Best pier arrival time in NYC?

[Deacon22]

I am filling out the pre cruise info and they asked for an arrival time.  We are going on a Feb cruise where the ship will be 100%.  
 

I would love to know from people who have cruises recently what is the best time to arrive to the pier in NYC? I was thinking 12pm.   I am not in the Haven just a regular balcony room.  I am going with two teens so the less wait the better.  
Thanks. 

[anthonyg1996]

10ish is the time my family arrives at peir

[shof515]

I like 1pm , terminal is empty with little lines 

[AwesomO]

curious about this also. I selected 12:30-1 for us. I didn't see the need for us to rush over by 10. We live in NYC so travel to the port isn't an issue. I might even send the kids to school in the morning and just pick them up early. But I know check in doesn't necessarily mean boarding time so I'm hoping I don't regret it. I'm not concerned about dinner reservations or anything since I did those online already, and the Gem doesn't do show reservations. There's no Vibe pass to rush for. so I just hope I'm not missing something.

Edited January 28, 2023 by AwesomO

[BirdTravels]

26 minutes ago, Deacon22 said:

I am filling out the pre cruise info and they asked for an arrival time.  We are going on a Feb cruise where the ship will be 100%.  
 

I would love to know from people who have cruises recently what is the best time to arrive to the pier in NYC? I was thinking 12pm.   I am not in the Haven just a regular balcony room.  I am going with two teens so the less wait the better.  
Thanks. 

9:30. Get through security and check in quickly and get onboard quickly. If you are on a big ship, you will want to be onboard to make entertainment reservations and adjust dining. Then have your first drink and lunch. 
 

New York Security Lines

[mjkacmom]

We live 20 minutes away and get the earliest check in offered. We like to have lunch in the MDR, we have a food restriction (celiac) and the dietary manager always comes to our table to discuss dinner options. Cabins are usually available when we are done, drop off carry on bags and head to muster (which I think is coming back).

[kitkat343]

We boarded late for the getaway  from NY (12:30 pm).  I was still able to add the one dining reservation I didn't get ahead of time (Ocean Blue).  If you have a lot of reservations to make that really matter to you or you'd like to have a normal timed first lunch on the ship, board early.  If your priority is to avoid lines, generally your best bet is to board as late as possible.  

Edited January 28, 2023 by kitkat343

[Deacon22]

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

We boarded late for the getaway  from NY (12:30 pm).  I was still able to add the one dining reservation I didn't get ahead of time (Ocean Blue).  If you have a lot of reservations to make that really matter to you or you'd like to have a normal timed first lunch on the ship, board early.  If your priority is to avoid lines, generally your best bet is to board as late as possible.  

I have all the reservations made already except entertainment.  

[Treasure Hunter]

10:00. The lines will be moving by then and by the time you get through security and check in it will be time to board.

[Langham1865]

I'm a get to the pier early person... May as well get the most out of the time on board!!  9:30 am, even if I have to wait a bit to board, I like to enjoy as much time as I can on the ship, which is what we pay for!

[MaggieNY]

I'm with @Langham1865, get there early. When they say ##-day cruise, they're counting the embarkation day. Get on board early and get your money's worth!

 

You don't say what day of the week your cruise leaves. We've gone out of NYC twice, both on a Sunday, and we got down to the port around 9:30 am.  Traffic is much better earlier in the morning on a Sunday. We have a 90-minute drive from north of the city.  If our cruise had departed on a weekday, we would have waited for rush-hour traffic from our area down to NYC to clear up before driving down.

[Deacon22]

4 hours ago, MaggieNY said:

I'm with @Langham1865, get there early. When they say ##-day cruise, they're counting the embarkation day. Get on board early and get your money's worth!

 

You don't say what day of the week your cruise leaves. We've gone out of NYC twice, both on a Sunday, and we got down to the port around 9:30 am.  Traffic is much better earlier in the morning on a Sunday. We have a 90-minute drive from north of the city.  If our cruise had departed on a weekday, we would have waited for rush-hour traffic from our area down to NYC to clear up before driving down.

It leaves on a Saturday.   We must live near each other.  1 1/2 from the city.   Getting dropped off so not worried about that.  Just really worried about the kids standing around.  I don’t want to be a referee.  😁

[HBCcruiser]

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

9:30. Get through security and check in quickly and get onboard quickly. If you are on a big ship, you will want to be onboard to make entertainment reservations and adjust dining. Then have your first drink and lunch. 
 

New York Security Lines

What time do the doors to the port open if you know? 

Edited January 29, 2023 by HBCcruiser

[MaggieNY]

On 1/28/2023 at 7:13 PM, Deacon22 said:

We must live near each other.  1 1/2 from the city

We're about 10 miles east of Poughkeepsie.

 

The first time we left out of NYC in 2015, we got to the port around 9:30 and made it onto the ship around 11:00. That was back in the day when the check in took a lot longer because they took everyone's pictures, took the credit card information, then had to print up the key cards. We were constantly moving so there was no time to be bored.

 

The 2nd time was in 2021, after everything started opening up after Covid. We uploaded our pictures and credit card information about 3 weeks in advance, so the pre-boarding check in was very fast. The longest wait we had was waiting for our Covid test results at the port. We made it onto the ship by about 11:00. 

 

Last year, we left out of Tampa. Again, we uploaded our pictures and credit card information before we even left NY. We had a 12:30 check in time but we got to the port at 9:30. We dropped our luggage off with the porters, saw the line was really long, so we went for a walk on the riverfront park and then out to Publix to buy a few bottles of wine. When we got back at 11:00, the line was much shorter. We checked in - it only took about 10 minutes - then we were on the ship by about 11:30.

 

The lines seem to move pretty fast so I don't think you'll be stuck in line for hours.

[Deacon22]

I opted for 12.  I don’t care about getting on the ship the earliest possible.  We have 8 days.  Thanks everyone for their input.