Anything & Everything New York (PART 2) - [please search thread before posting]

phatbear

Because of the current financial climate in the US you will probably find any of the bargains you can get at jersey gardens are also easily obtainable in and around manahattans stores, seeing as every store seems to have a permanent sale on at the mo.

However if you want to get out of the city for a bit then jersey gardens is fine and dandy, just remember you will need to lug all of your bargains back with you to your hotel via public transport/taxi etc.

From the reports i get of woodbury common I wouldnt bother with it, due to it being far to expensive to get there, esp with a family in tow, and due to their designer shops the clothes they sell arent really designed for phatbears.

M4RKM

stardust245 wrote: »

Hi,

I'm going to NY in July with two friends and I have a couple of questions.

I've been interested in the posts on here about flights. Markymoo - if you book flights though something like ebookers, does that mean you can't reserve your seat? I'm a nervoud flyer and this is very important for me. Think the cheapest I've found is 360 Delta to Newark through FlightsUK.

Secondly, I'm looking for an apartment to let, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be grateful.

Stardust

have you tried looking on delta's website... they have a best price guarantee, so normally, the flight is the same or £10 less on their site..

also, bear in mind, that some sites will charge a % cc booking fee, while delta doesn't

M

KK22_2

I loved Woodbury Commons when we were there in January. It was the perfect time and day. There was a bit snowfall the night before so the place was deserted which meant no queues and no hustle and bustle. We both got lots of great bargains without even going near the higher end designer stores. I would definitely recommend it but as always, just depends what you are into.

pcg2001

KK22 wrote: »

I loved Woodbury Commons when we were there in January. It was the perfect time and day. There was a bit snowfall the night before so the place was deserted which meant no queues and no hustle and bustle. We both got lots of great bargains without even going near the higher end designer stores. I would definitely recommend it but as always, just depends what you are into.

Thanks phatbear! my feeling is also that I will be able to get a few bargains in the city. But if I can get tommy polo shirts for $20 instead of $40 (already on sale in macy's), as I got last year in the LA outlet, I will gladly go to Jersey.

And thanks KK22. I am mostly looking to hit the Guess, Timberland, Tommy, Levis, fragrances, handbag stores. They exist in both outlets. I am wondering how good a selection these stores carry in each of these outlets, but that may actually be luck.

Also, there is a booklet with extra disccounts on Woodburry Common (it is possible to get it online). I seem to have read somewhere it is also possible to get one at Jersey Gardens, but have lost the webpage. I made good use of a similar booklet last year in LA, that's why I am inquiring.

Thanks.

M4RKM

i've just stuck the new subway price information on the getting into and around manhattan thread.. - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=5917506

M

GRIGGSY

Well I am back from 7 days in New York. When I am not so tired I will post a few bits about the trip which may be useful to others - or not. More than likely will be tomorrow as I have had very little sleep and need to sort out the boring bits now!! DH has already started his unpacking.......:(

HGLTsuperstar

Any feedback on the Gray Line 72-hour loop package (with or without the New York Pass). First timers for long weekend in December so think it would cover just about everything we want and by then the "Holiday Loop" will be running in place of the Night Loop. Do the buses run regularly enough to get on and off and allow you to stop at the main sites we're going to want to see i.e. the tourist traps.

GRIGGSY

Now that I am more awake.........

Well what a week we had. We got there on the Sunday after our flight was delayed by approx 1hr which wasn't too bad. When we arrived at the hotel our room was ready, but we asked if we could have a room high up and with more of a view than a brick wall. As it was my birthday the kind lady was able to give us a room with a view of the city and the Hudson river, but it wouldn't be ready for another hour. Rather than being stuck with a brick wall we decided to wait the hour. The hotel were happy to look after our luggage in order for us to head out so we did this. Although we couldn't freshen up before heading out we weren't too bothered.

We headed to Times Square to pick up our New York pass and stopped in at the Information point to pick up some leaflets. It was then back to the hotel to check in.

When we went up to the room we were prepared for a small room but were met by a tiny box room!!! After the initial shock though we soon forgot how tiny the room was and you do actually get used to it. Oh the hotel was the New Yorker and we were in a metro room with one queen bed.

Well day one we were up early and headed off down to get tickets to the Circle Line Cruise. Husband said that we couldn't get any form of transport there and would have to walk so this is what we did. Personally I think he lied but hey your meant to walk to get a feel of the place. Breakfast was on the go - fried egg sandwich for me and an egg, bacon and ham roll for husband. Used the New York pass for the 2hour cruise. Whilst waiting for the cruise we decided to have a look around the Intrepid Museum again using our pass. The museum wasn't too bad, but it is not really my thing, but the husband really enjoyed it and I think he would of probably liked more time to wander round. Our time slot came up for the cruise so we headed back.

Despite the fact that it was actually freezing we decided to sit outside for the cruise as I get really sea sick (I get sea sick on a chain ferry crossing, thats how bad I am) and need the air. Neither of us really enjoyed the cruise and we both felt that it was too long. We had decided to do the cruise as everyone had told us it was a good way to see things and get an idea of what you may want to visit. I think though that it didn't help that we could hardly hear the guide due to the really large group of Italian kids that were really loud, and by their behaviour bored.

After the cruise we headed back towards our hotel and had a spot of lunch at Wendys (sad but I really like the Spicy chicken combo with sweet and sour dip) then got ourselves ready for the Yankees game. Again the husband aka Mr tour guide was responsible for finding the route and again he messed up and we walked for miles until getting the subway station we wanted. As we had a metro card we could come and go as much as we wanted, but once you have used the card you cant come out of the station and use it again within 18 minutes. We stupidly went in one way and followed the signs which we read wrong and were stuck at Grand Central - the station part rather than the subway part. The lovely subway attendent was a complete nightmare and rather than letting us go through the door she made us wait until our cards were active before going through, although not before shouting at us a couple of times. She did tell the women in front of us 'I dont read lips and I'm not a mind reader ..now what you want' personally she could of just said ' you need to talk into the microphone.'
Any way enough of that........ we managed to get ourselves up to the stadium and enjoyed the game despite the fact that towards the end we did start to freeze. We had tickets to the indoor lounge which meant we could heat up a little when we wanted. Dinner was at the game and consisted of a hot dog.

After the game the journey home was a lot easier, although again I was made to walk but this time not as far as earlier that evening. I am sure though that we could of jumped on and off a number of trains to get us closer to the hotel.

Well that is day one over, but I will be back with more. If it is too long please do let me know as if not I will just continue blabbering away...........

Jo

judygarland

HGLTsuperstar wrote: »

Any feedback on the Gray Line 72-hour loop package (with or without the New York Pass). First timers for long weekend in December so think it would cover just about everything we want and by then the "Holiday Loop" will be running in place of the Night Loop. Do the buses run regularly enough to get on and off and allow you to stop at the main sites we're going to want to see i.e. the tourist traps.

I booked a "See it all in day tour" with Party Shuttle Tours on day one and booked a Gray line 48 bus tour. Out of the two, I though the first one was the best as it covered so many different stops and the tour guide actually got off the bus and talked about each stop. There were only about 25 of us on the bus. It cost $60.00 and lasted 6 hours but it was well worth every penny. It gave me a good idea of what I wanted to go back and look at. It really did spoil me because when I used the Greyline, I didn't find the commentary as good and we seemed to be stuck in traffic all the time. After one day on the Grayline buses I decided to use the subway as it was cheap and also the fastest way to get around.

GRIGGSY

HGLTsuperstar wrote: »

Any feedback on the Gray Line 72-hour loop package (with or without the New York Pass). First timers for long weekend in December so think it would cover just about everything we want and by then the "Holiday Loop" will be running in place of the Night Loop. Do the buses run regularly enough to get on and off and allow you to stop at the main sites we're going to want to see i.e. the tourist traps.

We didn't do it as we had done it previously when we had 10 hours between our flights. We found that it suited us when we did it as we had very little time to do anything and we wanted to see some of the City. We did find that it can get really busy and at one point we had to wait ages to get on a bus. I would say that they are quite frequent, and they have stops dotted all over. However, you do still have to walk as they dont drop you off right outside the tourist places, but sometimes in the vicinity of. Also as of now they have stopped all traffic in Times Square to allow for the pedestrian traffic so I dont know how that will affect the route.

From what I can remember it stops near Macys and this is also within walking distance of the Empire States building. It also stops down near the Staten Island ferry which allows you to either walk down the water front towards the Statue of liberty cruise or the free staten island ferry (we have now done both) Oh and it also stops near ground zero.

I will try to find out if the husband kept any of the paper work which may tell me where the bus stops are. I think the other thing is that it will be quite cold and the buses are open top, unless they put some kind of roof on in the winter. You can sit downstairs but I am not sure of the views.
Hope it helps in some way.

Jo