Taking the ferry from Penn Station to Red Hook

[disneyochem]

Hello.  We will be arriving in NYC via Amtrak (Keystone) at 11 am on Saturday, October 8.  We’d like to take the ferry to the Brooklyn cruise port.  We’re in no hurry to rush to the ship so taking the ferry sounds fun.  We tend to travel lightly—one carry one suitcase and backpack each.  After reading advice on these boards, here is our plan:

 

Arrive in NYC,  taxi to the East 34th Street Pier, board the Southview Ferry to Wall Street Pier, transfer to the South Brooklyn route and get off at Red Hook.

 

Just a couple of questions:  is taking a taxi the best way to get to the 34th St pier?  If it’s a nice day, I wouldn’t mind walking after being in a train for a couple of hours!  If the weather is bad or our train is running late and we need to go the the cruise port quickly, which is the better option:  taxi or Uber? Approximate cost?
 

Thanks!  It’s been a few years since I’ve cruised from NYC.  This cruise is our first from Red Hook.

[njhorseman]

9 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

Hello.  We will be arriving in NYC via Amtrak (Keystone) at 11 am on Saturday, October 8.  We’d like to take the ferry to the Brooklyn cruise port.  We’re in no hurry to rush to the ship so taking the ferry sounds fun.  We tend to travel lightly—one carry one suitcase and backpack each.  After reading advice on these boards, here is our plan:

 

Arrive in NYC,  taxi to the East 34th Street Pier, board the Southview Ferry to Wall Street Pier, transfer to the South Brooklyn route and get off at Red Hook.

 

Just a couple of questions:  is taking a taxi the best way to get to the 34th St pier?  If it’s a nice day, I wouldn’t mind walking after being in a train for a couple of hours!  If the weather is bad or our train is running late and we need to go the the cruise port quickly, which is the better option:  taxi or Uber? Approximate cost?
 

Thanks!  It’s been a few years since I’ve cruised from NYC.  This cruise is our first from Red Hook.

It's about 1 1/2 miles from Penn Station to the East 34th St. ferry terminal.  That might be longer than most would be willing to walk with luggage .

Taxi or Uber would work. Taxi might be $10-$15 but could more with heavy traffic, and crosstown traffic can get very heavy. As I'm writing this UberX is quoting a fare of about $20.

if the weather's bad you may want to consider Uber from the train directly to the cruise terminal rther than taking two ferries. as I write I'm getting a quote of about $43 for UberX.

[disneyochem]

5 hours ago, njhorseman said:

It's about 1 1/2 miles from Penn Station to the East 34th St. ferry terminal.  That might be longer than most would be willing to walk with luggage .

Taxi or Uber would work. Taxi might be $10-$15 but could more with heavy traffic, and crosstown traffic can get very heavy. As I'm writing this UberX is quoting a fare of about $20.

if the weather's bad you may want to consider Uber from the train directly to the cruise terminal rther than taking two ferries. as I write I'm getting a quote of about $43 for UberX.

Perfect.  Thanks.

[lx200gps]

One note of caution re the NY ferries, particularly on the Hudson side. Be sure to check the schedules carefully, as not all ferries run on weekends, though hopefully the one you want does.. Some stops and times are weekday and rush hour only. That being said, the ferry system is great, and they are very easy to use and very convenient even for people towing luggage.

[navybankerteacher]

20 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

One note of caution re the NY ferries, particularly on the Hudson side. Be sure to check the schedules carefully, as not all ferries run on weekends, though hopefully the one you want does.. Some stops and times are weekday and rush hour only. That being said, the ferry system is great, and they are very easy to use and very convenient even for people towing luggage.

OP is talking about East River ferries.  The earlier post made a good point about the weather - best to see what is happening on the day, and perhaps Uber all the way, although a couple of ferry rides can be  a great way to start a cruise.

[lx200gps]

7 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

OP is talking about East River ferries.  The earlier post made a good point about the weather - best to see what is happening on the day, and perhaps Uber all the way, although a couple of ferry rides can be  a great way to start a cruise.

Fair enough. There are too many numbered streets in Manhattan ;o) and we had recently used the ferry terminal on 39th St in Midtown, which is also close to Penn Station, though on the Hudson side. In our case, I couldn't find weekend ferries from there to Pier 11, but there should be no such issues with East River ferries from 34th to Pier 11. Thanks for the clarification

[GTJ]

On 10/2/2022 at 10:35 AM, disneyochem said:

We will be arriving in NYC via Amtrak (Keystone) at 11 am on Saturday, October 8. We’d like to take the ferry to the Brooklyn cruise port. We’re in no hurry to rush to the ship so taking the ferry sounds fun. We tend to travel lightly—one carry one suitcase and backpack each. After reading advice on these boards, here is our plan:

 

Arrive in NYC, taxi to the East 34th Street Pier, board the Southview Ferry to Wall Street Pier, transfer to the South Brooklyn route and get off at Red Hook.

 

Just a couple of questions:  is taking a taxi the best way to get to the 34th St pier? If it’s a nice day, I wouldn’t mind walking after being in a train for a couple of hours! If the weather is bad or our train is running late and we need to go the the cruise port quickly, which is the better option:  taxi or Uber? Approximate cost?

Overall, a good plan for enjoying a nice day in New York City. A few comments.

 

If it is a nice day and you're traveling light, consider walking from Pennsylvania Station to the East 34th Street pier. It is less than 1-1/2 miles, about 30 minutes on foot. Note that the East 34th Street ferry pier is actually located between East 35th Street and East 36th Street. You would get to see much more up close by walking crosstown on 34th Street than you would by traveling any other way, and if something should be appealing (Macy's?) you could stop along the way. It is an easy walk and it would be my choice if I was not pressed for time and weather was not an issue. Alternatively, you could travel on the M34 crosstown bus. Buy your bus ticket before boarding from the machine at the bus stop ($2.75 each, coins only), on the south side of West 34th Street, just east of Eighth Avenue . . . the M34 bus (not the M34A bus) goes direct to the East 34th Street pier. You might also choose to travel by taxi . . . there are so many taxis it would not seem worthwhile trying to arrange for Uber and then trying to locate one specific car within a busy area to transport you such a short distance. Taxi fare should be about $10, assuming no traffic delays.

 

At the East 34th Street pier do not be fixated on just the Soundview ferry route. The ferries along each route do not operate that often--on Saturdays the Soundview ferries come by every 40 minutes--so it might be best to just board whichever ferry comes by first. The travel times for the various routes, from East 34th Street to Pier 11, do not vary all that much: 17 minutes via Soundview route (every 40 minutes), 24 minutes via Astoria route (every 38 minutes), 36 minutes via East River route (every 19 minutes). Regardless of initial route, it is then a free transfer at Pier 11 to the South Brooklyn ferry, and a 15-minute trip (every 33 minutes) to Red Hook.

 

The Keystone trains from Harrisburg, while as plain and nondescript as can be (and these days even lacking a café car), their timekeeping tends to be good (all is dispatched by Amtrak and rarely is there any interference with freight). I would expect arrival in New York to on or very close to schedule absent most unusual circumstances. The fare for the segment between Harrisburg and Philadelphia is relatively inexpensive, but the fare for the segment between Philadelphia and New York can be rather steep at times. Because of this some people choose to use transportation other than Amtrak between Philadelphia and New York.

[disneyochem]

21 hours ago, GTJ said:

Overall, a good plan for enjoying a nice day in New York City. A few comments.

 

If it is a nice day and you're traveling light, consider walking from Pennsylvania Station to the East 34th Street pier. It is less than 1-1/2 miles, about 30 minutes on foot. Note that the East 34th Street ferry pier is actually located between East 35th Street and East 36th Street. You would get to see much more up close by walking crosstown on 34th Street than you would by traveling any other way, and if something should be appealing (Macy's?) you could stop along the way. It is an easy walk and it would be my choice if I was not pressed for time and weather was not an issue. Alternatively, you could travel on the M34 crosstown bus. Buy your bus ticket before boarding from the machine at the bus stop ($2.75 each, coins only), on the south side of West 34th Street, just east of Eighth Avenue . . . the M34 bus (not the M34A bus) goes direct to the East 34th Street pier. You might also choose to travel by taxi . . . there are so many taxis it would not seem worthwhile trying to arrange for Uber and then trying to locate one specific car within a busy area to transport you such a short distance. Taxi fare should be about $10, assuming no traffic delays.

 

At the East 34th Street pier do not be fixated on just the Soundview ferry route. The ferries along each route do not operate that often--on Saturdays the Soundview ferries come by every 40 minutes--so it might be best to just board whichever ferry comes by first. The travel times for the various routes, from East 34th Street to Pier 11, do not vary all that much: 17 minutes via Soundview route (every 40 minutes), 24 minutes via Astoria route (every 38 minutes), 36 minutes via East River route (every 19 minutes). Regardless of initial route, it is then a free transfer at Pier 11 to the South Brooklyn ferry, and a 15-minute trip (every 33 minutes) to Red Hook.

 

The Keystone trains from Harrisburg, while as plain and nondescript as can be (and these days even lacking a café car), their timekeeping tends to be good (all is dispatched by Amtrak and rarely is there any interference with freight). I would expect arrival in New York to on or very close to schedule absent most unusual circumstances. The fare for the segment between Harrisburg and Philadelphia is relatively inexpensive, but the fare for the segment between Philadelphia and New York can be rather steep at times. Because of this some people choose to use transportation other than Amtrak between Philadelphia and New York.

Thanks for the info, especially about the ferry.

 

Bought our train tickets 11months ago.  Cheapest option at the time.  And I get rewards points!

 
Boarding our flight to Philadelphia today!