Red Hook area to Mid Manhattan
 

Is it feasible to disembark at Red Hook ship terminal in Brooklyn and get to Penn Station area by way of public transportation? We (wife & I) will have one suitcase and two carry-on pieces of luggage. Is it crazy to think that we could do it with bus and subway rather than just doing the taxi route?? What is the best way to go? Which bus or train numbers and how long should it take on a thursday morning at about 9 AM? Thanks.Comments anyone!!

Crazy? To some, but not to others.

For the directions listed here:

http://www.inredhook.com/terminal

I'll reverse the directions to get you to Penn Station:

Walk approximately 4 long blocks to the terminal entrance. Take the B61 bus at Pioneer Street and Van Brunt Street to Borough Hall. At Borough Hall, take 2 or 3 Train to Penn Station. Read the signs on the platform carefully--some stairways lead directly into Penn Station while others might lead to the street.

The buses in Red Hook are limited and do run that often.

Hi Ellenem,

Thanks for quick reply. We may just give it a try! How do you think we can get a public transportation fare card since we will be getting off the ship at about 9AM. Don't think bus or train takes cash. We will be going to hotel at 232 West 29th Street, just a few blocks from Penn station. The cost differential is something like $25-30 vs $5-6 for the bus/train.

Red Hook is notoriously inconvenient for public transportation users. I certainly wouldn't want to do it with luggage.
(The best thing that has happened to public transportation in that are is the opening of IKEA, which provides free water taxi service into Manhattan and a free shuttle bus to the nearest subway station.
Of course, those are primarily for the use of their customers)


FYI, you can use cash on buses--coins only. If you start your trip with a bus, though, you cannot get a free transfer to the subway. And since there's no nearby subway station, you cannot buy a Metrocard

I believe you would pay in quarters when you board the bus ($2 each) and then purchase a metrocard at the actual subway station for the subway portion. (I do not think you can get a free transfer for the subway because you'll be paying in cash)

You could purchase just two subway trips at the station (one for each of you- again $2 each) but it would probably make more sense to buy one metrocard with $10-20 that you could both then just use for the rest of your trip.

Maybe someone will post here who has used public transportation coming or going from a cruise there and can say whether the money saved was worth it.

You may want to call a car service based in a nearby neighborhood (like Park Slope) to see what prices are like into the city (that way your price would be set and you wouldn't be at the whim of traffic like you would be if you did opt for a cab).

I started a google map of the trip's points; I'm not positive that I've properly labeled the entrance to the cruise terminal so maybe someone can correct me.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/4oe4ed

Hi Editor Katie,

I took your advice and looked up private car services in Park Slope area and came up with Arecibo Car Service. I called them and they said located only a couple of minutes from Red Hook cruise terminal and flat fee to Penn station area in Manhattan was $23. He said there were no toll charges. In retrospect this may be a better bet than trying to go the Public transportation route. If this was the charge, what should the tip be? How does that work? 10-15%?????
Thanks so much for your thoughts.
We will be getting off the ship on October 23 at about 9 AM. He figured about 30 minutes to 232 West 29th street, Manhattan.

Jay

Jay-
If the car service takes the Battery Tunnel you will save time although it will cost an extra $4.50.

In NYC you tip cabs and car services 20% - of the trip cost but not the toll. (Restaurant tips are 20% too - unless the service is bad.)