NYC Cruise terminal

[Holly g]

What is the terminal like?  Bare bones or pretty nice?  Do they have separate areas for different levels?  Is it chaos or are there plenty of 

staff( NCL or otherwise). Cruising in October so wondering what it will be like.  Thanks

[mjkacmom]

Parking is easy but expensive. When we were on the breakaway there wasn’t enough seating in the terminal. Back in the day there could be lines at customs after getting off, grabbing a porter saves time.

[njhorseman]

It's too small for the larger ships of the Breakaway and Breakaway + classes, leading to chaos and a lack of adequate seating, but adequate for the smaller Jewel class ships. 

Parking is on the roof and very convenient and secure. $40 per night is expensive for cruise ports but cheap for Manhattan. 

[steveknj]

To me it felt like a small airport terminal without the places to buy food.   It can get a bit crowded feeling, but not obnoxious.  We were on the Getaway in March and because of the required testing it was kind of spread out with people testing and people checking in and I suppose people waiting (by the time we finished our tests...due to some issues with my son's test, it was after 12 and we went right on board).  As far as parking, we used to take the but and taxi from Port Authority, but due to covid issues we drove in last time and parked at the terminal.  It's pricey as people have said, but it's super easy and convenient.  I don't think we'll ever bother with the bus/taxi combo again.  I'm on vacation!!  The less hassle the better!

[Beer Belly]

16 minutes ago, steveknj said:

To me it felt like a small airport terminal without the places to buy food.   It can get a bit crowded feeling, but not obnoxious.  We were on the Getaway in March and because of the required testing it was kind of spread out with people testing and people checking in and I suppose people waiting (by the time we finished our tests...due to some issues with my son's test, it was after 12 and we went right on board).  

We had our test already in hand before arriving at the terminal, it went pretty quick once we hit the "zig zag" line. I agree, it's like a small airport without food. For transportation, we hired a car to and from the Port, easy peasy. Have all your paper work out and at the ready, breeze on thru.

[IronRobi]

Only sailed out of there once a few years back in the month of Nov.

Took an Uber from the hotel to the port. Was in line for about 15 minutes to go through security. Once we went through the scanners it was as-if we had the place to ourselves. Walked right up to the check-in counter with no line and then walked right onto the ship. I could not believe how smooth it went.

[KayRaeRae]

It took us 6 hours to board Getaway there in April.  Never again. 

[dexddd]

1 hour ago, KayRaeRae said:

It took us 6 hours to board Getaway there in April.  Never again. 

Even with reduced counts?  How full was the ship?

 

 

[steveknj]

2 hours ago, KayRaeRae said:

It took us 6 hours to board Getaway there in April.  Never again. 

Did you have some issues that took you 6 hours?  I've never had to wait that long unless we had an issue, like with my son's covid test.  Otherwise we would have been done in less than an hour even WITH required testing.

[cruiseny4life]

50 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Even with reduced counts?  How full was the ship?

 

 

Our ship was over full occupancy. YAY Easter break. There's a few threads on our trip, and of course, you can always read my review (because why not shamelessly plug it) - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=686418. 

 

The Bermuda Travel Authorization threw NCL and MCT staff for a loop so we got to enjoy a 3 - 8 hour line. I was in the 3 hour line, but a lot of folks were in that dreaded 8 hour line. We left NYC at 11:59 PM, instead of at our scheduled 4 PM time. 

 

Even after that experience, I'm happy to report I'll be on another Getaway cruise from NYC in less than 18 days!!! 🙂

[Trappedontheboat]

18 hours ago, Holly g said:

What is the terminal like?  Bare bones or pretty nice?  Do they have separate areas for different levels?  Is it chaos or are there plenty of 

staff( NCL or otherwise). Cruising in October so wondering what it will be like.  Thanks

Nothing special about the place. It is like walking into the car garage. Just a little bit nicer.

[Twinsplus1]

We were just there last week. Sailed on the Joy at full capacity. We drove in and parked right at the pier, which was expensive but worth it because it was so easy. The actual terminal is nice. Like an airport, not like a car garage like someone else said. Get there early or get there late. We arrived at 9:30 am and we were onboard about a half hour after they started boarding at 11. The check in process was efficient because they break you up into groups of what deck you are on so you aren't waiting to check in with everyone else on the ship. Once checked in, it get chaotic because most people weren't given a boarding group pass and we all had to find someone to get one. You could not board without a boarding pass sign, so be sure to get one. The actual check in took us about 20 minutes in line though, so i don't think it was that bad. Of course the higher levels, Haven and priority boarded first but that was really fast. 

 

Aside from it not being well organized and us not knowing how it worked, it was fine. No complaints. Now we know to get there early (like we did) and get a boarding pass right away at the counter.

[KayRaeRae]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

Even with reduced counts?  How full was the ship?

 

 

Over 100% full.  It was a school vacation week. 

[KayRaeRae]

26 minutes ago, steveknj said:

Did you have some issues that took you 6 hours?  I've never had to wait that long unless we had an issue, like with my son's covid test.  Otherwise we would have been done in less than an hour even WITH required testing.

No issues, other than having 4 workers checking in 4,000 people.  

[cruiseny4life]

7 minutes ago, Twinsplus1 said:

We were just there last week. Sailed on the Joy at full capacity. We drove in and parked right at the pier, which was expensive but worth it because it was so easy. The actual terminal is nice. Like an airport, not like a car garage like someone else said. Get there early or get there late. We arrived at 9:30 am and we were onboard about a half hour after they started boarding at 11. The check in process was efficient because they break you up into groups of what deck you are on so you aren't waiting to check in with everyone else on the ship. Once checked in, it get chaotic because most people weren't given a boarding group pass and we all had to find someone to get one. You could not board without a boarding pass sign, so be sure to get one. The actual check in took us about 20 minutes in line though, so i don't think it was that bad. Of course the higher levels, Haven and priority boarded first but that was really fast. 

 

Aside from it not being well organized and us not knowing how it worked, it was fine. No complaints. Now we know to get there early (like we did) and get a boarding pass right away at the counter.

Thank you! It's so nice to hear this...far different than my last experience. My first experience was on Carnival back in 2009 so I can't exactly remember what it was like.

 

I hope you had a great voyage! 

[Trappedontheboat]

21 minutes ago, Twinsplus1 said:

We were just there last week. Sailed on the Joy at full capacity. We drove in and parked right at the pier, which was expensive but worth it because it was so easy. The actual terminal is nice. Like an airport, not like a car garage like someone else said. Get there early or get there late. We arrived at 9:30 am and we were onboard about a half hour after they started boarding at 11. The check in process was efficient because they break you up into groups of what deck you are on so you aren't waiting to check in with everyone else on the ship. Once checked in, it get chaotic because most people weren't given a boarding group pass and we all had to find someone to get one. You could not board without a boarding pass sign, so be sure to get one. The actual check in took us about 20 minutes in line though, so i don't think it was that bad. Of course the higher levels, Haven and priority boarded first but that was really fast. 

 

Aside from it not being well organized and us not knowing how it worked, it was fine. No complaints. Now we know to get there early (like we did) and get a boarding pass right away at the counter.

ok. I a little bit exaggerated. But still, after walking in some stunning train stations and airports, it did not impress at all

[Peachypooh]

It is OK. However we were in the Haven waiting area. Even then we were amused when pigeons were walking into the Haven check in area probably looking for crumbs dropped by people eating the free food. They have enough bathrooms at least but little else. It is sort of like a big warehouse like Costco

but without the Costco items for sale LOL

[Holly g]

Thanks for all the responses.

[nferr]

15 hours ago, KayRaeRae said:

It took us 6 hours to board Getaway there in April.  Never again. 

 Wow. Took about 45 minutes to board the Epic in April.

[Topdog52]

On 8/16/2022 at 3:29 PM, Beer Belly said:

We had our test already in hand before arriving at the terminal, it went pretty quick once we hit the "zig zag" line. I agree, it's like a small airport without food. For transportation, we hired a car to and from the Port, easy peasy. Have all your paper work out and at the ready, breeze on thru.

Did they drop you off in front of the pier on 12th st. or did they drive up the ramp and drop you off somewhere else. I would like to know where to tell the taxie or uber to go. TIA!!

[shof515]

14 minutes ago, Topdog52 said:

Did they drop you off in front of the pier on 12th st. or did they drive up the ramp and drop you off somewhere else. I would like to know where to tell the taxie or uber to go. TIA!!

all the times i take a uber to the port they drive up the ramp. in front of the terminal is the drop off zone for ubers, taxi and regular cars with porters helping with luggage

Edited August 18, 2022 by shof515

[Topdog52]

23 hours ago, shof515 said:

all the times i take a uber to the port they drive up the ramp. in front of the terminal is the drop off zone for ubers, taxi and regular cars with porters helping with luggage

TY. When you say in front of the terminal are you talking about in front of the terminal on 12th up the ramp?

[shof515]

7 hours ago, Topdog52 said:

TY. When you say in front of the terminal are you talking about in front of the terminal on 12th up the ramp?

yes up the ramp

[AACJ]

Are they requiring masks while in the cruise terminal?  Even if you have a document of recovery from a recent case?