Celebrity Transfers

[hassop]

Hi............ Has anyone from the UK, transferred via Renaissance Hotel Newark and Silhouette( Bayonne) using Celebrityvouchers etc.

Was it a hassle and would we be better off using a Taxi ???????????

All answers very much appreciated. Thanks........................H

[Project_gal]

Hi............ Has anyone from the UK, transferred via Renaissance Hotel Newark and Silhouette( Bayonne) using Celebrityvouchers etc.

Was it a hassle and would we be better off using a Taxi ???????????

All answers very much appreciated. Thanks........................H

 

Not sailed from Bayonne but have used Celebrity transfers on all but the first of our Celebrity cruise. [Our first crusie was from Dover.] Definitely not a hassle and we prefer prefer them to using a taxi. We do not travel light and the amount of luggage we have is never an issue. The drivers know exactly were we need to go and there is no problem getting through port security. On our last cruise, there was someone on our transport who had tried to drive to the ship and been turned back by port security.

 

In some ports, your luggage is actually collected at the hotel and you do not have to worry about it again until it arrives at your room on the ship. However, that is not likely to happen in the USA as it would deprive the porter at the dock of their gratuities!!!

 

Sue

[TravelerThom]

Hi............ Has anyone from the UK, transferred via Renaissance Hotel Newark and Silhouette( Bayonne) using Celebrityvouchers etc.

Was it a hassle and would we be better off using a Taxi ???????????

All answers very much appreciated. Thanks........................H

I'm not from the UK, but I know Newark and have cruised from Bayonne. I'm the opposite of Project_gal - I used Celebrity transfers for my first cruise, but not for my last twenty. There are advantages and disadvantages both ways. May I assume that you are considering which way to go? If you already have transfers I'd keep those, but if not...

 

When I did my first and last Celebrity transfer, there was a greeter at the baggage carousel, but we had to get all our own bags and get them to Celebrity's bus ourselves, and then had to wait about half an hour for other people until the bus left. For this transfer we paid as much per person as it would have cost for an entire taxi [so it was twice as expensive]. The Renaissance Hotel Newark is less than a mile from Newark Airport [you are flying into EWR, not JFK, correct?]. Even with a bunch of luggage and a tip [and US taxi drivers definitely expect a 15 - 20% tip] it should still be not over US$20 for this taxi for two. I just checked and in fact the Renaissance Hotel Newark offers FREE shuttle service to and from the airport, and the driver will help you with your luggage on and off the shuttle bus. A taxi from the Renaissance Hotel Newark to Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal should be about US$50 and there are car services which will do this for about $45. ATMs are readily available in EWR, so you can get US cash before leaving the airport.

 

Either way will work, but I find that it is easier, faster and cheaper to do it on my own.

 

Enjoy your cruise

Thom

[hassop]

Exactly ...........trying to decide which way to go.

We get the hotel shuttle from the Airport to hotel for overnight.................no problem,but the transfer next day to the ship is supposedly provided by Celebrity , I wondered how much hanging around we would be doing :rolleyes:

 

Thanks to you both for all the help and information.

Regards.............H

[Retired civil servant]

Hi, We have just returned from the Caribbean on the Constellation and used Celebrity's Airport Transfer service from Miami to our overnight hotel in Fort Lauderdale and then back to Miami airport after our cruise.

 

I would seriously advise you to look at alternatives as we had problems either side of the cruise and can not recommend using their transfer service. We waited for 45 minutes at Miami airport whilst the Celebrity rep. tried to locate the transfer bus and nearly three hours on the bus after the cruise whilst they dropped off others at Miami port and other airport terminals.

 

The rest of the cruise arrangements were fine, but next time we have vowed to book our own direct flights and use taxi's to and from the ship, as we have done on other holidays.

 

Best regards

Geoff C

Cambridge

UK

[Project_gal]

Our experience has been very different. Most of our transfers have been unexceptional. However, a few cruises back, I was detained by Miami Immigration [in none too pleasant conditions] for more 2 1/2 hours [over and above the normal time it takes to pass through Immigration]. It was wonderful to find that the Celebrity rep was still waiting for us when we finally emerged. She had a van there for us within minutes and we were at our hotel in Fort Lauderdale in less than 30 minutes. We always regret not having taken the rep's name because her efficient and sympathetic handling of our transport helped ensure that we retained a positive attitude through a very difficult situation.

 

Sue