Disembarkation Princess New England Canada Cruise - Brooklyn Terminal

[bandp407]

Hi fellow cruisers~ we are sailing our first Princess Cruise next August on the Enchanted. I would like to book our flight back to Florida at 12 Noon. Without doing the self assist and not stressing to get off the ship, will we have sufficient time to get to La Guardia by say 11am. We are very familiar with debarking Celebrity ships in Florida & without a mad rush almost all are off the ship by 930 or so. Also I wonder if the Brooklyn Port has the face recognition for departures. I checked under the NY port info, but did not find anything specific enough. I did however see the recommendation to reserve Carmel Car service as opposed to trying to hail and Uber. 
 

Any information or recommendation will be much appreciated! 

[JimmyVWine]

Assuming that you are disembarking on a weekend, if you are in a taxi/uber/car by 9:30 you could expect a drive time to LGA of about 30-40 minutes.  One hour would be extraordinary at that hour.  So yes, getting to the airport by 11:00 would be easy.  But that assumes that you are in the vehicle with the doors closed and ready to depart at 9:30--not walking off the ship at 9:30.  As for a comparison between a car service, taxi or Uber, I don't have any first hand experience.  I assume that taxis are readily available but others will know.  A couple of things to note.  First, good 'ol yellow taxis are a better option in NYC over the Uber option.  Taxi drivers are pros who know the area and the best strategies for avoiding traffic.  With Uber, you get what you get, and it could be someone who started driving for Uber yesterday.  I'm not disparaging Uber.  I use the service all the time in almost all areas.  But in NYC, I have found that professional taxi drivers are better equipped to get you around.  Uber drivers simply follow whatever route the map on their phone gives them and they have no way of knowing if there is a garbage truck that broke down on 43rd Street clogging up traffic. Taxi drivers know these things.  They have dispatchers giving them real time information.  Second, if you do want to use Uber, you can book your ride in advance and avoid the problem of trying to connect with one at a busy hour only to learn that it will take an hour for a car to arrive.  Just use the app to pre-arrange a 9:30 pickup and plan to be ready to go at least 10 minutes early.  Every time that I have pre-arranged a ride with Uber the drivers have been early.  As for a car service, I assume that that is a viable option with professional drivers and nice cars.  But it will be the most costly option. 

[Essex Racer]

Also be aware you may dock later than scheduled - Emerald didn’t dock until 7am a couple of weeks ago at the Brooklyn terminal

[Steelers36]

4 minutes ago, Essex Racer said:

Also be aware you may dock later than scheduled - Emerald didn’t dock until 7am a couple of weeks ago at the Brooklyn terminal

That still leaves loads of time if self-disembarking early or book an early walk-off.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Steelers36

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, bandp407 said:

Hi fellow cruisers~ we are sailing our first Princess Cruise next August on the Enchanted. I would like to book our flight back to Florida at 12 Noon. Without doing the self assist and not stressing to get off the ship, will we have sufficient time to get to La Guardia by say 11am. We are very familiar with debarking Celebrity ships in Florida & without a mad rush almost all are off the ship by 930 or so. Also I wonder if the Brooklyn Port has the face recognition for departures. I checked under the NY port info, but did not find anything specific enough. I did however see the recommendation to reserve Carmel Car service as opposed to trying to hail and Uber. 
 

Any information or recommendation will be much appreciated! 

Next year I show arrival 0700 at Brooklyn for Enchanted, which the guideline is 6 hours if leaving from LGA.  Flight after 1pm.  This is a Saturday, so you should be okay with a noon flight.
 

If you’re booking a 12 noon flight, I would not hang around the ship. I would get off either self assist or in one of the first groups to disembark. I would grab a yellow cab.  
 

Every time we hang around, we get caught up in a line through customs, but worse than that is the taxi line outside.  If that were the case, I’d order Uber.

 

Or, if you really want to hang around, customs should not take long and you might book Carmel, as they have been around for many years and very reliable.  Send them a message or call and get their opinion about when you should book the ride.

[skynight]

You say you don't want self walk off. I have found that it is less stressful, easier to process through immigration/Customs, with no crowds to pick up luggage in the terminal. If you have no issues walking then I would consider the early walk off wheeling your own luggage. You should be leaving the ship by 7:30 or so with early walk off.

If you choose regular disembarkation you will be waiting in one of the DRs or maybe another lounge for your turn to disembark. Passengers are requested to leave their cabins no later than 8am.

[Torfamm]

They did not have facial recognition when we were there in September but the line moved fairly quickly when we walked off at about 8:30.

 

I'd recommend a taxi. We'd hired a car service as we had a longer trip that to the airport and they were over half an hour late late due to traffic issues and absolutely horrible rain storms. The pick up area was bedlam.

[bandp407]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Assuming that you are disembarking on a weekend, if you are in a taxi/uber/car by 9:30 you could expect a drive time to LGA of about 30-40 minutes.  One hour would be extraordinary at that hour.  So yes, getting to the airport by 11:00 would be easy.  But that assumes that you are in the vehicle with the doors closed and ready to depart at 9:30--not walking off the ship at 9:30.  As for a comparison between a car service, taxi or Uber, I don't have any first hand experience.  I assume that taxis are readily available but others will know.  A couple of things to note.  First, good 'ol yellow taxis are a better option in NYC over the Uber option.  Taxi drivers are pros who know the area and the best strategies for avoiding traffic.  With Uber, you get what you get, and it could be someone who started driving for Uber yesterday.  I'm not disparaging Uber.  I use the service all the time in almost all areas.  But in NYC, I have found that professional taxi drivers are better equipped to get you around.  Uber drivers simply follow whatever route the map on their phone gives them and they have no way of knowing if there is a garbage truck that broke down on 43rd Street clogging up traffic. Taxi drivers know these things.  They have dispatchers giving them real time information.  Second, if you do want to use Uber, you can book your ride in advance and avoid the problem of trying to connect with one at a busy hour only to learn that it will take an hour for a car to arrive.  Just use the app to pre-arrange a 9:30 pickup and plan to be ready to go at least 10 minutes early.  Every time that I have pre-arranged a ride with Uber the drivers have been early.  As for a car service, I assume that that is a viable option with professional drivers and nice cars.  But it will be the most costly option. 

Thank you so much for your very detailed reply! Yes, disembarkation is on Saturday. I checked with Carmel Car Service and they quoted $65.50 plus tip, no tolls. Given that there will be approx 3000 passengers, this may be the way to go & on par with Uber. It’s to risky I think the other way and you are right about 930 in the car! Once again , thank you ! Happy Cruising! 

[Steelers36]

That 1pm EZ-Air restriction seems nuts to me.  Leaving the port right now in nasty traffic, the ride is posted as 1.25 hrs in Google Maps.  Heavy traffic.  I cannot imagine it taking near that early on a Saturday morning.  Leaving ship by as late as 8:00am is a piece of cake to make a noon flight.

[bandp407]

2 hours ago, Essex Racer said:

Also be aware you may dock later than scheduled - Emerald didn’t dock until 7am a couple of weeks ago at the Brooklyn terminal

Thank you- my itinerary also shows 7am , but as we all know , something could delay arrival. Not having facial recognition as someone else mentioned does make it slower. 

[bandp407]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

That still leaves loads of time if self-disembarking early or book an early walk-off

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

That still leaves loads of time if self-disembarking early or book an early walk-off.

We won’t do self disembarkation, but would request the first departure following that. 

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, bandp407 said:

 

Still good then.

[bandp407]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Next year I show arrival 0700 at Brooklyn for Enchanted, which the guideline is 6 hours if leaving from LGA.  Flight after 1pm.  This is a Saturday, so you should be okay with a noon flight.
 

If you’re booking a 12 noon flight, I would not hang around the ship. I would get off either self assist or in one of the first groups to disembark. I would grab a yellow cab.  
 

Every time we hang around, we get caught up in a line through customs, but worse than that is the taxi line outside.  If that were the case, I’d order Uber.

 

Or, if you really want to hang around, customs should not take long and you might book Carmel, as they have been around for many years and very reliable.  Send them a message or call and get their opinion about when you should book the ride.

Thank you very much for your research and feedback! Agreed about the lines outside for taxis. We see it all the time at Port Everglades. Fortunately we drive to the port. I did call Carmel and they quoted me $65.50 plus tip . That’s really not bad. I really need to give this some more thought. Nothing worse then ending a beautiful cruise all stressed about disembarking and catching a flight! Thank you again & Happy Cruising! 

[bandp407]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

You say you don't want self walk off. I have found that it is less stressful, easier to process through immigration/Customs, with no crowds to pick up luggage in the terminal. If you have no issues walking then I would consider the early walk off wheeling your own luggage. You should be leaving the ship by 7:30 or so with early walk off.

If you choose regular disembarkation you will be waiting in one of the DRs or maybe another lounge for your turn to disembark. Passengers are requested to leave their cabins no later than 8am.

You are right about early walk off , however we did it many years ago and said never again! I don’t pack light! 😎

[bandp407]

37 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

They did not have facial recognition when we were there in September but the line moved fairly quickly when we walked off at about 8:30.

 

I'd recommend a taxi. We'd hired a car service as we had a longer trip that to the airport and they were over half an hour late late due to traffic issues and absolutely horrible rain storms. The pick up area was bedlam.

Thank you for letting me know they did not have facial recognition. Reading this and a driver being late just makes me say I’d better rethink the 12noon flight. Yes, we would do Carmel, but our window for a delay is very short. Hope you enjoyed your September cruise! 

[bandp407]

21 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

That 1pm EZ-Air restriction seems nuts to me.  Leaving the port right now in nasty traffic, the ride is posted as 1.25 hrs in Google Maps.  Heavy traffic.  I cannot imagine it taking near that early on a Saturday morning.  Leaving ship by as late as 8:00am is a piece of cake to make a noon flight.

Funny, I just checked and 1.25hrs is nuts!! I am so sorry you are going through this. We are originally from NY and know the distance. You are right, it SHOULD NOT take more than 40 minutes on a Saturday morning. Good Luck! Hope you have enough time for your flight! 

[JimmyVWine]

54 minutes ago, bandp407 said:

I checked with Carmel Car Service and they quoted $65.50 plus tip, no tolls.

At that price I would book it without hesitation.  

[Princess Cruiser27]

Yes, there is facial recognition in Brooklyn. I was on the September 16 to 23 sailing on the Emerald.

[bandp407]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

At that price I would book it without hesitation.  

Agreed! 

[bandp407]

2 hours ago, Princess Cruiser27 said:

Yes, there is facial recognition in Brooklyn. I was on the September 16 to 23 sailing on the Emerald.

Thank you - very happy to hear that! Hope you had a wonderful cruise!!! 

This will be our 43rd cruise - 1st with Princess. Trying to put all the pieces together well in advance . As all us cruisers can attest- disembarkation is the worst!!! 

[NavyVeteran]

51 minutes ago, bandp407 said:

Thank you - very happy to hear that! Hope you had a wonderful cruise!!! 

This will be our 43rd cruise - 1st with Princess. Trying to put all the pieces together well in advance . As all us cruisers can attest- disembarkation is the worst!!! 

I've found the only really good option for disembarkation. Stay on the ship for a B2B.

[bandp407]

32 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

I've found the only really good option for disembarkation. Stay on the ship for a B2B.

Love Love Love your attitude!!! That zing of our sea pass cards at the end  is the worst!! 

 

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, bandp407 said:

Funny, I just checked and 1.25hrs is nuts!! I am so sorry you are going through this. We are originally from NY and know the distance. You are right, it SHOULD NOT take more than 40 minutes on a Saturday morning. Good Luck! Hope you have enough time for your flight! 

LOL.  I am not the traveler.  I was curious and checked the route timing with Google Maps.  It's only a 17 minute run right now (ha, ha - middle of the night).  I don't need any luck.