Debarkation in Manhattan--what time should my ride come?

My MIL will be picking us up from the Port of Manhattan when we debarked the Carnival Splendor next week. What time should we tell her to be there? We have FTTF so are supposed to get priority debarkation. Also, is there a dedicated pick up area or if not where should we tell her to meet us?

First time sailing out of NYC so appreciate any tips. We leave in the morning.

That's a last minute question & hope it's not too late. We're on the Splendor last September out of MCT and had a great time.

If the ship is scheduled for 8 AM disembarkation and you have FTTF and doing the Express Self-Walkoff, scheduling a pickup time between 9 AM and 9:30 AM would be reasonsable, without rushing and in case of delays with CBP and/or multiple ships docking next week on your return.

We came back 2 Sundays ago on the NCL Breakaway and Express SW started around 7:30 AM and we had Priority Disembarkation around 8:30 AM and took less than 5 minutes to get off the gangway, and about 10 minutes thru CBP - it was "slower" than ususal with them checking passports & matching picture with faces - plus the walk outside to street level on 12th Avenue, it was almost 9 AM.

When we embark, pax pickup was allowed upstairs on Level 2 but when we returned, everyone EXCEPT those parked on the rooftop was send across 12th Avenue for taxi, car service & private pickup, etc. (except NCL tour/airport transfers) I would suggest plan for meeting your MIL on 12th Avenue at 48th Street or slighly further up north on 12th Avenue (49th Street) since EVERYONE will be using 48th & 12th Ave as the point of reference for the pickup.

The ship will be arriving back in NY harbor very early, probably around 6 or 6:30 AM with a slow sail up the Hudson and you will have solid mobile signal by them on your carrier, you can adjust or finalize the pickup time & location to be more precise at that point, if she is coming from NYC or neabry suburbs - still plenty of time to get on the road.

If she's coming from NJ, advise her to avoid using the Holland Tunnel approach into NYC due to road reconstruction on the Jersey side & use the GW Bridge or Lincoln Tunnel in midtown instead.

Splendor is less than 50 miles from NY harbor at this moment, doing about 10 knots or less and will be IN early in the morning. Bon Voyage & Enjoy!

Perfect---thanks so much!

Depending on where your pick=up person has to drive from, the other alternative is take your time, be in the last group to disembark have them pick you up around 11. Just about everyone will be gone, it's a tad too early for folks sailing on that day to arrive, there will be minimal congestion and the person picking you up won't have to leave go come get you at the crack of dawn and if you are returning on a week day, they won't get caught in the earlier rush hour traffic.