Bus Transportation to NYC, need help!

[clever_girl]

We are thinking of taking the bus from Harrisburg or Philly (we live near DC) to the Noordam for our 10/25 cruise. Both locations are about the same distance from our home. Would Harrisburg be easier to use than Philly (less traffic, easier to get to, etc.)? We need to know where to park and what the price is for both locations. Is there any place to park for free in either location? Any hotels nearby that have a "stay and park" program? Thanks for your help!

[Navy_Chief]

If someone can't come up with the info that you need here, I would suggest calling HAL reservations, tell them your interested in booking a cruise and you want to know about motorcoach transports, they will answer your questions.

[sk8teacher]

http://www.greyhound.com/contact.shtml

 

You will find several toll free phone numbers there. Someone should be able to answer your questions. Personally, knowing Philly I would certainly try Harrisburg first:p .

 

There is a website that tells you what hotels offer a stay and park deal, but unfortunately I don't recall the URL right now. I'm sure that someone else will know and post it for you.

 

EDITED: Found the URL, it's http://www.parksleepfly.com/index.php. They list hotels near airports, cruise ports etc. That may be of help as well for you.

 

Cheers.

[Shelli]

Are you taking bus transportation through HAL or are you simply relying upon Greyhound? I'm a bit confused by the preceding answers.

 

If it's Greyhound, this may be helpful. I live in NJ, right outside of Phila. There's a Greyhound terminal very near me that is directly off of Exit 4 of the NJ Turnpike and very near I-295-- these highways are the routes you would use if you were driving here from D.C. as they both intersect I-95, and you'd hit either of them before you got to Phila. (though I'm not sure how you'd be going to Harrisburg). Parking is free at the bus terminal, and there are literally *dozens* of hotels nearby, all of which I'm quite sure also offer free parking. The driving time for buses between this terminal and the bus depot in NYC is 1 hour and 40 minutes.

 

Let me know if you need any more info.

[dhcoaster]

At one time HAL use to provide bus service starting from the Richmond VA area to New York. We have used it a few times on other cruise lines leaving out of Philadelphia, PA at the Sun PArk Terminal. While waiting for our bus, HAL's bus was there making a pickup. Call HAL at thier 800 number.

[Chillen]

We are on the same cruise and live about 40 minutes out of philly, so we are taking the HAL bus from there. It picks you up at Sunpark (sunpark.com) and the rates are $7.25. Harrisburg is smaller than Philly, but so are the roads, so I'm not sure which would be better on traffic, but I would think that if you take the one in Philly, you would get to the cruise ship quicker. This will be more first time trying it, so that is all I know.

[FRANKIEDNYC]

:rolleyes: I BELIEVE THE TRIP FROM PHILLY IS QUITE A BIT QUICKER TO N.Y. THAN FROM HARRISBURG

[Sunshine91]

We took the HAL bus from Philly to NYC for Noordam's inaugural. It was $49pp round trip. That $7.25 quoted must be the daily rate for parking. We've got the bus booked again for January.

The SunPark office wasn't open when we got there. Most of the pax were dropped off, like us. Some may have gone to the parking area in the back, just didn't notice. There are NO restroom facilities. Gotta wait until you get on the bus.

It's really convenient. Bus picks you up 8am-ish, takes you right to the pier. The docs said arrival in NYC at 3pm - we made it in 2 hrs flat. Non-stop. There was also a bus in NJ making several stops. Our driver was in contact with the NJ driver. Perhaps because it was the maiden voyage there were enough pax for 2 busses (our was stuffed). Maybe other voyages combined them & the Philly bus picked-up NJ pax too.

The driver & my John loaded the luggage underneath the bus. (Lots of mature pax who just couldn't toss their bags in). At the pier, the stevedores take over. You won't see your bags again until they magically appear in your room.

You live in DC - WHY go all the way to H'burg when Philly is 2.5 hrs away? Ask your TA to add it for you. If you need to stay at a hotel the night prior, the TA should take care of that, too.

Have a great time! :)