Pros &Cons: Amstrak versus Megabolt/PeterPan

I am looking for a safe and reliable form of transport once disembark the ship in Manhattan. I need to go to Washington. Any helps are greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

Go to Penn Station and get a train. Trains run back and forth all day. They may not be Amtrac but will still get you there. They are commuter trains.

I don't know what your other methods are, but as Bonnie said, Amtrak runs a NYC-DC train about every hour or so, and is as reliable as you can get. It is a busy train corridor.

Take Greyhound or Bolt or Peter Pan right from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Cheaper than Amtrak, reliable, and closer than Penn Station....

Either Peter Pan or train are fine choices.

In the end, both will probably take similar length of time...... maybe a little difference but someone on train or bus is not necessarily looking for fastest method so pick whichever is easier IMO

Peter Pan :eek: goes to DC ?:rolleyes:

Oh,, that is priceless. :D

Peter Pan, MegaBus, BoltBus or the Asian bus lines are all reliable and "safe" transport for Manhattan to DC. If you book your tickets in advance of your cruise, you can get a one-way or roundtrip ticket for dirt cheap. If I decide to take Mega or Bolt from Philly for a June cruise, one-way is $0.50=fifty cents:eek:

Peter Pan :eek: goes to DC ?:rolleyes:

 

Oh,, that is priceless. :D

LOL........

Indeed, Priceless. :D :D

Go to Penn Station and get a train. Trains run back and forth all day. They may not be Amtrac but will still get you there. They are commuter trains.

No, DON'T get on the commuter trains; they won't take you to Washington, DC. Only Amtrak will do that.

New York is served by several commuter-train operations: Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), Metro-North, and New Jersey Transit. These lines serve the greater New York metropolitan area and carry daily commuters from the suburbs into the city. The inter-city rail service is provided by Amtrak, whose Northeast Corridor Line operates frequent, all-day service between New York Penn Station and Washington Union Station.

Take Greyhound or Bolt or Peter Pan right from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Cheaper than Amtrak, reliable, and closer than Penn Station....

Or, you could try Mega Bus, though they stop at a street corner (I forget which one) instead of the Bus Terminal. However, they do have double-decker buses, and their fares are among the lowest.

Mega Bus, Bolt Bus, and Peter Pan would be good options if you're looking to go on the cheap. I would steer clear of Greyhound; sometimes their clientele is a bit shady. (I rode Greyhound pretty extensively in my younger days, but I have no desire to repeat the experience.) I've never ridden the "Chinatown" buses, but from what I've heard, they are not particularly punctual. They're also not the safest way to go; their drivers are known to be aggressive, and there have been some accidents.

Personally, I would recommend Amtrak. Yes, it's more expensive; but it's much faster, far more comfortable, and very reliable. There's also food and drinks available for purchase on-board.

One benefit of the bus services (in addition to those already mentioned, there is also Vamoose bus, which is particularly convenient for those going to the suburbs in Maryland or Northern VA: http://www.vamoosebus.com/) is that your luggage is secure in the compartment under the bus and you don't need to struggle with it or watch over it during the trip. Amtrak is not as luggage friendly.

The buses stop at the rest area just south of the Delaware Memorial bridge, breaking up the trip a bit.

No, DON'T get on the commuter trains; they won't take you to Washington, DC. Only Amtrak will do that.

 

New York is served by several commuter-train operations: Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), Metro-North, and New Jersey Transit. These lines serve the greater New York metropolitan area and carry daily commuters from the suburbs into the city. The inter-city rail service is provided by Amtrak, whose Northeast Corridor Line operates frequent, all-day service between New York Penn Station and Washington Union Station.

 

 

 

Or, you could try Mega Bus, though they stop at a street corner (I forget which one) instead of the Bus Terminal. However, they do have double-decker buses, and their fares are among the lowest.

 

Mega Bus, Bolt Bus, and Peter Pan would be good options if you're looking to go on the cheap. I would steer clear of Greyhound; sometimes their clientele is a bit shady. (I rode Greyhound pretty extensively in my younger days, but I have no desire to repeat the experience.) I've never ridden the "Chinatown" buses, but from what I've heard, they are not particularly punctual. They're also not the safest way to go; their drivers are known to be aggressive, and there have been some accidents.

 

Personally, I would recommend Amtrak. Yes, it's more expensive; but it's much faster, far more comfortable, and very reliable. There's also food and drinks available for purchase on-board.

Those Van Hool double deckers Megabus operates have low headroom, and don't ride nearly as well as the Prevosts that Bolt operates with the same low fare opportunity, yet Bolt boards from a comfortable terminal, instead of waiting out in the elements on some street corner.

My son went from Hartford CT to NYC to Philly and back on Megabus this past weekend.

Be aware that Megabus has a pretty extreme luggage limitation: one bag in the belly of the bus, max weight 50 lbs, and one carry-on that must fit in the overhead bin or under your seat. No option to take more baggage.

Also be aware that on MB you are reserving a seat on a particular bus. If you miss it, you will have to buy another ticket - and they generally do internet sales only. You can't walk into a station and buy a ticket; if you're really lucky, there will be a few seats left on the bus that the driver will sell to walkups.

We had left an hour between the scheduled arrival time in NY and the departure for Hartford on the return trip. The bus from Philly to NYC picked them up late and lost even more time in transit. He missed his NY-Hartford bus...

And as others mentioned, the inexpensive buses (Megabus and Bolt) pick you up on a street corner. Bolt & MB were jockeying for the same curb space in Philly (and the police had to come :eek:)

Thank you all so much for taking time to answer my question. Do I have to pay for penelty or buying another ticket if I was late for the prebooked amstrak? How long would it take one getting to Penn station after leaving the ship? Is it worth to book a cab in advance bearing in mind that my cell phone might not work in the US so I would not know where to find the taxi/taxi driver? Thank you.

There will be taxis at the cruise port, you won't need to prebook a ride.

The cruise port is two miles from Penn Station. In normal traffic this should only take 10 minutes, but rain or an unusual event in the city could double this time. I'd allow 30 - 45 minutes to be safe and to allow time to pick up your ticket, find your track, etc.

Thank you for your speedy respond. Can you tell me if there is any special event on April7? If I bought the ticket on line, should it be eticket ie I will just print it out? Thank you.

To your second question, what you print out will be your reservation with a bar code and number printed on it. You will have to take that to the ticket window or Amtrak machine and then you can pick up your ticket.

Thank you for your speedy respond. Can you tell me if there is any special event on April7?

I think we will use Amstrak but I need to know how full the train would be if I don't travel at peak time ie I am aiming to board the train at 10am. I prefer to buy the tickets when I arrive at Penn station rather than booking in advance and might not get there on time. That would really stress me out.

How many stops are there between NY and DC? Do they have express train? Normal train will take 3hrs between the two cities.

Thank you.

If you go to http://www.Amtrak.com There will be a place where you can input where you want to go and when. New York-Penn Station to WAS- Union Station should then show you the times the trains leave. It will show the cost and more.

How many stops are there between NY and DC? Do they have express train? Normal train will take 3hrs between the two cities.

The number of stops depends on the train. You can download the entire schedule here: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Route_C&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241245664867. About halfway down the page you'll see a link that says Schedule PDF New York Washington.

If you look at Amtrak's travel planner you'll see that there is an Acela Express at 10 AM that arrives in DC at 12:52 (just under three hours). At the moment this train will cost $145.

There is a regional train at 10:05 that arrives at 1:30 for only $49.

It's up to you if getting there 35 minutes faster is worth nearly three times the price.

The number of stops depends on the train. You can download the entire schedule here: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Route_C&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241245664867. About halfway down the page you'll see a link that says Schedule PDF New York Washington.

 

If you look at Amtrak's travel planner you'll see that there is an Acela Express at 10 AM that arrives in DC at 12:52 (just under three hours). At the moment this train will cost $145.

 

There is a regional train at 10:05 that arrives at 1:30 for only $49.

 

It's up to you if getting there 35 minutes faster is worth nearly three times the price.

The Acela is a wonderful train . . . but IMO, it's not worth the extra charge. The regional trains are perfectly fine, and so much less expensive. As noted, the number of intermediate stops depends on the train. Pretty much every regional train from New York to Washington will make stops at Newark, Metro Park, Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, BWI Airport, and New Carrollton. If you want fewer stops, take the Acela -- and pay lots more money.

April 7th could be busy, because that's Easter weekend. But I don't think the train will be full. You should be able to just show up and buy your ticket for the next train. (But please don't blame me if I turn out to be wrong!)

Thank you all for taking time to answer my questions. It's greatly appreciated.

I will take all info into account and hope will make the right decision.

Busman, don't worry, I won't blame you if thing did not go well should I went with your advice.

Is there anything else should I need to take into consideration? Where should I store the luggage/suitcases on the train? Do you know which platform the train leaves from?

Thank you all for taking time to answer my questions. It's greatly appreciated.

I will take all info into account and hope will make the right decision.

Busman, don't worry, I won't blame you if thing did not go well should I went with your advice.

Is there anything else should I need to take into consideration? Where should I store the luggage/suitcases on the train? Do you know which platform the train leaves from?

Thank you for not blaming me! :D

You have the option of checking your luggage (similar to how the airlines do it) or carrying it on board the train with you. If you carry it with you, you will put it in the overhead bin. You will not receive any assistance with your bags while on the train, so if you have more than you can comfortably carry by yourself, check them.

Penn Station (New York) has many platforms. There are signs in the waiting area that will tell you which platform is for your train; or you can ask the ticket agent when you check in.

By the way, if your mental image of what you're going to see is that of a grand, glorious terminal like those of yore, erase that image right now. You're thinking of Grand Central Station, which handles Metro-North trains. Penn Station, which handles Amtrak (and some other commuter lines) is nothing but a subterranean maze, and entirely unappealing. "Utilitarian" is about the nicest word I can think of to describe it. Union Station in Washington, on the other hand, is very nice.

Thank you Bus man. I do not expect luxury but your description has worried me a little.

Can you clarify a few points for me please:

You mentioned about checking the luggage similar to how the airlines do it. Does it mean we have to allow extra time to do so before boarding the train? If so how much extra time needed?

Shall I assume that they keep the luggage at seperate compartment? and at the other end, we also have to wait for our luggage to be unloaded?

If the train is not full, could we keep the luggage with us? (but not store in the overhead bin)

Is there any metro station close to Penn station so I can use to get to Manhattan once return to NY.

Thank you.

The Acela is a wonderful train . . . but IMO, it's not worth the extra charge. The regional trains are perfectly fine, and so much less expensive. As noted, the number of intermediate stops depends on the train. Pretty much every regional train from New York to Washington will make stops at Newark, Metro Park, Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, BWI Airport, and New Carrollton. If you want fewer stops, take the Acela -- and pay lots more money.