New York help and advice please

[138east]

138east, thanks for the info.

So if I take Celebrity, I'll fly to Newark and I could stay at Robert Treat BW on Park Place Newark which provides free shuttle to airport and Newark Penn Station for going to NY Penn Station for sight seeing in Manhattan. On the day of the cruise I can take the hotel free shuttle to the airport and then car service to Bayonne. Will the car service from the hotel to Bayonne be approx. the same price as from the airport to Bayonne? A car service from Robert Treat to Bayonne should be about the same price as a car service from the airport to Bayonne - $50-60. However, you also have a public transit option - Path from Newark Penn Station to Exchange Place ($1.75/pp), transfer to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail south to 34th St. in Bayonne ($2.10/pp), and call Bayonne Taxi to take you into the port ($10). Path is also an alternative way to go to Manhattan - it's the best choice if you are going to or from downtown NY. It's also possible to do a big loop - Newark to midtown NY, midtown to downtown, and downtown back to Newark.

If I choose NCL how much do you think the car service from the hotel to Manhattan? Or should I go to NY Penn Station and take a car service from there, will this be cheaper? Thanks.

Car service to NY would be $60+. If you're trying to save $$$, take NJ Transit to New York Penn Station ($5) and a cab to the pier ($10-12).

If you stay in downtown Newark, please be cautious at night. If you come back from NY in the evening and the hotel can't pick you up right away, take a cab. Robert Treat gets reasonable reviews, but it is in a highly urban area and you have to respect that and make the appropriate choices.

[cruise 101]

138east, thank you for the information. I could get a free night at Robert Treat with points and the reviews were reasonable. I will research again for other hotels that I can get for free with my points.

[138east]

IMO the airport hotels are not nearly as convenient for going in and out of Manhattan as the Newark Penn Station Hilton and Robert Treat. Many folks do choose to stay at the airport rather than in downtown Newark.

[jff50]

If you want to stay in our awesome boro, we welcome you! Here are my favorite options:

 

NuHotel is the best Brooklyn hotel, in my opinion, but not really cheaper than some Manhattan ones. I like it better than a boring chain in Manhttan, though, and it is super close to the subway and a million fun shops, restaurants and bars on Smith Street and Court Street.

 

The Brooklyn Marriott is the usual best bet for visitors - exactly what you expect from Marriott, good location (love being close to the bridge for a walk!).

 

The Hotel LeBleu is cool and modern but I haven't known anyone who has stayed there. It is on a busy street here and the five block walk from the subway is very safe but would feel less so if it were extremely late at night. It is a quick one block walk to one of the two main thoroughfares of my neighborhood with plenty of shops and restaurants, lots to do, family area called Park Slope (voted best neighborhood in all of NYC - Brooklyn is NOT what you have seen in movies, etc!!!).

 

On the cheaper hotel chains here, the one I'd most recommend is the most expensive but cheaper than Manhattan - the Holiday Inn Express on Union Street. It is on a block that is unattractive but it is RIGHT by the subway (less than a block) and 1.5 blocks to all that Park Slope has to offer, a really great location even if the block it sits on is ugly.

 

The ones on 3rd Ave and below are not going to feel as safe because they are in less populated areas - more warehouse and industry than residences.

 

All the Park Slope and Downtown Brooklyn hotels are going to be a very quick ride in a car service to the port. Subway to Manhattan is 20-30 minutes most of the time.

 

Please let me know if you have any specific questions about places!

-Briar, proud Brooklynite

Any comments on the Sheraton Brooklyn. We booked it for 2 nights in late August. Looks to be in the same area as the Marriot. Rated good on Trip Advisor (although not quite as good as the Marriot). Checks out Ok on the bedbug registry. $139/night for a club room (includes continental breakfast, afternoon hor d'oeurves and non-alcoholic beverages). Would have been $109 for a non-club room. Seemed like a heck of a deal. Hope we made a good decision.