Chaos on the New York Piers!

[Joanandjoe]

We’ve ended three cruises at the New York Passenger Ship terminal in Manhattan. The idea was that we would be 10 miles from home, so we’d have an easy end to our cruise. It has not worked that way. Disembarkation on three different lines, ranging from basic (Regal) to mainstream (HAL) to upscale (Radisson Seven Seas) has resulted in three bad experiences: slow clearance by the feds., no porters to be found, too many people, little help from the cruise lines, difficulty connecting with transportation. We’ve tried taxis and couldn’t get one for over an hour, and tried limos twice, and had to wait over a half hour for the limos to make it from the street to the pickup area. Utter chaos.

 

Our last experience, last month on Radisson, was the worst. There were six ships in town, one of which (Oreana) got diverted to Brooklyn, which wasn’t even open officially. (It opens next March, but will only handle one ship.) The port could not handle the more than 10,000 PAX, and our ship wasn’t cleared for disembarking until 2 hours and 20 minutes after we reached the dock. It took another hour for us to wait for our color, get our luggage, shlep four suitcases without a porter, and meet our limo; so we landed at 8:30 a.m. and got home (after a less than 15 minute trip) after noon. Had we gotten off the ship (without luggage) when we landed, we could have walked home and been there by 11 a.m.

 

Before anyone asks, we’ve had one occasion when we were the only ship in port. Things were better than last month, but still not very good.

 

If anyone has suggestions for improvement, we’ll try to assemble them and send them to the passenger relations departments at some of the lines that dock in NYC, such as Radisson, NCL, Princess, HAL, and Carnival. We’re posting this inquiry on all of those boards, and the board moderators should feel free to post it elsewhere on CC. Maybe we can use CC to improve this awful situation. WE LOVE NEW YORK, and want to have it a pleasant experience cruising from the City. Nothing beats sailing past the Statue of Liberty and the NYC skyline; but disembarkation ruins the good impression.

[aaannnthony]

We've sailed into NYC six times, and, the only time we had a delay was when the Golden Princess arrived about six hours late, on 9/14/02!

 

Porter service is always excellent.....never, six times, have ever had to "beg"!

 

The cab service is as accepted, long lines from available cabs, that's the way it is! So, be happy, you just completed an enjoyable cruise!

 

And, regarding limos, they can't park, but, they know how to circle the "wagons"!

 

So, learn how to adapt!

[Iamboatman]

We had a bit of a tough time about five years ago. We made the mistake of hiring a limo. The driver was right there, but then we had to wait for him to get back to us. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great.

 

Since then we park the car at the port. Figuring in limo costs and hassles, the "car on the roof" option works out pretty well.

 

The problems at the terminal are well known, even if they are generally manageable. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have gone to Bayonne (not great, but not bad either) and Carnival is headed to Brooklyn. With all those ships going elsewhere, NY Terminal should get a bit better.

 

Obviously what it really needs (and is supposed to be getting) is a major facelift.

[cruiseluv]

Anthony,

 

Was that the cruise were the ship had some windows blown out by the wind?My parents were in that cruise!

 

Afterwards they came to visit us in NJ so luckily they didn't miss any flights. Their description of the desembarkation and port was nothing less that total chaos!

[aaannnthony]

Yes, that's the one!

[TrinaLC]

Instead of standing in line for cabs, cross the street and hail the ones heading north up the FDR.

[Joanandjoe]

We're surprised to see this thread reopened after about three months.

 

Yes, we thought about going out to the street; but we had arranged a NJ limo, which isn't allowed to pick up on the street. Also, by the time we got on to the pier with too much luggage, we were two tired to walk the two or three extra blocks to the highway. We'll no better for our next cruise, and will pack more lightly.