Amtrak to and from NYC

We always use Amtrak when cruising from NYC. It is actually cheaper than driving and parking. We cruise in Dec and just checked the train schedule. My choices for return trip is 10a, 4p or 8p. My questions are- is 10a doable? We are on the Gem. When I booked debarkation said 8a, it now says 10a. There was some talk a couple weeks back that the ship actually gets in around 6:30a and debarkation started around 7:30a. I'm just not one who likes to take a chance or rush but if that's the case we would be fine @10. If we have to wait for a later train then my next question is- is there anywhere we can store luggage and enjoy the city for the day? Really don't want to waste the day sitting in Penn station. Any help, opinions, ideas?? Thanks!!

Highly recommend booking the later train. Even getting from the dock to Penn Station with little time to spare will be high stress and why ruin a great cruise with such hassle?

Don't know where you are headed exactly but when you get to Penn Station, find a Red cap right away and tell him which train you will be taking and that you wish to leave the luggage with him until train time. Will cost you a few bucks in tip and maybe a small storage charge (they keep changing the rules). Of course if your train has a baggage car and baggage off loading at your final stop then you can check it all and be free of it totally. I always use a red cap even when I only have a small hand carry bag because they are allowed onto the loading platform before the rest of the passenger crowd. This allows you to get the best seats if you do not have a bedroom or a specific reserved seat number Well worth the tip.

I see you are in New England so the only baggage car is on the overnight train but I am sure you can work a deal with a red cap. Enjoy the cruise.

Thank You so much for this info!! After all these trips I never knew of the red caps. Do you know if it can be used if our train doesn't have a baggage car?

Red caps can help you regardless of whether there's a baggage car or not. If there's not, they'll help you put the luggage in the overhead rack or the luggage racks at the end of the car. Just be sure to tip them a couple bucks.

There is a luggage check at Penn Station where you can drop off your suitcases and go around the city. It costs $5.50 per bag per day. We used this when the ship got in much earlier than our scheduled train, and walked around town for a bit.

It's up to you whether you want to book the earlier train and chance having to pay the fare difference if you miss the train. Check a few last-minute fares on Amtrak for that itinerary to get an idea of what a worst-case scenario would cost. They're much more flexible than the airlines at least!

Have a great time!

Book the later train and when you get to Penn station check if it is possible

to get on an earlier one - ?

We took Acela from Boston to NYC once and it was fine. I would not have liked being on the trains that stop over and over. Amtrak Acela only stopped at about 3 or 4 stations. We paid a little extra and rode first class and they provided breakfast going and lunch coming home. There were included drinks and it was a 'quiet car'. We were more than satisfied seeing it actually took less time than checking in a Logan, going through security, waiting on the tarmac and then the transfer from the airport to the city.

We took Acela from Boston to NYC once and it was fine. I would not have liked being on the trains that stop over and over. Amtrak Acela only stopped at about 3 or 4 stations. We paid a little extra and rode first class and they provided breakfast going and lunch coming home. There were included drinks and it was a 'quiet car'. We were more than satisfied seeing it actually took less time than checking in a Logan, going through security, waiting on the tarmac and then the transfer from the airport to the city.

In the Northeast corridor the train always beats de plane - city center to city center (after all no one lives at an airport).

Trains also have far more creature comforts than de plane.

We took Acela from Boston to NYC once and it was fine. I would not have liked being on the trains that stop over and over. Amtrak Acela only stopped at about 3 or 4 stations. We paid a little extra and rode first class and they provided breakfast going and lunch coming home. There were included drinks and it was a 'quiet car'. We were more than satisfied seeing it actually took less time than checking in a Logan, going through security, waiting on the tarmac and then the transfer from the airport to the city.

 

Acela First Class also gets you into Club Acela, a first class lounge with snacks, coffee/tea/pop and free baggage storage. It's on the expensive side but very nice.

Roy

Thank You so much for this info!! After all these trips I never knew of the red caps. Do you know if it can be used if our train doesn't have a baggage car?

The other advantage to using Red Caps (shhh.... big secret.... :)) is that they will take you down to the train and get on you on board BEFORE the gate number is announced and hordes of people start boarding. This is true at least of trains that originate at Penn Station. (Before I learned about this trick, I always wondered how there were passengers already on the train when I boarded, even when I was first down the escalator after the gate was announced.)

There is, as some folks noted above, a baggage storage desk at Penn Station, but you must show a ticket for a train that day (arriving or departing) in order to use it.

I've never found the need to travel First Class on Acela; it's already expensive enough. Just sit in the quiet car (if you want quiet), and if you need food or drink, there's the cafe car selling stuff. YMMV.

We always use Amtrak, but we never buy our return ticket in advance. We have always made it to the station in time to take the 8 AM train back, but this way if we do not make that train it does not matter because we just buy the ticket for the next train.

We have thought of taking the train to NY. How are you getting from Penn station to the port? Do you take a taxi or is there some other way?

There are taxis right outside Penn Station when you come up to ground level. It is about a 10 minute ride and runs about $15 for trip and tip. You will be dropped off across the street from the terminal entrance but there is a traffic light to safely cross the street.

Just a note for anyone interested in taking the train to/from Springfield, MA or Hartford, CT, that track work in progress means Amtrak is substituting bus transportation to New Haven. This will be in effect until July 2016.

Just did a weekend in the city, and bus was substituted from Hartford to New Haven. Normally there would be about 50 people taking the 7:08AM train on a Saturday morning, but there were less than 10 people on the bus. All those folks must have figured why not just take the bus the whole way, since it's far less expensive.

There are taxis right outside Penn Station when you come up to ground level. It is about a 10 minute ride and runs about $15 for trip and tip. You will be dropped off across the street from the terminal entrance but there is a traffic light to safely cross the street.

I usually have to ask, but I've never had a taxi driver refuse to take me up the ramp to the drop-off area at the terminal entrance. It doesn't run up the meter much, and I make it worthwhile to the driver by leaving a nice tip.

Acela First Class also gets you into Club Acela, a first class lounge with snacks, coffee/tea/pop and free baggage storage. It's on the expensive side but very nice.

 

Roy

Yes, it's like the Haven for train travel....lol

We always use Amtrak when cruising from NYC. It is actually cheaper than driving and parking. We cruise in Dec and just checked the train schedule. My choices for return trip is 10a, 4p or 8p. My questions are- is 10a doable? We are on the Gem. When I booked debarkation said 8a, it now says 10a. There was some talk a couple weeks back that the ship actually gets in around 6:30a and debarkation started around 7:30a. I'm just not one who likes to take a chance or rush but if that's the case we would be fine @10. If we have to wait for a later train then my next question is- is there anywhere we can store luggage and enjoy the city for the day? Really don't want to waste the day sitting in Penn station. Any help, opinions, ideas?? Thanks!!

I'm not sure where in New England you are, but I recently looked into taking Amtrak, and from Providence & Boston checked baggage was not available. You said that you always use Amtrak, have you been able to check baggage in the past?

I agree with don't use real name,you can do your own carry off and possible that you may be off of the ship a lot earlier then you think.If you cant get on the early train then like someone said check your bag and you can walk up to times square 0r go back by the ship and take the circle line tour to the statue of liberty or tour around the island.

I'm not sure where in New England you are, but I recently looked into taking Amtrak, and from Providence & Boston checked baggage was not available. You said that you always use Amtrak, have you been able to check baggage in the past?

I have taken AMTRAK twice to cruise cities, most recently this past August. I wasn't able to check the luggage either time. However, in both cases, there was space at the end of the cars for suitcases. We didn't have any problems either time. A word of warning, though. On my last trip, the conductor told me that, starting in October, AMTRAK would be charging for large suitcases, perhaps like the airlines do. I haven't confirmed that as yet but, it wouldn't surprise me.

Correction: I just went to the AMTRAK website and clicked on the carry-on link. Here is the official notice from their website. This is for bags over 50 LBS.

Effective October 1, a $20 excess baggage fee will be charged for each carry-on and personal item above the quantity and size limits. A maximum of two excess bags are permitted per passenger. Fees will be collected at the station or onboard the train if the station is unstaffed. If checked baggage is available, you can check two bags through to your final destination free of charge.

Thanks for the info, I was wondering what people did with there luggage [emoji4]. I think I will stick to taking the academy bus

Are those return times for Boston?

How do you get a Red Cap up to street level to help with luggage? My husband uses a walker and can not go down stairs or escalator. Thanks for any info .

How do you get a Red Cap up to street level to help with luggage? My husband uses a walker and can not go down stairs or escalator. Thanks for any info .

Amtrak calls red caps to trains. They will take you up elevators, be prepared for long waits, they are small and plenty of people want to use them. IF you want a red cap to take you to the cab line, it is a long distance for someone with mobility issues. You also would be expected to tip big. (no few dollar stuff :) )

On our last cruise on the Gem we took Amtrack from Boston to Penn Station. Our train got to South Station late, and we had a few delays along the way. We were about 45 late getting into Penn Station. We got in at about 3 am, and we had about six and a half hours to kill before we needed to be at the pier, so we got a hotel room and crashed.

Honestly, I recommend Greyhound over Amrtack. It takes the same amount of time, but there are more busses each day than there are trains, and it saves you money.

Yes, it's like the Haven for train travel....lol

I can assure you that the club is nothing special, especially at Penn Station. The lounge is this dimly lit room with low ceilings. If you happen to be there during business rush hours it is literally spilling over with people with not a seat to spare. The lounge dragons never bother to get up from their perch behind the desk. The "snacks" consist of small packages of chips and pastries. The bowl is frequently empty. The drinks consist of a soda fountain machine and a stack of plastic cups.

When I doing the Washington DC to NYC run every week I tried to time my arrival to Penn so I had to spend as little time as possible in the lounge. The only reason I ever went to the lounge is that they would announce the track number for Acela trains in the club.

Another secret for boarding quicker is if you don't get a red cap and you see that the escalator you need to descend is mobbed then use the escalators in the middle of the hall that go to the "mid level" from this level there is another set of escalators down to platform level.

Acela First is not really worth paying for but I did have elite status with Amtrak back then and got a nice stack of free upgrade certs that I would use sometimes. I didn't care too much for the meals so would just usually pick up carry out from Penn Station and bring it on the train and eat at my seat as I didn't like bobbing and weaving to get to the dining car to order a hot dog or pizza. The food is Penn is cheaper than the prices on the train.

I can assure you that the club is nothing special, especially at Penn Station. The lounge is this dimly lit room with low ceilings. If you happen to be there during business rush hours it is literally spilling over with people with not a seat to spare. The lounge dragons never bother to get up from their perch behind the desk. The "snacks" consist of small packages of chips and pastries. The bowl is frequently empty. The drinks consist of a soda fountain machine and a stack of plastic cups.

 

When I doing the Washington DC to NYC run every week I tried to time my arrival to Penn so I had to spend as little time as possible in the lounge. The only reason I ever went to the lounge is that they would announce the track number for Acela trains in the club.

 

Another secret for boarding quicker is if you don't get a red cap and you see that the escalator you need to descend is mobbed then use the escalators in the middle of the hall that go to the "mid level" from this level there is another set of escalators down to platform level.

 

Acela First is not really worth paying for but I did have elite status with Amtrak back then and got a nice stack of free upgrade certs that I would use sometimes. I didn't care too much for the meals so would just usually pick up carry out from Penn Station and bring it on the train and eat at my seat as I didn't like bobbing and weaving to get to the dining car to order a hot dog or pizza. The food is Penn is cheaper than the prices on the train.

Good to know-------thanks.