meadowlander

Onboard Vision for a December 2023 cruise, the Royal app listed a Monday night NFL game & a Tuesday night NFL game. There were Tuesday games due to covid but none since 2020.

No doubt, in an attempt to validate their expertise knowledge, someone will respond with Hudson Plaza Motel located in Bayonne. Ignore that response as Hudson Plaza is an hourly rate motel. Check hotels in Jersey City for proximity to Cape Liberty.

I live near Cape Liberty and the majority of my cruises are from there. I have sailed 3 times from Baltimore. The first 2 times, I drove down the day prior and booked a hotel/park/cruise package with Trinity Reservations. In December, I used Amtrak from Newark Penn Station to Baltimore Penn Station for a cruise that afternoon. Based on that positive experience, I will likely transit via train rather than auto for future Baltimore departures. Would using Amtrak be an option on sailing date or 1 day prior? The same would apply for cruises departing from NYC, taking Amtrak to New York Penn Station rather than Newark Penn. There is not much difference of itineraries from Bayonne compared to Baltimore. The significant difference will be the cruise ship as Oasis class ships sail from Bayonne between May & October with Quantum class sailing November through April. If you do drive 1 day prior, there is no need to stay close to the port as there are no hotels in Bayonne. Hotels in Jersey City(adjacent to Bayonne) will have outstanding views of lower Manhattan though with traffic and charge for parking at the hotel. Downtown Newark hotels are better choices than in the airport area as those hotels have limited dining choices and road signage in NJ could be much better than it is. I would suggest staying in Woodbridge, Islein, Carteret, Clark areas which will be an easy drive to Cape Liberty the next day. If you have a weekday cruise departure, leave your hotel after 9 am to avoid commuter traffic. Parking is $30 per night at Cape Liberty. Best to arrive there by 10:30-10:45 am as the 1 lane road leading to the terminal will have traffic backup after that time. If your cruise is between May & October, the parking garage and parking lots are used as multiple ships will be sailing. November through April has only 1 ship sailing and all cruisers use the garage. You must drive by the luggage drop zone prior to parking. I suggest if you are sailing May-October to drop your luggage first as some of the parking lots are quite far from the terminal. Check in is easier in Bayonne (imo). Certainly easier to board the ship as opposed to the numerous ramps used in Baltimore. Check in times are not look at much less enforced. If you arrive prior to the first boarding time, you will be assigned where to sit and when boarding commences it is done by the row one is sitting in, not their scheduled boarding time.

Vison had the foldable deck plan map last month.

Agree with you. Twice, that I am aware of, in 2023 Royal ships had the same issue docking at Cape Liberty. There was no forewarning the day previous.

Technically speaking you are leaving out Trenton-Mercer airport, which has daily flights to Orlando, and is also a 90-120 minute drive from NYC. One could add Philadelphia International and Bradley in Hartford if they fancy a 2 hour plus drive after flying.

With such a difference in price offered by Royal and what is available through a travel agent who has group rates, yes it is hard to believe but it is factual. I checked the price I booked for 2 Odyssey 2025 sailings compared to the price on Royal's site (within the last 5 minutes). My savings is over $1,200 on each cruise. Finding an agent with group rates will benefit you greatly.

For another option check Yankee Trails which provides bus service from Albany area to the Boston, NJ & NYC cruise terminals.

Debarked Vision 2 weeks ago. Paid $3.80 for 2 scoops of Ben & Jerry's. I like the new RC flavors compared to previous flavors.

They did say they are flying in a day early.😉

Since you are going to use public transit to Cape Liberty, PATH trains (not part of the NYC subway) will take you from 33rd Street in Manhattan to Hoboken or Jersey City (closer to CL) stations. You can switch from PATH to the Hudson Bergen light rail (going in the direction of 8th Street Bayonne) at either Hoboken or Jersey City. Validate your ticket after purchase. Exit light rail at 34th Street in Bayonne. CL is 2 miles away, some people walk that distance. I advise uber or Archie's cab in Bayonne, estimate $12-16.

Which cruise line are you on that departs from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ and returns to MCT in Manhattan? I am not aware of any that do.

Cape Liberty uses facial recognition, only if there is an issue at facial recognition does one need to present a passport. There are numerous lanes for facial recognition and employees direct departing passengers. to open lanes. I have never been more than the 3rd person waiting in line & the process takes just seconds for each person.

I asked a server in WJ last week about this, his response would indicate it is not being done.

Uber is easier than taxi at Cape Liberty. After passing facial recognition, exit left. Once outside, you are in pick up zone 7 for car services (other than taxi). The pick up zone extends from zone 6 (to your left upon exiting) to zone 10 (to your right). Last cruise, I was lucky as Uber arrived 5-7 minutes after booking from outside the terminal. All taxi service on disembarkation is located in a parking lot, not in front of the terminal as for car services. For taxi, exit the terminal to the right. When outside, go left towards the road. Use the 2 painted crosswalks to reach the parking lot from where cabs are dispatched.

You can travel on your own from the port via ferry to Great Bay(can also walk there) and get 2 loungers with an umbrella for much cheaper than $100 for 2, much cheaper!

Boarding Anthem last week, the person ahead of me was in a wheelchair. When they reached the ship, the employee pushing could not step onto the ship as they were employed by the terminal not the cruise line. The husband then pushed his wife. I had assumed Royal employees provided this service, I know they do on disembarkation. Royal has a special needs department which you should be able to email and make arrangements.

For travelers at Newark Airport that use the Air Train (monorail) there is no $8.50 fare or any charge at all. Travelers can transit as many times as they wish between the Air Train stops at EWR without incurring a fee. There are no fare machines selling tickets to ride Air Train because it is free for these travelers. For those travelers who purchase a NJ Transit train ticket & use Air Train between terminals to the EWR railroad station (Amtrak stops here too) a surcharge is added to the price of the train ticket. That surcharge is for the cost of Air Train and that surcharge is included into the NJ Transit ticket. Separate charges and separate tickets for Air Train and NJ Transit does not exist. For those thinking there is an $8.50 charge to use Air Train between terminals, based on what is posted in this thread, there is not. One can use Air Train to EWR station as well without incurring a fee but without a NJ Transit train ticket(that includes the surcharge) they cannot access entry to the station.

Ha! My first Oasis cruise I left Cats after 45 minutes unable to endure anymore. I returned on another night, waited until the show was 45 minutes into the performance, to hopefully view the complete show over 2 dates. I could not make it to the end again. Before I walked out on the second show I witnessed what is my lasting memory of Cats (no pun intended). 3 women in the row in front of me decided Cats was not for them as well. As they approached the aisle, they came upon a man in their row who had fallen asleep. The first turned back to her friends, they laughed at the situation. It was an easy decision for them to wake him, having endured enough of Cats themselves.

Queuing is an option as is waiting 10- 15 minutes after the show begins, many seats likely to be emptied by then.

The examples you provided do not support your earlier claim that CL is "disorganized". The port had no role in either case you listed. I too was kept outside of the terminal in September of this year because Oasis was delayed (presumably by another cargo ship in port). Once inside, as many others have stated, the process is efficient. We were kept waiting inside the terminal for a recent Jewel cruise because of scanning issues on the ship. Boarding was delayed more than an hour & once started it was halted and delayed another 15-30 minutes, still not the fault of any port employee inside the terminal. Scheduled boarding times have not been checked, much less enforced, since at least December of 2022 at Cape Liberty. This past September, with delayed boarding, instructions were that only those with 10:30 & 11:00 times were to wait in line. No checking of passes were done & some with later times did wait in the 11:00 line(despite being told not to). I find the process inside the terminal to be very quick & managed well.

The biggest issue is their luggage. The only other option I can think of and it would be weather dependent is for them to transfer to Jersey City (light rail/taxi/uber),pay for a hotel to watch their bags and spend the day along the waterfront with views of lower Manhattan or take PATH into Manhattan. Luggage Hero is a storage service, check if they have locations in Jersey City/Bayonne area. American Dream mall in East Rutherford in the sports complex could easily occupy hours of their time. Lockers are available, I doubt if they have luggage storage.

The closest place to wait would be Starbucks on Goldsborough Dr, about 2 miles from the terminal. Since they will be waiting 4 hours or more, Broadway Diner is about 3 miles from the terminal. Rental cars are available in Bayonne.

Have only patronized Boatyard. Admission price includes transport back to cruise ship and 1 drink along with lounger & umbrella. Well maintained & clean, lockers & shower available. There is a restaurant on site.

You were given the wrong info by a Royal employee. Each time I have called Royal as to my welcome gift preference, I have been told I could only select 1 bag. When I am on the ship, I visit the loyalty ambassador & get the amount of bags I prefer. Completed a b2b this month and was given 6 bags over the 2 cruises.