The NEW YORK Megathread (questions & answers..not chat)

slingerz

lizt wrote: »

As has been said, Jersey Gardens. Jersey Gardens is just like a normal shopping mall with Tommy Hilfiger, American Eagle, Old Navy etc. but no sales tax on clothes.

Woodbury Common is a designer outlet that sells last season's lines. It's better for guess, coach etc and designer goods. I'd suggest getting a directory of both stores and seeing which one appeals much.

One tip - if you're going to Woodbury Common, get a locker as soon as you get there if you are intending to buy a lot, you will be thankful at the end of the day!!

Cheers Liz was at Woodbury Common last year and remember the lockers well! also remember that we had a good shopping experience and bought loads!

going back to New York in the first week of January 2012 so want to get a good few things, kinda hoping to experience given lower prices given the fact that the Janaury sales should be on!

I reckon we will probably take in both outlets, what puts me off Woodbury Common in the bus drive and the potential for being outside in the bad weather going from shop to shop!

Do people reckon Macys is worth a visit? wehen i went there last year i didnt think it was great, certainly thought the macys in San Fran was streets ahead of it

borderlinemeath

Depends on what your looking for in Macys.

For women - amazing choice of cosmetic brands under one roof
Great handbag selection
Always discounts and bargains in the clothing section.
Huge choice of footwear and again always discounts.

Menswear - not as good as the womens, all the brands but a far smaller selection and a crappy sports section hidden down in the basement.
Footwear - not a great selection (compared to womens)

Don't forget to get your discount card from customer services.

When I was in Woodbury Common last year it was during the snow in Feb 10 so it was cold outside but the stores themselves were like saunas. Great bargains after Christmas to be had.

I would go to Jersey Gardens before going to Woodbury. I did it the other way around and found I was disappointed with Jersey Gardens after Woodbury, but in hindsight it wasn't that bad. It just wasn't anywhere near as good as Woodbury imo.

slingerz

As its January and cold temperatures are expected is there any difficulty in gettign transport to the jersey gardens/woodbury common from the city. I assume NY doesnt shut down cos of the cold spell like we do here!!

Tango One

I preferred Jersey Gardens to Woodbury Commons. I thought Jersey Gardens was far better value. I'd avoid Macys felt it was a very tired old shop waste of time.

One thing I regret not doing was going to Please Don’t Tell. Its a old speak easy, hidden in the back of a hotdog shop. You have to go through a secret entrance in a phone booth.

Link

DeadMoney

Hi, need a one way flight to NY around the middle-end of August as I am moving there for internship. Does anyone have any recommendations of which airlines I mite get the best deal through?

Thanks

furiousox

Have a look on www.ebookers.ie

You'll probably find Delta are cheapest.
Flew with them to NY last November and they were great.

lionelhutz84

Hi, I was just wondering roughly how much spending money would I need for 10 nights in New York? I know it depends what we want to do. We'll probably get the new york pass thing for all the sights - but what are the living costs like?

I'll probably have about $1100 - would that be enough?

Caliden

Hi,
I'm in new york with my girlfriend for the next 3 days and we're looking for some restaurant recommendations.
Going to check out a place called Luzzo's tonight (found on yelp.com) but would like some first hand feedback on some good places to go for dinner saturday/sunday.
And maybe some nice relaxing bars that have music that we can go to after.
Currently staying at 569 lexington ave, east midtown.

tobias12

G-unit10 wrote: »

Hi, just wondering if anyone has flown to ny with delta in the recent past. I know people have said thats its not personal videos but overhead screens, but Im wondering has it changed over as seatguru is claimin AVOD is on the specific flight. Also, what is the food like and does the alcohol be restricted to just the one complimentary drink?

I am due to fly to NYC in November with Delta. I did see that their website says AVOD is available. A friend of mine flew recently with them and there were no personal TV's just a shared TV.

I would ask if anyone has any info relating to my query and G-Units.

Thanks Folks

athtrasna

Depends on the aircraft but the info should be available at booking. We're going with Delta in October and the flight out has personal screens but the one back only has overhead screens. Both 757s (ewww..single aisle narrow bodied aircraft), both flying the DUB-JFK-DUB route.

Delta food is average, better out of Dublin than the US. I tend to pre-order the Asian vegetarian out of Dublin, I'm not veggie but it's way nicer than the standard Chicken or pasta.

Alcohol in economy is one free drink beer/wine and you pay for anything else or spirits. Soft drinks are free.

omerin

Anyone know of a cheaper hotel in NY for a few days stay next week? Relatives stuck there until next Sunday due to Aer Lingus cancelling flights and this is the next date.
Also never get insurance from Mondial! Their emergency 24 hour phone line doesn't operate again until Monday and they need to know if they can book another airline.

http://www.mondial-assistance.ie/

Complete joke.

tobias12

Thanks for that. What is in the Asian Vegetarian dish?????? Might try to prebook it. Also get back to me fter your trip and let me know how the flight(s) went...both ways over and back.

Have a good one.

athtrasna

Asian Vegetarian out of Dublin tends to be a mushroom curry with a savoury rice. They also substitute any sweet desserts for raisins Don't order it out of the US, well certainly out of Atlanta it's awful.

Am lucky that we have frequent flyer status with Skyteam so we were able to get Economy Comfort seats for free on the Delta flights..a little something to help keep me sane. I hate narrow bodied planes!

NiallerMc

Heading over to New York in a cpl wks (1st time) heading for 4 nights dont have a credit card so was wondering would i be better off bringing just cash or getting something like an o2 money card and putting my money on that or just do half and half??

syklops

NiallerMc wrote: »

Heading over to New York in a cpl wks (1st time) heading for 4 nights dont have a credit card so was wondering would i be better off bringing just cash or getting something like an o2 money card and putting my money on that or just do half and half??

Well assuming you have a switch or cirrus atm card, your card will work in ATMs in NYC. If I was you I would get 3V card(Is the O2 card similar). While crime is quite low in NYC, I wouldn't like to be wandering around with all my spending money on me. Plus plastic is accepted everywhere. Even taxis, so I would recommend having some kind of plastic for you. Unlike here(Ireland), paying with a card takes the same if not less time than paying with cash.

BaZmO*

I always bring a small amount of cash when I travel and use ATMs to get cash while I'm there for the day to day stuff, and credit cards for any big purchases. You're only going for 4 days so you'd only have to go to an ATM a couple of times at most.

LizT

Just be mindful you can be charged anything from 1-3 dollars everytime you withdraw money so you wouldn't want to be doing it a few times a day!

BaZmO*

lizt wrote: »

Just be mindful you can be charged anything from 1-3 dollars everytime you withdraw money so you wouldn't want to be doing it a few times a day!

Yeah but why would you? It'd be a bit silly going to an ATM a few times a day. Sure you wouldn't do that at home.

LizT

BaZmO* wrote: »

Yeah but why would you? It'd be a bit silly going to an ATM a few times a day. Sure you wouldn't do that at home.

Well some people aren't comfortable withdrawing large amounts of money, spend more than they intend to, don't bring out enough money etc. I have gone to the atm 2-3 times a day here when I needed something less than a 50 and then ran out of money.

Anyway to address the original issue, if you have time you'd probably be better off to get an o2 money card because you can use it as a credit card and you don't have to worry about having large amounts of cash. I got one but as far as I remember you need to give it a week or two before you can activate it.

NiallerMc

Thanks for the advice lads
Hotel is booked for and fully paid im just wondering upon checking in are they going to be looking for a credit card deposit (i dont have one) to cover any damage etc to rooms as an insurance policy for them? or will they look for some cash??

jack presley

NiallerMc wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lads
Hotel is booked for and fully paid im just wondering upon checking in are they going to be looking for a credit card deposit (i dont have one) to cover any damage etc to rooms as an insurance policy for them? or will they look for some cash??

Most hotels (if not all) will look for a credit card. I don't know how it works if you dont have one though

LizT

NiallerMc wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lads
Hotel is booked for and fully paid im just wondering upon checking in are they going to be looking for a credit card deposit (i dont have one) to cover any damage etc to rooms as an insurance policy for them? or will they look for some cash??

It's probably best to email the hotel in question to clarify this, if they require a credit card explain the situation and see if they can do anything for you.

athtrasna

Definitely check with the hotel...most that I've heard of want a cash deposit of $500+

NiallerMc

checked with hotel its 50dollars per night,so will just put that onto the o2 money card

NiallerMc

Right lads
i get into New York (for the 1st time) 3oclock on a Thurs afternoon
girlfriend wants to hit the shops straight away,im not to sure about that,any tips or ideas would be appreciated on what to do thurs afternoon,am staying up near Grand Central Station

athtrasna

Leave the shopping til next day, get the subway from Grand Central over to Brooklyn, have an amazing pizza at Grimaldi's on Fulton St under the bridge then stroll back to Manhattan at dusk across the Brooklyn bridge for one of the most amazing views of the city.

Having spent hours cooped up in a plane the leg stretch will do you both the world of good, the pizza is among the best in the world, and walking towards that view...it's pure magic!

PS Don't be put off if there's a queue outside Grimaldis, it moves fast and is worth waiting for. Also they are cash only

http://www.grimaldisnyc.com/p-i-z-z-a#!__p-i-z-z-a

jonnyfingers

I would second leaving the shopping for the next day. New York can be a tiring place to get around. I presume she'll want to go to places like Bloomingdales on Third Avenue and others around 5th avenue. Even when getting the subway (the 4,5 and 6 run north and South on Lexington Ave and Park Ave from Grand Central) there will still be plenty of walking to do.

So relax after you get off the plane, get to your hotel. Get the pizza like the previous poster has said and just walk around a bit. You'll be close to Times Square so that could be a destination for the Thursday evening. The city has a great buzz at night so soak it up.

For the rest of your time it all depend what your interests are. Personally I like going to Central Park for a while to take a rest and have some lunch. The 9/11 memorial should be somewhat open when you're there, that would definitely be worth a visit.

A trip over the Brooklyn Bridge is also a great thing to do, as has already been mentioned.

My biggest tip would be not to try and fit everything you want into your stay there. Instead relax and enjoy your time in a fantastic city. Check the Tripadvisor forums for ideas on things to do and places to eat. They can be a great source of information.

Most of all, have fun.

NiallerMc

thanks guys much appreciated

MoyVilla9

athtrasna wrote: »

Leave the shopping til next day, get the subway from Grand Central over to Brooklyn, have an amazing pizza at Grimaldi's on Fulton St under the bridge then stroll back to Manhattan at dusk across the Brooklyn bridge for one of the most amazing views of the city.

Having spent hours cooped up in a plane the leg stretch will do you both the world of good, the pizza is among the best in the world, and walking towards that view...it's pure magic!

PS Don't be put off if there's a queue outside Grimaldis, it moves fast and is worth waiting for. Also they are cash only

http://www.grimaldisnyc.com/p-i-z-z-a#!__p-i-z-z-a

Is Grimaldis' really that good? I've heard a lot about that place but going all the way to Brooklyn for a slice.......

BaZmO*

MoyVilla9 wrote: »

Is Grimaldis' really that good? I've heard a lot about that place but going all the way to Brooklyn for a slice.......

It's not really about the pizza though, it's about the whole Brooklyn Bridge/NY Skyline experience. When I was there we crossed the bridge in the early evening and the views were amazing. And when we were coming back across, the sun had set and the NY skyline at night with all the lights on was spectacular.

We didn't get any pizza though! We took a wrong turn and couldn't find the place We went right, and the Grimaldis is on the left (I think!)

For me, the Brooklyn Bridge walk is a must do if you go to NY. The views are amazing and it's free.