Sailing from NY - need help!

[mskaufman]

Recommend that you be on deck for sail away.  The SOL will not be on the same side of the ship as the Manhattan sky line.  You may have to get up early but the return trip up the Hudson is worth going out for.

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, markeb said:

I'm am going to disagree on selecting the airport based on the lowest fare. Choose your flights based on total cost. EWR may well have the lowest airfare, but it could have the highest transportation cost overall.

I have no problem with that. I should have been more careful in laying out the reasons for selecting an airport.

[njhorseman]

59 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Transportation from LGA to Manhattan is usually a whole lot easier/cheaper than from EWR;  since the recent rebuild LGA is an attractive, well laid out facility which is generally much easier to navigate.

 

No drama, just fact.

Yes, all that is fact but it still doesn't justify a statement like "OMG, do NOT fly  into EWR to leave from Manhattan. Please do not do this."

[lenquixote66]

On 11/5/2022 at 9:01 PM, cruiseat50 said:

Hi,

Well I finally booked a cruise on the Gem (haven't been on her yet) going out of NY and have never been there at all so any hints/tips/help is appreciated.  We are sailing in March and will be going to Bermuda and Caribbean.  We usually book an aft suite but decided this time to get a forward suite so that we can see the Statue of Liberty as my mom did when she came over after WWII.  

I have read a few things on some of the other threads and some of the questions I have so far is... 

 

Is there only one cruise terminal or many so that I know what to tell the cabbie. 

 

I think we will stay in Manhattan one night prior to the cruise and any suggestions for a good hotel that hopefully is somewhat reasonable (security being the highest priority as we are both somewhat disabled).

 

What airport should we fly into - JFK or LaGuardia?  

 

We will stay a few days after the cruise and do some sightseeing and would like some suggestions other than ones we will probably go to Times Square, Empire State Building, maybe the Statue of Liberty.  We will definitely see a play while there and I have started doing that research.  We will not rent a car as I am the only one that can drive and I don't want that stress so will either take a cab or Uber.  Probably will not go on the subway as that seems a bit too scary for us but what about Central Park during the day of course?  Where should we stay - if Manhattan is too spendy for multiple days?

 

TIA for any help/suggestions

I have a very close friend living in Spring Hill,Fla.Whatever you do have a wonderful cruise.The Gem is one of my all time favorite ships.

[cruiseat50]

6 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I have a very close friend living in Spring Hill,Fla.Whatever you do have a wonderful cruise.The Gem is one of my all time favorite ships.

lol... Whenever I tell anyone where I'm from they have never heard of it so I just tell them it's NW of Tampa.  Of course I hadn't heard of it before we visited it just before the pandemic and loved it so much we moved here a year and a half ago.

 

I do like this class of ship with the Pearl being our favorite so far (will be had to sway us otherwise as we have been on her 6 times).  We have been on Breakaway and that was good in some ways and meh in others.

Edited November 8, 2022 by cruiseat50

[lenquixote66]

15 minutes ago, cruiseat50 said:

lol... Whenever I tell anyone where I'm from they have never heard of it so I just tell them it's NW of Tampa.  Of course I hadn't heard of it before we visited it just before the pandemic and loved it so much we moved here a year and a half ago.

 

I do like this class of ship with the Pearl being our favorite so far (will be had to sway us otherwise as we have been on her 6 times).  We have been on Breakaway and that was good in some ways and meh in others.

We have been on the Dawn and the Breakaway.The Gem had an excellent lounge singer on all of our cruises,Leo Josten.

My friend moved to Spring Hill several years ago.A guy who I went to high school with also lives there but I am not in contact with him.

 

[FionaMG]

On 11/6/2022 at 8:53 PM, altarr said:

OMG, do NOT fly  into EWR to leave from Manhattan. Please do not do this.

 

For those of us who are unfamiliar with the area and may be planning a trip there (me, for example), this kind of comment is really unhelpful, especially if EWR may be the only viable option. Please share details as to WHY it is so awful as to deserve such a dire warning.

[FionaMG]

Hi, @cruiseat50, in case you hadn't spotted it and might be interested, there's a live review from the Gem going on right now over on the NCL board, here: 

 

[GTJ]

26 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

For those of us who are unfamiliar with the area and may be planning a trip there (me, for example), this kind of comment is really unhelpful, especially if EWR may be the only viable option. Please share details as to WHY it is so awful as to deserve such a dire warning.

Your question reminded me of a fairly well-known story from 1934, relating to a flight taken by New York City's mayor. As the Daily News reported: "[T]he formidable new mayor of the City of New York was flying home from Chicago aboard a TWA DC-2 that landed, as was its practice, at Newark. And everyone got off the plane except Fiorello LaGuardia, who pointed out that his ticket said CHICAGO-NEW YORK and said he wanted to go to New York, not Newark. And the captain politely explained that, well, Newark was where New York flights landed because that's where the airport was. And LaGuardia said again that his ticket damn well said New York and he refused to leave his seat. And the captain thought this over, and by and by the plane was in the air again, delivering Mayor LaGuardia, its sole passenger, to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, which could only just barely accommodate a DC-2." This incident pushed Mayor LaGuardia into developing a city airport where an amusement park and beach had previously been, and then presently occupied by a small general aviation field; the new airport would bear Mayor LaGuardia's name.

 

It was then, and it remains today, a matter of municipal pride to fly into New York City. Countless comedians have made jokes about New Jersey (and to be fair, New York has had its fair share as well). But from a broad perspective, Newark Liberty International Airport serves New York City just as well as LaGuardia Airport. Both facilities are about 45 minutes distant from Times Square, when traffic is normal and not overly congested, and both have acceptable and comparable public transportation available. Of course, there are many small and specific instances (some of which might apply only at particular times of day) that could favor one airport over the other. For example, availability of economic or well-located airport hotels for a prior-day overnight stay might favor one airport over the other. I am generally more favorably disposed towards LaGuardia Airport, but that's largely a personal prejudice of mine that is driven by the same municipal pride possessed by Mayor LaGuardia, as well as the airport's proximity to my home in Flushing, Queens. But many others favor Newark.

 

The other airport serving New York City, John F. Kennedy International Airport, is the most distant from Times Square, and objectively can be characterized as less convenient that both of Newark and LaGuardia airports. But even so, it is not terribly inconvenient, and it does have good public transportation access. It, too, has its own quirks that one can pick at, but again it is not an unreasonable airport to utilize.

 

In sum, Newark's airport is not so awful, and it does not deserve the dire warning. It is a reasonable and practicable alternative for persons choosing to fly to New York City for a cruise vessel departure from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. There may be reasons to use or avoid Newark's airport in specific cases, but my suspicion is that the general "dire" warning is largely based on personal prejudice.

[FionaMG]

Thanks @GTJ. That's a very interesting story and I enjoyed reading it. 🙂

 

I had heard (through these boards) about La Guardia's recently completed upgrade but since we'll be flying in from across the pond we're stuck with either JFK or EWR. I'm sure we'll manage just fine one way or the other; in fact, at the moment, the logistics are pointing to flying into one and back out from the other!

Edited November 8, 2022 by FionaMG

[njhorseman]

4 hours ago, FionaMG said:

 

For those of us who are unfamiliar with the area and may be planning a trip there (me, for example), this kind of comment is really unhelpful, especially if EWR may be the only viable option. Please share details as to WHY it is so awful as to deserve such a dire warning.

You may have seen that shortly after this was posted I challenged the poster to support their statement with some facts. They never replied, nor do I expect them to.

As a native of New York City and current resident of New Jersey who has flown in to and out of each of the three area airports for decades I can assure you that each has its positives and negatives and I would never rule out using one because of some unsupported dramatic statement . @GTJ's observations about the airports are spot on.

 

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, GTJ said:

Your question reminded me of a fairly well-known story from 1934, relating to a flight taken by New York City's mayor. As the Daily News reported:

I've always wondered if the Daily News reporter embellished the story just a little bit.

Edited November 8, 2022 by njhorseman

[FionaMG]

6 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

You may have seen that shortly after this was posted I challenged the poster to support their statement with some facts. They never replied, nor do I expect them to.

As a native of New York City and current resident of New Jersey who has flown in to and out of each of the three area airports for decades I can assure you that each has its positives and negatives and I would never rule out using one because of some unsupported dramatic statement . @GTJ's observations about the airports are spot on.

 

Thanks @njhorseman. I did indeed notice your challenge to that poster. I appreciate your insight.

[Langoustine]

I live on the west side of Manhattan (not very far from the Manhattan cruise terminal), and Newark Airport is actually my preferred airport, La Guardia second, and JFK a very distant third.

 

[Sailing12Away]

4 hours ago, Langoustine said:

I live on the west side of Manhattan (not very far from the Manhattan cruise terminal), and Newark Airport is actually my preferred airport, La Guardia second, and JFK a very distant third.

 

Being 5 mins from the Belt... my personal preferences are in the exact opposite order as yours. To each their own. Although that 1 mile hike from the gates back to baggage claim at terminal 4 always have us regretting our choice on international return trips.

 

Did the renovations at LGA include public transportation there? It's always nice having a backup option for the airtrain at JFK, but no such options for us at LGA. Haven't been there since the construction started.

[navybankerteacher]

24 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

..

 

Did the renovations at LGA include public transportation there? It's always nice having a backup option for the airtrain at JFK, but no such options for us at LGA. Haven't been there since the construction started.

Having passed through LGA at least four times since construction was completed, i feel it is better laid out and easier to navigate than its alternatives.  Sadly, public transportation is stillpretty much bus-limited, but the set up and arrangements for taxi and car drop-offs and pick-ups match any anywhere

[GTJ]

On 11/8/2022 at 1:49 PM, njhorseman said:

I've always wondered if the Daily News reporter embellished the story just a little bit.

LaGuardia was a politician, so when an issue he wanted to exploit landed in his lap certainly he would have played it up. And so look at what was going on at the time. LaGuardia, alongside Moses, saw the past as being dominated by lumbering streetcars that impeded progress, and the 1930s in particular were known for having motorized so many car lines. He saw automotive transport as the future, and so parkways were being built that decade. Complementing that modern travel was air transport and their necessary airports. And so LaGuardia certainly would have played up the opportunity to bring aviation into New York, and not let New Jersey have the upper hand. New York had built Floyd Bennett field, but it was not well-located and so most commercial traffic went to Newark. So LaGuardia being able to exploit the Newark incident as an impetus for expanding the relatively small airport at North Beach, Queens, into what has become LaGuardia Airport, certainly would have been reasonable at the time. Maybe there was some embellishment by the Daily News, but in the larger picture, LaGuardia knew how to work the press.

[Got2Cruise]

On 11/8/2022 at 10:16 AM, FionaMG said:

Thanks @GTJ. That's a very interesting story and I enjoyed reading it. 🙂

 

I had heard (through these boards) about La Guardia's recently completed upgrade but since we'll be flying in from across the pond we're stuck with either JFK or EWR. I'm sure we'll manage just fine one way or the other; in fact, at the moment, the logistics are pointing to flying into one and back out from the other!

I have family and friends who live in Europe.  They take NJ Transit from EWR to NY Penn Station with no problems. Same with taking the Air Train from JFK into NYC Penn. ironically, taking mass transit from LGA involves taking a bus and then a subway or LIRR. 

[GTJ]

6 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

They take NJ Transit from EWR to NY Penn Station with no problems. Same with taking the Air Train from JFK into NYC Penn. ironically, taking mass transit from LGA involves taking a bus and then a subway or LIRR. 

I will note that for LaGuardia Airport, it is a free, non-stop express shuttle bus service between the airport passenger terminals and the subway and railroad stations in Jackson Heights and Woodside. In other words, comparable easy public transportation. (At all three airports there are other public transportation options as well.) So while there are some specific distinctions for each airport, from the broader perspective all the airports have good transportation to and from midtown Manhattan, be it private transportation or public transportation, and there is no general basis upon which any one airport should not be considered.

Edited November 10, 2022 by GTJ

[Peachypooh]

For us LGA especially since the renovations are basically done is the easiest and fastest airport for cruising out of Manhattan. I do however recommend flying into EWR if sailing from Bayonne. That was also a  super easy trip.

[navybankerteacher]

On 11/8/2022 at 4:12 PM, Langoustine said:

I live on the west side of Manhattan (not very far from the Manhattan cruise terminal), and Newark Airport is actually my preferred airport, La Guardia second, and JFK a very distant third.

 

Really?  With reasonable luck a taxi from Manhattan to LGA should take about 20 -25 minutes and cost $40-$50 while, with the same amount of luck, the taxi to EWR is likely to take 40-45 minutes and cost $60-$70.  

[Got2Cruise]

49 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Really?  With reasonable luck a taxi from Manhattan to LGA should take about 20 -25 minutes and cost $40-$50 while, with the same amount of luck, the taxi to EWR is likely to take 40-45 minutes and cost $60-$70.  

Westside of Manhattan? It can take 25 mins just to go crosstown. Lol Eastside to LGA 20-25 mins if you’re lucky. 

[navybankerteacher]

4 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

Westside of Manhattan? It can take 25 mins just to go crosstown. Lol Eastside to LGA 20-25 mins if you’re lucky. 

Why go crosstown -- unless you want to see midtown gridlock?  Up the West Side Highway then across to the Tri-Boro (now RFK Bridge).  Sure, bad luck can extend time to LGA -- but do you claim that there is never bad luck in the Lincoln Tunnel or getting across Jersey?

[George C]

I hate that none of the bars in lga will take cash , even servers force you to use a machine and credit card to get a drink. 

[navybankerteacher]

11 hours ago, George C said:

I hate that none of the bars in lga will take cash , even servers force you to use a machine and credit card to get a drink. 

Agreed - the depersonalization which comes with machine dependency is tiresome.