAs ,the ship had been rerouted to a Brooklyn vice Manhattan departure. Several arrived at the Manhattan terminal and had to quickly grab cabs to Brooklyn.

 

We were on that cruise. The only notification was the final emailed documents 21 days in advance. Those did show Brooklyn as the port. Problem is, who checks these emailed documents with a fine tooth comb? I caught the information on a Cruise Critic thread about getting transportation to the airport from Brooklyn - a lucky fluke. There were a number of irritated passengers who paid for a taxi to Manhattan and then again to Brooklyn.

[RJB]

Having flown in and out of all these airports, I'd put JFK at the bottom--horrible place. I like La Guardia best, although traffic into Manhattan can be problematic, I admit. Newark has improved over the years, and there's a train you can take right into Manhattan, which runs very efficiently, and if I was flying in to embark a cruise, that's the one I would choose.

The train would depend on how much luggage you have. Not a lot of fun with 2 or 3 big suitcases on the train. Then from Penn Station in NY a cab or another train and then walk a whole bunch of blocks. Newark is fine to ly into but re think the train. I do agree that JFK is at the bottom. Good Luck.

[RetiredFL]

The OP does not indicate where he is flying in from but my recommendation is first to find the best flight at the best price without regards to the airport. Why pay hundreds of dollars extra just to get to the "best" airport.

 

Then transportation can be arranged to the ship. There are plenty of limo services, etc that are not that expensive.

 

We always make it a point to fly in the day before to avoid late planes, weather, etc. Hate to see the ship sailing from our plane window as we arrive 6 hours late! Then from our hotel it is usually just a cab ride to the ship.

[RJB]

The OP does not indicate where he is flying in from but my recommendation is first to find the best flight at the best price without regards to the airport. Why pay hundreds of dollars extra just to get to the "best" airport.

 

Then transportation can be arranged to the ship. There are plenty of limo services, etc that are not that expensive.

 

We always make it a point to fly in the day before to avoid late planes, weather, etc. Hate to see the ship sailing from our plane window as we arrive 6 hours late! Then from our hotel it is usually just a cab ride to the ship.

That was not the question, but we also do the same thing. Fly in a few days early and see the sights in each city we leave from.