Best (reasonable price, quick, safe, least stress) transport method to NYC Princess Cruise Terminal from Moynahan Station

[muse_clio]

Hi,

Thanks to the East Coasters for lots of good info. Two questions on NYC Cruise Terminal that I have after having read several posts already.

1) Is the NYC Princess Cruise Terminal the Brooklyn Terminal or the Manhattan Terminal?  The Princess site is slightly vague.

2) Please help me identify the best transport options to reduce risk and stress (i.e., "balance of reasonable price, quick, safe, least hassle") from Moynahan Station to the Princess Cruise Terminal the day of the cruise. One thread speaks of the ferry, driving service, uber/lyft, and taxi, but I'm a bit hazy on the details.  

 

We arrive for a 4 November Princess cruise on 4 NOV scheduled around 11 am from the DC area on the Vermonter. Likely we can negotiate the city streets for a couple blocks with our luggage--we travel light, but I am recovering from an ankle injury so a long walk is not viable. If a driving service is recommended, I'm all ears for a recommendation. 

 

Please don't belabor the risks. I know them. There's a very active thread on a similar question, including all the dangers of arriving the day of the cruise. This is the first time in 18 cruises we've arrived day of cruise, and we can't avoid it. Please help me identify the best options to reduce risk and stress given the situation. 

 

thanks in advance!

muse_clio

Edited July 16, 2023 by muse_clio

[njhorseman]

19 minutes ago, muse_clio said:

Hi,

Thanks to the East Coasters for lots of good info. Two questions on NYC Cruise Terminal that I have after having read several posts already.

1) Is the NYC Princess Cruise Terminal the Brooklyn Terminal or the Manhattan Terminal?  The Princess site is slightly vague.

2) Please advise me on the best (e.g., "balance of reasonable price, quick, safe, least hassle") transport mode from Moynahan Station to the Princess Cruise Terminal the day of the cruise. One thread speaks of the ferry, driving service, uber/lyft, and taxi, but I'm a bit hazy on the details.  

 

We arrive 4 November Princess cruise on 4 NOV around 11 am from the DC area on the Vermonter. Likely we can negotiate the city streets for a couple blocks with our luggage--we travel light, but I am recovering from an ankle injury so a long walk is not viable. There's a very active thread on a similar question, including all the dangers of arriving the day of the cruise. This is the first time in 18 cruises we've arrived day of: this time we can't avoid it. If a driving service is recommended, I'm all ears for a recommendation. 

 

Yes, I know the risks. Please don't belabor those. I'm looking for the best options to reduce risk and stress given the situation. 

 

thanks in advance!

muse_clio

Your ship will be docked at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

 

As NY City taxi drivers reportedly sometimes have a difficult time finding the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal I'd recommend using Uber or Lyft. You can book your ride after you've gotten off the train.

 

The pick up area for ride share services is adjacent to the station entrance on 33rd St between 8th and 9th Ave.

If for some reason you want to take a taxi, there's a taxi stand on the 31st St. side of the station.

 

Or you could book  car service such as Carmel Limo or Dial 7. They should also pick up on the 33rd Street side.

 

Any of the above will involve minimal walking.

Edited July 16, 2023 by njhorseman

[muse_clio]

14 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Your ship will be docked at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

 

As NY City taxi drivers reportedly…..

Much appreciate the info, njhorseman. Quick investigation indicates private car service to allay any stress is worth the cost. Appreciate the recommendations. If anyone else has recommendations or tips, I’m appreciative. 

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, muse_clio said:

Quick investigation indicates private car service to allay any stress is worth the cost. Appreciate the recommendations. If anyone else has recommendations or tips, I’m appreciative. 

Its really quite a short ride even for a car service like Carmel or Dial7-- an Uber/Lyft will most likely be less expensive and just as easy. Honestly coming out of Penn Station/Moynihan Hall finding a prearranged car service can be much more difficult than finding an Uber on the app in real time. 

[GTJ]

3 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

[C]oming out of Penn Station/Moynihan Hall finding a prearranged car service can be much more difficult than finding an Uber on the app in real time. 

Any type of pre-arranged service will induce stress because of the need to find the one specific vehicle that has been so pre-arranged. Most times when I have had a pre-arranged service (typically Uber) it has been a hassle for the driver to find me in the crowd, and for me to find that one particular driver. It is stressful to know that I will be charged for the pre-arranged service in any case, and that I will not have the option to give up and just hail the first taxi that comes by. Less stressful is not making pre-arrangements, and to simply hail a taxi when needed, wherever I might happen to be at the time, or to walk to a fixed and identifiable station or bus stop. Usually, taxi is less expensive than TNC or FHV services.

[Turtles06]

On 7/16/2023 at 11:28 AM, muse_clio said:

Appreciate the recommendations. If anyone else has recommendations or tips, I’m appreciative. 

Get a Red Cap to assist you on arrival in NY. (When you are in the train, tell the person who takes your ticket that you’ll need a Red Cap in NY. They will call ahead and arrange it.) The Red Cap will meet you on the platform, take your luggage up to the street and put you into a cab.  Well worth a good tip. 
 

Sometimes you might have to wait for the Red Cap. Just keep an eye out on the platform and speak to the first Red Cap you see. 

[muse_clio]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

Get a Red Cap to assist you on arrival in NY. (When you are in the train, tell the person who takes your ticket that you’ll need a Red Cap in NY. They will call ahead and arrange it.) The Red Cap will meet you on the platform, take your luggage up to the street and put you into a cab.  Well worth a good tip. 
 

Sometimes you might have to wait for the Red Cap. Just keep an eye out on the platform and speak to the first Red Cap you see. 

Thank you for this info! Wait as in minutes? Half an hour? Longer? 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, muse_clio said:

Thank you for this info! Wait as in minutes? Half an hour? Longer? 

No.  It could happen that there aren’t enough Red Caps down there.  Just speak to one. If you ever think you’re waiting too long, you can just head out on your own. 

[muse_clio]

On 7/16/2023 at 4:42 PM, GTJ said:

Any type of pre-arranged service will induce stress because of the need to find the one specific vehicle that has been so pre-arranged. Most times when I have had a pre-arranged service (typically Uber) it has been a hassle for the driver to find me in the crowd, and for me to find that one particular driver. It is stressful to know that I will be charged for the pre-arranged service in any case, and that I will not have the option to give up and just hail the first taxi that comes by. Less stressful is not making pre-arrangements, and to simply hail a taxi when needed, wherever I might happen to be at the time, or to walk to a fixed and identifiable station or bus stop. Usually, taxi is less expensive than TNC or FHV services.

the flip side to that coin is that with a taxi, the meter is always running!

[GTJ]

6 hours ago, muse_clio said:

the flip side to that coin is that with a taxi, the meter is always running!

Indeed, it can be nerve-wracking watching the meter go, particularly as fast as it increases. But there's a few cities that do have fixed-rate taxis. For example, taxi trips within Hoboken, New Jersey, are a flat $8.00 fare anywhere (less $1.00 if boarding at the railroad station, plus $1.00 for each additional passenger), and thus no need to watch the meter. For me, the least stressful transportation is regularly-scheduled, commodius, with fixed and reasonable rates, and departing from well-defined points.

[njhorseman]

34 minutes ago, GTJ said:

For example, taxi trips within Hoboken, New Jersey, are a flat $8.00 fare anywhere

Since Hoboken is only slightly over one square mile in area a fare system like that is workable but cities that small are a rarity.

 

[GTJ]

38 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Since Hoboken is only slightly over one square mile in area a fare system like that is workable but cities that small are a rarity.

There are very few cities that have a single zone for the entire city (I have seen a few cases in smaller cities where taxis are a de facto substitute for non-existent public transit), but there are a few more cities that use multiple zones rather than taxi meters. A zone system can reduce that taxi meter anxiety because everyone knows the correct fare in advance, and it applies regardless of the circumstances of any particular day or time (indeed, one of the reasons for the flat fare from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, a city that otherwise relies on taxi meters). Yet it was a few years ago that Washington, D.C., went the other direction, replacing its zones with taxi meters, replacing anxiety of maps with the anxiety of taxi meters. See http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbarro/2012/02/17/a-guide-to-riding-taxis-in-the-district-of-columbia.