NYC Megathread Archive 1 (to 13/03/08)

Mr Soft

Im heading over to NY in December with my girlfriend. She's diabetic and has to carry insulin injections etc with her at all times.

Any diabetics have any trouble before with America security for flying or know of any?

Any help would be much appreciated

Ponster

Diabetes

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1374.shtm#3

ateam

mick_irl wrote:

LINKY




I was on the DUB - JFK flight a few weeks back and the flight was grand. Every seat had the little screen in the head rest so you could pick what movie or tv show you wanted to watch.

Food is still s**t though.

Oh thanks, do you get many meals?

egan007

ateam wrote:

Oh thanks, do you get many meals?

2 meals - but getting a plane with a TV is a 3-1 shot as airlingus only have one plane with individual tv's on that route.
I came back on Monday - communal tv's

Aerlingus is about the same standard as ryanair at the moment.
V poor comparing to what they used to be.

You don't even get a glass or wine or a beer free anymore.

BTW. Some recommendations for nyc

http://www.topoftherocknyc.com - Go at night around 11 great city view and there will be only about 50 there.

The radio City tour is good, the NBC tour is not.

If you are in midtown, Blue Smoke is a nice bar/ rest to eat in at night on 27th Street around madison / 5th Ave - famous for Ribs

Go the the Planetarium in the Museum of natural history - great.

The NYC Pass is 98Usd for 3 days and works out cheap if you see a few things, it also allows you skip the long ticket queues. Buy it in Planet hollywood in time SQ. You can get 10D of a meal in planet holly wood - 20 if there are 2 of you - we got lunch there for 20D with the discount.

Use the Subway - it's easy to figure out and the people in the booths are helpful if abrupt. Buy a metrocard with 10 dollars you can go anywhere in nyc for 2dollars.

It's worth a walk to little Italy - great food at lunch for about 8 Dollars.
(Look for Spring St stop on the Green line)

To get to JKF and back -

Take the Airtrain JFK to Jamica Station (5 Dollars Get the ticket in the machine before you board)
Take the Long Island Railorad Jamica to Penn station (3 dollars Buy the ticket in the machine in Jamica station)
It's very straight forward, Everything is instructed very clearly.

If you want to see the Major attractions like the ESB go early in the morn or late in the evening, it's very busy at the moment.

TKTS - is a ticket boot behind the Marriott hotel on Time Square.
you get 35% - 50% of a Broadway show for same day tickets.
Evening tickets go on sale at 3PM - That's the best time to go - the line is Very long at that stage but you will be at the Booth in 1/2 hour - if you go at 2:30 you will be standing around for half hour because the line won't move until 3. It moves v fast. - Tickets are cash only and totally worth it - we seen Chicago - really impressive performance.

Enjoy it - it was great

tina27a

I got a good deal on flights to New York for Paddys wk next March (370 euro each)but they are from Cork to Heathrow and then on to New York.I've only flown direct to New York from shannon before ( by the way i live in Cork)
Now some people in work are telling me i'm mad to go via Heathrow as i'll have very long queues - around 6 hrs or more ,to get through customs in NY cos they check you more on flights from UK.Is this true?As far as i remember last time all the flights had to collect bags at same place and then you just walked through no matter where you came from.
Has anyone flown to New York via Heathrow and if so what was your experience?

Also i've never flown on connecting flights before.I fly Aer Lingus from Cork to Heathrow and i have 2 and 1/2 hrs and then fly to Ny with American Airlines.Will my bags go straight through or will i have to collect them and check them in again?
The weight your allowed is different on both airlines so coming back again will i have to recheck my bags in Heathrow?If so i'll probably get caught for excess.
Sorry if these seem silly questions but i haven't a clue what to expect and now after talking in work maybe wishing i'd paid the extra and went with Aer Lingus from Shannon.When booking i took into account the time i'd spend driving to Shannon so it seemed ok to go from Cork but having second doubts now.Can anyone reassure me or am i bonkers???

Mr Soft

Ponster wrote:

Diabetes

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1374.shtm#3

Cheers Ponster

Ponster

tina27a wrote:

Now some people in work are telling me i'm mad to go via Heathrow as i'll have very long queues - around 6 hrs or more ,to get through customs in NY cos they check you more on flights from UK.Is this true?

Not true. All International flights arrive at Terminal 4 @ JFK and once you land you all get mixed together. There is no extra security in place for UK flights that I know about nor is there a mention of this on the TSA.gov website

tina27a wrote:

Also i've never flown on connecting flights before.I fly Aer Lingus from Cork to Heathrow and i have 2 and 1/2 hrs and then fly to Ny with American Airlines.Will my bags go straight through or will i have to collect them and check them in again?

You'll be flying out of Terminal 3 and will have plenty of tume to get there.


FAQs
Do I need to collect my baggage at Heathrow?
Your baggage may be through-checked to your final destination, but please confirm this with your airline as not all airlines offer this service. In the event that your baggage is not through-checked you must follow signs for arrivals and collect your cases from the baggage reclaim hall in arrivals and then check your bags in as normal for the second leg of your journey.


http://www.britishairways.com/travel/airpflcnxlhr/public/en_gb


When arriving from the Republic of Ireland :

You will pass through arrivals and baggage reclaim in Terminal 1 while following Flight Connections signs. Remember that if you are ‘through-checked’ you will not have to collect your bags, as they will be labelled to their final destination.

tina27a wrote:

The weight your allowed is different on both airlines so coming back again will i have to recheck my bags in Heathrow?If so i'll probably get caught for excess.

No idea actually. Never asked myself the question but for example I'm 90% sure that if you're flying AL back to Ireland then you will have to collect your baggage and will get done for extra weight. I really can't say though. If if was the same carrier then they'd be no problem or if you had booked it through a travel agents (usually). It could work out but neither AA nor AL are obliged to check-through your bags.

BuffyBot

tina27a wrote:

Now some people in work are telling me i'm mad to go via Heathrow as i'll have very long queues - around 6 hrs or more ,to get through customs in NY cos they check you more on flights from UK.Is this true?

Not nessecarily. It depends on certain things. First - is all your flight on the one ticket? If so then you should have plenty of time. You'll go through the Flight Connections Centre and your bags will be transferred between flights automatically (you drop it at Cork, collect it in NY).

If it's seperate tickets (Cork to Heathrow, Heathrow to NY), and you have to pick your bags and then get to Terminal 3 and check in for the AA flight, then you might have time issues.

Also i've never flown on connecting flights before.I fly Aer Lingus from Cork to Heathrow and i have 2 and 1/2 hrs and then fly to Ny with American Airlines.Will my bags go straight through or will i have to collect them and check them in again?

Again, if you have booked the flight all as one or as two seperate tickets will be the decider.

The weight your allowed is different on both airlines so coming back again will i have to recheck my bags in Heathrow?If so i'll probably get caught for excess.

Repetitive mode again. Same ticket - the bigger allowance is the one you have on both flights. Separate tickets, then you're stuck with the Aer Lingus limits and could get hit for excess on the way back.

Ponster wrote:

Not true. All International flights arrive at Terminal 4 @ JFK and once you land you all get mixed together. There is no extra security in place for UK flights that I know about nor is there a mention of this on the TSA.gov website

Actually, not all International flights arrive in T4. AA arrives in Terminal 8. You're right though, there is no extra security just because you come from the UK.

maryp

Hello all, anyone got a nice hotel in NY for mother and two daughters ages 19 and 21:)

neacy69

try using the search option, using google or if your just too lazy look here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=53770683#post53770683

tina27a

I've heard great things about radio city apartments www.radiocityapartments.com. a lot of irish stay here and it's right next to Times Square,Rockerfeller Centre etc.Only thing is they book up fairly quick.

Ponster

ateam wrote:

I got my passport in May 2003 and can't figure out if it's machine readable. /QUOTE]


Does it look like this :

brettmirl

ateam wrote:

Oh thanks, do you get many meals?

The food is muck. You do get as much free soft drinks or juice as you want but you have to pay between €5-7 for beer, wine and spirits.

Going out the food was edible but coming back it was rubbish and the breakfast :mad: :mad: :mad: Was starving. Be sure to stock up on some food for the flight before you leave NYC!

Creachadóir

I can second that! The food was awful. I'd get a sandwich to go if I was doing it again. Plus AerLingus are having huge problems with those new screens on the seats. On the 2 flights I took with them this summer, they'd to reset the films a few times. And I've heard the same from others. It was very annoying, because everytime they reset the screens, you'd have to fast-forward the whole film which could take a half an hour (it was a very slow moving fast-forward).

Glacier

Aer Lingus only flies to JFK, what would be the best to fly to NYC
Thank You

tallaghtoutlaws

La Guardia and JFK are the two closest Airports to NYC. Bristish Airways, American Airlines, Aer Lingus and pretty much every major European Airline serve NY.

If you dont mind flying to London or Amsterdam first you can get some really good deals around online. I regularly fly to the US and dont use Aer Lingus as they are one of the dearest. In fact heading to Chicago next week flight cost me €400 going from Dublin to Heathrow then Heathrow to Chicago Aer Lingus then American Airlines.

Sites like this Cheap Flight, well some of the best prices out there.

Sites like the above give you so many different options. Check it out.

Third_Echelon

If you want to go to New York, the best airports are JFK (New York's major international airport) and Newark (in New Jersey just across the river from New York City.)

Continental fly into Newark direct from Dublin. They have some good deals now and again. Transport links from Newark into New York City are good. There are taxis and train links, bus links etc. Expect to pay about $70 for a taxi to Manhattan from Newark.

Its about $60 from JFK to Manhattan. (Taxi is the easist and more hassle free option).

British Airways, Delta, Aer Lingus, Continental would be the best to check. Aer Lingus and Continental are direct from Dublin to New York. If you dont mind flying to London or one of the major hubs in Europe, you may get a good deal from other airlines.

I would advise to give Heathrow a miss if at all possible..

BuffyBot

Delta also from fly from Dublin to NYC.

Merging this into the megathread

Femelade

Ok guys:
Woodbury commons or jersey gardens....????
which is better?
which is closest to NYC?
How does one get to either?
Would you have to put a whole day aside if going to one of these?

Third_Echelon

Femmy wrote:

Ok guys:
Woodbury commons or jersey gardens....????
which is better?
which is closest to NYC?
How does one get to either?
Would you have to put a whole day aside if going to one of these?

I reckon woodbury commons is better..

Jersey gardens is closest.

Bus goes to both from the port authority bus station.

Travel time to Woodbury is about 1 hr 30 mins.
Travel time to Jersey gardens is about 30 mins.

Coming back from woodbury at peak times, i.e. 5 or 6 pm, you could add another 30 mins onto the journey time.

To be honest, I would recommend going to woodbury over jersey gardens. Better selection, more choice. Better bargains all around i think.

Woodbury would be a whole day.

At Jersey gardens, depending on how long you spend there it could be a whole day. Because its close to NYC, you could also go for a half day etc.

DubShelley

Femmy wrote:

Ok guys:
Woodbury commons or jersey gardens....????
which is better?
which is closest to NYC?
How does one get to either?
Would you have to put a whole day aside if going to one of these?

Spooky...I was just coming on to ask the exact same question!! Were you listening to Ian Dempsey this morning as well??

DubShelley

Femmy wrote:

How does one get to either?

Check this out - https://www.coachusa.com/newyorksightseeing/booking.asp?action=ProductDetail&productId=1062

Femelade

DubShelley wrote:

Spooky...I was just coming on to ask the exact same question!! Were you listening to Ian Dempsey this morning as well??

i was actually!! even though i really shouldnt be listening to him as i work for a different radio station.. (ssshhh...) but when he mentioned it i was thinking yeah i should really find out before i go really...(in 107 days) I think he was leaning more towards jersey gardens..no?

DubShelley wrote:

Check this out - https://www.coachusa.com/newyorksightseeing/booking.asp?action=ProductDetail&productId=1062

thanks for that!

DubShelley

Femmy wrote:

I think he was leaning more towards jersey gardens..no?

Well I've been to Jersey Gardens and I wasn't overly impressed. It's not that huge or anything and the discounts weren't that great. I think one of the main advantages is that it's all indoors so you don't have the walking around outside thing of Woodbury Commons. Bus unless you're going in the depths of Winter, this shouldn't be a huge problem!

Femelade

i'm going the start of december, i've heard from some people it will be freezing, and i heard from others its not cold atall!! so i dont even know what i should pack..think we'll go to woodbury commons alright.

BuffyBot

I quite like Woodbury Common in the winter - specially if it has snowed

Woolly hat, gloves and jacket recommended if it does though

Third_Echelon

Femmy wrote:

i'm going the start of december, i've heard from some people it will be freezing, and i heard from others its not cold atall!! so i dont even know what i should pack..think we'll go to woodbury commons alright.

It will be cold, but not freezing. Somewhere between 5 to 10 degrees usually. They could have a colder snap and it could be snowing also..

Pack one of everything.. Have a light suitcase coming over, because you will fill it in woodbury commons... I guarantee you that.

Kenpo

Hi,

I'm heading to NY on Labour Day - mainly for shopping.

We won't get a chance to actually go shopping until the day after Labour Day.

What are the chances of a lot of the good stock being gone the next day? I'm more concerned with Woodbury Common - waste of time heading out that far if a lot of the stuff is gone after the Labour Day Weekend sales.

Thanks for any feedback.

K

Noelie

If you plan on going to Woodbury Common go to their website and sign up to the VIP club. It doesn't cost anything. You can get a Coupon book when you arrive at the outlets which gives discounts of certain shops. the discounts are usually 10% if you spend over 50-70$ or 10% off your entire purchase

Dodge

Femmy wrote:

i'm going the start of december, i've heard from some people it will be freezing, and i heard from others its not cold atall!! so i dont even know what i should pack..think we'll go to woodbury commons alright.

Been to New York twice in december. Once it snowed (heavily), the other time it was kind of mild.

If you're going to Woodbury Common (which I recommend BTW) don't pack too much and buy what you need over there.