Is 11:30 post cruise departure from Penn Station too early

[John Bean]

My DW and I will be arriving back in NY on the NCL Gem on March 22. As of now we have reservations on Amtrak at 11:35 AM. I have been reading a lot of horror stories about the debarkation process In NY. Do you think I should delay my train trip until later in the afternoon :confused:

[CruiserBruce]

No. Walk off, get a taxi. You should be fine.

[njhorseman]

If the process proceeds somewhat normally you'll be able to make your train. Penn Station is only a ten minute drive from the pier, but, you can never tell when something will go wrong. For example, the Gem is arriving in NY very late this week because a sick passenger had to be taken from the ship. You just can never tell when something like that will happen. I would book the train you want, but just recognize that there's a slight chance of not being able to make it.

[Gingee]

I would try for a later train or stay over one night and go the next morning.

[trish1c]

Assuming the ship ports on time you should be fine. However, if they are telling you that she won't port until 10, it may be tight. If the ship hits rough seas coming north -- a distinct possiblity in March -- she will come in late.

[dwjoe]

11:35 am is cutting it close.

 

We got off the Gem yesterday at approx 2pm. As njhorseman said, the delay was due to a course diversion for a helicopter medevac pickup. That took a few hours. On the 9-day itinerary, the leg back from the Caribbean to NYC doesn't have a lot of room to make up for lost time. The captain increased speed to 23 knots which mitigated the delay but we still ended up docking at around 11L30am. So be aware if anything goes wrong you may be a few hours late getting into NYC.

[fishin' musician]

As long as it is a corridor train, there are many departures throughout the afternoon and evening.

[sppunk]

I've sailed from Manhatten four times and have never missed the 9:02 a.m. Keystone train. If you self-debark you shouldn't have any issues.

 

That as always is subject to change should the ship run into an unexpected delay. But it takes 8-10 minutes from 12th & 51st to Penn Station.

[marco]

IF the ship arrives on time, you should have no problem. Do the "self walk off" and you should have plenty of time as Penn Station is approx a 10 minute ride from the pier. We came home last week from a cruise on NCL Jewel. We did NOT do self walk off, and we left the terminal a few minutes after 10AM.