Transportation and Disembarkation in Brooklin

[Sulo]

Hello folks, some of you have already given me some great info on Arecibo and other companies for cars etc into Manhatten, but I have a couple of other questions.

 

This probably sounds quite dumb but if we call Arecibo for a pick up after coming through customs and immigration how do we know which car will be ours amidst all the confusion of cabs and limos?

 

Also I saw a previous response from capeboy96 about knowing the deck you are on and the approximate time that deck disembarks. We will be on deck 5 in October. Does anyone know the schedule? I didn't realize they let people off according to decks. I thought it was who's flying out the earliest.

 

Any info would be much appreciated.

[smeyer418]

Hello folks, some of you have already given me some great info on Arecibo and other companies for cars etc into Manhatten, but I have a couple of other questions.

 

This probably sounds quite dumb but if we call Arecibo for a pick up after coming through customs and immigration how do we know which car will be ours amidst all the confusion of cabs and limos?

 

Also I saw a previous response from capeboy96 about knowing the deck you are on and the approximate time that deck disembarks. We will be on deck 5 in October. Does anyone know the schedule? I didn't realize they let people off according to decks. I thought it was who's flying out the earliest.

 

Any info would be much appreciated.

 

 

the car will have a sign that says Arecibo....if they have more than one coming they will ask you name and you will say it to them when you get into the car....its not that confusing the cars come to one pick up area...like an airport

 

BTW its Brooklyn....

[Sulo]

Sorry about the spelling, we have a Brooklin here in Ontario, close to home and where my niece lives. I must have had that one on my mind.

 

Thanks for your info.

[Betsy's Mom]

When you leave the terminal turn to the left and you will see an awning type thing and some benches a bit of a way down to the side. This is where the car services pick up. At least it was a year ago. The cars circle until you hail yours down. It will work out.:)

B.

[rsquare]

Also I saw a previous response from capeboy96 about knowing the deck you are on and the approximate time that deck disembarks. We will be on deck 5 in October. Does anyone know the schedule? I didn't realize they let people off according to decks. I thought it was who's flying out the earliest.

 

Based on our experience, your original thought was correct. A few days into the crossing, you will get a questionnaire asking about your onward transportation plans, and what flight you are catching. At the bottom will be place to indicate that you are arranging your own transport, and those people will be given a choice of three time range preferences (I think 8:00 to 8:30, 8:30 to 9, 9:00 to 9:30) for disembarkation. A day or two before disembarkation, you will get disembarkation tags for your luggage which identify your disembarkation group by color and number, eg Blue 5. You assemble at the Royal Court Theatre around your departure time, and when your color/number is called, you can go the gangway.

 

Enjoy your crossing; it is an absolutely unique experience!

[traveld]

I have a question for those experienced with disembarking from the QM2. Do you think that I will be able to make a flight that leaves around 11:30am from JFK? We will be on the crossing arriving back in Brooklyn on 11/17.

[smeyer418]

yes if you self disembark...

[DKNYC]

I have a question for those experienced with disembarking from the QM2. Do you think that I will be able to make a flight that leaves around 11:30am from JFK? We will be on the crossing arriving back in Brooklyn on 11/17.

 

If you get off the ship early (8 AM or before) you should be able to make it. Bear in mind that there is no way to know about NY traffic, especially on a weekday. Good news is you will be on the same island as the airport so no bridges or tunnels to cross.

 

Denise

[traveld]

Thank you.

Does anyone have advice on the best way to travel between JFK and the cruise terminal? We will be doing the crossing in both directions, so will be starting and ending in Brooklyn. Has anyone had experience with Super Shuttle? Would this be a reliable and economic means of travel?

[Scottsdale_Will]

Does anyone have advice on the best way to travel between JFK and the cruise terminal? We will be doing the crossing in both directions, so will be starting and ending in Brooklyn. Has anyone had experience with Super Shuttle? Would this be a reliable and economic means of travel?

 

I asked about transport from JFK to the Brooklyn terminal, after someone complained that taxis avoided the Brooklyn dock because there was no return fare. I even asked someone who works for the Kings County D.A.. :rolleyes:

 

We found no such problem. Livery service from JFK was plentiful. And I've heard taxis line up when the ships arrive in Brooklyn, courtesy of plentiful strong-arming by the Brooklyn tourist authority. If a cabbie can pick you up at the dock, take you to one of the airports, or even a hotel in Manhattan, he can find a second fare easily.

 

BTW, I worked for SuperShuttle when I got out of college. Yes, that was 15 years ago, but it was a very well-organized company. We use them to and from PHX all the time.

[Ab Ovo]

So 19 June the QM2 arrived Red Hook, Brooklyn. So did I. I thought it would be easy to take the F-train to Carroll Street and walk over to the ship terminal and save $35 taxi fare from midtown Manhattan. Did. Outside on 2 Place for a moment I thought then to take a taxi to the pier, just to know how much in case needed in future. I asked the first taxi going by if he knew how to get to the ... ship/pier/terminal/Red Hook/QM2/big boat ... and he did not. I waved him on. The next guy didn't know either. Having time, I began to wait, question, not get a correct answer, wave them on ... EIGHT more! Now I give New York cabbies the benefit of the doubt, but TEN drivers within spittin' distance of the QM2 not knowing how to get there? Well, lesson learned! Besides, I had planned to walk, did. Straight down 2 Place four blocks, a zig and zag to Hicks Street. There at the tall red brick church steeple is the walkway overpass over the BQE, then straight on over past Columbia Street to Bowne & Imlay (there are signs, too) and onto the terminal/base. The NYC policeman at the gate had not a clue, but knew to chew gum and slouch when being asked a question/addressed by someone not on the force/he did not know. It was a half-mile walk south there, and my point: I went by nearly 40 taxis in a line, all waiting, and it wasn't nine o'clock yet. As well, there were close to 20 black limos waiting, all lined up, well controlled. Viewing from the ship, the waiting area is masked by long sheds. I went over to the guy in the electric-yellow safety jacket to ask "what is the drill", tired of so much miss-information I get about taxis from the Net. It was what it appeared to be. Taxis going on the base and making drop-offs can then circle and get on line. The cab stand in front of the Terminal exit, they try to keep three or more cabs there, waiting, and when cabs are needed "the guy" there radios to my informatiuon guy in the back and more cabs are dispatched. They so obviously have a system and know what they are doing! BUT: by ten o'clock, with 2,000-plus people disembarking, there WILL be a wait for taxis. I saw it. I asked. It is always thus. My folks came off, we had a nice visit, waiting in the taxi line. At that transportation island in front. But there always was a constant flow of taxis. Over to the left, the shaded area for private pick-up seemed working as planned. I even saw some "Winter Crossing" friends there. I poked about a bit more, had a nice chat with Ray Rouse. Watched how Cunard was set up to take in early arrivals (they do it w/o comment). They process early guests, then have them go to a waiting area, prior to boarding. Then I took the bus at Van Brunt Street back into downtown Brooklyn. It was an adventure!

[fllady]

This is also a first for us, and we decided to take the tranfers to and from the airport from Cunard. they handle the bags and from what I was told, its easy to do. Cost $120. both ways for both of us, from and back to JFK airport.

[Pemcorgimum]

My niece lives in Brooklyn and actually works within a few blocks of the terminal but had never noticed it. She dropped me off last October and sent me a text in less than 5 minutes to say she was back in work. All the time she had worked there she said , she had never seen QM2- last month she picked me up in Baltimore and the first thing she said was, QM2 is in port today- now she notices it all the time. So it's not just the taxi drivers, it's people who work within 5 minutes don't know where the terminal is!!

[gentlemancruiser]

It's not just the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal they can't find.

This past September we stayed at the Hilton New York at 6th & 53rd. When we left the hotel for the Eurodam we hopped into a cab from the hotel's taxi stand.

First cabbie didn't even know where the Manhattan Cruise Terminal was. It's was only 6 BLOCK away, so I said to the driver turn right and keep going until you see the water, stop when you reach the water, when the driver didn't understand those directions, we quickly jumped into a different cab!!!

[old fool]

Unfortunately the NYC cabs are a bit of a shock to non US residents. Our cab drivers get no training and it seems need only have a body temperature and be able to sit upright behind the wheel. That being said, they are not all scoundrels waiting to rip off the tourist -- just working people making a living. If the cab driver you get doesn't know the location - hop in the front seat; have your preprinted Google map that you brought with you and make it a navigation game. Also, remember that a cab has to take you anywhere in the 5 buroughs -- not just to locations that will give them an easy return fare. Enjoy the adventure --- and as they say in NYC; "Hey, it's New York!!!!".

[gentlemancruiser]

I just hope that Brooklyn can get the cruise terminal back together and working again! What a shame for the people who work there.