Any comments from people who have cruised on the crown princess since it listed a few weeks ago? We are going on the August 16th cruise and we are hoping the kinks are worked out.
We have just returned from sailing on the Crown Princess. We had a fantastic time, were diverted to Santa Domingo because of tropical storm. The ship was wonderful. Great service great, great shows, and lots of fun things to do. Our cabin was lovely. Sailing out of NY was great too, seeing the city and the Statue of Liberty, and even going under the Verazzno Bridge, (it did't look like we were going to fit). We played bingo, watched movies under the stars, went to the Casino ( actually won a few dollars), tried different dining rooms, especially loved Sabatinis. We loved everything about the trip. Go and have a great time, because it will be over sooner than you think. ENJOY
Did you drive in or fly? We are driving in and wonder about the best route thru the city and parking in their lot. Would like to know if there are other options. We are even entertaining driving to a near train station and riding rails to Penn Station.
Sorry we did not fly into to NY. We live on long island, we had a car service drop us off and pick us up. From what we saw it looked like there was enough parking there, however I think it is expensive, about 35.00 per day.
Princess told me it was $20 per day. So a 9 day cruise will be $180. Trying to figure out if there are other alternatives. Also am concerned about having enough spaces. Would hate to get there and have a "sorry lot full sign"
Would also like to know the best route to take to avoid the NY traffic if it is possible.
Originally posted by 7thSon: Did you drive in or fly? We are driving in and wonder about the best route thru the city and parking in their lot. Would like to know if there are other options. We are even entertaining driving to a near train station and riding rails to Penn Station.
Thanks
We are planning on taking a train to Grand Central and a cab to Brooklyn. See "Crown Princess list accident" Don2738 on this post for great info about the crown princess. I emailed him and he told me his trip from Albany by train to Penn Station and then to the ship was a breeze. Cab fare approx. $30.00.
I am a travel agent and was given a tour of the Crown Princess before the Aug. 16 sailing.
There is no other place to park int he area of the Brooklyn Terminal except at the terminal. I have been to terminals in Manhattan, New Jersey and now this Brooklyn terminal and I would not leave my car there. There is virtually no security in the lot.
At the other terminals, there is 24 hour security and our car was searched at the other terminals (trunk opened, doors opened and a security guard looked inside). There was absolutely none of this at the Brooklyn terminal.
You pull into the lot, take a self parking ticket andon the way out pay through a machine. When we arrived there were two "guards" sitting in platic chairs near the machines. WHen we left at 3:00 PM, there was no one.
If you take a train to Grand Central or Penn Station, beware. We spoke to several people who were cruising and lived in New Jersey that took the train to Penn Station. When they came out to get a car, they had to go through 10 cabs before they found one who either knew where the Brooklyn terminal was or who would drive them there.
I was with a Princess rep. who took the information from the clients and said she would report it to Princess and she asked the client to do the same when they returned.
If you take a train, be very aware that it might be tough to find a cab to take you to the Brooklyn terminal.
I guess we have a problem as to where we can park as we are driving from Michigan. You say you would not take the train because you cannot get a cab and then you do not recommend parking at the pier. I guess we will have to take our chance at the pier. Hopefully it will be better in Oct.
7th Son, have you checked into a hotel that might let you park? Not from that area, so I don't know of anything around there. There are hotels in other areas that let you park while you're gone if you spend a night with them.
I guess we have a problem as to where we can park as we are driving from Michigan. You say you would not take the train because you cannot get a cab and then you do not recommend parking at the pier. I guess we will have to take our chance at the pier. Hopefully it will be better in Oct.
What is the best route to get to the pier?
If you are driving, then the best place to park is at that lot. My understanding is that the gates into the pier are kept locked when there is no ship in port. There was barbed wire over the gates.
And there are plenty of spaces - when we were there, there were only about 20 cars in the lot.
BTW - the best route to get to the pier depends on where you are coming from. If you come over the Verrazano,you would normally take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the Hamilton Ave. exit (I think it is exit 26)
But the BQE traffic is just awful. We got off the BQE on exit 23, took 4th ave north to 9th St and made a left, took that to Hamilton Ave, made a left in Imlay St. and a right on Bowne and hat took us right to the terminal.
Here is a website you can go to that has info on the piers and you can mapquest getting there:
Originally posted by willysgrandma: BTW - the best route to get to the pier depends on where you are coming from. If you come over the Verrazano,you would normally take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the Hamilton Ave. exit (I think it is exit 26)
But the BQE traffic is just awful. We got off the BQE on exit 23, took 4th ave north to 9th St and made a left, took that to Hamilton Ave, made a left in Imlay St. and a right on Bowne and hat took us right to the terminal.
Here is a website you can go to that has info on the piers and you can mapquest getting there:
I have heard that traffic is really bad and I want to avoid as much as possible. Not being really "locked" in to the direction that I am comming from what is the best route to get there. We are planning on getting there a day in advance and would then try to get a room in that area.
I have heard that traffic is really bad and I want to avoid as much as possible. Not being really "locked" in to the direction that I am comming from what is the best route to get there. We are planning on getting there a day in advance and would then try to get a room in that area.
There are really no hotels right near the cruise terminal. You are better off looking for something near JFK Airport if you are staying the night before.
Driving from Michigan I would stay somewhere on the NJ side. Last year I stayed at a Comfort Inn about 40 miles out. In the morning I left the hotel by around 9:30 AM. It was an easy hour drive in to Bayonne on a Saturday morning. You might want to stay closer if you are leaving on a weekday and have to contend with morning traffic. Plus you have to get over the bridge to Brooklyn.
We are now planning on staying on the NJ side. One of the casinos in AC is "giving" us two free nights. Using Map Quest it looks as if it is about a 2 hour drive from there to the port.
Might have some luck and win a little. Can't beat the price plus will be able to spend some time on the boardwalk and just relax before the hard life on the cruise.
I think I heard someone on one of the late night shows talking about how people in different parts of the country give directions. It was said that people living in NY and that area give directions in minutes and in the midwest it is miles. Here in Mi we will always refer to miles or blocks. Looking at 100 miles or so made 2 hours seem reasonable. People here complain about traffic but it is only heavy. We don't have stand still traffic jams.
We were planning on leaving AC around 9:00. Thinking we would miss some early morning traffic and still have plenty of time to get on board. We don't want to be in the big jam when they start processing at 11:00. We may have to change our plans.
The traffic in the NY area is like nothing you have seen in other parts of the country (except California) so while 100 miles should be a 2 hour ride, it isn't here. The Staten Island Expressway is horrendous as it the BQE. There is always road construction here - always.
When we were at the pier, I think the ship was supposed to leave at around 4:00 - we got on the ship at 12:30, the lines were kind of long, but when we exited at 2:45, there was no line at all to get on, so the later the better.
When you get back, let us know how you liked it - the ship is beautiful!
