Everything & Anything New York City

greenface

M4rk stick i out esp if your on your own / iHate traveling times as i normally travel with family & wheelchair user with continence problems. There is no way i could even contenplate a journey for that long (wouldnt like it myself on my own ) but i seriously belive you shouldnt pay for that flight. Good luck and try to get a voucher for your next flight

M4RKM

I dunno whether I should actually complain, and see if I can get any miles etc, because there is an extra cost involved of the hotel for 1 night, I really ain't sure. I'm happy that they sorted it with minimum of fuss, and because I asked for the dates to be changed, I think they've been very fair doing that for me, because my flight was booked cheapest of the cheap on the lowest class of ticket. So, what should have happened is that they changed me to the MAN - AMS - JFK on the 2nd March, and if they wanted to, charged me upwards of $250 for the date change.

You really think it's worth a whinge to them? bear in mind that Delta don't care about my jetblue flight etc...

bb69

M4RKM wrote: »

I dunno whether I should actually complain, and see if I can get any miles etc, because there is an extra cost involved of the hotel for 1 night, I really ain't sure. I'm happy that they sorted it with minimum of fuss, and because I asked for the dates to be changed, I think they've been very fair doing that for me, because my flight was booked cheapest of the cheap on the lowest class of ticket. So, what should have happened is that they changed me to the MAN - AMS - JFK on the 2nd March, and if they wanted to, charged me upwards of $250 for the date change.

You really think it's worth a whinge to them? bear in mind that Delta don't care about my jetblue flight etc...

Yes, If you dont ask you don't get... Nout to lose

Good luck

Alwaysthinking_2

Right folks - first post so be easy on me! My wife and I are travelling to NYC this sat 12th Feb to celebrate my wifes 30th for a few days (kids free!). I'm sure this has been covered over and over, but it'd be a great help to have a response that suites our plans directly please? We're interested in any tips, bargains, must sees/do's etc

Planned the following so far:

Sat: Arrive at JFK Sat 8pm, transfer with Carmel to the Affinia Dumont, 150 East 34th. Dump the suitcases and head out to take in the surroundings, maybe times square, and esb (pre booked express tickets) and eat. Jet lag - sleep!

Sun: Up - Breakfast (deli near hotel?), and (somehow - walk/taxi/subway/bus???) get to Brooklyn Bridge, then ground zero, then Battery park for 1pm ferry to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (pre booked with Pedestal pass). Back from there then free time to fill - any suggestions? Maybe a beer or three and some good quality sitting / people watching for the evening???

Monday: Empire state if not done Sat night, Central park wander, Rockerfeller Center (wife wants to ice skate here) and Top of the Rock if queues not too bad, toys r us (pressies for the kids!), Saks 5th Ave, Grand Central Station, eat, back to hotel. Out to see Lion King 8pm, with either early meal before or late meal after (any suggestions near to Times Sq?). Mid priced (not over fussed about daft expensive food) nice atmosphere for Valentines?? and drinks after.

Tuesday: Flight at 22:25 JFK - LHR. Leave day free to wander - see what we've not managed to yet, spend any remaining cash!

Have been told the open top red buses are worthwhile for just the general tour, and to use as main mode of transport for hop on hop off with the 72 hour ticket etc? I'm not sure if to do this, or get a 7 day metro card each, or even just use taxis here and there when needed?

Any of your help / suggestions will be greatly appreciated. REALLY looking forward to getting there now!

M4RKM

Can I just ignore bits of your post and just talk about the beer or three? No? Oh OK then. lets go

Alwaysthinking wrote: »

Sat: Arrive at JFK Sat 8pm, transfer with Carmel to the Affinia Dumont, 150 East 34th. Dump the suitcases and head out to take in the surroundings, maybe times square, and esb (pre booked express tickets) and eat. Jet lag - sleep!

I'm not convinced by this at all. 8pm is the gate time, so by the time you leave the airport it'll be 8.30 at the earliest, if not 9pm, and then 10pm by the time you get through to the hotel. That means, your body thinks it is 3am. If you have energy, yeah, you might be able to head to Times Square and see the flashing lights, but it's a good trek from your hotel. Think about that 5 hour time difference.

Alwaysthinking wrote: »

Sun: Up - Breakfast (deli near hotel?), and (somehow - walk/taxi/subway/bus???) get to Brooklyn Bridge, then ground zero,

The walk from your hotel is 3.5 miles to get just to the bridge, so what I'd suggest, is to get the Subway from your hotel, into Brooklyn, then walk back into Manhattan. That way you can appreciate the views. Don't bother with a taxi, that'd cost a fortune probably talking easily $20, when a $2.25 subway ride will get you there. If you need specific directions, head over to hopstop.com

Ground Zero? I'm unsure why people are still calling it that after 10 years. It isn't a war zone. Locals call it the World Trade Center site. However, it is just a building site, and you can't really see much, as there are high hoardings all the way around the site. The best thing to do, is take in the memorial in place across the road at St. Paul's Chapel where the heroes rested after working at the site. Across Vesey Street is the Preview Site, which shows not only the past, but also what will be. Near the Trade Center Site are lots of other great things like Wall Street, Charging Bull, City Hall Park, Century 21.

Alwaysthinking wrote: »

then Battery park for 1pm ferry to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (pre booked with Pedestal pass). Back from there then free time to fill - any suggestions? Maybe a beer or three and some good quality sitting / people watching for the evening???

Is your ferry at 1pm? I'd advise getting there early, as the queues for security can be rather lengthy (so I've heard!) aim for midday - 12.30. factor in 3 hours for the whole thing, as you're not going to the crown.

Ok, onto beer. I love beer, and I know a fair few bars. From the little I know, I'd suggest heading into Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the evening, there are loads of bars, restaurants, hipsters, and locals who head into this area. It doesn't even get busy til gone 11pm, and as bars are open til 4, then you have plenty of time left in the day. Places like Spike Hill (just outside the L train stop at Bedford Avenue), Teddy's, Brooklyn Ale House, Lorely, Turkeys Nest, DBA Williamsburg, the list is just huge!! If you want, i'll root out my bar crawl list, and let you know where is the best places to go / start end at.

Alwaysthinking wrote: »

Monday: Empire state if not done Sat night, Central park wander, Rockerfeller Center (wife wants to ice skate here) and Top of the Rock if queues not too bad, toys r us (pressies for the kids!), Saks 5th Ave, Grand Central Station, eat, back to hotel. Out to see Lion King 8pm, with either early meal before or late meal after (any suggestions near to Times Sq?). Mid priced (not over fussed about daft expensive food) nice atmosphere for Valentines?? and drinks after.

Empire State - get there early to avoid the queues, however, I think things are slightly in the wrong order as you're darting around Manhattan. Look at a map, and this order, and you'll see it as more logical. Also, there are rarely queues at TOTR, just remember to pick up the discount vouchers the guys are handing out. I prefer TOTR to Empire State, the view is more iconic, it is more spacious, and just a better experience.

• Empire State
• Grand Central
• Rockefeller Center
• TOTR
• Saks 5th Avenue
• FAO Schwarz (not toys r us, but toys r us, really isn't in the right direction to where you're going)
• Central Park

I'm still not keen on this, as you're lugging your shopping around Central Park, It seems like you are fixed on Empire State, but the queues are annoying, it has to be done early. if you dropped that from this (and do it tuesday morning more on that in a moment) then you could start in Central park, and work down, picking up shopping on the way, and then finishing off at your hotel. It's just how my brain works, so I hope you get what I mean.

Head over to 9th avenue if you want some cheap food, or Virgils in Times Square if you want some BBQ, but if you want something a bit more romantic, you could be pushed for time and reservations. I don't recommend many restaurants in Times Square, as they're squarely aimed at the tourist trade, and the food is average at best. Virgils is the exception to the rule, however it is just BBQ food, and nothing "romantic"

Now, after you've done the theater, you could go to Toys r Us, i'm pretty sure it's open til 11pm soem days, or something stupid like that, but FAO should be able to get your toy fix, and you get to see the Piano featured in Big (Tom Hanks Movie)

Alwaysthinking wrote: »

Tuesday: Flight at 22:25 JFK - LHR. Leave day free to wander - see what we've not managed to yet, spend any remaining cash!

So, tuesday, flight at that time means leave at 6.30pm, so go see some different part of NYC that you've not done yet. The HighLine / Chelsea Market / Greenwich Village, into Chinatown and Soho can fill a day up nicely

Alwaysthinking wrote: »

Have been told the open top red buses are worthwhile for just the general tour, and to use as main mode of transport for hop on hop off with the 72 hour ticket etc? I'm not sure if to do this, or get a 7 day metro card each, or even just use taxis here and there when needed?

Any of your help / suggestions will be greatly appreciated. REALLY looking forward to getting there now!

I hope there is a typo in there somewhere. Hop On Hop Off Buses, are NOT a form of transportation. What it'll take you to go from central park to your hotel, (about 90 minutes) on a bus, will take 15 minutes on the subway. The subway runs 24/7 and is busy until about 3am. i've even got a packed train at 3am back to my hotel when i was staying in Brooklyn as people are still bar hopping around. Subway is the way to go.

A $29 ticket each will give you unlimited bus and subway travel. if you taxi'd everywhere, then you'd be spending upwards of $50 a day probably in travel. Also a 72 hour ticket on a hop on hop off bus is over $100 per person. How someone can recommend these as transportation I have no idea. If you really want (I can't see the time to squeeze it in) just pick a particular loop, but I think you've done well with your itinerary, and if you add in Chelsea / highline etc etc on Tuesday, then you'll have covered a huge amount of NYC.

If you've got any more questions, or want a pub crawl or two, let me know.

Alwaysthinking_2

Brilliant M4RKM, thanks. Just what I hoped for, and yes please on the pub crawls, it'd be rude not too.........

KK22_2

Flying into Newark on Thur 10th March. Because it's the competition win, only there for three nights so looking to avoid as much faffing as possible. Usually just jump on the Coach USA bus that goes from Newark to Midtown but staying on West 57th at 9th Ave so would have to trek from Port Authority.

I've never used Carmel or Dial 7 before.
Are they easy to use?
Is it obvious where you get picked up by them?
Is the overall price: price on website, tolls & tip? How much does it roughly total?
Do people usually use them for the return too? How to book that if so?

My mum will ask me all of these questions so i have to be prepared haha.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks x

M4RKM

KK22 wrote: »

Flying into Newark on Thur 10th March. Because it's the competition win, only there for three nights so looking to avoid as much faffing as possible. Usually just jump on the Coach USA bus that goes from Newark to Midtown but staying on West 57th at 9th Ave so would have to trek from Port Authority.

I've never used Carmel or Dial 7 before.
1 - Are they easy to use?
2 - Is it obvious where you get picked up by them?
3 - Is the overall price: price on website, tolls & tip?
4 - How much does it roughly total?
5 - Do people usually use them for the return too?
6 - How to book that if so?

My mum will ask me all of these questions so i have to be prepared haha.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks x

1 - Yes. You can book online
2 - They tell you that on the phone. The driver has a number, that you need to look out for. On Dial 7's website - https://www.dial7.com/Airports.aspx - at the bottom there, you can see the location etc etc
3 - Toll and Tip are not included. Toll is $6 off peak, or $8 peak, and Tip is 15-20% (according to dial 7's website, the tolls are $11, so I've missed something out there in my calculations, so lets work with that total)
4 - $44 is the fare, add on $11 for toll, makes it $55. a 15% tip on the fare (don't tip on the toll) is $6.60, so $44+11+7 = $62 and a 20% would make it $44+11+9 = $64
5 - Yes, pick up the phone and book them, or book it online, factor in 1 hour to get back to the airport, along with your 3 hours required for check in
6 - on the phone or on the internet.

M

KK22_2

M4RKM wrote: »

1 - Yes. You can book online
2 - They tell you that on the phone. The driver has a number, that you need to look out for. On Dial 7's website - https://www.dial7.com/Airports.aspx - at the bottom there, you can see the location etc etc
3 - Toll and Tip are not included. Toll is $6 off peak, or $8 peak, and Tip is 15-20% (according to dial 7's website, the tolls are $11, so I've missed something out there in my calculations, so lets work with that total)
4 - $44 is the fare, add on $11 for toll, makes it $55. a 15% tip on the fare (don't tip on the toll) is $6.60, so $44+11+7 = $62 and a 20% would make it $44+11+9 = $64
5 - Yes, pick up the phone and book them, or book it online, factor in 1 hour to get back to the airport, along with your 3 hours required for check in
6 - on the phone or on the internet.

M

As always thanks for your help!

"They tell you that on the phone. The driver has a number, that you need to look out for. On Dial 7's website - https://www.dial7.com/Airports.aspx - at the bottom there, you can see the location etc etc"

Is there a phone at arrivals or something? They ask for a number on the booking form but i'm only going to have my mobile with me. What do others typically do about that?

Thanks again

M4RKM

KK22 wrote: »

As always thanks for your help!

"They tell you that on the phone. The driver has a number, that you need to look out for. On Dial 7's website - https://www.dial7.com/Airports.aspx - at the bottom there, you can see the location etc etc"

Is there a phone at arrivals or something? They ask for a number on the booking form but i'm only going to have my mobile with me. What do others typically do about that?

Thanks again

Pick up and ground transportation courtesy phone as you have to call them!