meadowlander

Present Aqua 80 cast had their final performance Thursday. New cast onboard has been practicing this week. Was told the first performance of the new cast will be on day 7 which is Saturday the 22nd.

You're welcome. Hope it is as good as rated.

Cape Liberty is the name, Port Liberte is the name of terminal in Jersey City for ferry service between NJ & NY. You should be fine with the 11:30 flight. EWR is about 10 miles from Cape Liberty. You can do self assist walk off if needed. I experienced problems with taxi dispatch last December, allow 30 minutes, for pickup, if you travel via taxi. Car services pick up area has overhead hanging numbers. Exit the terminal to the left then walk right to the pick up area. If you use taxi, it is better to exit to your right (towards the parking garage) and walk towards the garage. You will see the crosswalk near the garage glass door entrances(near zone 10). Go across 2 crosswalks to the taxi lot. A dispatcher is there, hopefully it is better organized than December 2021.

You will be directed where to park by traffic personnel. After leaving the luggage/passenger drop zone you will drive toward the garage. If not allowed to park in the garage you will be directed elsewhere. There is 1 large outdoor lot that is across from the garage, walking time to the terminal is 1-2 minutes. There are also multiple other places to park, I hesitate to call these lots as they are parking spaces adjacent to buildings. Some are quite far from the terminal to the point that shuttle vehicles were provided this year. Reports have been that some cruisers in the outdoor 'lots' paid for parking upon arrival & others said they paid on disembarking. If you do park in the garage bring the parking ticket as payment is made prior to getting you vehicle on disembarking day.

Airport area hotels in Newark are isolated and have very limited dining choices, some only have food delivery. The hotels in Elizabeth NJ as suggested by horseman allow for stretching your legs and dining options. If you do go with a Newark airport area hotel check their dining options. Double Tree Newark Penn Station in downtown would be a better choice than EWR area hotels. Double Tree has an airport shuttle. All shuttle service at EWR is at airtrain(monorail) station P4. The Ironbound section of Newark is noted for its restaurants. Hotels in Jersey City, along the waterfront will provide spectacular views of lower Manhattan. None have shuttle service to EWR. The arrival time of your flight should be a factor as to staying overnight in Jersey City, along with the extra transportation costs. Razza, a Jersey City pizzeria was recently voted in the top 50 of the world by an Italian website, for what it is worth. Hudson Bergen light rail from Jersey City provides transportation to 34th street in Bayonne. From there it is 2.5 miles to the terminal, walking is not advisable though I did see a couple doing that in September.

Excellent insight. OP as pointed out, diamond drinks cannot be used at a Starbucks kiosk but can be used on Starbucks coffee from Cafe Promenade. Can also be used on milk shake from Johnny Rockets.

Hoping so too. As you know it is impressive sailing towards lower Manhattan and then turning to pass the statue. I see Oasis did not sail past SOL today and I expect the same on October 9. The October 16 cruise has a better chance of sailing by SOL as one cruiser is on board who has sailed past SOL on every of their Bayonne departure. I still doubt it will happen but will enjoy if it does.

Yes. You must pass the luggage drop zone to get to the garage or outdoor lots. You need not stop there but you must drive by it. It is advisable to utilize the drop zone for luggage & passengers. Bring the parking ticket with you on the ship, on disembarking you pay first then proceed to your vehicle. If you do park in the garage expect a line to use the elevator when disembarking.

Only Anthem is sailing from Bayonne in December, you should be able to park in the garage. 3 ships have sailed from Bayonne this spring into August, presently only 2. The garage is being limited to vehicles with handicap credentials, at least in the am hours.I & others(non handicap)who arrived after 12:30 pm were directed to park in the garage in May. When we sailed there were empty spaces on the top deck of the garage. I was aware of the outdoor lot very close to the garage & terminal, what I was surprised to see in May was how far some lots were from the terminal. Shuttle service was provided for these lots, still on disembarkation I saw cruisers dragging their luggage to these distant lots.

Glad to hear that as I now can anticipate going past SOL on my Oasis 10/16 cruise. I do hope I am not held to blame if Oasis does not go past SOL that day, breaking someone's streak.

If you Google 'Hotel de Barge' in Bruges you will see the parking lot (to the left of the hotel) where buses drop off cruisers. It is a short walk to Minnewater Park. You can walk from Minnewater to the center of town or board bus 12.

Did I offend you? I only suggested that since you had the protective sleeve you could fit the provided tag into it so it would not be pulled off. Thought I was being helpful. Cheers!

I agree, strange. My hand made tags had the proper info(on both sides)but 2 employees said it was not allowed. At least the employee who provided and wrote on the tag did more than lift it into the carriage in earning their tip. Not only was my bag at my cabin when cabins opened, there was luggage with an RC printed tag as well except the cabin it belonged to was 1 deck lower.😀

Ironic. Having never ever used them you assumed they would not fit in the protective sleeve.🤣 PS: the provided tags did not rip off during handling nor were they pulled off. Never thought of anyone pulling tags off, then again I would never consider pulling them off.

As I was not able to access luggage tags on my recent cruise, I made my own and inserted it inside the plastic holder. At the terminal I was told my hand made tag was not permissible. I was given a luggage tag with quadrants on it, I do not recall if the employee put an X in the correct quadrant. As for the paper tags provided being easily pulled off, it fit inside the plastic sleeve just as the RC provided paper tag printed does. It ain't rocket science.

Starbucks on Goldsborough Dr in Bayonne is 2 miles from Cape Liberty. If weather is inclement it is a good option otherwise I would wait at the terminal. Luggage can be dropped off at 9 am. There are a few metal benches outside. My guess is if there are few cruisers waiting outside, those with later times will be allowed in after those with the first boarding time. That was the process in December 2022. 2 months earlier in October, hundreds who arrived earlier than their times were kept waiting until their scheduled time.

Same happened to me a few weeks back. When you get to Cape Liberty, stop at the luggage drop zone prior to parking. Baggage handlers will have tags for your luggage. The tags are similar to Royal's with the 4 quadrants except in b&w. My bag was outside my cabin when access to cabins was allowed.

I would use cost as the determining factor. Newark airport not NY airports would be your choice as it is 10 miles from Cape LIberty. BWI is the same distance to Cruise Maryland. If you select Liberty & fly into Newark, the best airport hotels are located in Elizabeth NJ along International Dr as they allow for choice of dining. Other EWR area hotels are isolated and limited in food choices. Use station P4 of the airtrain(monorail) for hotel shuttles. You could stay in downtown Newark. Double Tree Penn Station has an airport shutlle and is connected to NY Penn Station for easy transit into NYC via NJ Transit trains. Hotels in Jersey City will not have EWR shuttle service but the hotels along the waterfront provide spectacular views of lower Manhattan and the shortest travel time into NYC via PATH trains. If your stay is only the day prior to boarding, I would rule out Jersey City.

Same problem not having C&A number recognized.

No, they do not. Ships departing from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal pass the SOL. Royal ships departing from Cape Liberty are already past Liberty Island. Occasionally, not the norm, Royal ships may sail up toward Liberty Island. Of my 11 cruises from Bayonne only a repositioning cruise sailed by the SOL. It is more likely that Celebrity Summit, departing from Bayonne, will visit the SOL than a Royal ship.

The September 1 NE/Canada sailing had cheers on the last sea day. There was maybe a half hour between the back stage entertainment tour for C&A eligible and the cheers lunch scheduled times.

There are no alternative parking options in Bayonne. In the past there was an off site lot which charged less but had a questionable reputation. There is a public transit option to Cape Liberty that gets you 2 miles from the terminal. At that point you would need taxi or Uber to get from the light rail station to the terminal. Recently I saw 2 cruisers walking with their luggage towards the light rail station, I would not recommend walking that distance on that poorly maintained road.

You mean the post that hijacked the thread by its response😝

Do you go to Cape Liberty to board on any day other than 'turnaround day'? Perhaps you cannot make a right at the intersection of Chosin Few Way & Goldsborough but there is space for 2 lanes of traffic & I have been in the left turn lane with cars in the right turn lane. Then again you find it stressful to make a left turn at that intersection, I am not surprised you would think there is not space for two lanes of turning. I have sailed 6 times from Bayonne since October 2021, not once have I seen a 15 minute line of vehicles on Chosin Few Way attempting to turn onto Goldsborough. Never have i spent as long as 60 seconds at that intersection on turnaround day or any other day. My most recent occasion it took all of 30 seconds. I and many other drivers do not share the stress you have at making a left turn. If you find 440 easier, use it. Drivers on Chosin Few Way will appreciate not having a timid driver holding up traffic due to fear of making a simple turn. The first boarding time for Oasis is 10 am. Recently I had the first boarding time for Adventure, which was at 11 am. I was on the ship at 10:35 am. The majority of disembarking passengers are away from Cape Liberty by 10 am. There is not a continuous line of cars departing from the terminal turning right onto Chosin Few Way at 10 am and later to keep any vehicle at that intersection for 15 minutes as you claim.

Thanks for your helpful information. Appreciated here despite others comments. In May, computers went down which delayed Adventure's departure by 2 hours. Hope you get to see Aqua 80 this week.