I am disembarking the QE2 on April 27 ... presumably at the Brooklyn Terminal.
I have to get back to Philly.
Does anyone have any idea what it would cost to take a cab to the train station? Or, are there car services (group transport) that regularly run between that terminal and places like Philly?
Or, better still, is anyone else on that same QE2 cruise that needs to get back to Philly? Perhaps we can share a private car?
I'm just in the initial stages of planning this last segment of my trip.
Don't know whether this might be too late to help, but I understand that a cab to Penn Station should run somewhere from $25-$35, plus tolls Cabs are supposed to be standing by during ship disembarkation but there have been some mixed reports on this.
Don't know whether this might be too late to help, but I understand that a cab to Penn Station should run somewhere from $25-$35, plus tolls Cabs are supposed to be standing by during ship disembarkation but there have been some mixed reports on this.
I love taking the train, and normally that's exactly what I would do. But sadly, with luggage for two cruises (leaving on an 18-day TransAtlantic on the Veendam first, spending two days in Venice, and then coming back on the QE2), I am afraid I will just have too much luggage to navigate through a busy train station.
What I ended up doing was using Dave's Best Limo, an outfit here in Philly that runs group transporation. They are picking me up at my house on the first of April for the trip to the airport, and then picking me up at the pier on the 27th. The only problem with Dave's is that they don't pick you up until between 11:00 and 12:00 noon. Normally, that would leave me off the ship and waiting for them at the pier for a good two hours. Luckily, though, on this particular cruise, my cabinmate is staying on to Fort Lauderdale, and technically so am I. So I can wait for their phone call on the ship. The only problem will be carrying all of my own luggage off. I'm hoping I can snag someone to help me with that ... with the "carrot" of a nice tip.
This sounds like a very sane resolution to the issue - now you don't have to worry about cabs or cab lines or dragging luggage through train stations or finding porters or ......(you fill in the blank).
There is just one concern that I have for your plan. If you are getting off in NY and not in Fort Lauderdale, I don't quite understand your statement that "and technically so am I." If you are getting off in NY and QE2 thinks you are getting off in Florida, there may be customs concerns because of the need to clear customs when you get off (unless the whole ship is going through customs in NY). More, if they think you are getting off in FL there could be questions about the accuracy of their manifests, etc. It would be a good idea to have your TA confer with Cunard about this to make sure that you don't get yourself caught in some bureaucratic problem / customs problem by getting off in NY when they expect you to get off in FL. (If your ticket is all the way to FL, I doubt if they would have much problem pocketing the extra cash from NY to FL but changing your ticket or their manifests to show you getting off in NYC). Good luck.
There is just one concern that I have for your plan. If you are getting off in NY and not in Fort Lauderdale, I don't quite understand your statement that "and technically so am I." If you are getting off in NY and QE2 thinks you are getting off in Florida, there may be customs concerns because of the need to clear customs when you get off (unless the whole ship is going through customs in NY).
Of course, once I get onboard the ship, I will inform the front desk of my plans to disembark in New York. What I meant by "technically so am I going to Fort Lauderdale" is that Cunard does not allow one person in the cabin to pay for passage to Fort Lauderdale, and the other to only pay to New York. Since this cruise continues onto Fort Lauderdale, and my cabin mate wishes to get off there, both people in the stateroom have to pay the fare to Fort Lauderdale. So, my cabin mate and I worked out our own arrangement through the TA whereas she pays the total cabin cost for those remaining two days. So, as far as Cunard is concerned, we are both disembarking in Fort Lauderdale.
My plan was to inform the front desk that I will be getting off the ship in New York, but will be hanging around until the van company arrives to pick me up ... probably around 11:00 a.m. Other than having to carry my own luggage off the ship, I can't see where there would be a problem with that. Of course, worst case scenario is that I would have to get off with other disembarking passengers and then just sit on top of my luggage for a couple of hours at the pier.
Hi Rita--
Thank you for the clarification and now I see what you mean. I still think that it would be a good idea to check with your TA now (and probably have your TA talk to Cunard now as well) regarding this embarkation, purely for bureaucratic reasons.
When you board, the Cunard manifest will show you disembarking in NY when they prepare the manifest at the beginning of the trip. While I do not see any problems with Cunard itself with the NY disembarkation in terms of cabin occupancy and costs for the reasons that you discussed, there may be some concerns regarding Customs and Immigration clearance depending on whether US Customs and Immigration are conducted in NY for those passengers disembarking in NY but conducted in FL for those passengers disembarking in FL. If everyone has to clear in NY regardless of port of disembarkation, then there would probably be no problems of that nature and you would be able to get off in NY without issues. While my experience is that all passengers clear US customs and immigration at the first US port that a ship reaches, I still think you should check on this issue now so that there can be no unpleasant surprises to end an otherwise wonderful trip. Hope that this helps.
Do you know yet which terminal in NY the ship is using?
AJ
Do you know yet which terminal in NY the ship is using?
AJ
My documentaton says Brooklyn.
Do you happen to know how late one can stay on the ship normally? I've never sailed Cunard before. The shuttle service is telling me that I will be able to stay on the ship until they arrive at the pier ... but since they're not due to be there until somewhere between 11:00 a.m. and Noon, this doesn't sound right. I know HAL would normally not let me stay on the ship that long.
Good morning Rita--
How long you can stay on will depend on when Cunard wants you off and when and how you must clear Customs/Immigration. Most cruise lines want disembarking pawssengers off by no later than 10 to 12 so that they can get the ship and cabins in shape for the next wave of passengers. If Customs is done in the pier itself (as it usually is in NY), then you will have to get off while Customs is in operation and that usually only lasts for a couple of hours (e.g., 8 to 10).
Hope this helps.
AJ
Good morning Rita--
How long you can stay on will depend on when Cunard wants you off and when and how you must clear Customs/Immigration. Most cruise lines want disembarking pawssengers off by no later than 10 to 12 so that they can get the ship and cabins in shape for the next wave of passengers. If Customs is done in the pier itself (as it usually is in NY), then you will have to get off while Customs is in operation and that usually only lasts for a couple of hours (e.g., 8 to 10).
Hope this helps.
AJ
Definitely helps. If I can stay on until 11:00 a.m. or so, I'll be fine. As for the cabin, they won't have to get the cabin ready for other passengers because my cabinmate is not disembarking until Fort Lauderdale. But, even if we were both getting off in New York, I wouldn't care if I had to just remain in the public areas until the van service comes for me. I just don't want to have to sit out in a parking lot for a couple of hours.
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