Red Hook Chaos.

[Mickb]

We were on the 23ed April Eastbound sailing and I think Paul NH gave a wonderful discription of the voyage. It was our second transatlantic on the QM2 and it must be one of the worlds great travel experiences. We were in the Princess Grill and the food and service were impeccable. We even got accompanied to our stateroom upon embarkation!!! ( Didn't happen last time!!)

After a wonderful relaxing voyage we arrived in Red Hook on time at about 6.30 am. We had been advised by the concierge to self disembark as we need to catch a train at Penn Station at noon. ( She must have known what awaited!)

We were off the ship by 8.15am and all went well until we stepped out of the terminal building into utter chaos. There were no taxis nor any sign of the black town cars. There must have been about 100 people milling round waiting for transport. Tempers were fraying. 2 black town cars and 2 taxis came in 20 minutes and meanwhile the throng was growing as more people came through from the terminal. Eventually Cunard sent the hotel officer down to try to establish some form of order. He formed people into lines but some continued to try and jump the queue which caused ill feeling.

We eventually teamed up with 3 other couples and managed to get a van to share into New York so we were lucky. There was already a long queue for immigration building up behind us, I hate to think what happened when the main disembarkation started.

So, I suppose the moral is - either take the Cunard pre arranged buses although they are expensive and slow or preorder a towncar/limo etc. Don't rely on finding a taxi especuially if you chose self disembarkation or are in a hurry to make a connection.

[Paul NH]

Mickb,

 

Very interesting account. Makes me happy we chose to drive down and park in the terminal parking lot. Of course, people traveling only one way do not have that option.

 

I wonder if the taxi drought lasted all morning, or whether they were just caught off guard at first. The reason I say this, is because we self-disembarked in Southampton as well, and were one of the first ones off (I also saw LM1-Laura and her family nearby). We started queuing up and there was not one single taxi in the Queen Elizabeth terminal garage at first. Then, within several minutes they started appearing and trickled in on a fairly regular basis, maybe about 2 to 3 per minute (which still seemed a bit slow to me for 2,200 people). Anyway, the line moved along and we had a taxi after waiting about 15 minutes. I was so focused on our own affairs that I did not think to look back and take note of how the rest of the line was developing.

 

I would be curious if the problem at Red Hook just got worse as the morning wore on, or whether the taxis started appearing in more frequency with time, similar to Southampton.

 

Thanks for the account. We were probably within sight of each other that morning in the Immigration and Customs queue, but I was oblivious of the taxi problem once we emerged from the terminal.

 

Best regards,

Paul

[pepperrn]

If you were "off the ship at 8.15", what time did you get into a taxi/van?

 

Pepper.

[Mickb]

Pepper

We got a van after about 30/40 minutes. A guy turned up and started asking if people would share. We checked with the Cunard Officer who came down to try and restore some order and he advised us to take the van. The cost was $20 dollars per person to Penn Station. Whilst we were travelling into New York, he was constantly exhorted by his radio controller to hurry up and get back to Brooklyn so I think the situation did not quickly improve.

If someone reads this who disembarked later - maybe they could comment.

 

Paul,

I live near Southampton and take your point. Last year when we disembarked at Southampton after our Eastbound crosssing we were off the ship at 9.15 and there were plenty of taxis. However in Southampton the taxi supply is like the rain - some days it pours and they are everywhere and some days its dry and there isn't one to be seen!!!! I really enjoyed reading your accounts of the voyage - reading them again last night when we arrived home after our trip really brought it all back to me - thank you!

[chaprk]

We were in a group called to disembark around 9:00am. We were off the ship and through immigration in about 15-20 minutes. When we emerged from the terminal there were huge lines of both taxis and black sedans. We hopped in a cab and were to LGA before 10am.

[smeyer418]

We were in a group called to disembark around 9:00am. We were off the ship and through immigration in about 15-20 minutes. When we emerged from the terminal there were huge lines of both taxis and black sedans. We hopped in a cab and were to LGA before 10am.

 

How much did the cab cost?

[pepperrn]

Mickb

 

Thanks for the answer, very informative.

 

Pepper.

[Mickb]

Thanks Chaprk for this. It would appear that the lesson is not to take early self diembarkation unless you have sorted your transport!

I am delighted to hear that things were better later on!

[chaprk]

The cab was $33.00, including a generous tip.

[smeyer418]

Thanks I have been saying 30-35 but its nice to see it in real time. Now I need someone to tell me how much it actually cost by cab to Kennedy and Newark.

[smeyer418]

Hi all,

DH and I arrived Red Hook on the Golden yesterday (5/6) and Red Hook was a DREAM! Clean as could be, everyone at the port was friendly and extremely helpful - and I mean everyone, porters, customs officials, local transportation people - everyone. Princess seems to allow extra time when disembarking passengers and that made the dreaded sea of black bags in the terminal much less overwhelming. Outside there were plenty of people directing you to ground transportation. Taxis were plentiful and very reasonably priced. I would sail out of Red Hook in a heartbeat - it was ten times better than our check-in in San Juan. :)

 

:) Brooklyn thanks you