The Manhattan Cruise Terminal may not be the busiest cruise ship terminal in the United States, but it still sees a fair amount of cruisers embarking on itineraries with Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Silversea and more.
If you plan on cruising out of this Manhattan cruise port, New York City officials do recommend taking public transportation like the subway to the port, to avoid traffic congestion, but if you’re determined to drive to the terminal and park, here’s what you need to know.
In This Article:
Parking at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal
The cruise terminal does have its own parking on-site. Reservations are highly encouraged and parking works on a revolving system.
Cruise ships arrive in the morning, passengers depart, and as they’re departing, that’s just about when passengers getting ready for embarkation arrive — which basically means you should be able to get parking. (Again, though, reservations are wise.)
All cars enter the terminal from the north, at the intersection of 55th Street and 12th Avenue (State Route 9A).
On-site parking opens at 8 a.m. (but porters aren’t available until 9 a.m.) and you have to be out of the parking lot by 3 p.m. the day of your debarkation. The later you arrive at the parking lot, the more parking will be available.
No vehicles taller than 8 feet 3 inches can park on-site, but there’s one flat fee for all vehicle types and sizes otherwise. Payment is due upon arrival at the parking facility and only credit cards are accepted.
Once you’ve parked and entered the terminal, you’ll have access to all its amenities, such as restrooms, WiFi, etc. Note that the on-site parking is open only to cruise passengers; no one else can park here.
What’s the rate? $45/night (subject to change).
Unofficial Manhattan Cruise Terminal Parking Options
If you’re shopping around and hoping to find cheaper rates for parking options before your cruise, you can find other, unofficial parking options near the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Many are located within walking distance of the terminal.
Manhattan Cruise Parking
The aptly named Manhattan Cruise Parking is located at 670 W 43rd Street, which is near the terminal, but you still won’t need to walk.
The parking provider offers a valet service wherein a valet will drive you and your luggage (in your own car) to the terminal entrance for drop-off, before taking your vehicle back to the parking facility.
The indoor parking garage is open 24-7, which is a nice perk if you don’t want to immediately leave with your vehicle upon arriving back from your cruise (say, if you want to stay in the city for a few hours or even a few days, post-cruise).
When you are ready to get your car, you can have the parking service bring your car to the terminal exit for pick-up (this white glove service does come with a $40 fee).
You can also take taxis to the parking facility, and the facility will refund you part of the cab fare, if you parked longer than a week. You’ll also get a discount on overall parking fees if you park longer than a week. There’s no upcharge for sport utility vehicles at this lot.
What’s the rate? Starting at $27/day (subject to change).
ParkWhiz
ParkWhiz is an excellent app for any traveler to use for finding parking spaces in large cities. When parking near Manhattan Cruise Terminal, you’ll find a huge number of options to choose from, via the booking platform.
To use ParkWhiz, all you do is search for parking in an area, with your arrival and departure dates, and then you can sort parking options by location and price.
The platform compiles all available parking facilities within your search parameters, so you can choose the parking garage or lot that’s best for you. Options near the cruise terminal are available at just a third a mile away.
Before booking, you’ll be able to see each facility’s details, including max vehicle height, up-charges for larger vehicles and amenities such as accessibility features like elevators.
What’s the rate? Dependent upon individual provider, but you can easily find rates at less than $30/day (subject to change).
Spot Hero
Spot Hero is a very similar platform, allowing you to search for parking near a point of interest in New York City, based on your embarkation and debarkation dates and times.
You can narrow down your search parameters by vehicle type so you avoid up-charges or arriving at a garage to find your vehicle simply won’t fit.
Then, you can view nearby parking options by distance from the terminal and price, with listings showing you ratings, photos, how far a walk it’ll be to the terminal, amenities, hours and more.
Search results show you your subtotal, too, so you can instantly see how much you’ll spend on a week’s worth of parking versus just a per-day or per-hour fee.
You can find parking options listed on Spot Hero that are as close as a third-a-mile walk from the terminal. However, you can easily find an Uber or similar to help you cross the short distance with your luggage.
What’s the rate? Dependent upon individual provider, but you can easily find rates at less than $30/day (subject to change).
Parking at Manhattan Cruise Terminal Can Be Sone — But it Can Also Be a Headache
While the above options — plus plenty of other individual independent lots and garages — can provide you with parking near the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, just driving through Manhattan can be a stressor for some.
Consider your other options before driving into NYC, whether that means taking the subway or an Amtrak train in from a nearby city or suburb, or flying from somewhere further afield, into Newark International Airport or JFK, and then getting to the cruise terminal via public transit.
Whatever option you choose, go with what you feel will be the least stressful route, and get your cruise vacation off on the right foot.
