Disembark at the Manhatten cruise Terminal

[Topdog52]

I am trying to get an idea on when to have the shuttle to the hotel pick us up. Does anyone have a guess how long it will take. The ship docks at 7 AM and I am not sure the procedure on the pearl verses the bigger ships.. 

[Laszlo]

19 minutes ago, Topdog52 said:

I am trying to get an idea on when to have the shuttle to the hotel pick us up. Does anyone have a guess how long it will take. The ship docks at 7 AM and I am not sure the procedure on the pearl verses the bigger ships.. 

I've sailed out of NYC 4 times, we have always been off the ship and driving home by 8:15am. With that said we did easy walk off (taking all of our bags) and getting in line about 7am. It will vary but we have been lucky with getting off fairly quick. If you use the elevator it will take longer since it seems to be backed up even when we get off

Edited February 18, 2020 by Laszlo

[JamieLogical]

It's always so hard to predict in NYC. I have disembarked there 5 times now. Three times we breezed through in under a half hour. Two times it took HOURS. In April, it was two hours and six minutes from the time I stepped off the ship to the time I stepped onto the street. In December, the hold up seemed to be getting into the terminal. The line to get into the terminal ran the whole length of the ship inside and out. But once we did FINALLY make it into the terminal, we breezed through customs in seconds, as they were doing the facial recognition scans and there wasn't even a line... you could just walk straight through.

[BaWBarmy]

I've disembarked in NYC 4 times. My first tip would be to take the easy walk off, we had bags misplaced on our first two times in NYC. My second tip would be to get a taxi or an Uber rather than a shuttle if your hotel is in Manhattan. If you get a good porter they'll hail you a cab for a small tip. Got to be cheaper than a shuttle.

[mjkacmom]

What manhattan hotel had a shuttle?

[cmh]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

It's always so hard to predict in NYC. I have disembarked there 5 times now. Three times we breezed through in under a half hour. Two times it took HOURS. In April, it was two hours and six minutes from the time I stepped off the ship to the time I stepped onto the street. In December, the hold up seemed to be getting into the terminal. The line to get into the terminal ran the whole length of the ship inside and out. But once we did FINALLY make it into the terminal, we breezed through customs in seconds, as they were doing the facial recognition scans and there wasn't even a line... you could just walk straight through.

It took us over 2 hours last Saturday on the Gem. Long slow moving lines to get off the ship to retrieve luggage and endless lines for customs. Next time in NY I will be in the first group and carry off my luggage.

[phillyguy31]

If you can't self carry your bags, get a porter they will get you out of the terminal fast.

[mjkacmom]

3 minutes ago, phillyguy31 said:

If you can't self carry your bags, get a porter they will get you out of the terminal fast.

And even if you can, get a porter, we’ve used them with self carry off and also when we had luggage taken the night before. Worth the $.

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

It's always so hard to predict in NYC.

Agree with this. My advice is to get in line early. The bottleneck seems to be getting from the gangway of the ship to the customs terminal. The escalators seem to get backed up. They are using the facial recognition process in NYC so that is speeding things up at the customs checkpoint.

[PelicanBill]

So with the answers above you know you cannot be sure of your time off the ship... But 9am is a safe bet.  You may end up waiting if you get in line early.

 

Pickups are required to line up along 12th ave. facing northbound, that is, on the other side of the street.  And porters have been told not to assist luggage across the street as far as I remember from recent reports.

 

It is best if they have your phone number and call you to tell you what cross street they are near. Or perhaps they will be on the first block of a cross street. 

 

[Mike_DeA]

 

A major issue IMO are the port workers.  On one cruise last year the port worker monitoring the escalator traffic was requiring way too much space between people getting on.  Something like 6 - 8 empty steps instead of the normal 3-4.  It doesn't sound like much, but multiply a delay of say, 2 seconds x 1,000 people, that's 33 minutes right there.  And these ships hold 2,000 - 5,000 passengers.

 

It took almost 2 hours from lining up at 9am until I reached the street.  My advice is to go early. 

 

I'm glad to hear the Manhattan terminal is now using the facial recognition at CBP! 

Edited February 18, 2020 by Mike_DeA

[kelib]

3 hours ago, Topdog52 said:

I am trying to get an idea on when to have the shuttle to the hotel pick us up. Does anyone have a guess how long it will take. The ship docks at 7 AM and I am not sure the procedure on the pearl verses the bigger ships.. 

Is there somewhere you really need to be? I always end up taking the last group off the ship which has shorter lines compared to the earlier times. I don’t think I have ever actually waited until the time posted for them to call our group and then the lines to get off usually move faster. Not for everyone but the earlier times are always the most crowded compared to later. 
 

Edited February 18, 2020 by kelib

[tomk3212]

We've disembarked in NYC over a dozen times over 20 years and the times vary GREATLY, as many posters have stated.

 

1) Worst was back in 2004 on the Dawn back when CBP required foreign nationals coming into the US to check-in aboard the ship prior to letting everyone else off.  Ship docked around 0600, as usual, but everyone had to wait till after 10AM because some Russian pax had to be located; announcements were being made in English but these folks only spoke Russian.

 

2) Spring Break cruise on the Spirit in March 2006 when NCL first introduced walk-off disembarkation.  NIGHTMARE!!!  99% of pax elected to do the walk-off so passageways  were jammed to the gills with college kids all trying to get off the ship at the same time.  We were on the street by 0930 after lining up at 0730.

 

3) Best: several times aboard the Gem we started walking off at 0700 & were in a taxi heading to Penn Station by 0720.

 

So as the old gambler used to say, "You pays you money and you takes you chances..." lol.

 

I have noticed since the introduction of the B'away & B'away Plus the times to disembark in NYC have grown progressively worse.  No big surprise, due to the increased # of pax. Thank goodness CBP now uses facial recognition on a regular basis so that speeds things up considerably.

 

Agree with several other posters that the escalators/elevators seem to be the major choke points in pax flow control, especially with walk-off pax like us trying to carry their luggage down the escalators or waiting for the elevator.

 

Very best of luck when you do disembark in NYC at the end of your cruise!

Edited February 19, 2020 by tomk3212

[RnR_cruise]

21 hours ago, phillyguy31 said:

If you can't self carry your bags, get a porter they will get you out of the terminal fast.

This. Getting off the ship last time was terrible. We weaved through the Manhattan room & it took 2 hours.

 

But once in the terminal, we were at our car within minutes.

[kesrya]

On 2/18/2020 at 1:57 PM, kelib said:

Is there somewhere you really need to be? I always end up taking the last group off the ship which has shorter lines compared to the earlier times. I don’t think I have ever actually waited until the time posted for them to call our group and then the lines to get off usually move faster. Not for everyone but the earlier times are always the most crowded compared to later. 
 

I was wondering about this. If I have no flight to catch, what is the advantage to getting off immediately as opposed to relaxing on board longer? I've never done a NCL cruise before. Is there a reason people want to rush off first thing?

[mjkacmom]

1 minute ago, kesrya said:

I was wondering about this. If I have no flight to catch, what is the advantage to getting off immediately as opposed to relaxing on board longer? I've never done a NCL cruise before. Is there a reason people want to rush off first thing?

We usually don’t need to rush, but prefer early walk off to staying. I think we waited on our first cruise, and the vibe was just unpleasant. Crew is super busy, passengers are cranky, public areas are crowded...

[kelib]

31 minutes ago, kesrya said:

I was wondering about this. If I have no flight to catch, what is the advantage to getting off immediately as opposed to relaxing on board longer? I've never done a NCL cruise before. Is there a reason people want to rush off first thing?

I usually make my flights for mid/late afternoon so it comes down to sitting on the ship or in the airport. I have never had the bad vibe cranky experience but I usually will just pull out my kindle or catch up on my phone. Last year a few of us just sat in the solo lounge and no one said a thing to us. It is just a preference. 

[Topdog52]

1 hour ago, kesrya said:

I was wondering about this. If I have no flight to catch, what is the advantage to getting off immediately as opposed to relaxing on board longer? I've never done a NCL cruise before. Is there a reason people want to rush off first thing?

The reasons are I am trying to estimate a time for my shuttle service to pick me up They charge extra after the first 30 minutes.  I don't think I said anything about rushing off but  I would also like to get off quick so I can explore NYC before I fly out the next morning. 

[kesrya]

I was asking for myself. Sorry to hijack your thread. I thought you had received your answer and I was just curious if there was an advantage to staying on the ship for those of us who don't need to be anywhere after disembarking.

[Russiamomm]

I’m in the stay on the ship, have breakfast and depart a bit later camp.  I’m not sure I would try to arrange a pickup time if you’re staying in Manhattan.  There’s a taxi stand right across the street from the terminal. Getting where you need to be will be easy and reasonable, with no need to try to arrange in advance.  Just my two cents.

[HowardK]

I usually do easy walk off and am within the first 10 in line and usually through customs at at bus terminal around 8:15. The downfall is getting up too early, having 5:30 breakfast and being exhausted later. I might do later and get 11am bus this year

[poffles]

On 2/18/2020 at 2:57 PM, kelib said:

Is there somewhere you really need to be? I always end up taking the last group off the ship which has shorter lines compared to the earlier times. I don’t think I have ever actually waited until the time posted for them to call our group and then the lines to get off usually move faster. Not for everyone but the earlier times are always the most crowded compared to later. 
 

Do you know what the last (latest) time typically is to get off?  I have no rush to be anywhere so would rather sit around somewhere to avoid a 2 hour line and then be the tail end of the people.  My last NCL cruise (on Epic) we did 'easy walk off' and the line for that was one of my biggest gripes and it sticks with me 7 years later .. and now my first NCL since then on a big ship again and I am dreading this.

[Proud Dance Mom]

1 hour ago, poffles said:

Do you know what the last (latest) time typically is to get off?  I have no rush to be anywhere so would rather sit around somewhere to avoid a 2 hour line and then be the tail end of the people.  My last NCL cruise (on Epic) we did 'easy walk off' and the line for that was one of my biggest gripes and it sticks with me 7 years later .. and now my first NCL since then on a big ship again and I am dreading this.

Just got off the Bliss in NYC on the 16/02.  We had color red, which is the last color to be called.  It was slated to be called for 09h50, and they called it at 10H05.  We sat very comfortably in the Observation Lounge until it was called, then took the elavator down to Deck 7 and sat in the Local until the line thinned out.  Ended up being one of the last people off the ship and was in terminal, got luggage and thru customs before 11h00.  On of the most pleasant disembarkments that I have experienced.

[Comi.uy]

On 2/24/2020 at 6:21 PM, kesrya said:

I was asking for myself. Sorry to hijack your thread. I thought you had received your answer and I was just curious if there was an advantage to staying on the ship for those of us who don't need to be anywhere after disembarking.

You can totally have breakfast. However, the time we did, we chose to carry all our own bags. That was a very inconvenient choice, going to the buffet with all our bags was a hell of a mess. Dont repeat our mistake!

[poffles]

7 hours ago, Comi.uy said:

You can totally have breakfast. However, the time we did, we chose to carry all our own bags. That was a very inconvenient choice, going to the buffet with all our bags was a hell of a mess. Dont repeat our mistake!

 

Been there done that on the Epic ... never again.  We did leave our bags in the room until after breakfast and then just went back and got them to exit ... but still that was when the lesson learned happened ... the long winding line pushing suitcases was torture.  Add to that the number of people that chose not to respect the line (oh of course they didn't know that was the middle of the line ... hmmm)  and it became total chaos and was not the best way to end the week.  People were annoyed and then became rude and it was terrible.

 

I will be in my happy place this time 🙂