New York airport advice

[Freelancer]

DH and I are sailing the Noordam Nov. 4/06. The itinerary shows NYC port arrival on Nov. 15 at 8:00 a.m. We are not familiar with NYC, but understand that airports are some distance from Manhattan.

 

Question: Would we make an 11:45 a.m. flight from Newark?

[Starspangle1]

You say that your cruise is 11/4/06 but you state that your flight is 11/15/06, please clear up this typo. I am hoping that this is a typo otherwise you missed your ship.

 

 

 

 

DH and I are sailing the Noordam Nov. 4/06. The itinerary shows NYC port arrival on Nov. 15 at 8:00 a.m. We are not familiar with NYC, but understand that airports are some distance from Manhattan.

 

Question: Would we make an 11:45 a.m. flight from Newark?

[peaches from georgia]

You say that your cruise is 11/4/06 but you state that your flight is 11/15/06, please clear up this typo. I am hoping that this is a typo otherwise you missed your ship.

It's an 11 day cruise and Freelancer is asking whether they could make an 11:45 flight home on the 15th from Newark. :)

[Joanandjoe]

Freelancer is obviously talking about the flight home after the cruise. We've had difficulty getting off a ship in NYC in less than two hours, so 11:45 from EWR might be a problem. Then again, we've never had to catch a plane after a cruise ending in NYC. Maybe you can carry off your own luggage, and make the flight with ease. Can anyone help here?

 

For what it's worth, Noordam is the only ship in NYC that day, which should help in getting off the ship early. On our last cruise ending in NYC, there were 7 ships in port (including one diverted to the not yet open Brooklyn pier), prompting a thread entitled "Chaos on the New York piers."

[Freelancer]

Our cruise is Nov. 4 to Nov. 15. I am asking about the return flight home to Canada on Nov. 15. I'm not concerned about our flight to NYC, but have two choices for the flight home: 11:45 a.m. or 4:00 p.m.

 

Is 11:45 too early to make it from Manhattan to Newark after disembarkation?

[hammybee]

I hate sitting around airports so I have a tendency to book tight connections and have not missed a flight, YET...... It drives my husband nuts because he is one of those that likes to be at the airport a few hours before departure. So alot depends on your personality and tolerence for things beyond your control.

 

I would personally book the earlier flight and take my own luggage off the ship and take the PATH to EWR. If the ship or disembarkation is delayed beyond the point of no return, you can always go stand by on the later flight.

 

Here are the risks, as I see them:

 

The ship could arrive later than expected and/ or Immigration could take longer than expected, causing you to miss the flight.

 

If you cannot or are unwilling to take your own luggage off, it increases the liklihood of delay.

 

Although unlikely, The Path could encounter a delay.

 

If you prefer to take a taxi, one never knows if there is going to be heavy traffic at one of the tunnels or even if they temporarily close a tunnel, causing a delay.

 

There is always the risk that you will miss the first flight and the second will not have room and you will need to overnight, at your own expense near EWR or back to the city.

 

Are you up for the challenge or do you want to play it safer than sorry?

[bepsf]

Assuming the ship arrives on time and the Port Authority doesn't get weird on your arrival and delay debarcation the way they've been known to do, you have two issues here to contend with: Transportation and Luggage.

First, Luggage:

HAL does not offer a service to walk your own luggage off - you carry your hand luggage off and pick up your checked luggage on the pier. You'll need to gather your bags, then if you need assistance w/ your luggage, you'll have to get in a line to procure a porter to come back onto the pier and take your bags to the curb - it's best that you have one person get right in line for the porter and have the others gather and monitor the piles of luggage.

Now Transportation:

If you're arriving in NYC on a weekday, 11.45 may be pushing it - getting through to the tunnel in downtown traffic could be a problem during morning rush-hour. If however you're arriving on a weekend, you'll probably be alright.

Either way, just be sure to take a taxi or arrange to have a car-service waiting for you at the pier - don't take the connections offered from HAL.

Hope this helps!

[u4ea]

If it was me, I wouldn't do it. After 1:00 or 2 is a safer time. It takes a long time to get around the city. BTW, it's NOT the PATH to EWR, you take a cab to Penn Station, then a NJ transit train to the EWR rail link station, then the mono rail to the terminal. You might make it, you might not. Otherwise, you can check with HAL and buy their transfer, they might try to get you there in time.

Mark.....

[AlohaPride]

DH and I are sailing the Noordam Nov. 4/06. The itinerary shows NYC port arrival on Nov. 15 at 8:00 a.m. We are not familiar with NYC, but understand that airports are some distance from Manhattan.

 

Question: Would we make an 11:45 a.m. flight from Newark?

 

We are taking the 11 night cruise in December. We had originally booked a flight back to Hawaii for the same day leaving at 12. My TA called the cruise line and they said not to book any flights that you needed to be at the airport before 12 (you have to be 2ish hours early for your flight) so even if you wanted to be at the airport just as the 11:45 flight was taking off you would not make it. My TA told me that last flight of the day for Delta to Atlanta with a direct flight connection to Honolulu was 12 noon, so we are staying an extra night in NY. It will give us a chance to wind down and prepare for the LOOOOOONG flight....

 

 

I guess this was my very long winded way of saying take a much later flight. :D

[Freelancer]

Thank you, everyone, for your answers. If this was a Fort Lauderdale cruise, then 11:45 isn't a problem, but I wasn't sure whether to chance it or not in New York. I think it's safer to take the later flight.

 

Our choices for NYC airports are LaGuardia or Newark--no flights from Ottawa to JFK.

 

I have mobility problems and use a folding battery-powered scooter, so my husband is responsible for the luggage.

 

Brian: You suggested not using HAL's airport transfers. HAL if offering a very good price on pre-cruise hotel/transfer package and we're going to buy that. However, in your opinion, would we be better to take a limo or van to the airport than use HAL's post-cruise transfers. It's often a problem with luggage plus scooter to find a taxi that is willing to take us to hotels or airports.

[hammybee]

If it was me, I wouldn't do it. After 1:00 or 2 is a safer time. It takes a long time to get around the city. BTW, it's NOT the PATH to EWR, you take a cab to Penn Station, then a NJ transit train to the EWR rail link station, then the mono rail to the terminal. You might make it, you might not. Otherwise, you can check with HAL and buy their transfer, they might try to get you there in time.

Mark.....

 

U4ea is absolutely right- You are not going to want to hoof it to Penn Station with your luggage. What was I thinking? The monorail is fast but it also adds another connection and opportunity for something to go wrong.

 

If you were departing Laguardia or Kennedy, even I would not consider a flight, before early afternoon.

[bepsf]

I have mobility problems and use a folding battery-powered scooter, so my husband is responsible for the luggage.

 

Brian: You suggested not using HAL's airport transfers. HAL if offering a very good price on pre-cruise hotel/transfer package and we're going to buy that. However, in your opinion, would we be better to take a limo or van to the airport than use HAL's post-cruise transfers. It's often a problem with luggage plus scooter to find a taxi that is willing to take us to hotels or airports.

 

You're right - your mobility is an overriding concern, isnt it?

HAL does better dealing w/ that on their transfers than cabs - but they'll typically wait till the bus is full before they leave for the airport so if time is the primary issue, that's not the most expedient solution.

Glad to hear that you're going w/ a later flight - I'm sure you won't regret your decision.

[Love Cruises]

DH and I are sailing the Noordam Nov. 4/06. The itinerary shows NYC port arrival on Nov. 15 at 8:00 a.m. We are not familiar with NYC, but understand that airports are some distance from Manhattan.

 

Question: Would we make an 11:45 a.m. flight from Newark?

We were on the Noordam this past March. We live in Westchester County just north of the docks. HAL had a 7:30 am early embarkation for people who could carry their own luggage off. My husband and I travel with one suitcase each so we were able to do this, breezing right through the terminal catching one of the first cabs available to go to Grand Central Terminal for our train ride home. We were home in our house by 9:15 am when most people were probably just disembarking.

 

NYC terminal can be a nightmare... especially, if there is more than one ship in port. It can take quite a long time to disembark everyone so I think a 11:45 am flight out of Newark is pushing it. I'd book the later flight.

 

We are going on the AMSTERDAM in September for a cruise from NY to Montreal and back (20 days). Hopefully, HAL will still be using the NYC terminal so we can do the same early embarkation on that cruise. There are rumors that HAL ships might be going to the Brooklyn pier for their cruises but hopefully not for some time.

[Starspangle1]

for not seeing that, go ahead I deserve it. I feel like such a DAHHHHHHHH.

If you make sure you are off the ship with the first crowd then you won't have a problem. Make sure a few nights before the cruise is over and the night before you leave you make it clear to crew that you MUST be off the ship early (in a nice way) Newark is not that far away and should only take about 25 to 30 minutes to get there. AND again........I'm so sorry for being Stupid, it's just my nature.

[barbels]

I think I may have started the rumors about the Noordam docking in Brooklyn. I spoke to the Brooklyn Borough President's Office about this and they said the Brooklyn contract is just for The Queen Mary and Princess ships- so my previous assumption was definitely wrong. The Noordam will be docking on the west side of Manhattan.

 

I think you probably could have made an 11:45 am flight out of Newark. It shouldn't take more than half an hour to get to Newark airport from the westside dock. If you were off the ship by 9 you'd make your plane easily. But I tend to worry and I'd probably take the later flight too. I use Allstate Car and Limo which is based not far from the dock and they have always been reliable; I wouldn't count on getting a cab quickly.

[Luvs2trvl]

The one thing I don't think anyone has metioned is getting through security. Don't forget about the time needed to check in, especially if you are checking luggage, standing in line and going through security. Since you are going to Canada, is that considered an international flight - do you need to be there earlier than usual?

 

I know when I fly out of Dulles, D.C. I've gotten stuck in security lines and it's not fun. But then again, I'm not normally a flight chance taker.