Train arrives Penn Station 12:50 am I cutting it to close.

We are arriving in Manhattan by Amtrak at 12:50 for a NCL cruise leaving at 4:00. We arrive in Penn Station. Will we have enough time to make the boat?

I definitely would not trust Amtrak to get me there on time with that small a window.

Generally, yes. However, have traveled a fair number of places on Amtrak, I would not feel very comfortable with that little bit of extra time. Come in the night before.

Remember you have to be on board by either 2:30 or 3pm.

Don't do it.

If you feel you must do it, be sure you have insurance that covers your missing the boat.

If you don't want to stay in NYC, look at driving to Albany and taking the bus or train early the next morning. Folks can provide more details about this strategy.

Cutting it too close. Never trust Amtrak to be on time.

I think you mean 12:50 pm, not am? Anyway, I've taken that train often and I would not do it the same day as the cruise. It's too unpredictable. If you can, one option is to drive to Albany the day before, and take an early morning train from there. They run almost every hour. Or, as long as you're there, look into Yankee Trails bus service to the port.

I would actually feel more comfortable flying in the same day on a non-stop flight. I love the train, but wouldn't trust it for such a long ride on embarkation day.

Anyone who has traveled on Amtrak knows there is the world's time and then there is Amtrak Time. They rarely are the same. I would do the day before or, as the others have suggested, get to Albany and take either the train or the Yankee Trails Bus service into New York.

I'd say you'd be fine if you were taking a NE corridor train, because I've done it, but it looks like you have to take an Empire service train. Could you come down to NYP on the Maple Leaf the night before? That'd me much better than driving all the way to Albany. Like others have said, I'd be very careful about taking a same-day, non-NE corridor routing. You'd probably be okay, but I'd prefer a bigger time cushion.

I would be coming on the Empire 280 leaving Buffalo at 4:54AM arriving 12:5o PM. I think with the cost of gas and possibly a hotel leaving from Albany is not a great option. I am bringing my DD and do not want to take the train the day before because she will miss a day of school. I also have found a Megabus leaving at 10:30 PM from Buffalo arriving at 6:30AM. Its really cheap but I hate buses because they are usually disgusting! Love the train ride just worried about it being late. My gut says being a Saturday it probably would be fine. I would hate to be wrong. Anyone ever take the Megabus to NYC?

I would be coming on the Empire 280 leaving Buffalo at 4:54AM arriving 12:5o PM. I think with the cost of gas and possibly a hotel leaving from Albany is not a great option. I am bringing my DD and do not want to take the train the day before because she will miss a day of school. I also have found a Megabus leaving at 10:30 PM from Buffalo arriving at 6:30AM. Its really cheap but I hate buses because they are usually disgusting! Love the train ride just worried about it being late. My gut says being a Saturday it probably would be fine. I would hate to be wrong. Anyone ever take the Megabus to NYC?

Thanks for the explanation. I know a number of folks who have taken the Megabus from Baltimore to NY, and loved it. I've considered it, but I don't know how the luggage situation works. Everyone I've talked to who has used Megabus has used it for a daytrip or one overnight, and had minimum luggage. I don't know how a weeks worth of luggage would work, and I sure wouldn't want to start my vacation crawling around in the belly of a bus retrieving my big suitcase. Good luck, whatever you decide.

Here's a thread on Yankee Trails cruise bus from Albany.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1998418

also fyi most travel insurance requires a 4 hour delay before it kicks in if you time this too close a delay might not met the insurance terms.

If the train is on time, definitely. Problem is....whenever I've taken Amtrack it has NEVER been on time!

I would be coming on the Empire 280 leaving Buffalo at 4:54AM arriving 12:5o PM. I think with the cost of gas and possibly a hotel leaving from Albany is not a great option. I am bringing my DD and do not want to take the train the day before because she will miss a day of school. I also have found a Megabus leaving at 10:30 PM from Buffalo arriving at 6:30AM. Its really cheap but I hate buses because they are usually disgusting! Love the train ride just worried about it being late. My gut says being a Saturday it probably would be fine. I would hate to be wrong. Anyone ever take the Megabus to NYC?

I just picked a random Friday, and there's an Amtrak train that leaves at 1pm, meaning your DD would only miss half a day's school.

I would never take the bus for that distance.

No....don't do it. You never know when bad rail stuff will happen, and it happens ALL the time these days.....

Is JetBlue or another airline that much more expensive than the train? I would think it'd be worth it to have a 1 1/2 flight over a long train trip.

Is JetBlue or another airline that much more expensive than the train? I would think it'd be worth it to have a 1 1/2 flight over a long train trip.

JetBlue? Not very practical the day of a cruise. You would need to get to the airport at least 1 1/2 hours prior to a flight out of Buffalo, then 1:10 to JFK (and that assumes the flight is on time)...then wait 45 min to get your luggage...and then figure at least an hour to drive to the port (not to mention the cost). So suddenly a short flight becomes more then a half day! And on e should always be cognizant that since Dec 1, the US airlines have managed to cancel around 80,000 flights with more then that running hours late.

We do agree with many other posters. A lot of travel/cruise experience has taught us to never plan on getting to a port city the day of a cruise unless you live very close. While I am not a big fan of pulling any child out of school for a trip (DW was a teacher for over 30 years) we think this might be the exception to the rule. If your DD can only miss a half day of school to give you some piece of mind, get to NYC the day before...relax in a hotel and have a nice dinner...get a good nice sleep with not worries about missing your cruise....and then head to the port in time to have lunch on the ship.

Hank

Thank you everyone for the advice! I am pretty sure we have decided on a Megabus leaving Buffalo at 10:30PM arriving 6:30AM in Manhattan. It returns leaving at 1:00PM to home. Never done it before but the prices are unbelievable $148.00 round trip for 2 adults and 1 child. Of course we will still have to grab a cab to and from the bus! Hopefully we will be able to sleep going there. I will probably take an ambien!

Good choice. Although I would suggest Dramamine. You get to sleep and get protection from the swaying of the bus (pretend you're on a ship ;))

I have ridden the Amtrak from Ohio to the West. And rode it when I lived at home with my parents because my Dad worked for the railroad. Coming home we were a day late. They ALWAYS let the freight trains go first. We sat out in the middle of no where for 8 hours. I guess there was a derailment ahead of us. So when they did clear the tracks all the freight trains went ahead of us..

It was the best trip our kids ever took but I never count on the train to be on

time ever.

Go the night before . All kinds of unexpected adventures could happen with Amtrak.

I . They ALWAYS let the freight trains go first.

No, they don't. Their contract with the freight lines- who in many cases outside of the east coast mainline passenger corridors own the lines, says passenger trains ALWAYS have priority over freight. And Amtrak has won several legal battles over the last 8-10 years enforcing this agreement.

As they have won these battles, Amtrak's on time rate has improved. Is it safe in the context of the OP's question? Absolutely not. But all of my recent rides, save one (coincidently, on the DC-NYC passenger corridor, which doesn't carry freight) have been on time, even early into some stations.