Greenhouse

My in-laws will have about 6 hours to disembark the Queen Mary II (on a Monday) and we would like to meet them for the day.

I'm not at all familiar with Brooklyn or the Terminal area and was was looking for some suggestions for a good meeting place and ways to spend our day.

My first thought was to pick somewhere at South Street Seaport but I think it might be best for them to stay in the general area.

mclaurie

There's little to nothing (including public transit) in the Red Hook area near the cruise terminal. Will you be driving? If yes, I'd pick them up and drive to wherever you think you'd like to spend time together. You could stay in Brooklyn and spend the day in Prospect Park or the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens or head into Manhattan if you prefer. If you're not driving, they'll need a car service or taxi to meet you.

Greenhouse

Looks like the Botanic Gardens are closed on Mondays.

Do you think choosing somewhere in the Seaport area is a good idea? Any idea how long it would take to cab it there?

ellenem

South Street Seaport is little more than a tourist destination featuring a shopping mall and restaurants. There are some tall ships to see if that interests you, but I think the former hamr of the area has been altered dramatically by the mall. It is also located across the harbor in Manhattan, not particularly close to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

"My in-laws will have about 6 hours to disembark the Queen Mary II" 6 hours to disembark before what? Are they heading to an airport? I'm hesitant to suggest any touring before knowing if they have an important deadline to meet.

ellenem

formeer CHARM of the area . . .

nytraveler

If they have 6 hours from getting off the ship(and is that first disembark - or their disembark) and getting to an airport (and which airport)- there may not be time to do anythng.

We need more details to help.

IMHO the Seapot is nothng but a big tuorist trap.

travelbuff

If they are getting off the ship and then reboarding, you certainly will have a few hours to do something in the city. Since the cruise terminal is on the other side of the Battery Tunnel, I'd suggest doing a tour of downtown Manhattan, maybe have lunch at Fraunces Tavern, or one of the other restaurants in the area, see Battery Park, Trinity Church, Wall St, World Trade Center rebirth, St. Paul's Chapel, and then head back to the cruise terminal.

You could also walk up to Chinatown and have lunch there, and walk over to Little Italy for desert.

I'd do something downtown so you can maximize the time you spend with them.

The area of Brooklyn near the terminal is just dock area, the only things of interest very close are Costco and IKEA. That whole area is all wharehouse and dock, so nothing to see.

Hope this helps a bit.

Greenhouse

They arrive in port around 7:00am and need to be back at the terminal around 4:00pm to reboard. From my experience, it will be about 2 hours before they disembark, giving them 6-7 hours.

They won't have a cell phone so I'm just trying to come up with an exact meeting place(we won't have a car). It's been about 10 years since I've been to the Seaport area...didn't realize it had changed so much.

All of your suggestions/input so far has been really helpful. Thanks.

ellenem

If you liked the seaport 10 years ago, then you may still like it. I was comparing it to 20 years ago.

travelbuff

I'm guessing that there will be cabs and maybe a bus for people to board to get into Manhattan, so you should be able to meet up with them, or give them your cel phone number to call from a pay phone once they get here. Or maybe you can arrange to meet them at the cruise ship and get a cab into the city together. At the end of the day in lower Manhattan you can hail a cab and send them back off to the cruise terminal through the Battery Tunnel, it is not far from there.

mclaurie

You should perhaps check on the cruisecritic.com forum and see if there are other people who've done this cruise who know what kind of transport options they'll have at the pier. Then I think you need to tell us what kind of things would interest you to do for the day. Do you think they'll be hungry and want breakfast when you first meet? If yes, then meeting at a breakfast place would work. Without any more information from you, I'd say to meet at Bubby's in lower Manhattan or Balthazar in Soho for breakfast. If they're late, you're at least sitting down with coffee.

PortSideNewYork

mclaurie, it's time you got out of your car.

There is a lot to do in the area. There is more buzz about Red Hook than just about any NYC neighborhood. See PortSide's guide to Red Hook http://portsidenewyork.org/PortSideRedHookGuide.pdf. (yes, it will be updated) or just search Red Hook in Time Out Magazine. Our pubs and eateries are often running cultural events. Red Hook has an urban farm Added Value, artisanal eateries, and boutiques run by the craftsmen who make the goods. Amble north to Brooklyn Bridge Park www.brooklynbridgeparknyc.org along Columbia Street and enjoy vintage goods, collectibles, potter's studios, a bakery, used book store. Or take the B61 out of Red Hook to upper Atlantic Avenue and walk back via the antique dealer district and a slew of ethnic restaurants.

For those who want to shop, Red Hook has 52,000sq ft of gourmet food at Fairway Market and an IKEA. Or just walk the IKEA esplanade to see the preserved gantry cranes and ogle the tug and bargeport.

Thursdays+Saturdays the Red Hook's Waterfront Museum Barge is open, and PortSide NewYork itself will soon have a permanent home next to the cruise terminal where we will offer programs, exhibits, and a historic ship. We were there for 2 months this summer. www.portsidenewyork.org

but if you want suburbia, or tourist targets like the Seaport, this area is not for you. We're for real.

PortSideNewYork

PS re transpo out of the terminal: walk away from the crush of the cruise terminal to the corner of Van Brunt Street and Pioneer Street. Call this local car service Future Group 718-858-1234. There is a payphone at the Pioneer Superette if you don't have a cell phone.

Why you would go all the way to Manhattan's (mediocre) Bubby's or Balthazar when nearby Brownstone Brooklyn has award-winning eateries, I don't know. Try googling Smith Street for other places to eat or shop. Smith Street offers great window shopping eye candy just 15 blocks from the cruise terminal or you can spend two hours going back and forth to Manhattan. hmmm

ellenem

It is good to hear that there are so many activities and sights of interest near the Brooklyn cruise terminal and its environs. It is troubling that the information provided began by insulting a well-respected long-time poster who spends hours offering expert, pertinent advice every week.

doug_stallings

I'd stay in Red Hook, but I just want to warn that it's a pretty long walk up to the port entrance (at least 10 minutes I'd estimate and perhaps longer if your parents walk slowly) through a not terribly enticing, industrial wasteland. There will be buses, car services, and perhaps some regular taxis at the port meeting the disembarking passengers, but it is a madhouse, and my guess is that some car services will talk at the lower fare to take your parents somewhere nearby in Brooklyn (hence, meeting a local car service just outside the port entrance is a good idea).

mclaurie

I'm well aware that Red Hook is coming up in the world but it ain't there yet and on a Mon. morning at 7 am, there's no there there. There's also NO public transportation. If I'm going to pay for a car service to come and get me, I might as well get taken to Manhattan where I can do some sightseeing. And before you diss Bubby's, remember there's one in Brooklyn. Your post is arrogant, rude and misleading. And to make a jab about suburbia and in the same breath talk about Ikea is bloody ridiculous.

I suggest you concentrate on solving the transportation problem, especially for people using the cruise terminal and redesign your bloody brochure so it gives some salient information and makes sense.

J62

I can just picture the trip report from your in-laws.

"We took a wonderful cruise on the QM2. Highlight of our trip was a stop in NY, NY, a wonderful town. The Bronx is up but the Battery's down...

We followed the expert advice we got on Fodors.com and went shopping at the IKEA in Red Hook, Brooklyn."

J62

or worse yet - you may end up in their Christmas letter to the whole family.

"Our dear daughter in law met us in NY to show us the town. We were so excited to get an insiders tour of New York City - a place we've always dreamed of going. Well, our D.I.L, bless her heart, decided it was best we not venture too far from the port. She followed the advice she got on fodors.com and took us to Bubby's & Balthazar, and the only thing we saw was the old gantry cranes. We never made it into Manhattan. What a shame. Our poor son."

My point is, what do your in laws want to do? Are they looking forward to a driving tour of Manhattan or a quick trip to Central Park, or a visit to Rockefeller Center, or are they content to go to a Brooklyn IKEA.

With only 6 hrs the options are certainly limited - no disagreement there, but 1st thing I'd is ask them what they want.

nytraveler

Anyone who would spend 6 hours in NYC going to Ikea is IMHO, out of their mind. And assuming parents (who I assume are quite elderly if they don;t even have a cell phone) will be able to walk from the ship out of the port and negotiate a trip with a local car service is simply ridiculous.

Agree you should meet them there with a car or car service and take them to see/do what THEY are most interested in.

K_brklyn

Wow, Brooklyn gets such a bum rap around here. I think Fodor should do a Brooklyn/Outer Borough guide let's put these misconceptions to rest.

There's a water ferry that goes between Red Hook and Wall St. Might save some time, traffic in the tunnel will be heavy in the morning. The Ferry will take you to downtown and close to the seaport.

Also lots to do in Brooklyn, breakfast options on Smith St and in Park Slope (Perch, Get Fresh Table & Market). Tour Brooklyn Heights, lunch at Al di La in Park Slope. Explore Brownstone Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge, etc.

Just depends on what you want to do.

Rockefeller ctr and Central park would be risky given the window of time that you have.

BTW the waterfront near IKEA (behind Fairways) has a great view of the Statue of Liberty. There are also glass blowing studios that you can visit, the Key Lime Pie at Steve's on Pier 41 to taste. All nice things to do if you are concerned about not making it back to the terminal on time.