Has Anyone Taken the Ferry from Manhattan to the Brooklyn Cruise Port?

[Jimbo59]

 Has Anyone Taken the Ferry from Manhattan to the Brooklyn Cruise Port? It goes from Wall Street Pier to Red Hook. What was your experiennce?

[bluemarble]

We have used the ferry from the Wall Street Pier to Red Hook to join the Queen Mary 2 on two different occasions. It has worked very well. We are planning to do the same once again in about a month when we will be boarding QM2 on July 7.

[Elephant1151]

We used the ferry when in New York last July.  It is very convenient from Wall Street to Red Hook and adjacent to the Brooklyn Cruise Port.  The route is South Brooklyn it was $2.75 each way and takes 21 minutes.

 

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

[T5LHR]

I would never have thought about doing that! 

 

I am doing a back to back next May, and am planning to go into Manhattan to shop a little happy and have brunch, and may just well get the ferry back to the ship...! 🙂

[navybankerteacher]

I’ve taken that ferry, but not in connection with a cruise. This time of year it’s a nice ride with some good views.  I am not sure it is ideal in connecting with a cruise: getting yourself and luggage to the ferry and then trundling it from the ferry to the cruise terminal might be a hassle.  Where will you be coming from:  a Manhattan hotel, Penn Station, an airport?  Getting to the ferry, then adding the (reasonable) ferry fare might well cost as much as, and  possibly more than, just getting yourself direct to the cruise terminal.

[frankp01]

There's no better way to approach the QM2 but from the water. The ferry has a *lot* of room for luggage, and it's about a 5 minute Walk (if even that) from the ferry dock to the cruise terminal. There have been occasional overbooking issues with some of the ferry routes, but from what I've been able to tell that hasn't happened on the S Brooklyn route. If there is an issue with the ferry I have a backup plan to use Uber or lyft. But on 4 trips I haven't had an issue yet. Go for it! 

[Lanky Lad]

I am planning to use the ferry when I visit New York on QM2 in July.  As I am in transit, I don't have to worry about luggage. 

 

How easy is it to get tickets for the ferry if I don't have the correct money for the machine?

[frankp01]

If I'm not mistaken the machine takes credit cards. In addition, you can download the app and buy your ticket(s) there. Or, if you're starting on Manhattan, there are live bodies. 

[frankp01]

I tracked down a photo of one of the ferry ticket vending machines. They do take credit cards, as I thought. Of course, my chip cards rarely work in the UK, so you may have an issue with Chip and PIN cards here. Your best bet may be to download the app and purchase your ticket(s) that way.

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, frankp01 said:

There's no better way to approach the QM2 but from the water. The ferry has a *lot* of room for luggage, and it's about a 5 minute Walk (if even that) from the ferry dock to the cruise terminal. There have been occasional overbooking issues with some of the ferry routes, but from what I've been able to tell that hasn't happened on the S Brooklyn route. If there is an issue with the ferry I have a backup plan to use Uber or lyft. But on 4 trips I haven't had an issue yet. Go for it! 

If you come from Philadelphia is it on Amtrak? If so, how do you get from Penn Station to the ferry slip?   I suppose if you travel very light, you could take the subway.

 

[bluemarble]

For us, what makes the NYC ferry to Red Hook work so well for QM2 embarkation is that we choose our Manhattan hotel with that specifically in mind. We now stay at the Andaz Wall Street hotel which is a very short walk to Wall Street Pier 11. If we had to factor in an additional means of transportation to get us and our luggage to the ferry pier, I suspect we would just use a car service to take us to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal as we used to do.

[steve1young]

5 hours ago, frankp01 said:

...and it's about a 5 minute Walk (if even that) from the ferry dock to the cruise terminal. 

 

It’s literally a 3 minute walk, but only if you walk very slowly. There are no issues with over-crowding on this particular line. There’s plenty of room to maneuver luggage. The ferry is logistically very ‘easy on’ and ‘easy off’ with luggage, and the crew is very helpful/patient. The ticket vending machine is easy to use and credit card chip compatible, and the app is the best way to go.

 

It’s truly a beautifully stunning site/experience to approach the QM2 from this ferry. Takes your breath away. Enjoy!

[Se1lad]

No problem paying with chip and pin when I have used the ferry card machines.   Some of the subway card machines ask for a zip code however - either enter nothing or 00000 depending on the machine to get past the prompt.

 

the ferry ticket machines also take coins so it’s a good way to use up any quarters or 5 cent coins!

[Cruise NH]

Does the ferry run year round? Even in the dead of winter?

[frankp01]

> If you come from Philadelphia is it on Amtrak? If so, how do you get from Penn Station to the ferry slip?

 

I should start by explaining that I've never owned a car, so I'm very adept at getting around without one. And I also tend not to rely on taxis and car services, as a result, I prefer to find scheduled transit services..

 

On our last eastbound crossing, we took the train from Philadelphia to Newark, where it's a cross-platform change to PATH. We took that to the WTC and walked to the pier from there. We weren't travelling that lightly, but it was still manageable: a Large roll-aboard each, along with knapsacks and a suit bag.

 

For our return, not knowing how our connections would work out, we planned on spending our layover time in the Metropolitan Lounge in Penn Station (rather than changing at Newark). Wanting to minimize the subway journey, we took the ferry to Wall Street, changed to an East 34th St-bound ferry. There were three of us, and we caught a taxi to Penn Station from there. We were fortunate, the taxi could actually accommodate the three of us, and all of our luggage.

 

We're sailing at the end of June. The wrinkle this time is that the WTC PATH station is closed on weekends. We will still probably change in Newark, and take PATH to Journal Square. There's a ferry replacement, which will get us to Manhattan, where I think we may try catching the lower Manhattan loop bus. Or we just may walk to the pier, it's not that much longer than from the WTC.

[frankp01]

Oh, and I should add that we made the last trip just a bit more complicated that it needed to be. While it's exciting approaching the QM2 on the ferry from Wall Street, the views are better approaching from the next stop on that line. So we overshot the QM2 and went to Sunset Park. Then returned from there, just for the photo possibilities..

[frankp01]

> Does the ferry run year round? Even in the dead of winter?

 

It's not quite as frequent in the off-season, but we used it for a December crossing.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, Cruise NH said:

Does the ferry run year round? Even in the dead of winter?

Yes - it is part of NYC’s transit system, not just a tourist thing;  it serves areas with much more time-consuming alternatives —- probably saving regular riders many hours commute time per week.

[navybankerteacher]

11 hours ago, bluemarble said:

For us, what makes the NYC ferry to Red Hook work so well for QM2 embarkation is that we choose our Manhattan hotel with that specifically in mind. We now stay at the Andaz Wall Street hotel which is a very short walk to Wall Street Pier 11. If we had to factor in an additional means of transportation to get us and our luggage to the ferry pier, I suspect we would just use a car service to take us to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal as we used to do.

This makes sense - if you need ground transport involving any significant distance/time/cost,  direct taxi or car service would be logical.

[babs135]

Would love it if anyone has photos or better still a video as the ferry approaches the QM2.  Any New Yorker prepared to take a ferry ride?

[ospreycruiser]

Planning to take a taxi from a Midtown hotel to Pier 11 for the ferry. Is it an easy drop off at the pier?

Also any estimate of the taxi fare would be appreciated.

[Cruise NH]

33 minutes ago, babs135 said:

Would love it if anyone has photos or better still a video as the ferry approaches the QM2.  Any New Yorker prepared to take a ferry ride?

 

This was on youtube.  It looks like they start with getting off the ferry at Red Hook (qm2) and then their return trip.

 

 

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, babs135 said:

Would love it if anyone has photos or better still a video as the ferry approaches the QM2.  Any New Yorker prepared to take a ferry ride?

 

Here are a few photos of mine taken on a bit of a dreary, overcast day.

 

Telephoto shot of QM2 taken from Wall Street/Pier 11 before boarding the ferry

 

Photos of QM2 taken from the ferry during the approach to Red Hook

 

 

[BostonBoy2]

Hi, we are doing the eastbound transatlantic in August. We will be taking the train down from Boston the day before the ship departs, and we're wondering whether all the info on this page is still accurate - taking the ferry from Pier 11 to Red Hook looks great! We do know that the the Andaz Wall Street hotel is now a Hyatt. Sadly, it does get terrible reviews on Tripadvisor, so any suggestions as to an alternative would be welcome. However, the main point of this post is just to make sure that the ferry from Pier 11 to Red Hook remains the attractive option described here.  Thank you!

[Bedruthen]

We stayed at the Hilton garden hotel in Wall Street in November 2023 , which is very handy for the ferry pier, an easy flat walk with luggage.

You can walk the short distance to the pier the evening before if you want, buy two single tickets, they are valid for one month I think. Then you are set for the morning. It really is so easy and it’s a very short walk from ferry drop off to the ship, a couple of minutes maybe. 
 

It’s so easy, I don’t know why more people don’t do it!

 

Do not stop at the Wall Street Inn, I cannot recommend it at all.