Transfers to/from Port Bayonne

[sandav]

My husband and myself will be cruising on Celebrity Summit on June 8th. We will have been in the US for 2 weeks beforehand touring the Blue Ridge Parkway and Smoky Mountains. We aim to fly into Newark on the 7th and stay overnight in a hotel as flights on the 8th are too expensive. We have never been to New York before although we have travelled a lot in the west. My question is. What would be the easiest for us?

Transfer back to the airport from our hotel and take a Celebrity transfer and where would we get this transfer knowing that the hotel shuttle or taxi would probably take us to departures and the Celebrity transfer would leave from arrivals.

How easy would it be to get a taxi/ shuttle from a hotel and which hotels do shuttle transfers? Which hotels do you recommend or have you used?

Is it easy to get a taxi at the end of the cruise or again should we use the Celebrity transfer? We don't mind waiting for a taxi as we have loads of time and because of this we hope to leave the ship as late as possible.

Does anyone have any recommendations for hotel day room use as our transatlantic flight to Scotland doesn't leave till 10pm.

Thank you.

Sandav

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

First of all, you're going to love the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains! Avoid the tourist traps like Gatlinburg and go to Cades Cove, Julian Price, Elkmont, Smokemont, or just hike the trails. Beautiful!!:D

 

You shouldn't have any trouble getting a taxi or a town car from your hotel to the port the day of your cruise. I wouldn't bother with the shuttle. As for the day you get off the ship, I would also just get a taxi to the airport. We took the shuttle in September from the ship to the airport, and you will have to be off the ship fairly early if you take it. Or, since you have plenty of time, maybe there is an excursion you could take to kill time, and also see some sites? I don 't know about a day room, but maybe somebody else would have advice on that.

[wrk2cruise]

You have to be careful with hotels in the Newark airport area. Some very bad ones. We have stayed at the airport Marriott which was nice and had on-site restaurant. There is nothing walkable in the area. I arranged a car service to the port with the front desk. They used Signature Limo (973) 622-5800. I highly recommend using a car service if it's in your budget. Newark taxi's are disgusting.

 

Other cruisers highly recommend Hampton Inn or Hilton Garden Inn Staten Island. They offer airport and port shuttle service.

 

You might be able to arrange a day room with one of these hotels if you were to call them directly.

[ginnyks]

"Sandav", did you sign up for the roll call for your Bermuda cruise? There are some really helpful fellow cruisers on it. We always glean a lot of usually useful information about our upcoming cruises on it and meet some very nice people in the process during the 'meet and mingle'.

 

I wouldn't know much about where to stay near the port in North Jersey, we usually drive from Phila we were considering staying in a hotel with parking for the cruise but nixed the idea. Did you check out the Trip Advisor website also? Found wonderful restaurants, places to visit,and a great place to stay for our last cruise out of San Diego, possibly you could do the same for the Bayonne area.

 

Aren't we going to have a great cruise?! We certainly need it after this past winter!

[hcat]

If you check out the ports board for Bayonne you will get all the answers.

 

Bayonne isn't the easiet one to get to unless driving a car...our limo compnay won't even go there unless we BEG! Having cruised from there several times we can see why... If you can get cruise line transp that'd be a good way to go. We took it recently in Florida on spur of the moment and were happy to find that our luggage was expedited to our stateroom.

 

Also some train connections are possible... best bet is to inquire on prt bd..very helpful posters there!

[138east]

You have gotten good info. The first question would be what is your hotel budget? Do you have any intentions of going into NYC? What time does your flight arrive in Newark?

 

"Found wonderful restaurants, places to visit,and a great place to stay for our last cruise out of San Diego, possibly you could do the same for the Bayonne area." Unfortunately, we have not found wonderful restaurants, places to visit, and great places to stay for Bayonne. The most exciting thing we can recommend is NYC and a pricier hotel in Jersey City on the Hudson River.

[sandav]

Thanks for all the advice. We are probably going to check into the Newark airport Marriott and get them to either get us a cab or private car to the port. After the cruise we will use the Celebrity transfer back to EWR, check our bags into storage there and then possibly use the NJ transit to take us to Hoboken to pass a couple of hours. Please come back to me and let me know if you think this is a good idea. I don't know if I'm up to going into NYC for such a short time.

Thanks again

Sandav

[138east]

It may not be a practical idea because of the luggage storage. United Airlines is apparently the only carrier that offers paid storage for its customers in Terminal C.

 

Getting to Hoboken may take you about an hour. On a Sunday the best way to go is to take NJTransit from Newark Airport Station to Newark Penn Station and take PATH to Hoboken transferring at Journal Square. This will cost about $11/pp each way.

[njhorseman]

Thanks for all the advice. We are probably going to check into the Newark airport Marriott and get them to either get us a cab or private car to the port. After the cruise we will use the Celebrity transfer back to EWR, check our bags into storage there and then possibly use the NJ transit to take us to Hoboken to pass a couple of hours. Please come back to me and let me know if you think this is a good idea. I don't know if I'm up to going into NYC for such a short time.

Thanks again

Sandav

 

It's pretty common for airlines not to accept checked baggage earlier than 4 hours prior to your flight, so you need to check on that because it will undo your plans.

 

Also, if you want to travel to Hoboken, you need to take PATH, not NJ Transit from Newark Airport Station. If you're taking a cruise line transfer to EWR you will have to ride the airport AirTrain to get you from the airport proper to the Newark Airport NJ Transit station, take NJ Transit one stop to Newark Penn Station and then transfer to PATH.

[sandav]

We are travelling with United so we will be able to store our luggage in terminal C. Also if travelling on a Sunday can we use the NJ transit from the Newark Liberty airport station to Secaucus and then onto Hoboken or is the PATH from Newark Penn station better?

[138east]

The Sunday Train schedule has more limited service whereas Path runs every 15 minutes. They end up at the same place in Hoboken.

 

For the next year they are running the Newark Path line only as far as Journal Square on the weekends because of track work. The Journal Square line runs to 33rd St in Manhattan via Hoboken. The connection at Journal Square should be good to handle this major service interruption.

[bubbachief]

What times do the non-cruise line shuttle buses run from Cape Liberty to ewr and what is the cost?

[138east]

It's shuttle vans rather than shuttle buses. They don't run on a schedule. When you come out of customs, you make a left and go the end of the tent to the Livery Dispatcher and tell him you want to go to Newark Airport. He will direct you to a van. When it's full, off you go to the airport for $16/pp. So it's possible you will wait a few minutes, but not long. You also can pay more to get a private car.

[bubbachief]

It's shuttle vans rather than shuttle buses. They don't run on a schedule. When you come out of customs, you make a left and go the end of the tent to the Livery Dispatcher and tell him you want to go to Newark Airport. He will direct you to a van. When it's full, off you go to the airport for $16/pp. So it's possible you will wait a few minutes, but not long. You also can pay more to get a private car.

 

We don't plan on getting off the ship until 9:30 or so. Will the vans still be available then? If not, what are the other options?

[138east]

Vans should still be available.

 

What you have to understand about Bayonne is that a ship's arrival is big business for the local licensed liveries. They want to get as many fares as possible.

[vivi9909]

We will arrive at EWR on August 20, stay in Manhattan (close to 42 St - Port Authority Bus Terminal) for four days before our Summit cruise to Bahamas (August 24-31) and then directly to EWR after the cruise.

 

I found a good solution by Express bus from EWR to Manhattan:http://www.coachusa.com/olympia/ss.newarkairport.asp

 

 

Post #13 in this thread provides a good solution from Port to EWR; thank you.

 

 

From Manhattan to Port Liberty seems more complicated and costly according the following thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2015949&highlight=manhattan+liberty

 

I am considering going from Manhattan to Port via EWR using the Express bus and the shuttle mentioned in post #13.

Does that shuttle operates in the reversed way (EWR to Port)?

Where do you take it at EWR?

Did someone tried that combined itinerary?

Is it practical?

 

Thank you.

[138east]

Unfortunately the shuttle service does not run the other way. Your only choices from EWR to Bayonne are a car service or taxi ($50-60) or a cruise line transfer. When you add on the cost of the airport bus, it's almost the same as a car service from NY directly to the pier and would take more time.

 

The only practical choices from Manhattan are a car service and public transit.

[vivi9909]

Unfortunately the shuttle service does not run the other way. Your only choices from EWR to Bayonne are a car service or taxi ($50-60) or a cruise line transfer. When you add on the cost of the airport bus, it's almost the same as a car service from NY directly to the pier and would take more time.

 

The only practical choices from Manhattan are a car service and public transit.

 

138east thank you for your prompt and useful answer.

What do you mean exactly by a "car service"? Some kind of cab or limo?

Can you mention some web sites or company names?

 

Thank you again.

[138east]

Between NY and NY we recommend car services because taxi rates are not regulated (basically you can end up paying a lot of money) and the random cabbie you get may not have any idea how to get to Cape Liberty. Car services are very popular in NYC because they are a step up from a taxi but not as fancy as a "limo".

 

From New York to Cape Liberty we have been recommending Dial7 or Carmellimo, both of which have web sites. They will give you a fixed quote that should include a toll quote. An extra 15-20% is expected for a tip. The trip should be in the $100 range and you will agree to a fixed price for the trip. These companies know where Cape Liberty is.

 

Going from a midtown Manhattan hotel to Cape Liberty on a Sunday morning should be a relatively quick trip. The most direct way is down the west side to the Holland Tunnel and two exits to Exit 14A of the NJ turnpike, which is the exit for Cape Liberty. The tunnel toll is $13 and the turnpike toll is $1.65.

[sandav]

We recently took a car transfer from the Newark Airport Marriott to the port for our June 7 cruise to Bemuda. The hotel organised the car. It was a set price of $62.50 and that included the tip. Lovely clean suburban. No hassle travel. We left the hotel at 10.30, arrived at the port, checked in and were on the ship in next to no time.

[megr1125]

We recently took a car transfer from the Newark Airport Marriott to the port for our June 7 cruise to Bemuda. The hotel organised the car. It was a set price of $62.50 and that included the tip. Lovely clean suburban. No hassle travel. We left the hotel at 10.30, arrived at the port, checked in and were on the ship in next to no time.

 

 

Awesome...that was likely Signature Transportation....they're based there, and they were very nice when I needed assistance...glad it worked out for you...