Travelling into NYC from Brooklyn when in transit

[milsy79]

Hello,

 

I am travelling on QM2 on 4/8.

 

I have been trying to find some up to date information on what happens if you're doing a roundtrip transatlantic crossing when you get to NYC. If anyone could help with these questions I'd really appreciate it as we would like to make the most of our time there.

 

What time can we disembark?

 

How long does it take to clear immigration as a roundtrip passenger?

 

Is there a shuttle bus (I've found conflicting information about this so it would be great if someone has been recently and could confirm if this is available)?

 

What time do we need to be back on board?

 

Would anyone recommend taking a taxi to Manhattan?

 

Many thanks

[BlueRiband]

Cunard usually runs a coach shuttle into Manhattan for those continuing on with the ship. As a Cunard sponsored tour it would be given priority disembarkation and processing through immigration. The bus drops off at Macy's (a huge retail store at 34th Street and Broadway) where you would then be on your own. There is a pickup location in the afternoon. The advantage of taking the Cunard shuttle is that all you have to do is make sure you get back on the bus at the pickup time. New York traffic back to the Brooklyn pier is then Cunard's headache. Whether or not it is offered depends on how many will be continuing on with the ship and therefore likely to sign on.

 

If you decide to take a taxi and go completely on your own, you could leave the ship as soon as it is cleared by US authorities, typically 7 - 7:30AM. Since the ship sails at 5PM all aboard time would be about 4PM but the exact time would be posted at the gangway.

 

If you are going entirely independently I'd recommend leaving the ship as early as you can. The later you leave the worse the traffic at the Brooklyn terminal because too many passengers arrive before the ship has even finished disembarking.

[milsy79]

Thank you for your advice. I really hope there's a shuttle as this would be my preferred method of getting into the city.

[MarkBearSF]

As others have mentioned, there's a very convenient ferry that runs from next to the QM2 pier to Wall St. From there, cabs, subway (I think) and Uber/Lyft are all very available.

[MarkBearSF]

Here's a link to the website for the ferry shuttle. It looks like it's about a 6 block walk to the Wall St subway Station in Manhattan where you can take a 2 or 3 train right to Penn Station/Macys/Empire State Building and to Times Square/Broadway/Midtown (both stations are also major transfer points for lines throughout the city).

https://www.ferry.nyc/routes-and-schedules/route/south-brooklyn/

 

And cabs are everywhere.

 

- Mark

[Salacia]

Here's a link to the website for the ferry shuttle. It looks like it's about a 6 block walk to the Wall St subway Station in Manhattan where you can take a 2 or 3 train right to Penn Station/Macys/Empire State Building and to Times Square/Broadway/Midtown (both stations are also major transfer points for lines throughout the city).

https://www.ferry.nyc/routes-and-schedules/route/south-brooklyn/

 

And cabs are everywhere.

 

- Mark

 

As Mark wrote, cabs are everywhere. (Unless it's raining, snowing, or during shift change.)

If you can forgive the sexist heading, I think this is good advice for hailing a cab in NYC:

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/03/30/how-to-hail-a-taxi-cab-like-a-man/

[Solent Richard]

Hello,

 

I am travelling on QM2 on 4/8.

 

I have been trying to find some up to date information on what happens if you're doing a roundtrip transatlantic crossing when you get to NYC. If anyone could help with these questions I'd really appreciate it as we would like to make the most of our time there.

 

What time can we disembark?

 

How long does it take to clear immigration as a roundtrip passenger?

 

Is there a shuttle bus (I've found conflicting information about this so it would be great if someone has been recently and could confirm if this is available)?

 

What time do we need to be back on board?

 

Would anyone recommend taking a taxi to Manhattan?

 

Many thanks

 

Good morning Milsy.

 

How's about a sense of adventure?

 

My wife and I have often done the same back to back that you are about to do.

 

On each occasion we use the New York Subway. Here is a review of mine in which I describe how we got across to Manhattan in pretty good time...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2013/06/24/one-way-to-do-new-york-brooklyn-to-central-park-via-the-highline-walk/

 

 

Of course you may have a different objective and just need to adjust which subway station you want for your specific needs.

 

As you will see, we were on West 14 Street, sipping coffee by 8.00 am.

 

 

On another occasion we took a different set of criteria but the same subway route...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2013/09/25/one-way-to-do-new-york-christmas-edition/

 

We ended up in the Grand Central concourse Oyster bar for what proved and excellent lunch...

 

 

For what it's worth, the walk back to the ship from Carroll Street subway station passes a number of excellent neighbourhood stores: very handy for topping up on those essentials that maybe aren't included onboard.

 

I'm planning a new review of New York where I will show how easy it is to get to the '9/11 Museum' and the 'One World Tower'.

 

I hope this will prove useful.

[jenny wren]

On our recent two way crossing we did a three stop unguided ships trip of New York......1 - 2 hours in each of.... Fifth Ave. museum mile/ Central park.....Rockefeller Centre ......9/11 memorial. As it was our first visit we felt this was a good choice and took away the worry of getting in time.

The traffic was horrendous and apparently it is difficult to find a taxi that will take you back from Manhattan to Brooklyn so keep that in mind.....we were pre warned by the New Yorkers on our dinner table!

We were through Immigration in around 10 minutes so no problem there.

[milsy79]

Thanks for all your ideas!

 

Mark - thanks for the ferry tip.

 

 

Salacia - I shall look at those cab hailing tips - thank you. Let's hope I don't get a Travis Bickle type!

 

Richard - I found the NYC subway quite confusing but your guide is most welcome - thank you.

 

Jenny - thanks for the tip on taxis that might not take you back to Brooklyn.

 

Hopefully we'll know more once on board.

[Pennbank]

Thanks for all your ideas!

 

Mark - thanks for the ferry tip.

 

 

Salacia - I shall look at those cab hailing tips - thank you. Let's hope I don't get a Travis Bickle type!

 

Richard - I found the NYC subway quite confusing but your guide is most welcome - thank you.

 

Jenny - thanks for the tip on taxis that might not take you back to Brooklyn.

 

Hopefully we'll know more once on board.

 

On the other thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2519678

 

Post Captain mentions that a new Ferry Service has started up operated by NYC Ferry

which gives easy access from Red Hook Cruise Terminal to Lower Manhattan Wall Street, Pier 11 at similar cost as the Subway at $2.75 one way.

see

https://www.ferry.nyc/

 

and Thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2519678

Edited July 25, 2017 by Pennbank