Which airport should we use in New York?
 

We are taking a cruise from New York and need to know which airport would be best. All are about the same price. Which is more convenient to the Ship Terminal? Are there reasonably priced hotels nearby? Any help would be appreciated. ( Thanks for the suggestion Elaine! )

Avoid Kennedy like the Plague. Ugly, nasty, poorly designed nightmare. <BR> <BR>The ship terminalis on the west side of Manhattan, so consider Newark. A shuttle bus ($10 one way; one leaves Newark airport every 28 minutes), and drops you at the Port Authority, a very short cab ride from the port. <BR>La Guardia is a decent choice, too. depedning on the time of day (avoid anytime between 3:30 and 7:30). <BR>bon Voyage!

Marilyn, I would suggest flying into LaGuardia and take a cab into Manhattan. As was mentioned the terminals are on the Hudson River depending on which pier they are around 50th St. <BR> <BR>There are so many hotels in NYC that you should have your choice and if you are staying overnight you can see a bit of the city, take in some broadway, have a good dinner and maybe take the Staten Island Ferry in the evening to get a beautiful view of The City. <BR> <BR>Depending on what you are looking to pay, I would check out some of the hotels on Lexington Ave in the midtown area (46th St to 57th St). <BR> <BR>Take a cab over to the terminal which will not be expensive $7-$10 and hop on your ship. <BR> <BR>Have fun while you are here and if you have more questions, email or leave them here. <BR> <BR>tweedy

to the top..

"We are taking a cruise from New York and need to know which airport would be best". <BR> <BR>Marilyn, I think you will find airports <BR>are for the use of aircraft, not ships. <BR> <BR>Tee Hee.

Newark Airport is the closest of the three to Manhattan.

Be aware that La Guardia is totally closed after about 11 pm. We were stranded there all night with no shuttles to other two airports and all rental cars were taken and most offices totally close, except for Hertz.

Marilyn, <BR> <BR>I feel a sense of 'responsibility' as I suggested you post on Fodors/US. You've received good advice. Neal suggests Newark and even offers ground transportation, once there. I am a friend of Howard. If he suggests Newark (and he knows NY locales well) I would strongly consider his advice which was identical to Neal's reply. <BR>Have a wonderful vacation! <BR>

None of the NY airports are good airports but you must decide depending on what irks you and where you are going. <BR> <BR>Newark---NBC had a report yesterday saying that typical delays during the day is 40 minutes. In the coming years, it may be an hour and 40. Howard is wrong in saying that Newark is better for Manhattan generally. To the west side, this may be ok but I live on the east side and Newark is hell. Takes forever to get through the tunnel and then you have to cross town. Also, cabs from Newark are more costly. <BR> <BR>Laguardia--with all due respect to other posts, it is just a fact that Lag is closer (MUCH) to the east side of Manhattan. It could be a much as half for a cab ride but if you are going to the east side, ask the driver to take the Triborough Bridge which could save you a lot of time. The problem with Lag is like the problem with Newark----DELAYS!! Lag has gotten worse than JFK because of the constant shuttles that take off and often cross your path before takeoff. The last time that I took off from Lag, it took us 45 minutes to take off but the pilot said that we would arrive somewhat on time because Lag builds in extensive delays. <BR> <BR>JFK--under construction and further away from all parts of Manhattan than Lag. There often are better deals from JFK because some smaller but pretty good airlines like the new Jetblue airlines only fly from JFK. <BR> <BR>So--if you are going to the east side--stay away from Newark like the plague (there is a reason that every traffic report during rush hour tells you the delays at the NJ tunnels--usually around 30-45 mintues once you get to the tunnel). Otherwise, LAG is probably the best of the worst in the country.

Mark, I did not say that Newark Airport was better for Manhattan. I just said it was the closest of the three, and it is...especially if you're going to the West Side of Manhattan, which is where cruise ships usually leave from! With all due respect, Mark, I stand by my previous answer.

Howard-- <BR>Someone asked you which was the best and your wisdom said that Newark was the closest. You stand by your answer. Are you sure that your aren't my boss----he talks like that a lot.

Let's try it one more time: <BR>1. The original poster asked for the MORE CONVENIENT airport to the ship terminal. <BR>2. The ship terminal is located on the WEST SIDE of New York at the Hudson River. <BR>3. Newark Airport is the CLOSEST (read that, MOST CONVENIENT) airport to the ship terminals on the WEST SIDE. <BR>4. Flying into Laguardia means taking a cab that enters New York on the EAST SIDE, which means a very TIME-CONSUMING trip across the entire width of Manhattan. <BR>If I'm flying into New York to go on a cruise, I'll stick with Newark. <BR>(Mark, maybe you're lucky I'm not your boss!)

Marilyn, I live in NY, close to the Empire State Building and fly out of both Laguardia and Newark. So here is the real info. <BR> <BR>LaGuardia is MUCH closer to the city, a cab ride to say 34th to Lexington Ave (several hotels in the area will cost you about $20 tip tunnel fee and tip included (don't take the bridge, takes longer and costs more). <BR> <BR>Cab fare from Newark to the city will run you about $50. <BR> <BR>There are buses available at both airports that will bring you into Manhattan. <BR> <BR>There are so many hotels in the city at every price range, so pick a hotel that would work for you. I would call some of the major hotel chains and ask for hotel locations and rates. <BR> <BR>By the way there is a brand new Hilton hotel on 42nd St. between 7th and 8th Ave, that you may want to check into. <BR> <BR>On the flip side often the fares in and out of Newark are less than LaGuardia, so when you are booking, check to see if there is a big price difference. <BR> <BR>I also use a car service that is very reliable called Sabra. They will pick you up at the airport and you can even use a credit card. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps some, please let me know if you have any other questions. <BR> <BR>tweedy

I give up!...Except to wonder how anyone could ever end up paying $50 for a cab from Newark. They must have really seen you coming!

Don't feel bad, Howard--I agree with you. We have taken several cruises from NYC and always use Newark. We were there in June and the cab fare from Newark was $35.00 (plus tip, of course).

Thank you, Barbara!

I have to agree with Howard. Laguardia is usually cheaper, and faster to the east side, but Newark is closer to the west side docks. Usually around $30 plus from Newark. That said, I'd pick the airport on where the cheapest flight is. As long as your not coming in at rush hour Newark and Laguardia areroughly equivalent. And you might consider a car (car service) instead of a cab. <BR> <BR>And stay away from JFK unless you have to.

Marilyn, <BR> <BR>Are you there?

$35 from Newark, when you add 20% gratuity, and $4 tunnel toll comes to $45 on my calculator and then when you add traffic......it can easily be $50 into the city. <BR> <BR>LaGuardia to Manhattan on the east side in the midtown area is $23.50 including tip and toll. <BR> <BR>Manhattan is not all that large, a mile wide and only 8 miles long, it's the traffic that makes the trip uptown/downtown or crosstown take time and if the President is in town then, well, you might as well park in the middle of the street and go have dinner. lol. <BR> <BR>So my best suggestion is LaGuardia. <BR> <BR>tweedy

I had given up on this one...but I couldn't let a comment by the previous poster go by unanswered. She writes: "...it's the traffic that makes the trip uptown/downtown or crosstown take time..." Thank you. That's exactly what I'm talking about! When you take a cab from Laguardia and want to go to the piers on the West Side, you cannot avoid having to drive across town through this very time-consuming (and expensive) traffic! <BR>Enough already!!! <BR>As another previous poster asked: "Marilyn, are you still with us? Look what you started!"