Pier 88 access in NY

[Maplemoose]

Technically this question may belong in the ports board, but I am sure answers will be more readily available here as many people cruise NCL out of NY.  If I am staying close to the Pier, can we simply walk across 12 th Ave, from west 48th st. to enter.?  The reason I ask is because on Google street view it shows the gates closed with a long long way around requiring a drive.. Can I presume the pic was taken on a non-cruise day/time? I do remember walking straight in a number of years ago, TIA. 

[PistolPete13]

Google street view must've taken this photo at the height of Covid when everything was shut.

I've never seen this gate closed during normal hours.  Walk right across 12th Ave. and into the terminal!

[DwayneG]

We always stay at the Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West on 48th...easy 3 block walk to the pier, even with luggage.  Hotel is typical NYC, rooms small but free breakfast is a plus.  Times Square within walking district in the other direction.

[njhorseman]

17 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

Google street view must've taken this photo at the height of Covid when everything was shut.

I've never seen this gate closed during normal hours.  Walk right across 12th Ave. and into the terminal!

The gate is shut if there's no ship in port.

Here's a picture of what it looks like when a ship is docked:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pier+88/@40.7657629,-73.998347,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipNxXJ17CqFTJedTF_SnjnVrsmnv3nZN3diaHYuu!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNxXJ17CqFTJedTF_SnjnVrsmnv3nZN3diaHYuu%3Dw203-h270-k-no!7i3456!8i4608!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x89c2584f09e94a1f:0xba473501d28fb14d!2sW+48th+St+%26+12th+Ave,+New+York,+NY+10036!3b1!8m2!3d40.7655866!4d-73.9977934!3m4!1s0x89c2584f4497a2c1:0xf10504047c3638d1!8m2!3d40.7657629!4d-73.998347?hl=en

 

[cruiseny4life]

I too have walked through those humble gates on my way to several pleasurable NCL cruises. Beware of lots of whiny bicyclists. 🙂 

[Sand and Seas]

Great info!   Sailing out of NY is daunting for those of us who haven't been there in years.

 

I've made a note to check out the Holiday Inn mentioned above.  Any other hotel suggestions for easy walk to pier?

[cruiseny4life]

I enjoyed Ink 48. Really great location, just a couple blocks from the pier. They also have discounted parking rates at a garage on 45th. 

 

https://www.ink48.com/

 

We also stayed at The Fifty Sonesta which is a bit more of a walk, but manageable. We only had backpacks, so didn't mind. You might. It's on the opposite side of Manhattan Island, but almost a direct line to the pier. 

 

https://www.sonesta.com/sonesta-select/ny/new-york/fifty-sonesta-select-new-york

 

If I had to choose between the two, I'd select The Fifty Sonesta, or go back to Club Quarters WTC (but that's much more of a walk). I've stayed there when not cruising. 

[mking8288]

OP - rest assured, you can easily walk across 12th Avenue at W. 48th Street (it's a wide avenue, traffic-signal controlled with a pedestrian safety island in the middle for folks that are slower to get across) to access Pier 88 and Pier 90 via street level, choice of giant elevator and/or escalators when ship(s) is there, as it is a secured area & mainly locked when cruise ship isn't expected.  

 

Here are some pix of what it looked like, done for our upcoming roll call's purposes - post #187 has the street views that you are looking for.  

 

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by mking8288

[Oceansaway17]

1 hour ago, Sand and Seas said:

Great info!   Sailing out of NY is daunting for those of us who haven't been there in years.

 

I've made a note to check out the Holiday Inn mentioned above.  Any other hotel suggestions for easy walk to pier?

I feel the same way which is why I continue to use Port Liberty in NJ

[uneamie]

2 hours ago, DwayneG said:

We always stay at the Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West on 48th...easy 3 block walk to the pier, even with luggage.  Hotel is typical NYC, rooms small but free breakfast is a plus.  Times Square within walking district in the other direction.

May i ask where you park your car for the duration of the cruise? I ask because we have a "Park, Stay and Go" package at the Hampton Inn in Ridgefield Park hotel that has 

 transportation to and from the hotel to the port with free breakfast and parking all week. But it would be nice to stay in walking distance instead. I searched high and low for one in NYC that has free parking but none that I could see. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by uneamie

[DwayneG]

Never parked, we always fly in and get a van to hotel.

[cruiseny4life]

17 minutes ago, uneamie said:

May i ask where you park your car for the duration of the cruise? I ask because we have a "Park, Stay and Go" package at the Hampton Inn in Ridgefield Park hotel that has 

 transportation to and from the hotel to the port with free breakfast and parking all week. But it would be nice to stay in walking distance instead. I searched high and low for one in NYC that has free parking but none that I could see. 

I'd be beyond surprised if you find one with free parking. Discounted, like Ink48? Yes. Free....I'm laughing right now. It's NYC. 

 

Anyway, we cruised out of New York on New Year's Eve, returning last Sunday. We parked at the Hampton Inn and used their shuttle. Make sure you check into the hotel early as the shuttle times go quick. We originally were scheduled for the 10:30 AM shuttle to the pier. That didn't work for us as we wanted to get there early. Thankfully, I found someone who wanted to switch shuttles so we gave them our spot, and took their 8:30 shuttle time. 

 

Breakfast is a little below average for a hotel. Sausage, eggs, pastries, waffles. No potatoes, omelettes, bacon, etc. Not a big deal though. It was adequate and we certainly had plenty of everything on the cruise. 

 

Our ride back was easy. We met outside of Pier 90 and were picked up about 9 or 9:15. Do know that they have to take multiple shuttle runs from the hotel, so try to get off the ship early so you're first in that line. 

 

We paid $330 for the package, whereas if we had stayed in the city we easily would have been paying $1,000 for an ok hotel and parking. It was the day before New Year's Eve, after all. 

 

Have a great trip!

[njhorseman]

41 minutes ago, uneamie said:

I searched high and low for one in NYC that has free parking but none that I could see. 

There are none in NYC.

The nearest hotels with those packages are in NJ, such as the aforementioned Hampton Inn in Ridgefield Park.

[duckey.l]

@Sand and Seaswe are staying at Comfort Inn Manhattan Midtown West, 5 minute walk to pier. This is our first time out of NYC so don’t know what to expect. It is on West 48th St.

[The Traveling Man]

We have stayed at both the Holiday Inn Express as well as the Comfort Inn, located next door to each other on 48th Street at 11th Avenue.  It's a short walk, on a slight downhill slope, to the pier, and just a few blocks from Times Square and dozens of excellent restaurants. 

[kochleffel]

Of course you can walk in from 12th Avenue. I've walked out and crossed 12th to meet a ride.

 

For an upcoming cruise from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, instead of staying in New Jersey the night before, as I've done before, I'm parking at the Weehawken ferry terminal and staying in Midtown, in order to see a play. This is practical for one person, not economical for more because of the individual ferry fares.

 

[Travelling2Some]

3 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I feel the same way which is why I continue to use Port Liberty in NJ

Understandable considering you live in PA.  We, on the other hand, consider getting over to Port Liberty to be a Royal (get it?) pain in the butt compared to the very handy Manhattan terminal.  After the last time we sailed RCI we said we won't do it anymore cause it was too annoying and you don't get much of the beautiful sail out from Manhattan.  We also carefully explain to our guests that Newark Airport is NOT in NYC and Uber (not us) is their friend if they want to be picked up there - particularly during rush hour.

[uneamie]

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'd be beyond surprised if you find one with free parking. Discounted, like Ink48? Yes. Free....I'm laughing right now. It's NYC. 

 

Anyway, we cruised out of New York on New Year's Eve, returning last Sunday. We parked at the Hampton Inn and used their shuttle. Make sure you check into the hotel early as the shuttle times go quick. We originally were scheduled for the 10:30 AM shuttle to the pier. That didn't work for us as we wanted to get there early. Thankfully, I found someone who wanted to switch shuttles so we gave them our spot, and took their 8:30 shuttle time. 

 

Breakfast is a little below average for a hotel. Sausage, eggs, pastries, waffles. No potatoes, omelettes, bacon, etc. Not a big deal though. It was adequate and we certainly had plenty of everything on the cruise. 

 

Our ride back was easy. We met outside of Pier 90 and were picked up about 9 or 9:15. Do know that they have to take multiple shuttle runs from the hotel, so try to get off the ship early so you're first in that line. 

 

We paid $330 for the package, whereas if we had stayed in the city we easily would have been paying $1,000 for an ok hotel and parking. It was the day before New Year's Eve, after all. 

 

Have a great trip!

That that where we are booked...free parking, shuttle and breakfast. Thanks for the tip about the shuttle. Last time we did this there weren't that many people going to the pier. I'm not too eager to get there early since boarding is not till 11 anyway. 

[johnrich]

On 1/13/2023 at 4:25 PM, uneamie said:

May i ask where you park your car for the duration of the cruise? I ask because we have a "Park, Stay and Go" package at the Hampton Inn in Ridgefield Park hotel that has 

 transportation to and from the hotel to the port with free breakfast and parking all week. But it would be nice to stay in walking distance instead. I searched high and low for one in NYC that has free parking but none that I could see. 

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Ridgefield Park. The hotel room was nice but getting to the hotel and getting out is very confusing and sometimes difficult. You have to enter through a gas station parking lot. Exiting isn’t as confusing but when we were there it was very difficult to turn into the main road because of traffic. Just be careful

[cruiseny4life]

10 minutes ago, johnrich said:

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Ridgefield Park. The hotel room was nice but getting to the hotel and getting out is very confusing and sometimes difficult. You have to enter through a gas station parking lot. Exiting isn’t as confusing but when we were there it was very difficult to turn into the main road because of traffic. Just be careful

Oh gosh! The front desk guy warned me about entering the parking lot. The reviews all say getting off the highway is nuts. I was like, "how bad can it be?" Haha, well Fred, at the front desk, and the reviews, were spot on. We made it after possibly cutting off a few cars. I might be a NY driver. Definitely some honking and flashes of lights (not the blue and red variety) at me. For us, getting out was easy. I wasn't driving then. My husband, who's a bit more cautious, was. And we didn't have to wait long, but if it were rush hour on a weekday, I can see it being a lot more challenging.

Believe the reviews about getting in/out of the parking lot!

 

Apparently that gas station is being destroyed and a more safe entrance/exit to the hotel will be created. I heard the manager telling that to someone complaining about getting into the lot the night before. So, in a few months, it should be better. The gas station is definitely not open anymore and about to be demolished (or so it looks).