Cape Liberty, LaGuardia Airport and Manhattan New York

[tj_shopper]

There are 12 of us in my group going on Oasis of the Seas on June 5 out of Cape Liberty.  It's a 5 day cruise going to Halifax and Saint John Newfoundland.  A couple of questions for you New Yorkers and anyone who is familiar with the weather in Canada at this time of year.

1. What will the weather be like on this cruise in early June?  We have a couple of sea days.  Will it be warm enough to be pool side?
2. We are flying in on Friday, June 3rd into LaGuardia Airport.  We're staying at Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District.  Will there be a lot of traffic from LaGuardia to the Financial District on a Friday afternoon around 4:00 p.m.?
3. Do you know the approximate cost of a taxi from LaGuardia Airport to our hotel at the Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District?  Wondering if it would be better to hire a car service.  We have four families going - parties of 4, 4, 2 and 2.  We don't have to be in the same car together.  Just wondering if it would be cheaper for all of us to get our own Uber/Lyft or try a car service with a van for all of us. 
4. Any idea how much an Uber/Lyft would cost from LaGuardia to our hotel?
5. How about Uber/Lyft from Cape Liberty to LaGuardia?  Our flight out of LaGuardia is on Friday, June 10th at 1:00 p.m.

Thank you!

[princeton123211]

5 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

A couple of questions for you New Yorkers and anyone who is familiar with the weather in Canada at this time of year.

We did a very similar cruise over the 4th of July five or so years ago-- it's a nice get away. 

 

6 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

What will the weather be like on this cruise in early June?  We have a couple of sea days.  Will it be warm enough to be pool side?

Depends on what your threshold for cooler temps is-- average temp in Halifax that time of year is high 60s. The day from New York and the day coming back were warm and what you would expect. I would be prepared for it to be a bit cooler though headed north. 

 

8 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

We are flying in on Friday, June 3rd into LaGuardia Airport.  We're staying at Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District.  Will there be a lot of traffic from LaGuardia to the Financial District on a Friday afternoon around 4:00 p.m.?

It will be standard evening rush hour by the time you get into the car-- also add some time in as you'll be headed downtown. It would have been a bit less time to have stayed in midtown and transportation costs would be a little bit less as well.  

 

9 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

Do you know the approximate cost of a taxi from LaGuardia Airport to our hotel at the Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District?  Wondering if it would be better to hire a car service.  We have four families going - parties of 4, 4, 2 and 2.  We don't have to be in the same car together.  Just wondering if it would be cheaper for all of us to get our own Uber/Lyft or try a car service with a van for all of us. 

You could hire a large van through a service like Dial 7 or Carmel for about $200 to your hotel. Or just use a few UberX or UberXLs and split the group up. I would only do the one large van if everyone was arriving on the same flight or else it will be a lot of standing around and waiting. 

 

12 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

Any idea how much an Uber/Lyft would cost from LaGuardia to our hotel?

UberX is going to be about $60 and UberXL about $80. 

 

13 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

How about Uber/Lyft from Cape Liberty to LaGuardia?  Our flight out of LaGuardia is on Friday, June 10th at 1:00 p.m.

UberX is about $100 and UberXL is about $120. 

[GTJ]

4 hours ago, tj_shopper said:

There are 12 of us in my group going on Oasis of the Seas on June 5 out of Cape Liberty.  It's a 5 day cruise going to Halifax and Saint John Newfoundland.

You may want to review your plans. The June 5, 2022, departure of the Oasis of the Seas is not scheduled to visit St. John's Newfoundland. Instead, it is scheduled to visit Saint John, New Brunswick. Two very different places. You should make certain that the vessel will be going to the place you actually want to visit.

 

4 hours ago, tj_shopper said:

We are flying in on Friday, June 3rd into LaGuardia Airport. * * * Will there be a lot of traffic from LaGuardia to the Financial District on a Friday afternoon around 4:00 p.m.?

Yes. It is the reverse direction of rush hour, so probably not too bad heading into Manhattan, but there will be a good amount of traffic on the F.D.R. Drive.

[tj_shopper]

Princeton123211 - thank you for your replies.  Lots to think about.  I'll check all the prices and see which ones benefit us.  We are all traveling on the same flight into New York and we're staying at the same hotel, so I guess the van would work for all of us.

 

GTJ - you are so right!  We are going to Saint John, New Brunswick - my bad.  Is there a way to edit my original post?  I can't seem to figure out how to do that.  Thanks for catching my error.  Also good to know that when we get into New York, it is in the opposite direction of rush hour and shouldn't be too bad.

[GTJ]

21 hours ago, tj_shopper said:

Is there a way to edit my original post?

There's only a relatively short period of time in which responses be edited, after which we're stuck with what we have written.

 

I have read a few cases where similarly-named places have caused confusion and unanticipated consequences. People flying to the "wrong" place. Reserving a rental car in Manhattan, Kansas, instead of New York City (and if you go to Union Station in Chicago, and buy a railroad ticket to "Manhattan," you will end up in Manhattan, Illinois, an exurb of Chicago!). Humorous in retrospect but something that can be frustrating at the time. Saint John is one of those places. Earlier this year I sailed to St. John's . . . in Antigua and Barbuda! And I had previously traveled overland to St. John's in Newfoundland, as well as to Saint John in New Brunswick. (Interestingly, the place in New Brunswick always has the word "Saint" spelled out in full, never abbreviated as "St.") When I read your initial post, I got rather concerned that you might have been doing all the reading and research as to visiting St. John's in Newfoundland, and then becoming utterly confused, and possibly disappointed, when the vessel docked at Saint John in New Brunswick! Good to catch it now.

 

A number of years ago I worked in Jamaica, Queens, and I would sometimes head into Manhattan afterwards. So I would be traveling against the peak travel direction, using the Queens-Midtown Tunnel around the same time you will be doing so. There would be some traffic here and there within Queens, but my drivers knew their way around any back-ups that might exist, and there might be a short queue for getting into the tunnel, but nothing terrible. I would anticipate some delay, but not miles-and-miles of back-up . . . and there's usually enough redundancy that a good driver can get around anything severe. In short, it will be rush hour, but don't get too worked up over it.

[tj_shopper]

@GTJ - Thank you!  Yes, I was very confused when researching the port we will be visiting.  However, I did see the difference but then wrote the wrong thing when I asked my question.  Wouldn't you know it lol?

 

If you've been to Saint John in New Brunswick, is there anything you can recommend for us to visit and see?  I've been there a few years back on the same cruise, but I honestly don't remember what we did except walk around that indoor fruit market.

 

Also, I think we're just going to go with a car service - most probably Carmel Limo.  I just want to reserve it and be done - not having to worry about setting up Uber or Lyft when we get there.  I would think those drivers are used to the traffic and know the best routes to take.

 

Thanks!

[princeton123211]

On 4/2/2022 at 10:25 AM, tj_shopper said:

not having to worry about setting up Uber or Lyft when we get there.  I would think those drivers are used to the traffic and know the best routes to take.

They are actually the exact same drivers that are on Uber/Lyft, but Carmel or Dial7 allows you to book in advance and lock in a rate. Not really necessary with a small group but will make a alot of sense for a bigger group like yours. 

[GTJ]

On 4/2/2022 at 10:25 AM, tj_shopper said:

If you've been to Saint John in New Brunswick, is there anything you can recommend for us to visit and see? I've been there a few years back on the same cruise, but I honestly don't remember what we did except walk around that indoor fruit market.

 

Also, I think we're just going to go with a car service - most probably Carmel Limo.  I just want to reserve it and be done - not having to worry about setting up Uber or Lyft when we get there.  I would think those drivers are used to the traffic and know the best routes to take.

 

Thanks!

When I went to Saint John it was overland rather than by cruise vessel. It was a bus tour--I belong to a bus history group, and we went to tour the various bus companies, garages, and transit centers in and around Saint John--so absent an interest in that type of tour I can't give much advice. Prior to that tour I had stayed in Moncton and did a tour to the Hopewell Rocks, near Saint John, and while I can give a thumbs up to that site, you will need more than that alone to fill the day.

 

I tend not to get all that anxious over the questions of taxis vs. taxi-like (e.g., Uber) vs. car, and for a short transfer I will wait until arrival to make such arrangements. What I don't like about making arrangements is being compelled to travel in a specific vehicle, rather than being able to simply hail the first vehicle that comes along when we're ready to travel (though this works well only if you can distinguish between the legitimate rides and the illegal rides). Most recently my wife and I came back from a cruise in February, arriving in Bayonne, and only once we were on the sidewalk outside the passenger terminal did we arrange for an Uber ride to the nearby light rail station, for which we waited about ten minutes for the car's arrival (ordinarily we would just use public transportation to the entire journey, but no buses at the terminal in Bayonne). For a group the size you have one possibility is to make arrangements for a charter bus--with 12 passengers you could get a cutaway or van--and possibly save a few dollars over hiring several taxis or cars. But whichever way you go, the drivers generally know their way around and will take good care of you.