I'm a bit overwhelmed... any tips for leaving from Manhattan Cruise Terminal?

Hello fabulous CC members,

I don't know why, but I am more nervous about our NYC end of our vacation than any other part of our cruise vacation combined :eek:. Maybe because I haven't been to NYC in about 10 years, but remember how HUGE it is. Maybe because I've never overnighted or traveled out of NYC before... who knows WHY I'm being a nervous nelly, but I am :confused::rolleyes:

So... with that said. We are planning to take an Amtrak train from Syracuse, NY to Penn Station. We plan on overnighting in the city (haven't picked a hotel yet). We would like to stay close enough to the pier that we can walk to it (but that's not written in stone). With all that said...

I would love your insight, input, pointers, tips & suggestions to help our NYC part of the vacation go wrinkle and worry free :o Anything from where to stay, how to travel about, what to do or see, insider secrets, and how best to handle the terminal without any hassles. Can you help alleviate some of my jitters?

My DH and I did this about 5 years ago. We took Amtrak from Rochester, NY, and stayed at the Pennsylvanian Hotel, which is right across the street from where you come up out of the Amtrak station. It is not a really fancy hotel but it suited us just fine for the overnight. We arrived in the late afternoon, checked into the hotel and then decided to walk around and find something to eat. We are country folk and NYC was a bit overwhelming to us also. We found a Steak Buffet type restaurant and had dinner and went back to the hotel for the evening. In the AM, we got up and went to a diner that was just outside the lobby of the hotel. Two Pancakes for the each of us cost almost $20. Be prepared for the prices to eat in NYC. Then we went back to our hotel room and waited until about 10 AM and checked out. We walked outside the hotel and asked the doorman to get us a cab. He did and we headed towards the pier. It was about a 10 minute drive and it cost us about $18 including the tip. You could walk the distance but with luggage, it is a bit of a walk. We crossed the street and entered the boarding area for the cruise ship and everything was fine. When we returned, we headed back to the Amtrak station by cab and waited for our train. Easy as pie for us country folk. It was an easy way to get to the pier. Now, another time, my DD and I went to Albany and stayed overnight. We got up in the AM and took Yankee Trails Bus service into NYC. That was $80 a person and they dropped us off right at the pier and picked us up at the end of the cruise to return us to Albany. That would be another way for you to look into getting to NYC. We stayed at a Hampton Inn that was about 1.5 miles away from the bus terminal, grabbed breakfast at McDonalds and got on the bus aboutn 7 AM and were in the City by 10:30 AM. Probably ran a bit less then the trip to NYC by Amtrak and staying overnight in the city.

Don't walk to the pier...just take a cab...should be around $10-12 plus tip and the doorman at your hotel will get one for you...

As for hotels....when are you traveling, how many people....and what's your realistic budget?

You've not been in NY in years, so did you want to just sleep...walk around Times Square? Give us more info and we can probably help you some more.....it's a big city, yes, but no reason to walk when a cab is quick and fairly cheap...and don't worry too much about it...

Just tell them Manhattan Cruise Pier and you'll be fine....

There really isn't any hotel that's close enough to be a comfortable walk to the cruise terminal with luggage. If you're staying not far from Penn, as an above posted stated, it's about $15 for a cab. The NY Manhattan terminal (IMHO) is the most user friendly, easy and convenient cruise terminals to cruise from.

There really isn't any hotel that's close enough to be a comfortable walk to the cruise terminal with luggage. If you're staying not far from Penn, as an above posted stated, it's about $15 for a cab. The NY Manhattan terminal (IMHO) is the most user friendly, easy and convenient cruise terminals to cruise from.

Oh, I may live in Wisconsin, but I am pretty sure that is inaccurate. The OP lists Breakaway in his signature. We stayed at Comfort Inn Midtown West. With wheeled luggage, it was an easy walk to the Breakaway's terminal. A couple quick blocks and up an elevator, as I recall. Ink48 is a bit closer still, while a Holiday Inn Express is a touch further.

So, the Op could take a taxi from Penn to one of those hotels then walk to the pier in the am, if that suits them best.

Yes, above poster, that hotel is doable..... for SOME people. SOME people won't walk more then 50 ft. I do take exception to you saying "this is inaccurate". You could have said "our experience has been......" and gone on from there . Or, "depending on your circumstances.......". I've walked to the cruise terminal from Penn Station and some folks think you might as well walk from Mars...that's just not doable. With mapquest and other apps, it's pretty easy for one to see what the distance is and judge from there. If one is staying around the Penn Station area, a cab is about $15 and as I said, even that walk is doable....for SOME people! Considering what you're spending on the cruise, transportation to NYC, and the NYC hotel, I really don't think another $15 is going the the difference between going or not! Also depending on what you might want to do/see, go to dinner, etc etc, the Comfort Inn Midtown West would not be my 1st choice. However, if you just want a place to sleep, get up and go to the ship...it's fine! Sometimes one's thoughts' and/or options are just that.....opinions, and NOT accurate or inaccurate because they differ from yours.

We always take Amtrak to Penn station....catch a cab to the Doubletree Suites Times Square then cab to the the pier. Very easy to do.....no stress...have done it with my wife and 2 kids...I was concerned the first time bit no issues at all

Thank you to all for your responses so far. You are helping to alleviate some of my concerns.

My dh and I are in our mid-40's and fit, so we don't mind a walk at any part of the vacation (I usually walk 3 miles a night for exercise anyway). We are not opposed to a cab fare as long as it's not astronomical in price when I could have just walked for free (so far, the prices listed are not bad at all). We are also not opposed to taking the subway anywhere if clear and precise instructions are given (I get lost easily, LOL).

We would truly like to spend 2 nights in NYC if we can find a decent hotel for an affordable price (around $200 a night). Otherwise we will only stay one night if hotels are too pricey. We would love to take in a Broadway Show, see the Freedom Tower, and if the time allows get a dinner in Little Italy (had a Veal Parm there 20 years ago at a place called Vincent's that was TO DIE FOR). Otherwise, I don't have any plans. I've been up the Empire State Building a handful of times in my youth, so don't need to do that again. I've walked around Times Square a hand full of times when I've taken the bus into the city for a show, so that's not too high on the priority list either.

A poster above mentioned Ink and HIE. These were both hotels we were considering. Would you recommend one over the other? Or should we be looking closer to Penn for hotels?

One more question...

Is there a more advantageous time to book a hotel? When I do mock bookings on travel sights, I can find hotels 3 months from now at a decent price, but the same hotels 11 months from now (when we sail) are twice the price. Is there a "sweet spot" timeframe for booking a hotel in NYC?

I think it's way too early to book - you're 11+ months out. I'd start to look seriously after the new year and monitor prices in the meanwhile. If you see a possibility that is cancellable, book it and wait to see if anything better comes along. That could be a dead weekend in NYC - still May but after Memorial Day and not yet into the June festivities.

(deleted by njhorseman)

We just got back. We stayed at the Best Western Herald Square on points from a Chase Sapphire card. It was a great hotel, very new and clean. If you have 11 months, apply for a credit card that gives you points and use that for at least 1 night. We also used points for Empire State building tour. Breakfast was included but walk down to Best bagels and eat there. So yummy!

We actually ended up walking to the cruise terminal. Apparently the President was in town and traffic was messed up so we started walking to get a few blocks away from the mess and just kept going. It actually was a nice walk and middle of the day so we were able to stay out of the way of others with our suitcases.

We loved cruising out of NYC as it gave us the chance to spend some time seeing the sites.

Try kayak. You can subscribe with your dates and they will notify you of price drops.

Yes, above poster, that hotel is doable..... for SOME people. SOME people won't walk more then 50 ft. I do take exception to you saying "this is inaccurate". You could have said "our experience has been......" and gone on from there . Or, "depending on your circumstances.......". I've walked to the cruise terminal from Penn Station and some folks think you might as well walk from Mars...that's just not doable. With mapquest and other apps, it's pretty easy for one to see what the distance is and judge from there. If one is staying around the Penn Station area, a cab is about $15 and as I said, even that walk is doable....for SOME people! Considering what you're spending on the cruise, transportation to NYC, and the NYC hotel, I really don't think another $15 is going the the difference between going or not! Also depending on what you might want to do/see, go to dinner, etc etc, the Comfort Inn Midtown West would not be my 1st choice. However, if you just want a place to sleep, get up and go to the ship...it's fine! Sometimes one's thoughts' and/or options are just that.....opinions, and NOT accurate or inaccurate because they differ from yours.

I did not mean to hurt your feelings. When the OP asked for walkable hotels, I gathered that they could actually walk (confirmed by OP in later post). As I recall, the hotels I mentioned are perhaps 1 to 3 blocks from the terminal entrance on paved surfaces; it was very easy and comfortable to walk, even for the septuagenarian in my party.

OP, Ink look nice for the exterior and HIE looked basic from outside, but I wasn't inside either one.

Try kayak. You can subscribe with your dates and they will notify you of price drops.

Thank you. I didn't know about price drop notifications from them. I will go check it out now.

I've been in Ink 48...seems nice enough....rooms were not large, of course most rooms in NYC are not. The lobby is very dark, but it's sort of a cool place. Some staff were very nice, some were a little aloof...I only went in for a tour and a peek around..

It's maybe a 5-10 minute walk from the pier depending on how fast you walk, how much stuff you have and the weather....(hot, cold, rain, snow, humid...all tend to slow me down..)

Hello fabulous CC members,

I don't know why, but I am more nervous about our NYC end of our vacation than any other part of our cruise vacation combined :eek:. Maybe because I haven't been to NYC in about 10 years, but remember how HUGE it is. Maybe because I've never overnighted or traveled out of NYC before... who knows WHY I'm being a nervous nelly, but I am :confused::rolleyes:

 

So... with that said. We are planning to take an Amtrak train from Syracuse, NY to Penn Station. We plan on overnighting in the city (haven't picked a hotel yet). We would like to stay close enough to the pier that we can walk to it (but that's not written in stone). With all that said...

 

I would love your insight, input, pointers, tips & suggestions to help our NYC part of the vacation go wrinkle and worry free :o Anything from where to stay, how to travel about, what to do or see, insider secrets, and how best to handle the terminal without any hassles. Can you help alleviate some of my jitters?

Here's a completely different tip. Wear something patriotic when you sail out of Manhattan. I've done it twice before and I know I will never get pictures of myself and family in front of the Statue of Liberty like the ones I get from the ship. I'm not very photogenic and even I look good in these. I also have ridden on the NYC HoHo bus and it's a great way to see NYC. Another really fun attraction is the virtual roller coaster ride at the top of the Empire State Bldg. Relax you'll love it.

One of my favorite things about NYC is how walkable it is, so it's great that you like to walk. I'd suggest you consider visiting the Highline (http://www.thehighline.org/). It's a very unique type of park and has some great views of the city. There are also some good restaurants in that area and if you have extra time you can also browse the (free) Chelsea art galleries.

We always stay at the travel inn (515 w 42nd street). Not far from the pier but have never walked it. They have a rate calendar online you can check out. Depending on time of year we have gotten it for $125-175, most recently $225.

sent from my Samsung galaxy s3

Nyc