Disembarkation Manhattan Question

How long, approximately, will it take to get off the ship in Manhattan for a Canadian without a Nexus card (although I hope to have it before the trip)? I would like to hire a private car to take me to the airport in New Jersey but can't really specify a time to pick me up without knowing how long I will have to wait to clear customs/immigration. Sailing August 6-13/17.

Thank you.

Nexus card won't really help.

Depends what ship you are on. And when you want to get off. If you get up early and line up long before the gangway opens, you can be off in less than 15 minutes.

A few minute later, there will be a [long] line on the ship to scan through ship's security one last time. Once you are down the gangway, there will be a [long] line waiting to get down the escalators into the baggage area (they limit the number of people in the baggage and immigration hall). And a [long] line at immigration (which actually moves very quickly). If you are on a big ship (Breakaway), 4500-5000 people (that's 10 widebody airplane's worth of people) need to get through a very small number of immigration stands. Last month, it was an hour from getting in line on the ship to being on the curb.

Get a porter to help you with your luggage. They go through a shorter line at customs. We handed him a twenty, and it was well worth it.

Instead of worrying for your private car on pick up time, you can take an Uber. Just about 10 min to wait after calling when already outside the terminal.

Our last 2 disembarkation at MCT using Carmel was not pre-booked, just lanuched the free App to book/request a pickup - and the driver would've been there to meet us in about 7 or 8 minutes, faster than our "leisurely" walking pace as it is a typical 10 minutes walk ... once the porter get us beyond the secured area downstairs & we can switch on/use our smartphone again.

In other words, there is practically no difference in a specific private vehicle in picking up disembarking ship passengers, whether it's Dial7, Carmel or Uber/Lyft ... as there is no curbside meet & greet ... just call when your luggage has been collected & you are ready to go.

Ship's early/on-time arrival and prompt clearance by port & CBP, and getting priority disembarkation with escort are synergy for making your way out to EWR airport for flight connections ... far too many variables for predicting with any high degrees of confidence.

A major roadway incidents, hazmat or freak accident could ruin the best plans in place ... total # of ships at the port facilities could also affect the wait time for transportation pickup. Even for domestic flights, it's always advisable to book nothing earlier than 12 noon or 1 PM, keep in mind that TSA is another element in this complicated calculus ... and, something about airport workers' strike that is currently suspended as both sides are back at the table, trying to work out a deal.

Thank you for your responses. Yes I am on the Breakaway. The porter suggestion is a good idea. I will download a car services app to get my transport to EWR. I have built in lots of time to get to the airport.