Providence to Cape Liberty via Ent Tours/bus

[bsbcgirl]

Anyone done this recently? How was your experience? About what time did you arrive at the port? Did you wait long for the bus on the day of departure?

Would you do it again or just drive and park your car?

Thanks. Although I have cruised in the past, this is my first non Florida based cruise.

[138east]

I'm planning to use Enttours from Braintree in two weeks. I will post back on my experience afterwards.

 

This will be my 8th cruise on the Explorer, but the first time on the bus. I've parked at the port, done a park/sleep at Newark, and taken public transit to Bayonne. Even though I have to get up at o-dark-hundred to get to Braintree, I'm really looking forward to not doing the drive to NY. Been there/done that way too many times over the years.

[bsbcgirl]

Thank you 138east. I look forward to your report. Have a wonderful cruise!

[bsbcgirl]

Bump

[138east]

I took Enttours from Braintree to Cape Liberty and it was a wonderful experience that I would recommend. I have driven from the Boston area to NY and NJ several times a year for over 30 years - it was great not to be doing it yet one more time.

 

The bus leaving from Braintree was scheduled to leave at 6:45 am. Since I had never really been to Braintree, I left at 5 am for a trip scheduled on Mapquest at 53 minutes. I arrived at about 5:45 am with no traffic until I got to the I95 and I24 merges. The Braintree route is scheduled to stop in Worcester, Springfield, and Hartford. However, folks were only getting on at Hartford, so we did not leave until 7:15 so we would arrive in Hartford at the appropriate time. I'm assuming that if we had also been going to Worcester and Springfield, we would have left at 6:45. There were about 25 people on the bus, so there was extra room.

 

It was dark and I was unsure of where the side street for the bus terminal was, so I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts. Inside I asked someone where the street was and it turned out it was the one at the Dunkin Donuts corner - they should put that in their directions. The person I asked was one of the bus drivers and he was leaving shortly with an empty bus to go to Providence to start the Providence, New London, New Haven, and Bridgeport route. We met this bus later at a rest stop and both buses arrived at similar times (12:10) at Cape Liberty. We waited about 10 minutes for an unloading slot. The luggage was removed directly from the bus to the porters. I went through security and the check-in and went directly onto the shuttle bus to the ship (I have priority boarding).

 

The bus stopped in Hartford at the train station, which is close to the I84 and I91 intersection. The bus also made a pit stop on I95 in Fairfield CT. Traffic through NY was good - the whole trip took 5 hours including 2 stops.

 

We were told the bus would pick us up at 10 am for the return trip. There was actually a disembarkation number for Enttours, so you want to be sure you get in that group. When you come out of the cruise terminal, you go to the right, find the bus dispatcher, and tell him where you are going. He will give you the bus name and number and tell you where it is. You tell your driver where you are going and he will load your luggage and you can get on the bus.

 

We left Cape Liberty about 10:20 and we were back in Braintree at 3:20 after a pit stop on I95 and a stop in Hartford. Traffic on I95 across the GW bridge was good and there were no issues on I95 through the Bronx. There were no problems with my car which I parked in Braintree for $25 - a great deal.

 

Note: Enttours asks for your cell phone number and they will communicate with you. Someone said that they had had a confusion at Hartford (they had come down for the previous cruise to do a B2B) - they were waiting at the correct spot by the train station, but the bus was on the wrong side of the station. A phone call cleared that up quickly.

 

bsbcgirl - I would definitely do this again, particularly if you are not an experienced driver through the NY area. It's $200 for 2 people - parking at the pier is $19/day plus gas, tolls ($15-30), wear and tear on your car, plus potential stress and aggravation.

[bsbcgirl]

Thank you so much, 138east. I'm doing this!