NCL transfers to the airport after disembark.

[perditax]

For the first time, I’m considering using a ship transfer to get to the airport (LGA) after Escape arrives in port. Reading other threads about how to arrange or find transport after the cruise is a little overwhelming—it sounds like I won’t be able to just walk to a taxi stand easily at the Manhattan cruise terminal? For context I am used to Port of Miami. 

 

I also know very well that the Escape disembark will be pretty ugly. How does this change, if it at all, when using NCL transfers? 

 

Thanks in advance.

[njhorseman]

6 minutes ago, perditax said:

For the first time, I’m considering using a ship transfer to get to the airport (LGA) after Escape arrives in port. Reading other threads about how to arrange or find transport after the cruise is a little overwhelming—it sounds like I won’t be able to just walk to a taxi stand easily at the Manhattan cruise terminal? For context I am used to Port of Miami. 

 

I also know very well that the Escape disembark will be pretty ugly. How does this change, if it at all, when using NCL transfers? 

 

Thanks in advance.

Why do you think you won't be able to walk to the taxi stand? All you have to do is cross 12th Ave. after exiting the cruise terminal and the taxi stand will be right there.

 

If you use NCL transfers you will board a bus on the ground level of the cruise terminal. You don't have to cross the street.

[perditax]

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

Why do you think you won't be able to walk to the taxi stand? All you have to do is cross 12th Ave. after exiting the cruise terminal and the taxi stand will be right there.

 

If you use NCL transfers you will board a bus on the ground level of the cruise terminal. You don't have to cross the street.

 

Briefly, I don’t know this terminal at all, and have only been to Manhattan once, and this thread is making it sound like a bit of a cluster:

 

 

[njhorseman]

5 minutes ago, perditax said:

 

Briefly, I don’t know this terminal at all, and have only been to Manhattan once, and this thread is making it sound like a bit of a cluster:

 

 

It's big ship with a lot of people disembarking into a crowded urban area.

 

As I said all you have to do is cross the street to get to the taxi stand. It's a wide avenue, but it has traffic lights and a median where you can wait if you can't make it all the way across in one light cycle. There will be police directing traffic. There will be a line for taxis but it's an orderly process as a taxi dispatcher should be there.

Edited June 26, 2019 by njhorseman

[FLAHAM]

No problem getting to the cabs.  For one person, the NCL transfer might make sense.  For two or more take a cab. 

[mking8288]

Look 😂 it is easy ... yellow taxi at bottom right, is at the taxi stand. 

Edited June 26, 2019 by mking8288

[don't-use-real-name]

Another view - walk across that 12 ave/st and get a taxi and you are on your way to the airport.

Take the NCL transfer motor coach aka bus wait until the bus is filled and then off you go to the

airport stopping at the first terminal airline and each subsequent one.

Timing - taxi is best gets you to the airport without waiting for NCL's bus and direct to your airline. 

Taxi will cost more but is worth it if you have an early flight that NCL does not recognize.

Cutting it close - make sure to have an airline affinity status - TSA pre-ck - and perhaps Business/First class

to speed things along.

NCL's rate is fixed per person - the taxi can be divided by the number of occupants.

 

 

 

[Joanne G.]

6 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Another view - walk across that 12 ave/st and get a taxi and you are on your way to the airport.

Take the NCL transfer motor coach aka bus wait until the bus is filled and then off you go to the

airport stopping at the first terminal airline and each subsequent one.

Timing - taxi is best gets you to the airport without waiting for NCL's bus and direct to your airline. 

Taxi will cost more but is worth it if you have an early flight that NCL does not recognize.

Cutting it close - make sure to have an airline affinity status - TSA pre-ck - and perhaps Business/First class

to speed things along.

NCL's rate is fixed per person - the taxi can be divided by the number of occupants.

 

 

 

I purchased a Carnival transfer to LGA last week after disembarking the Sunrise.  Because of the massive amount of construction around the airport, the bus driver told us he could only drop us off at one location - Terminal B if my memory is correct.   Thankfully, that was the terminal from which my American flight left.  Within the terminal, I saw a line of not happy people waiting for transport of some type to other terminals.   Of course, depending on when your cruise is, the drop-off location(s) may change.  But it didn't look like the construction would be completed anytime soon.

 

I disembarked on a weekday, and the cross town traffic to get to LGA was horrific.   The entire trip took well over an hour.  For those who are already booked out of La Guardia, please carefully consider your options based on the time of your flight.  For those sailing out of New York who have not yet made your flight plans, consider Newark - likely a faster trip without having to go across Manhattan and hopefully not as torn up as LGA.   I don't know about  JFK as I have never used that airport.   

 

[Buckeye10640]

We just disembarked in Manhatten a  few weeks ago. Our first cruise from that port.  We did not book transpo to LGA ahead of time and we had a crazy time finding something upon disembarking. In retrospect I wish we would have either used NCL transfer even tho we felt it was overpriced, or arranged ahead of time for Super Stuttle. Once we got a taxi our drive to LGA was smooth and no problem getting to the terminal, but chaos at the port.  Of note, we were some of the last off the ship...late flight so no hurry...that may have contributed. 

[Sauna4me]

My post cruise NCL transfer to LGA went smoothly.   I purchased it  when my Escape reservations were made.  It was definitely crazy watching 4,000+ people from my atrium seat wind their way through the "maze" leading into the terminal, but it was actually well organized.   Red luggage tags (NCL cruise transfers) were  called about 9:15am.  I then followed the crowd through the "maze" onto dry land,  claimed my luggage, and met up with an employee directing me through immigration (taking less than 2 minutes to clear immigration). Customs was after that if you had something to declare.   After that, I was directed to the transfer bus area.  There was more than 1 bus heading toward LGA, and they filled up quickly.  I think I waited less than 15 minutes for the bus to get moving.  I believe I was at LGA by 11:15am.  Easy Peezy!   My flight was scheduled for 2:30pm, so I had plenty of time to spare.  LGA is a construction nightmare.  Yes, the NCL shuttle driver could only let you off in front of Terminal B.  Since I was flying Delta, I needed to be at Terminal C.  No problem though. I was directed to take the PURPLE SHUTTLE, and  I  only waited 5 minutes for it to appear.  I am thankful for the ease of getting to LGA post cruise!

 

 

 

[BaWBarmy]

We have sailed into the Manhattan Cruise Terminal four times now and have got used to it, sort of. Our biggest issue has always been baggage reclamation, twice we have had trouble finding bags because they have been left in the wrong colour group. The staff, although trying to be helpful, usually just ask what colour tag was on your bag and then direct  you to that group, where you have already looked and found your bag not to be there. Any delay hasn't really affected us, as flights back to the UK from JFK are usually very late in the day.

 

After finding your luggage, getting through the rest of the terminal is a breeze, especially if you can snag a porter. Immigration seems to flow quite quickly for US citizens. The queue for non US citizens can be a little slower. Once through there just walk straight on and out of the terminal (or follow your porter). Then its a case of turning left for the NCL transport or heading straight on to cross 12th Ave. and to the taxi stand. The porter we had when getting off the Bliss took us through immigration and customs in a flash and then walked us as far as 11th St and hailed us a taxi, we were staying in Manhattan for a couple of days so in no rush. Obviously a hefty tip was gratefully accepted.

 

On our first visit we used the NCL transport. At $40 per person for two of us it was better value than a cab. We arrived at the airport way too early for us, not the fault of NCL. On the two other occasions we spent the day with friends and had an extra day discovering New York before using Uber to get us to JFK. The other occasion was that mentioned above.

 

Our last visit in September 2018 was after cruising the Escape and was probably the easiest, mainly because we were getting used to the experience.

 

In summary we've found it isn't quite the nightmare depicted on other threads and that the NCL shuttle is good value if your party is 2 or less. The taxi stand can get quite busy, if you choose to get an Uber just wander down W48th St for a few yards and order your ride. saves somebody else taking it at the taxi stand.

[Zippeedee]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, so maybe they have changed something. The easiest way to get a cab is to take the elevator to the departures area. Cabs are dropping off new cruisers and are right there with hardly anyone else waiting.

It is also easier to walk a bit up 48th after crossing 12th. Use UBER or call CARMEL (1-212-666-6666) to have be picked up away from the crowd.

[njhorseman]

6 minutes ago, Zippeedee said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, so maybe they have changed something. The easiest way to get a cab is to take the elevator to the departures area. Cabs are dropping off new cruisers and are right there with hardly anyone else waiting.

It is also easier to walk a bit up 48th after crossing 12th. Use UBER or call CARMEL (1-212-666-6666) to have be picked up away from the crowd.

No one's mentioned it because technically at Pier 88 the cabs aren't supposed to wait there to pick up passengers so you just have to get lucky and catch one that just dropped off their passengers.

 

Port officials don not want people waiting for taxis there because there isn't enough room for everyone who would want one. That's why they started directing people to go across the street and they set up the taxi line there.

Edited June 26, 2019 by njhorseman

[perditax]

On 6/26/2019 at 4:00 PM, njhorseman said:

No one's mentioned it because technically at Pier 88 the cabs aren't supposed to wait there to pick up passengers so you just have to get lucky and catch one that just dropped off their passengers.

 

Port officials don not want people waiting for taxis there because there isn't enough room for everyone who would want one. That's why they started directing people to go across the street and they set up the taxi line there.

 

My Dial 7 driver was not so lucky. As I walked up to his car (across the street from the pier), he and another town car driver were in the process of being ticketed by NYPD for where they were  parked to wait for their fares.

 

Also: here’s a little gotcha for NCL transfers when booked online. NCL’s website will happily let you prepay for a transfer, even if you put in a flight # and departure time of 12:30. I didn’t find out until later that they make no guarantees to get you to the airport on time prior to 1:30 departures. Also, these prepaid transfers are non-refundable (according to shipboard guest services, although I might try calling). Hence I ended up with an illegally parked car service, but at least the cop only took about five minutes to write the ticket.

 

(I know there will be a chorus of “of course you can’t get a transfer for a 12:30 flight everyone knows that lol”, but some people don’t know that, and NCL’s site is happy to take your (non-refundable) money even when it knows your flight departure time. This info is for those people who don’t know already, not the chorus members.)

[bonvoyagie]

Sounds like we made the right decision to use the NCL shuttle for our transfer to Newark for our flight. Like lots of things these days it is up to you to  determine if your flight is within the time criteria for the shuttle. We are close but are still outside the 5 hrs. of the posted arrival time of the ship. We are flying first class and will probably get the TSA Pre Check before we leave. And yes NCL has taken my money for this as well as the transfer from the airport to the pier in SFO.

 

Yes we are on the Gem in Jan for a SFO to NYC via the Panama Canal cruise.

 

[schmoopie17]

Our group of six purchased NCL transfers from the port in LA to LAX. We disembarked, walked out to where the transfer buses were and walked right on. Nobody even asked for names, or any other proof that we had paid for the transfers...which seemed rather odd.