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NYC Sunday morning traffic?

amandA53

By amandA53,
in East Coast Departures

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amandA53

amandA53

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How are the driving conditions in NYC Sunday mornings? Specifically the Lincoln tunnel and Newark or Secaucus areas headed towards the Manhattan cruise terminal. I have never driven in NYC and was considering driving to the terminal staying in a hotel the night before my cruise. Probably staying somewhere in outlying areas less than ten miles from the pier. Was just curious how much time it would take to get to the terminal and how nervous I should be about driving, lol?

 

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138east

138east

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How are the driving conditions in NYC Sunday mornings? Specifically the Lincoln tunnel and Newark or Secaucus areas headed towards the Manhattan cruise terminal. I have never driven in NYC and was considering driving to the terminal staying in a hotel the night before my cruise. Probably staying somewhere in outlying areas less than ten miles from the pier. Was just curious how much time it would take to get to the terminal and how nervous I should be about driving, lol?

 

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My experience has been that driving through the tunnels on a Sunday morning is the lowest traffic point of the week. For the Lincoln Tunnel you should be in the leftmost lane of the leftmost open tunnel so you can more easily make the turns to head uptown.

 

However, IMO the easiest way to the cruise terminal is via the GW Bridge. You get off at the very first exit onto the Henry Hudson Parkway south and it's all parkway driving right to the cruise terminal. If you're on the upper bridge you get in the rightmost lane for the Parkway exit. From the lower bridge you need to be in the leftmost lane for the Parkway exit.

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138east

138east

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I am coming from ohio and Google is telling me to take the Lincoln tunnel. But I could easily go up some more to take GWB. I could stay in Fort Lee then? You think that would be a better option? How much time should I give myself from that area? Thanks everyone!

 

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What is the exact date you would need a hotel room? What is your hotel budget? We can give specific hotel recommendations and time estimates when we know the budget and date. I think you will be happier coming in I80 and avoiding Newark, Secaucus, and the Lincoln Tunnel

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amandA53

amandA53

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We wouldn't be arriving to the city until about 10pm on June 9 and we would be catching the ncl escape the next morning. So nothing fancy in seeing what NYC has to offer. We'll make that another trip on its own. We only need a safe and comfortable place to sleep and park for a night, hopefully some place that's easy to get a 12 person van in and out of, and anything extra would be a bonus.

 

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138east

138east

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I am more about value VS dollar amount. Trying to stay in the $250 range

 

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Are you willing to stay further out? The Parsipanny area has a large selection of hotels in a more suburban setting that have very reasonable rates on a Sat night when there is no business travel. We recommend this area all the time for folks coming in from Ohio and Western PA. You should be able to get nice rooms for <$100 + tax/room. It's 45-60 minutes from the cruise terminal. After a long drive you would be getting off the road before you hit the Metro NYC traffic.

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Got2Cruise "Live from...." Rare

Got2Cruise

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I will look into the area for sure. I was hoping to keep my drive time on Sunday with traffic and everything to an hour or so. You think that is doable? Google is still saying to take Lincoln. GWB is still the better way in, correct?

 

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Lincoln Tunnel less miles. You’d have to wait until day of to use live navigation to see which actually would take less time. As previously mentioned, accidents, construction, street fairs , road races all play a part.

 

 

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amandA53

amandA53

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Are you willing to stay further out? The Parsipanny area has a large selection of hotels in a more suburban setting that have very reasonable rates on a Sat night when there is no business travel. We recommend this area all the time for folks coming in from Ohio and Western PA. You should be able to get nice rooms for <$100 + tax/room. It's 45-60 minutes from the cruise terminal. After a long drive you would be getting off the road before you hit the Metro NYC traffic.

I have my group of 9 (6 adults 3 children) on board with staying in Parsippany the night before. Any particular place you like or to stay away from? We are coming in late Sat and leaving in the morning, so nothing fancy is necessary. Mainly just clean and in a safe area. Easy off the highway is a bonus. A quick search is showing hampton inn north, fairfield inn and suites, and Ramada. Thoughts on these? They are all appx $100 per night.

 

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138east

138east

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I have my group of 9 (6 adults 3 children) on board with staying in Parsippany the night before. Any particular place you like or to stay away from? We are coming in late Sat and leaving in the morning, so nothing fancy is necessary. Mainly just clean and in a safe area. Easy off the highway is a bonus. A quick search is showing hampton inn north, fairfield inn and suites, and Ramada. Thoughts on these? They are all appx $100 per night.

 

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Parsippany is a nice suburban area with hotels that cater to business week travelers. I would be looking at the details of the hotel to accommodate your party of 9 in 2 rooms. Do they have queen beds? Is free breakfast offered? Do they offer a room for 5 people? Are you eligible for discounts - AAA, senior, military? Do you get a discount by joining an awards discount program? Are you willing to book a nonrefundable rate? Consider booking directly with the hotel if the rate is competitive and don't hesitate to call the hotel directly if you have questions. On the day you travel, call the hotel directly to confirm your reservation and arrival time.

 

Trip Advisor ratings are best for Hampton Inn (not Hampton Inn North). Folks have stayed at Sonesta Suites.

 

If the hotel is reasonably close to I80, I wouldn't worry about exactly how close it is.

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mking8288 "Live from...." Rare

mking8288

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In addition, check on the embarkation morning before leaving on best/optimal route & also, look at alternate routing just in case to be a little familiar with you "bail out/escape" options for an unexpected surprise, i.e. major accidents, hazmat or emergency closure, etc. - I prefer Waze over Google Maps for optimal real-time navigation for traffic (and, in metro NY area, data feeds are shared with NYC-DOT as partners) ... amazingly accurate, 95% of the time, a few spots around EWR / Newark Airport & Cape Liberty, for whatever reasons, not so much but Google Maps is just as bad,

 

As long as you checked out of the hotel & are on the road by 9 to 9:30 AM, traffic would be fairly light to very light, flowing above posted speed limit (careful with the few NJSP on lidar patrol) - the easiest for us, is GWB with direct exit/transition into the Henry Hudson Pkway southbound, no traffic lights (until you are virtually in front of the cruise terminal, exiting onto local city streets at W. 57th Street ramp ... keep extreme right lane) - see my uploaded picture below for a visual.

 

Upper level of GWB has all the commercial, bus & truck traffic and can sometimes backed up even in the morning, it also take CASH as well as EZ-Pass for the $15 one-way toll. Lower level of GWB is EZ-Pass only and no commercial traffic, tend to move faster majority of the them whenever we return/come back into NY from the Jersey side.

 

Lincoln Tunnel's drive is a little shorter but once you get into NY, you need to be mindful of which lanes to stay in to turn for heading "uptown" toward the pier, or else, would be easily confused & doing a few loops & turns to find your way to MCT to park. Most of the time, the difference is maybe 10 or 15 minutes, not a big difference and the GWB drive is so much easier for someone not familiar with our city's heavy & congested traffic filled with impatient drivers.

b866df528e1053659ce599954251731c.jpg

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138east

138east

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Crossing the George Washington Bridge eastbound

 

If you end up on the upper bridge, you want to be in the far right lane and take the very first exit at the end of the bridge to get onto the Henry Hudson Parkway South. If you end up on the lower bridge, you want to be in the far left lane to take the very first exit onto the Henry Hudson Parkway South.

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