Group of 12-day before hotel and transport to MCT in September

[ashjt44]

I've been appointed to research where to stay after flying into Laguardia the day before sailing and getting transport to pier.  I've never even been to NYC and I am overwhelmed.  We have purchased the NCL transportation to and from pier and was hoping to get a hotel with shuttle transportation from/to airport so that we could shuttle back to airport day of sailing and catch NCL transportation to the pier.  Is that a good idea? If so, any recommendations on hotels that have airport shuttles?  Any better ideas? Thanks in advance for any input!

[Noxequifans]

You are posing a number of questions and I’ll comment regarding the airport which seems to be the key to your plans. Determine the time the NCL bus is scheduled to leave LGA and work around that. 
 

My assessment is that some of the hotels relatively close to the airport might offer transport. But hotels in Manhattan (where your group probably would want to stay) may not offer such transport. That leaves use of taxis or Uber. 
 

It is all doable but a bit complex. Good voyage. 

[njhorseman]

Since you're flying into LGA then you're restricted to hotels in that immediate area if you want a free shuttle between airport and hotel in both directions. I think it's going to be difficult to find anyone here who can give you a recent assessment of hotels near LGA. Many hotels located near LGA should offer a shuttle.

I'd suggest you go to any of the many internet booking sites such as expedia.com, hotels.com or booking.com where you can specifically request a search of hotels near LGA . Once you have identified hotels near the airport that look like they would fulfill your needs you can check to see if they offer complimentary airport shuttle service. I would suggest checking with hotels directly because information on the booking websites isn't always up to date and some hotels stopped offering airport shuttles during the height of the pandemic and may or  may not have resumed them.

As far as alternatives to NCL transfers, for a group that large I'd recommend checking with a car service such as Carmel Limo or Dial 7 because they have large vans and mini buses available. Prices tend be high for those vehicles so you may not save much if any money over taking NCL's transfers.

[markeb]

Where are you in purchasing transportation? LGA is fine. Have you bought the tickets? Is everyone on the same flight? When do you arrive in Queens? Are there things you want to do? Have you bought the transfers? Can you cancel them if it makes more sense? Do you have a hotel budget in mind? 

 

In some ways, everything else depends on those questions. When is the cruise, BTW? I don't see that in your original post. 

 

You potentially have a lot of options, and a free shuttle to and from the airport and the NCL shuttle to the pier could be the best, but it's equally likely it isn't.

[ashjt44]

2 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Since you're flying into LGA then you're restricted to hotels in that immediate area if you want a free shuttle between airport and hotel in both directions. I think it's going to be difficult to find anyone here who can give you a recent assessment of hotels near LGA. Many hotels located near LGA should offer a shuttle.

I'd suggest you go to any of the many internet booking sites such as expedia.com, hotels.com or booking.com where you can specifically request a search of hotels near LGA . Once you have identified hotels near the airport that look like they would fulfill your needs you can check to see if they offer complimentary airport shuttle service. I would suggest checking with hotels directly because information on the booking websites isn't always up to date and some hotels stopped offering airport shuttles during the height of the pandemic and may or  may not have resumed them.

As far as alternatives to NCL transfers, for a group that large I'd recommend checking with a car service such as Carmel Limo or Dial 7 because they have large vans and mini buses available. Prices tend be high for those vehicles so you may not save much if any money over taking NCL's transfers.

Thank you! You've given me a place to start!

[ashjt44]

1 hour ago, markeb said:

Where are you in purchasing transportation? LGA is fine. Have you bought the tickets? Is everyone on the same flight? When do you arrive in Queens? Are there things you want to do? Have you bought the transfers? Can you cancel them if it makes more sense? Do you have a hotel budget in mind? 

 

In some ways, everything else depends on those questions. When is the cruise, BTW? I don't see that in your original post. 

 

You potentially have a lot of options, and a free shuttle to and from the airport and the NCL shuttle to the pier could be the best, but it's equally likely it isn't.

We plan on purchasing airfare(Southwest) when the schedule opens up the first of April for September flights.  Our plan is for everyone to be on the same flight. I purchased the transfers from Norwegian when we booked the cruise, they were $150 per couple roundtrip. As for doing things while we're there, I plan on letting each couple decide that on their own.  Thank you so much for your input.   

[markeb]

Keep in mind that if you're staying in Queens, it's a ways from where things are that most people want to do. If you get in let's say late morning, and you want to see any of Manhattan, you really need to go to Manhattan and stay there. If you were there multiple days, you can get in and out fairly easily, but this is one day.

 

The NCL transfer is probably a good deal FROM the port. It may complicate things getting there.

 

How many rooms are you going to need? Keep in mind that most hotel rooms in Manhattan are on the small side. Two couples in a room may work, but it also may not. If you're needing 6 rooms and transportation for 12, it might be worth talking to a travel agent and see what they can do. Most of the hotel web sites limit how many rooms one person can book, and then they're all in the name of the person who booked them. It's also possible you can get a 16 passenger minibus for 12 people for no more, and maybe less, than the $450 you're paying to get from the airport to the cruise terminal. You'd need it twice, but a good TA can arrange that for you and bundle it. That could get you into Manhattan, somewhere in Midtown near the more common attractions, and a short ride the next morning to the cruise. Or you can split the group between cars if it saves money. But $75/couple from LGA to Midtown is crazy. With a car service, you'll pay by the car, not per person.

 

It's been awhile since I've stayed near La Guardia, but there's probably not going to be a lot to do. If you get in late in the day and just want to crash before the cruise, that's fine, but if you get into the city with time to do something, it will be frustrating.