We're sailing with friends, but neither of us have a vehicle to fit all 6 of us. Looking for people who have taken this cruise to see if theres anyway to save both of us paying 250 dollars to park at the pier for a week. I haven't been able to find anything online, and NCL doesn't have any info. I would appreciate any help!!!

Where are you coming from? You can easily take a train or bus into NYC and then a taxi to the cruise pier. A city bus even stops across the street, though I don't really recommend that with a lot of luggage. The ship doesn't leave until 5pm, and you can board until about 4, and it returns early in the morning.

The only trick is that I don't know if you can do all that transportation for less than $250 (though with tolls and gas, it's probably closer to $300 to drive).

I'll be happy to help you with logistics of getting to the port. I live in Manhattan and have taken this cruise and been to the piers many times. Our offices are also nearby.

I agree w/Doug; parking in Manhattan is very high.
It would certainly help if we knew where you are coming from.
What about offering $$ to someone out of work who
could use the $$ and has the time to drive you to and fro?

Wow...thanks for the great ideas! I live in Ohio, and our friends live in Pennsylvania. I never thought about a bus. I'll have to look into that. Thanks again!!

You're pretty far. I don't think it's really practical to take a bus, but commuter buses do run regular from Allentown, but that's about as far from NYC as you can get on a commuter line (i.e., about 100 miles). Amtrak goes all the way to Pittsburgh, but that trip takes all day.

If your friends live in the Philadelphia area, then it's certainly practical to take public transport from there.

I contacted Homewood Suites this morning, and can book a room for the night before, and leave our vehicle there for the week at no additional charge. We can all squeeze in one vehicle the morning of the cruise, get dropped off, and one of us can take the car back to the hotel, and take the ferry to the pier. This is what she told me so hopefully she's right. This seems like the best plan so far. Thanks so much for all of your help!!

It depends a lot on where the Homewood Suites is located. I do hope you realize that 6 people plus luggage will probably not be able to squeeze into even a Cadillac Escalade and that you will pay a lot in tolls plus a pretty high ferry fare to and from Manhattan, a trip that will take a minimum of 90 minutes. I'm not completely sure that the total cost for the hotel, meals, tolls, and time would be that much less than $250. Is it really worth it to go to all this trouble to save perhaps $30? It might just be easier to park at the pier.

Another option might be a Newark Airport hotel that offers a free shuttle to the airport, where you can pick up the Airtrain into Manhattan and then a cab to the cruise pier (well, two cabs). But that's still a fairly expensive option.

You still haven't said where your friends live in Pennsylvania. We've been making some blind guesses to try to help you.

Sorry...they live close to Pittsburgh. Our cruise is a 7 day, so we'll only have to pay $210. I found the piers website. Mapquest takes us I-80 straight across Pa. We decided to leave around 5 am, and drive straight through to the pier. Were hoping to get there around noon...should take us 6 1/2 hours to get there. I have no idea what kind of traffic were looking at once we get in to NYC. Do you think we should leave earlier??

Homewood Suites is in Edgewater, NJ

Frankly, I just don't think you're going to save much by parking in NJ instead of the pier. You will have to STAY at Homewood Suites in order to get the free parking. You can't just park there and leave.

I think you may be cutting it far too close in terms of travel time if you are really planning on leaving Pittsburgh on the day of the cruise. Granted, it's going to be a weekend, but there can still be traffic, and you have left absolutely no cushion whatsoever since someone has to go back to NJ to park the car and then get back before sailing time.

If you leave the morning before the cruise, stay at Homewood Suites overnight, and then come into the city around 10 that would certainly work.

I may not totally understand all of your parking/transfer issues, but once you add in 2 overnite rooms and/or parking/transfer costs, and all of the hassles, why don't you just fly? It shouldn't be much over $100 pp round trip. We used the 777 car transfer service from LaGuardia to the pier for about $25. Good luck.

Julie...thanks, but I won't fly!! I found a hotel in Parsippany, NJ. Its right off of I-80. I think were leaving Friday, driving to NJ, and spending Friday night, then get up Sat. morning and drive straight to the pier and park there. Then when we get off the ship the following Saturday we'd like to find somewhere to stay for the night so we can have a few days in the city. Any ideas on where to stay?

What's your top dollar & where do you want to be located - in the city so you can walk to everything, or on the outskirts & use public transport?

My way of finding potential hotels is to go to venere.com because it allows a search by area & by price - eliminates looking at a lot of hotels that I later find are way beyond my budget.

Then I check the potential hotels on tripadvisor.com for reviews by those who have stayed there - watch out for the hotel staff entries though - but you can usually tell which those are - lots of 5 ratings especially posted after a bad rating, raves about the staff, more a short commercial of the hotel's amenities, & nothing on the tourist part.

Of course, like you, I also post here on Fodors for some real expert advice!

Good luck, have a great trip, & Happy New Year, Julie

Thanks for all the great info Julie! It would be nice to stay in the city, but its probably very expensive! I need to make sure I have shopping money so we'll probably look for something a little cheaper!
Have a wonderful New Year
Thanks again!

If it's possible take a bus to and from the ship... Yes, you will have to use more than one taxi, but the people at the Pier in NYC are outstanding in helping.. We just got off the Gem and took a taxi to the bus terminal and the hassle of the airports, etc. We were able to relax on the way home, our luggage safety stored and comfortable seats..not crammed in.. Oh yes. the price was right..