NYC transportation help

[Club Disney Chandler]

We are cruising from NYC this fall and need help with recommendations for transportation from the cruiseport to the Newark airport. DCL does not have shuttles to that airport. If I do private transportation, what time should I ask them to pick us up? We have early dinner so we should be off the ship by 8:30, but I'm clueless on how long it takes to do things in NYC.

Help me DISers, you're my only hope!

 

[RedSox68]

We are cruising from NYC this fall and need help with recommendations for transportation from the cruiseport to the Newark airport. DCL does not have shuttles to that airport. If I do private transportation, what time should I ask them to pick us up? We have early dinner so we should be off the ship by 8:30, but I'm clueless on how long it takes to do things in NYC.

Help me DISers, you're my only hope!

What time is your flight? I would be sure to be picked up at least 3 hours before your flight time as traffic from NYC to Newark can be awful.

I know there are trains to Newark Airport that you can get from Penn Station -- just take a cab there from the cruise terminal. You would want to use NJ Transit trains -- so look for their platforms and ticket offices once there.

There are many car services that also go to Newark -- do a google search and be sure to check ratings -- some are known for not showing up or showing up late.

We always drive, but know many who use the NJ transit and love it.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

What time is your flight? I would be sure to be picked up at least 3 hours before your flight time as traffic from NYC to Newark can be awful.

I know there are trains to Newark Airport that you can get from Penn Station -- just take a cab there from the cruise terminal. You would want to use NJ Transit trains -- so look for their platforms and ticket offices once there.

There are many car services that also go to Newark -- do a google search and be sure to check ratings -- some are known for not showing up or showing up late.

We always drive, but know many who use the NJ transit and love it.

Thanks, our flight leaves at 1:40 so I figured we have plenty of time. How long does it take to get to Penn station from cruiseport?

 

[RedSox68]

Thanks, our flight leaves at 1:40 so I figured we have plenty of time. How long does it take to get to Penn station from cruiseport?

Just minutes - with bad traffic, maybe 15 minutes or so. You should be able to go online and buy your NJ Transit tickets if you don't want to wait at a ticket window. Warning, sometimes they don't announce the track until the last minute, do we usually stand in the middle of the area and watch for the stair number. Some of these people are nuts and rush for the stairs. No need -- there are always plenty of seats.

This is a sample page (but info is for today) and gives you pricing. They're showing trains take about 25 minutes on average. http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainSchedulesFrom

When you pick the train from the drop down menu, you would pick origin station as New York Penn, and then Newark Airport as destination.

 

[trivan]

I live in NJ and the NJ Transit has been absolutely horrible the past few months (bad for the past few years).
If possible I would use Uber or Lyft. They are all around NYC. At 8:30/9:00 you'll be going against rush hour traffic so traffic shouldn't be that bad, but in NY one never knows.

 

[RedSox68]

I live in NJ and the NJ Transit has been absolutely horrible the past few months (bad for the past few years).
If possible I would use Uber or Lyft. They are all around NYC. At 8:30/9:00 you'll be going against rush hour traffic so traffic shouldn't be that bad, but in NY one never knows.

I think it depends on what direction you're going and what line it is. I know they have been doing a lot of track work, but I thought that was mainly between Philadelphia and NYC.

 

[aflynn33]

I just used the train to Newark / Liberty last week. It costs $13 per person one way New York Penn Station to the Airport. Penn Station was a little confusing, but it worked out. The Conductors are very helpful and there will be people with suitcases going to the airport with you. They are repairing the tracks, so it can be slower than usual. Sounds like you'll have plenty of time. When we went from our hotel in mid town to the airport after last fall's transatlantic the car service cost $115, including tip.

I just looked at the map - if you don't have a lot of luggage Penn Station is a half hour walk away from the cruise port. I add this because the taxi stand had a long line. We ended up walking to our midtown hotel.

 

[RedSox68]

I just used the train to Newark / Liberty last week. It costs $13 per person one way New York Penn Station to the Airport. Penn Station was a little confusing, but it worked out. The Conductors are very helpful and there will be people with suitcases going to the airport with you. They are repairing the tracks, so it can be slower than usual. Sounds like you'll have plenty of time. When we went from our hotel in mid town to the airport after last fall's transatlantic the car service cost $115, including tip.

I just looked at the map - if you don't have a lot of luggage Penn Station is a half hour walk away from the cruise port. I add this because the taxi stand had a long line. We ended up walking to our midtown hotel.

I did read a tip on another thread that if you cross the street in front of the terminal, it's easier to get taxis on the other side. I will do that next time -- when we returned from a one-way cruise from Quebec, we had to wait over 30 minutes to get a taxi to the rental car place.

 

[Dug720]

I think it depends on what direction you're going and what line it is. I know they have been doing a lot of track work, but I thought that was mainly between Philadelphia and NYC.

It's the same tracks and track system. They are shared with NJ Transit and Amtrak.

 

[RedSox68]

It's the same tracks and track system. They are shared with NJ Transit and Amtrak.

I know, but in NJ there are sections where they are doing track work and some where they are not. I'm not sure which areas that is on right now.

Actually the NJ Transit site should have alerts of problem traffic areas for the trains.

 

[aflynn33]

I did read a tip on another thread that if you cross the street in front of the terminal, it's easier to get taxis on the other side. I will do that next time -- when we returned from a one-way cruise from Quebec, we had to wait over 30 minutes to get a taxi to the rental car place.

We were at the stand across the street - the one (I think upstairs) at the port was closed, maybe that's why the line was so long...

 

[Pens Fan]

When we cruised out of NYC last Oct they were making everyone go across the street to catch cabs. Our car service couldn't (or wouldn't ) pick us up at the port either, so we met our driver across the street, right next to the cab stand. Wow, was that line for cabs long! I have no clue how long the wait was, but in the five minutes or so that we stood there waiting for our driver, I think we MAY have seen 2 cabs pull up. I don't know if it's always that bad, but be aware it's a possibility.

I know we were pretty happy to have a car service already arranged. I wish I could tell you the name, but it was arranged through our hotel (Hilton Garden Inn in Ridgefield Park, NJ), and I don't recall the name on the voucher they gave us.

 

[Dug720]

I know, but in NJ there are sections where they are doing track work and some where they are not. I'm not sure which areas that is on right now.

Actually the NJ Transit site should have alerts of problem traffic areas for the trains.

Gotcha.

Penn Station has been the focus of all the issues up here, so that would apply between NYC and EWR.

 

[wilkeliza]

How much luggage will you have OP? I often do the Penn Station to Newark trek and would not do it on the train unless you are comfortable caring your luggage up and down steps. I can do it with my carry on roller bag but no way would I want to schlep my regular suit case up and down steps. Some tracks have escalators but being in NY every day I know not to rely on them.

 

[trivan]

How much luggage will you have OP? I often do the Penn Station to Newark trek and would not do it on the train unless you are comfortable caring your luggage up and down steps. I can do it with my carry on roller bag but no way would I want to schlep my regular suit case up and down steps. Some tracks have escalators but being in NY every day I know not to rely on them.

Completely agree with this. Over the last 15 years riding NJ transit I've learned to never rely on them when it matters. 2 weeks ago, the train was delayed for 30 mins at 2:00 pm. No delay notice, just a blank where the track should go. When I'm on vacation, I want to relax and not have to stress, so car services and Uber/Lyft when I can and depending on the location we do take the train like in Tokyo where they run like clockwork or London where the trains to the city are excellent. In NJ its not worth the stress for me if something went wrong on the trains/station. Some people love the adventure. I had to and my wife does deal with it every day, so no thanks when we are on vacation.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

When we cruised out of NYC last Oct they were making everyone go across the street to catch cabs. Our car service couldn't (or wouldn't ) pick us up at the port either, so we met our driver across the street, right next to the cab stand. Wow, was that line for cabs long! I have no clue how long the wait was, but in the five minutes or so that we stood there waiting for our driver, I think we MAY have seen 2 cabs pull up. I don't know if it's always that bad, but be aware it's a possibility.

I know we were pretty happy to have a car service already arranged. I wish I could tell you the name, but it was arranged through our hotel (Hilton Garden Inn in Ridgefield Park, NJ), and I don't recall the name on the voucher they gave us.

What time did you request the car to pick you up. We typically do car service to get to ports but I always have a tough time trying to figure out what time to request a pick up from cruise port to airport.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

How much luggage will you have OP? I often do the Penn Station to Newark trek and would not do it on the train unless you are comfortable caring your luggage up and down steps. I can do it with my carry on roller bag but no way would I want to schlep my regular suit case up and down steps. Some tracks have escalators but being in NY every day I know not to rely on them.

It depends on if my wife brings all the shoes in our closet or only half of them, it's an 8 day cruise so I thing that means all her shoes will be joining us. Seriously though, thanks for the tip.

 

[SteveMP]

If you don't want the complexity if trains, I usually just use Dial7 for car service to my NYC office to and from newark airport. Have always had great service with them for years.

 

[DisneyConvert]

I live in NJ, used to commute to/from NYPenn (before current spate of track troubles) and generally prefer NJTransit to/from EWR ... depending:

If you have 3+ in your party, the "savings" from public transit may not be so great. Uber/Lyft can be quite competitive, especially at "off" hrs in the late am.

Also, it may be too much hassle to wrestle significant amounts of luggage through the street, down into the underground platforms at Penn Station, and then back via the "Monorail" to the EWR terminal of your choice.

 

[Ravenne]

When I used to travel to NYC a lot, I always just took a car service/Town Car to any of the airports. They're easy enough to find. Just make sure their license plate says "T & LC" on them, which indicates they are licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. They'll usually have a flat rate depending on which airport you're going to...around $60 +tip. Just ask before you get in the car. Saves you a lot of headache and hassle.

Newark could take 30 minutes, it could take 90 minutes or more. It's hard to say with traffic in that area.