Booked Again...Anthem out of Bayonne...Questions about Parking

Well...we received a free cruise due to our Casino Royale tier. So we have decided to sail on the Anthem of the Seas on March 30, 2019. We are also booked for December 13, 2018..2 cruises booked and we love it.

So here is the questions. We are familiar with Bayonne, and with the Anthem. However...here is the new information we need.

This will be the first time we have driven. We are leaving the night before the cruise and staying at the Country Inn and Suites in Elizabeth, NJ (done that before too).

1. The hotel has the Stay, Park and Cruise Package - We just want the Stay and Park part...we get our own ride to the Port. (They say $10 a day for parking)...thoughts on this...any other place we should check out?

2. Should we just drive to the port ourselves...what are the benefits, headaches...what do you have to do?

Maybe someone knows the amount of tolls from DC to Elizabeth NJ (we didn't really pay attention the couple of times before)....

Sidenote Question: I noticed that some people have a diamond on their posts...how do I get that? We are diamond plus..or does that have more to do with Cruisecritic rating?

Whenever the question of parking at Cape Liberty comes up, virtually all say to avoid any offsite parking areas near the port, for safetly reasons. You are probably OK parking at the Country Inn & Suites, but if you are driving to the port, use the regular port parking facility.

When sailing on the Anthem, we always stay the Country Inn and Suites and take advantage of their stay, park, and cruise package. Parking at the port I believe is $19 or $20 per day. We park at the hotel and use the shuttle to and from the port which I believe is $17 per person each way. I am not sure of the length of your cruise so you can do the math to see which way works for you.

We did park at the port on our first cruise out of cape liberty. The hotel is not far from the port but it was a little confusing driving to it and I worried about making the wrong turn and ending up in NY - LOL Now, we just leave the driving to the shuttle driver and arrive less tense.

Enjoy your upcoming cruise. We are looking forward to our B2B on her in November.

You can search the Internet for "diamond icons." There are tons out there. I found the one below on the first hit. You can add the + sign.

Well...we received a free cruise due to our Casino Royale tier. So we have decided to sail on the Anthem of the Seas on March 30, 2019. We are also booked for December 13, 2018..2 cruises booked and we love it.

 

So here is the questions. We are familiar with Bayonne, and with the Anthem. However...here is the new information we need.

 

This will be the first time we have driven. We are leaving the night before the cruise and staying at the Country Inn and Suites in Elizabeth, NJ (done that before too).

 

1. The hotel has the Stay, Park and Cruise Package - We just want the Stay and Park part...we get our own ride to the Port. (They say $10 a day for parking)...thoughts on this...any other place we should check out?

 

2. Should we just drive to the port ourselves...what are the benefits, headaches...what do you have to do?

 

Maybe someone knows the amount of tolls from DC to Elizabeth NJ (we didn't really pay attention the couple of times before)....

 

Sidenote Question: I noticed that some people have a diamond on their posts...how do I get that? We are diamond plus..or does that have more to do with Cruisecritic rating?

Not seeing an Anthem cruise for 12/13/18.

For your March cruise trinityreservations.com has a Park/sleep/cruise package for 2 people for $218 tax included for a room, 21 days parking, and round trip port transportation. There would be a similar price for your December date.

Snow could be a consideration for your December cruise. Parking at the port in a covered garage is $20/day. You take the NJ Turnpike to exit 14A (1 or two exits depending on your hotel location) and follow the signs to Chosin Few Way, which is a new option at that exit to get to the port road without going on route 440. Folks have been very happy with this new connection.

Not sure I understand your #1 question. If you're parking at the port, you can stay at any Newark Airport hotel and pay their parking fee.

We parked on-site at Port Liberty and I thought it was great. It's directly connected to the terminal so it really couldn't be easier. The biggest advantage is during debarkation day you are in your car and on your way within minutes of clearing customs.

We parked on-site at Port Liberty and I thought it was great. It's directly connected to the terminal so it really couldn't be easier. The biggest advantage is during debarkation day you are in your car and on your way within minutes of clearing customs.

This is why parking at the cruise port in Bayonne is worth every penny for anyone who is driving. Yes, you may save a few dollars if you park your car at your hotel but then when you arrive back in Bayonne you have to board a shuttle to get to your hotel then load your car and go. For me it is so much nicer to get through customs and load the car and be on the road.

Not seeing an Anthem cruise for 12/13/18.

 

For your March cruise trinityreservations.com has a Park/sleep/cruise package for 2 people for $218 tax included for a room, 21 days parking, and round trip port transportation. There would be a similar price for your December date.

 

Snow could be a consideration for your December cruise. Parking at the port in a covered garage is $20/day. You take the NJ Turnpike to exit 14A (1 or two exits depending on your hotel location) and follow the signs to Chosin Few Way, which is a new option at that exit to get to the port road without going on route 440. Folks have been very happy with this new connection.

 

Not sure I understand your #1 question. If you're parking at the port, you can stay at any Newark Airport hotel and pay their parking fee.

I'm sorry for the confusion....December 2018 we are sailing out of Baltimore (no assistance needed). I was mostly asking about our March 2019 Cruise out of Bayonne. I guess I was just bragging a bit about having 2 cruises booked at the same time....:D

I'm sorry for the confusion....December 2018 we are sailing out of Baltimore (no assistance needed). I was mostly asking about our March 2019 Cruise out of Bayonne. I guess I was just bragging a bit about having 2 cruises booked at the same time....:D

It's $140 to park at the port for your cruise in March.

Country Inns would be fine. On Lastminutetravel.com I'm seeing a "member" rate of $84 plus tax cancellable for 3/29 at Country Inns. That's a great deal. You get free breakfast and you get to park at the port and you get on the road home immediately. Springhill Suites is $79, also with free breakfast.

I would park at the Liberty Garage facility for the ship.

Go to Liberty Cruise terminal and you can get specific directions.

Also, go to Mapquest and put in Liberty Cruise Terminal Bayonne. Then you can expand and move the curser around to view the various streets including the Exit ramp for Bayonne.

Also the website for Liberty Terminal has a directions feature too. Once you get off the exit from freeway and ramp down, it is about 5-8 minutes depending on traffic and lights. If you see the exit for the parking but decide to go a mile south, there are shops and restaurants

Good luck.

No need to stay close by if you're going to park in garage at the port. Plenty of hotels along NJ TPK. Search for the best price / distance trade-off.

All of this advice is amazing. Thank you so much....

We are leaning towards parking at hotel, but if we parked at the port, do we drop our luggage with the porters and then park...is their a shuttle or close enough to walk?

All of this advice is amazing. Thank you so much....

 

We are leaning towards parking at hotel, but if we parked at the port, do we drop our luggage with the porters and then park...is their a shuttle or close enough to walk?

You drop bags off first, then park. Close enough to walk.

All of this advice is amazing. Thank you so much....

 

We are leaning towards parking at hotel, but if we parked at the port, do we drop our luggage with the porters and then park...is their a shuttle or close enough to walk?

Very close. Drop your bags, drive into the garage, walk back to the terminal Simple. Personally, with the parking this easy at the pier, I think the hassle factor of having to take a shuttle from a hotel to the port. and, worse yet, at the other end, disembark, wait for a shuttle and schlep back to the hotel, when I could be on my way home, is just not worth the savings. YMMV.

BTW, we stayed at a hotel in Elizabeth/Newark Airport (the Embassy Suites) this winter before our cruise on Anthem, and it was no big deal to drive to the port.

As for tolls along I-95, a Google search will get you the info. And I do hope you have an EZ-Pass, which will save you a great deal of time.

YouTube video of driving to the parking garage.

 

YouTube video of driving to the parking garage.

Thanks so much for posting this video, Carol. We’re doing this tomorrow, and I always like to take a “dry run” to somewhere new. This did the trick!

Thanks so much for posting this video, Carol. We’re doing this tomorrow, and I always like to take a “dry run” to somewhere new. This did the trick!

Glad it was helpful. The folks who took this video had no traffic at all! I have no idea how they missed the drop off area and the parking garage on their first go round, but they did. Anyway expect a lot more more congestion getting to the drop off area.