A hotel close to Cape Liberty/Bayonne

[138east]

Thank you Carol! I was very confused about which bridge had the closures. I mapquested both ways to get to the pier from the hotel (I paid 150 for two queens with whirlpool tub) and according to that, anyway, the trip is 19 minutes if I use the Turnpike option, essentially backtracking a little, since that's the way we come onto Staten Island, and it gives me 23 minutes if we use the Bayonne Bridge (if available to us) I have sort of been thinking we would use the Bayonne Bridge....I see they have a Facebook page, and I can sign up for cell phone alerts or tweets about closings. I ,ean, do they decide to close it the same morning?? Even if it's a couple days before, I'm ok with that.

 

Yes, we are driving and parking at the pier. Once I get off the ship, I want to get started home ASAP!

 

We have a suite, so I want to be at the pier early! Oh, BTW, we LOVED our Boston Cruise, what a wonderful city THAT is!

 

Sounds like a plan. The only other thing you might want to consider is taking Outerbridge Crossing - 95 North to Exit 10 (Outer Bridge Crossing) to Rt 440 East (it actually runs NE). The only problem with this later on a Friday afternoon at exit 10 can be merging over to the left lane. Most traffic at this interchange is coming south on I95 to go south on the Garden State Parkway and that can back up the right lanes. This is the alternative to the Goethals Bridge.

 

I think you're all set. You know about the Bayonne Bridge and have a plan B in case it's closed. Have a great cruise.

[karmacats]

closures about the bayonne bridge (and other local bridges) can be found here:

http://www.panynj.gov/alerts-advisories/advisories-bayonne-bridge.html

 

of course i'm staying at the hampton inn in staten island tonight (friday) and leaving from cape liberty on saturday, and the bridge will be closed. :mad: i wish i had known earlier, as i just would have changed to a newark airport hotel, but now i can't cancel without losing my money. oh well, at least i know it's a nice hotel. but paying $14 to get into staten island just to turn around to go back into nj really steams my hide. :rolleyes:

[karmacats]

The current problem with Staten Island is that they are rebuilding the Bayonne Bridge between Staten Island and Bayonne and there are frequent bridge closures on the weekend.

 

And thank you, carol, for this info. as steamed as i am now, it would have been worse if i tried to go over the bayonne bridge saturday morning! :D

[bhanback]

And thank you, carol, for this info. as steamed as i am now, it would have been worse if i tried to go over the bayonne bridge saturday morning! :D

 

We have a reservation at Hampton Inn for our September 19 cruise. You can sign up for phone alerts and/ or email alerts as to when the Bayonne Bridge will close or reopen. I did this yesterday.....it's probably going to be a little bit annoying to get these things for a month before we go.....and I will cancel once we are at the pier....don't need these texts coming in while we are sailing! But I want to get accustomed to it.

 

If it's going to be close Saturday morning we will just go back out to the turnpike and take the other way in, though I have considered changing my reservation to a park and ride at the hotel, leaving that traffic problem to someone else!

[RichardE954]

I made a reservation at the Newark Airport Hilton. What will be the best way to get to the port from there? Any idea how long it will take and how much it will cost? I will not have a car.

[138east]

We have a reservation at Hampton Inn for our September 19 cruise. You can sign up for phone alerts and/ or email alerts as to when the Bayonne Bridge will close or reopen. I did this yesterday.....it's probably going to be a little bit annoying to get these things for a month before we go.....and I will cancel once we are at the pier....don't need these texts coming in while we are sailing! But I want to get accustomed to it.

 

If it's going to be close Saturday morning we will just go back out to the turnpike and take the other way in, though I have considered changing my reservation to a park and ride at the hotel, leaving that traffic problem to someone else!

 

Why aren't you considering staying at exit 8 or 8A on the NJ Turnpike. You said you were terrified of driving in NJ, but you have a plan to not only drive in NJ, but also Staten Island with the possibility of not being able to use the Bayonne Bridge!

 

Before she passed away my mother lived right at both exit 8A and exit 8 for 15 years. Over the years our family stayed at many of the hotels in those areas. When mom lived at Exit 8 we started cruising from Bayonne. Driving to the port was always about 50 minutes using the cars only lanes of the turnpike. The trip was always easy and we often said that we wished we had found Cape Liberty sooner. The area is suburban/rural. You will feel comfortable there.

Edited August 7, 2015 by 138east

[bhanback]

Why aren't you considering staying at exit 8 or 8A on the NJ Turnpike. You said you were terrified of driving in NJ, but you have a plan to not only drive in NJ, but also Staten Island with the possibility of not being able to use the Bayonne Bridge!

 

Before she passed away my mother lived right at both exit 8A and exit 8 for 15 years. Over the years our family stayed at many of the hotels in those areas. When mom lived at Exit 8 we started cruising from Bayonne. Driving to the port was always about 50 minutes using the cars only lanes of the turnpike. The trip was always easy and we often said that we wished we had found Cape Liberty sooner. The area is suburban/rural. You will feel comfortable there.

 

Hey Carol- I hate driving in New Jersy, but I "have" done it successfully. I talked to a friend yesterday and she pointed out that I had driven all the way up the turnpike past these same exits last fall to north Jersey for a dog show. So, it's not like one of these people who are so terrified of driving say, across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that they have to have someone do it for them! I was a professional driver for a lot of years and can parrallel park a school bus in front of the smithsonian in downtown DC.

 

I got even more disconcerted at the threads full of people who can't find hotels, and need PATH trains and long detailed instructions. I'm not going thru all that. I picked something that was ok'd by some of the boards, and I can figure out what to do between my gps, a map, and study of YouTube videos. I can at least "see" what needs to be done this way, on a normal map. If the Bayonne bridge is open, it's open. If it's not, so we'll spend the extra toll and take the "long" way round, which is actually supposed to be shorter in terms of time.

 

I am grateful for your concern and good advice, and to be honest I may still change my mind. Sis is picky about hotels though and she wants what she wants, so I try to get as close to that ideal as I can 😉

[138east]

Hey Carol- I hate driving in New Jersy, but I "have" done it successfully. I talked to a friend yesterday and she pointed out that I had driven all the way up the turnpike past these same exits last fall to north Jersey for a dog show. So, it's not like one of these people who are so terrified of driving say, across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that they have to have someone do it for them! I was a professional driver for a lot of years and can parrallel park a school bus in front of the smithsonian in downtown DC.

 

I got even more disconcerted at the threads full of people who can't find hotels, and need PATH trains and long detailed instructions. I'm not going thru all that. I picked something that was ok'd by some of the boards, and I can figure out what to do between my gps, a map, and study of YouTube videos. I can at least "see" what needs to be done this way, on a normal map. If the Bayonne bridge is open, it's open. If it's not, so we'll spend the extra toll and take the "long" way round, which is actually supposed to be shorter in terms of time.

 

I am grateful for your concern and good advice, and to be honest I may still change my mind. Sis is picky about hotels though and she wants what she wants, so I try to get as close to that ideal as I can 😉

 

I'm relieved to hear all this. Now I know you will be fine. If you change your mind about staying a little further out, look at the Marriott Courtyard in Cranbury. That is the nicest property in that area and is right at Exit 8A.

[bhanback]

I'm relieved to hear all this. Now I know you will be fine. If you change your mind about staying a little further out, look at the Marriott Courtyard in Cranbury. That is the nicest property in that area and is right at Exit 8A.

 

Ok, so I changed my mind based on your advice! Took a look at the Courtyard Marriot in Cranbury. Mapquested it, says about 40 minutes. But you are right, why go through all that when we most likely won't be able to get on the Bayonne Bridge anyway? The tolls alone save a bundle, and the hotel is less expensive. And we will be more comfortable. Thank you SO MUCH!

[138east]

Ok, so I changed my mind based on your advice! Took a look at the Courtyard Marriot in Cranbury. Mapquested it, says about 40 minutes. But you are right, why go through all that when we most likely won't be able to get on the Bayonne Bridge anyway? The tolls alone save a bundle, and the hotel is less expensive. And we will be more comfortable. Thank you SO MUCH!

 

Let us know how it works out. I'm glad you reconsidered. IMO it's cheaper and easier and the time difference is really negligible in the big scheme of things. You'll be ready to get off the road by the time you get to Exit 8A.