John F. Kennedy International Airport to Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
Getting from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Brooklyn Cruise Terminal — 30-50 min, 15 miles
Transfer Options
Driving & Parking at the Terminal
Every route funnels through one exit. From Manhattan, take the Battery Tunnel (I-478 east) into Brooklyn, join the westbound BQE (I-278 west) and take Exit 26, Hamilton Avenue, onto the service road; stay left, make the left U-turn at Clinton Street/9th Street, follow the westbound service road to its end at Van Brunt Street, turn left, go two blocks, then right onto Bowne Street. From Long Island, the LIE to the westbound BQE and the same Exit 26. From New Jersey, the Turnpike to Exit 13, the Goethals and Verrazzano bridges, north on the Gowanus/BQE, off at Exit 26. The vehicle entrance is Bowne Street at Imlay Street and there is no other one.
Park before you touch your bags. NYCEDC is explicit that drivers who need parking cannot drop luggage first and park afterwards without leaving the terminal and coming back in — park, then take the bags up to the second level for check-in. The lot is a revolving system: the arriving ship's passengers are usually off the property by 10 to 10:30 am, so NYCEDC's own advice is to aim for between 10 am and 2 pm if you want the best chance of a space. It is an outdoor lot with security on the south side of the entrance, facing the Statue of Liberty, and there is no in-and-out access once you have parked.
NYC Ferry from Manhattan or Brooklyn
The South Brooklyn route stops at the Red Hook/Atlantic Basin landing at Ferris Street and Clinton Wharf, a short walk from the terminal — the only public transport that puts you within sight of the ship. Weekdays it runs East 34th Street, Corlears Hook, Wall Street/Pier 11, Atlantic Avenue/Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6, Red Hook and Governors Island, about 40 minutes end to end. Weekends the South Brooklyn Extension continues to Sunset Park and Bay Ridge, about 61 minutes.
Check the timetable against your boarding window rather than the other way round — from Red Hook toward Manhattan the first weekday boat is 6:40 am and the last is 9:06 pm, with roughly 45 to 50 minutes between them, so a missed boat is most of an hour. NYC Ferry calls the stop Red Hook, never Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, which is worth knowing before you scroll past it.
Subway and the B61 bus
There is no subway in Red Hook — MTA's own station list has nothing on the peninsula, and every rail route ends with a bus or a walk. The B61 is the bus that actually serves the terminal, running Park Slope to Downtown Brooklyn via Van Brunt Street, around the clock, and stopping at Van Brunt Street and Pioneer Street. From Downtown Brooklyn, pick it up on Atlantic Avenue at Court Street; the F and G at Smith/9th Street and Carroll Street are the nearest subway stops on the other side.
Ignore any direction — including NYCEDC's own page — that routes you onto the B77 bus. That route does not exist: MTA's schedule page for it returns a 404, and it appears nowhere in MTA's current Brooklyn bus list or its live schedule feed. Take the B61. From the bus stop NYCEDC describes the walk as approximately four long blocks to the terminal entrance at Pioneer and Conover Streets; of the nearby subway stops only Borough Hall is ADA-accessible, and the F/G stations are not.
From John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
JFK is about 15 miles from Red Hook and a 30-50 min drive, most often down the Belt Parkway around the bottom of Brooklyn or up over the Gowanus. The Belt is scenic and completely unforgiving at rush hour; the Gowanus is neither. Of the three airports this is the one with a real rail option toward Brooklyn: the Long Island Rail Road runs from Jamaica into Atlantic Terminal in Downtown Brooklyn, which is the closest any train gets to the terminal, and AirTrain also connects to the E, J and Z at Sutphin Boulevard and the A at Howard Beach. One trap on the subway route: Lefferts Boulevard-bound A trains do not serve the airport.
If you are taking the train, take the LIRR rather than the subway: Atlantic Terminal is a short cab or B61 ride from Red Hook, while the subway routes strand you further north with the same last mile still to cover. NYCEDC publishes an undated cab estimate of roughly $45 to $60 — treat it as a budget rather than a fare, since the TLC's meter is what will actually be charged.
Cost Comparison
| Option | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Driving & Parking at the Terminal | Cost$45.00 per night for up to 24 hours, taxes included, effective April 1 2023 and for cruise passengers only. No reservation needed, no upcharge for SUVs, and the operator publishes no height restriction. Payment on arrival by cash, Visa, MasterCard, or American Express — keep your ticket with you during the cruise. | Best ForAnyone within driving distance, and anyone carrying more luggage than a subway staircase deserves |
| NYC Ferry from Manhattan or Brooklyn | Cost$4.50 one way. A 10-trip pass is $29.00, a 2-day unlimited is $15.00 in the app, and the Ferry Discount Program fare is $1.45. Children under 44 inches ride free with an adult, and transfers within the NYC Ferry system are free for 120 minutes. | Best ForTraveling light from Lower Manhattan or the Brooklyn waterfront, and for the harbor view on the way |
| Subway and the B61 bus | Cost$3 for most riders on the subway and local buses, with one free transfer within two hours. Reduced fares for seniors and riders with qualifying disabilities are half the regular fare. MetroCards can no longer be bought or refilled as of January 1 2026, so plan on OMNY. | Best ForCruisers traveling light, or anyone already in Downtown Brooklyn |
| From John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) | CostBy cab, the standard metered fare: the Taxi & Limousine Commission's $70 flat fare covers trips between JFK and Manhattan only, so a Brooklyn trip is metered, plus a $2.00 airport access fee and the usual surcharges. By rail, AirTrain is $8.75 on top of your onward fare — about $11.75 all in via the subway, or $14 to $16 via the LIRR to Atlantic Terminal. | Best ForMost cruisers flying in, and the only airport with a rail link that lands in Brooklyn |
Once you arrive, find your terminal:
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We sail from Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. You can watch our ship leave on the port's live camera: https://cruisedayguide.com/guide/brooklyn/webcam